That saying is engraved in my mind from elementary school. Whenever somebody was rough-housing a little too hard and tears rolled in, the teacher would yell that across the room. Personally, I took that seriously (and still do). If I don’t know you, don’t touch me. But recently, I’ve been wondering… why can’t people understand that phrase?
Fair warning, this blog is talking about sexual assault, rape, and mainly what many people refer to as “The Cornell Seven.”(I HATE that description. It’s too PG for those monsters.) No, I’m not censoring rape. No, I’m not saying “SA”. I am NOT censoring a real problem, and if you have an issue with it, now is the time to click off my blog.
Anyway.
I discovered what happened by scrolling through TikTok. I stumbled upon a video about a Jane Doe with a lack of context, so I assumed that they were referring to the creepypasta. More videos popped up about Cornell University—a college I considered applying to—and a Jane Doe. A small feeling within told me to look up what had TikTok in an uproar about recently.
To put it simply, seven boys, part of a fraternity, raped a young woman whose identity is unknown. I am not prone to being extremely emotional, but I actually teared up when I found out what took place. My tears began to dry up and were replaced with a burning rage soon after. The comment sections were divided between those who I believe have common sense and empathy versus those who lack both characteristics.
“ShE ShOuLdN’t HaVe BeEn DrInKiNg,” as if that could have kept her safe anyways. I’m not saying that she was destined to be gang raped, but what I am saying is that as a society, we need to stop blaming the victim and persecute the predator. Alcohol and drug use are not consent, nor does it evoke thoughts of harming someone else. In my opinion, if you did something outrageous while under the influence, you thought about doing it while sober (“drunk actions are sober thoughts”).
This situation becomes even more insane because the “Cornell Seven,” as some people call it, has FIFTY-SEVEN other men who are guilty. The other fifty men didn’t rape her, but they let it happen. In a group chat, inappropriate phrases were thrown around to describe her, and the fifty people either ignored it or laughed at it. And you wanna know what Cornell University did? They made her rapists write essays as a punishment. ESSAYS. I write essays and poems and novellas and novels for FUN. They also forced Jane to continue her classes in person, where she would see them every… single… day. If that ain’t torture, then I don’t know what is.
This is why many women—like myself—are wary around men. Why girls find completely different routes to walk home on, why we give people our live location, and why we say “text me when you get home.” Too many stories like this go viral, and when they do, predators tend to defend predators out in the open.
“He has a bright future, don’t ruin it for him.” SCREW HIM AND HIS FUTURE AND YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some people are also insane or stupid enough to try to figure out who Jane Doe is. First of all, that is heavily illegal; second of all, that is extremely creepy; third of all, that is so DUMB!!!!!!!!!!!! Almost every woman you pass by IS Jane Doe. One in THREE women will experience some form of sexual assault or even rape at least once in their life.
Again, this is why I say, as a society, we MUST hold these monsters accountable. Too many people are comfortable with defending a rapist and uncomfortable when the victim speaks out. And the worst part is it could happen at any time. Infants, elderly, teenagers—it doesn’t matter. Nobody is exempt, and sometimes it feels like no one cares.
No, I don’t have a call to action. No, I don’t have any advice. I just wanted to air out my feelings about this whole disaster. I know this blog might be a bit much to some readers; I tried my best to contain my rage and keep it “school appropriate.”
I do pray for Jane Doe to find peace and to be safe as she sues and hopefully wins. Screw Cornell, screw the justice system, and screw all fifty-seven of those men. Matthew Ingalls, Diego Sarabia, Winston Lee, Scott Kretzschmar, Scott Norris, Gillio Lopes, and Jonathan Newell need to be held accountable.
Oh my goodness girl I am so happy that pointed this out, and in the begining how you said you aren’t going to censore a serious topic because it needs to be talked about. thank you.
I totally agree with you, these predators need to be held accountable instead of being coddled like children for their heinous acts.
what’s so sick is people with always find a way to defend the predators. if a women had been the predator, they’d be quick to accuse her. another thing i hate is the shear amount of assultings that happen at big universities like Cornell that are just covered up to protect their reputation. those boys, all of them, should be in jail, not writing an essay they likely all barely put effort into!
Apparently, Jane Doe wasn’t supposed to drink. She was underage for drinking at the time, but her sorority house mom took her to two bars. One neglected to check her age and allowed to have drinks while the other was more competent and didn’t allow her to have any beverage. Adding on, shortly after the incident there was an investigation on campus for possession of fentanyl. In Jane Doe’s recounting of the assault, she remembered that some of the perpetrators had forced her to snort fent. I hate this case entirely because of how many people failed her.
OH MY DAYS??????????
THANK YOU!!!! these things absolutely need to be addressed and how the university dealt with it is just..repulsive. i truly hope Jane Doe gains justice and peace soon.
I’m so so tired of this not being talked about. Like, I know it seems like everyone knows what happened, but I’ve had to explain to so many people what the Cornell 7 are. I’m so tired of men being infantilized when they’ve “made a mistake.” When really, they’ve done something heinous and they just get to get off for it.