Over the past month or so, the University of Missouri has sent several emails to the campus regarding an uptick in druggings at local bars and sexual assaults. So, concerned students gathered last Tuesday at Speakers Circle to show support to survivors and call for accountability from the university.
You can read Eleanor McCrary's coverage of the protest in The Columbia Missourian - here.
Noura Alhachami, President of STARS: STARS is the organization that's hosting this protest. STARS is Stronger Together Against Relationship and Sexual Violence.
So, we've received some emails from Mizzou in general that women are being roofied, and in a particular email, it was giving advice to women about watching your drinks and stuff, which a lot of survivors took as victim blaming.
"If you are in favor of doing away with a culture that victimizes thousands and millions of young women and girls every single year in this country, then you should stand with us. You should be here with us."Galen Zavala
And also, survivors are concerned that now that we're in the sort of a “post pandemic” campus, the abundance of people may [lead to] a rise in more victims.
I'm hoping that survivors know they're not alone. There's a lot of people that support them. I also would like to see sort of a resurgence of like MUPD, Mizzou faculty – kind of being aware of their language and being sure they’re taking care of survivors properly.
And then also, maybe more ambitious goals – I want to make sure more sexual assaulters and rapists are fully held accountable, and that more survivors feel safe going to class, going to campus, hanging out with their friends, even walking alone at night.
Galen Zavala: I think that this is something that we kind of supposedly have a reckoning with every few years in this country, you know? The Me Too movement isn't the first of its kind. This has been going on forever, obviously.
And so, what this is about to me, and the reason that I'm involved and the reason that I'm here, is that it's totally unacceptable – that supposedly we come forward with these demands, and we state that this has to stop, and then there's no change. Nothing ever moves forward. It feels almost cyclical.
And I'm here so that I don't have to be back out here, you know, for 10, 20 years from now, doing the same thing – so that we can have a decisive change in the culture that exists on college campuses surrounding the topics of rape and sexual assault.
"Consent isn't a hard issue. If it's not an enthusiastic 'yes,' it's a 'no.'"Kyler Richard
It's a no brainer to support this. You'd have to be a moron to say that you're taking a middle stance or that you're opposed to what the people out here are doing today.
If you are in favor of doing away with a culture that victimizes thousands and millions of young women and girls every single year in this country, then you should stand with us. You should be here with us.
Kyler Richard: Consent isn't a hard issue. If it's not an enthusiastic “yes,” it's a “no.”
Don't confuse issues. Stop victim blaming. Stop the negative connotation with “victim.” Being a victim – something happened to you. It's obviously not by choice. It's not our fault. It wasn't – there was not anything we could do to prevent it.
Why? We've had so many issues with men driving around in vans. Literally last night, I was afraid to walk home because there was vans driving around with men – there was screaming, and I had friends come pick me up because [of it].
That's incredible. That's scary. Why is it happening in a place when we're supposed to feel safe? I'm literally here to get education.
