In October of 2018, Lauren McCluskey was murdered by her ex-boyfriend on the University of Utah campus, despite her urgent calls and warnings to campus police. “13% of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation (among all graduate and undergraduate students)” states the website of RAINN, shortened for Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. Sexual assault and violence on college campuses are widespread throughout our nation, regardless of age, gender or race of the victims at hand. 

As a young woman who has been a victim of sexual assault, primarily in the setting of a college campus, it is a precedent manner for me to urge all of those to be aware of the negligence of protection and safety that is being given, or lack thereof, on college campuses throughout the United States. Although we are taught to be continually aware and alert of certain concerns that are murmured throughout campus, there is a deficiency of official safety that emulates through university grounds.

I urge the University President Taylor Randall, and all of those on the faculty and board to not only take into consideration this pressing manner that many have spoken of for years but to propose ideas and solutions to the general public. Especially for those who are victims of these hate crimes, to find a way of living that ensures students feel safe in the situation of our educational environment. This is a social issue that we as a society have pressed for decades, trying to find proper conclusions and resolutions of, yet there is still an overwhelming presence of fear and discomfort among many students attending campus involvement and activities. 

This is not a threat nor is it a motion to expose the faculty and staff of the university, but a call for help in hopes that we can create a home of safety and comfort for those who are seeking it. 

— Emma Ely, University of Utah student

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