It’s been quite some time since the last article I have written. My apologies, but I would like to give some background insight into what I have been doing these past few weeks.
I write for my high school newspaper. I am new on the staff, and though I enjoy it, I recently had my first experience with censorship by having my article “shredded” for its content. For the past two weeks, I have been battling to keep the content of my article based on the truth and relevant to what people need to know.
Due to the Ray Rice incident, I thought an article on the dangers of domestic violence and awareness of dating violence would be an article that would be interesting and informative to students. So I whipped up what I thought was a great article including statistics about date rape in college and the dangers of abusive relationships. But when I submitted it to get edited, it was torn apart and multiple statistics were cut. When I asked why some of the hardest hitting information was cut, I was told that it could potentially provoke fear and administration wouldn’t allow an article that creates fear.
My article has since been changed, but I’d like to share with you all some of the topics and truth that my school is too scared to speak out about.
One in four women in college will be the victim of sexual assault during the course of their academic career.
Sexual assault is not limited to, but does include, rape along with the gray area of actions in which most students fail to report as assault. If you have to think about whether or not it was sexual assault, it was probably was.
Clothes do not equal consent. Regardless of your clothing, there is no such thing as “asking for it” or being “suggestive”. Clothing cannot be “suggestive” of any action.
Domestic violence cannot be traced back to upbringing directly, although it is a possibility. If young men and women are educated about healthy relationships and the components of a healthy relationship, the cycle of domestic violence can be broken. Most abusers grow up in abusive homes in which they come to believe that abuse is normal and something that is not a big deal, when in fact, it is.
College is not a wonderland of freedom. People will put drugs in your drinks and people will try to take advantage of you. Be aware and take precaution in all situations.
The more we educate people about the different outlets of rage and anger in relationships and how to control the outburst, domestic violence cases will lessen. In schools across the nation, there isn’t a large push of dating violence awareness campaigns like there is bullying. Every year, students get the same lecture from the same program on bullying. And though I believe it is an important lecture, young people are getting into serious relationships at a much younger age. Educate these young teens now on what creates a healthy relationship instead of showing them what an unhealthy relationship results in. In turn, there will be mutual respect in relationships and both parties will stay out of harm’s way.
Written by: Rafy Evans