The Hidden Uproar of Rape
Liviah Carignan
Contributing Writer
Rape. A real attention grabber. The “R” word is one of great meaning as it implies immense severity. It can be easy to joke about with your friends when it hasn’t happened to you. Sexual assault is something that very well may happen in broad daylight, however, most of the time in situations like this, predators and rapists prefer to attack in the cover of darkness, in the streets of a poorly lit campus.
“In the moment, when I said to get off of me, when I said it hurt, when I felt the need to hide my cries of pain, I truly felt helpless,” a sophomore at UMF said.
When the sun goes down, less students are out and about and a certain fear is planted in many students’ minds as they hurry to get back to their dorms from a party, a study session or whatever they may be doing.
“I don’t feel safe even when I have someone else with me after dark,” Community Assistant (CA) Mackenzie Golder stated. Golder previously said that she holds pepper spray on her at all times for self defense, and that she recommends other students do the same.
As a CA, Golder has had experience with students coming to her for support although she was unable to share anything about this due to her confidentiality agreement with the school.
“The process of everything takes so long so it feels like they aren't doing anything, but I have been provided with people to talk to and I feel like they take it seriously,” she said.
The first layer of support that comes to mind is the campus police. If any student feels unsafe at any time, they have the option to call campus police with a number they were all given during orientation. Campus police provide an escort service to students who don’t feel safe or able to walk across campus.
“I haven’t used the service myself, but my friend called the escort service one time because it was winter and very dark out, they were parked behind the FRC and didn’t feel safe walking back to their dorm alone,” said a sophomore from UMF, who was unaware of any other use of the service.
Another available student resource are the blue light phones around campus that can be identified by the bright blue light lit in their immediate vicinity. These blue light phones have two buttons, one black and one red, the black one is for assistance and the red one is to call for an emergency. Another option to further student safety is what are legally called mandated reporters, which are staff and select student staff on campus who are required to report students if and only if they are told a student has plans to hurt themselves or others.
“We invest a great deal of time in training and supporting our mandated reporters,” Title IX Director Sarah Carew shared. In the case of sexual assault, mandated reporters are required to report situations that fall under the Title IX umbrella.
If you or anyone you know has been involved with sexual assault on campus, you can reach out to your CA, Campus Police at (207)778-7400, Title IX Director Sarah Carew at sarah.carew@maine.edu or whomever you feel safe talking to.
