Every two minutes, an American is sexually assaulted. Each year, close to 300,000 sexual assaults will occur and only 60% of them will be reported to the police. 44% of the survivors of sexual assault are under the age of 18. 80% are under the age of 30. (rainn.org)

I graduated from the University of Montana in 2013, having spent four of the best years of my life living in Missoula, a city which I adored, and attending a school that had been at the top of my list since I was still sporting braces, studded belts and those black pants with the chains on the side. The University of Montana (and Missoula, for that matter) is a treasured jewel of the Treasure State. The campus is at the base of Mount Sentinel, the city is surrounded by gorgeous mountains and home to the Clark Fork River. The community is inclusive, diverse, welcoming and home to honest and good people- people with big hearts and open doors. I cherished every day I spent living, working and playing in Missoula.

While I attended the University of Montana, I became involved in Residence Life and Student Affairs. I wanted to give back to a school that had been such an amazing home to me and help other students have as an amazing experience at college as I had had. Training to be a Resident Assistant is extensive- it is truly a crash course in any kind of situation you could ever be faced with as a Resident Assistant. I learned about all of the resources my university had to offer. I learned how to plan floor programs, how to help students succeed in their academics, how to make floor decorations, how to confront students who were drinking and smoking marijuana, how to help students struggling with depression and eating disorders, how to help students conquer homesickness and how to mediate roommate conflict (including the always uncomfortable “sexiled” situations). One part of training that I also received was what to do if I were to come across a student who had been victim to a sexual assault. I remember a pit in my stomach as we approached training on this issue. What an uncomfortable and difficult task to be faced with. The thought of being approached by a victim of sexual assault and having to help them scared me. Would I be able to get them the resources that they needed? Would I be able to make sure all the legal logistics were taken care of (fulfilling my obligation as a mandatory reporter as required by federal law)? I remember, ever so foolishly, expressing gratitude internally to myself that I had male residents. Men are less likely to be victim to sexual assault than women and even more less likely to report it. The likelihood of having to be confronted with this situation would be minimal. It was a horrible thought to have and a horrible way to look at it, it was also a very humanistic way to look at it, and with that, I continued my training.

Eventually, I worked my way through the ranks and became a residence hall supervisor, with my own staff of resident assistants and a residence hall to look after and manage. 

It was winter of 2011 when headlines were made about sexual misconduct happening involving players from our national championship winning football team. In December, the local newspaper published an anonymous tip that three University of Montana football players were alleged assailants in a sexual assault investigation. In response, the University hired a former Montana Supreme Court Justice to investigate the claims. On New Year’s Eve 2011, the special investigator reported to the President of the University that there was a “gap in reporting sexual assaults”. 

One week after the report was filed by the special investigator, a member of the football team was arrested and charged with sexual assault. A few weeks after the arrest of the football player, the President of the University, along with one of his Vice Presidents and the University’s chief legal counsel, held an open forum where they promised to “aggressively educate” students on sexual assault, look into the reporting flaws, investigate past incidents of sexual assault and to review the student athlete code. A few days after the forum, allegations arose that the local police department and the University police were not doing enough to prevent and address the sexual assaults once they were reported. Little did I, my friends or the University know that this was just the beginning of a story that would gain national attention. 

In February, two women reported that an international student had sexually assaulted them. An email was sent out to students soon after informing them of the sexual assaults (as mandated by The Clearly Act) and the international student fled the country shortly after- before any meeting could be scheduled and formal investigation launched. He was gone, and there was nothing anyone could do. There would be no justice for these two survivors. 

A few days after the international student fled the country, I received an email from the University telling me and other students that we should feel safe reporting sexual assaults, even if they were done under the consumption of drugs and alcohol. I figured that this was the University’s way of trying to make students feel more comfortable about reporting sexual assaults, but I didn’t feel like it was enough. Students don’t want to be told to feel comfortable reporting sexual assaults. There shouldn’t be a need to report sexual assaults in the first place, and with this I began to question the school's response to these crises. 

Towards the end of February and early March, the two survivors who had been sexually assaulted by the international student reported the incident to the city police. The survivors criticized the University’s response, saying that they had failed to properly act to address the situation, and because of that inactivity, the international student had been allowed to escape. In response, the President of the University defended the school and said that it was the victim’s responsibility to report the sexual assaults to the police- not the University’s. I read these remarks in utter horror. What he had done was breaking the cardinal rule of cases involving sexual assault: he had blamed the victims. But he had not just blamed the victims- he had essentially washed the University’s hands clean of any responsibility for the sexual assault.

In early March, headlines were made when a woman filed a restraining order against one of our most talented and well recognized football players. I remember thinking it was sad that this story was receiving so much attention for the sole fact that it involved a prominent member of our football team. It wasn’t enough that someone had been brave enough to report their sexual assault. No- it seemed that the only reason that there was so much publicity surrounding the story was because a football player was involved. 

Despite all of the bad publicity surrounding the sexual assaults being reported and the school’s lackluster response, perhaps one of the biggest controversies was when the athletic director and the head football coach were fired. There was no reason given for their dismissal, but many speculated that it was a result of the athletic department’s failure to properly address and investigate the reports of football players committing sexual assault. Public reaction was mixed. Some saw it as a necessary step to move forward while others were outraged and concerned for what a change in leadership would mean for the football team. I remember thinking how different things would be if their outrage could have been directed to the sexual assaults taking place and not as to whether or not we would have a winning team anymore.

In late April, it was made public that the US Department of Education was actively investigating the University’s reporting process. A few days later, the U.S. Department of Justice began investigating the Missoula Police Department, the Missoula County attorney's office and UM in response to the sexual assault cases. They announced that they would also be looking into a reported 80 sexual assaults that took place in the past three years in Missoula.

The next few weeks were like a hurricane of controversy. CNN, CBS, Fox News, Jezebel, The New York Times and so many other news outlets came to Missoula and to the University. As a resident assistant, I was barred from speaking to the press, but even if I could, I didn’t know what I would say. I was outraged at how my school had handled the sexual assaults. I was grateful that a dialogue was happening on the issue of sexual assault. I felt defensive and wanted to protect a school and community that I so dearly loved. The actions of a select few did not accurately represent the greater University and Missoula community. But things kept going from bad to worse with new scandals coming to light every day.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, the New York Times was able to come into possession of several thousand worth of emails between University officials. One email that stood out was one in which one of the Vice Presidents asked if there was a rule in the student conduct code that would allow the administration to punish a student who had spoken to the press regarding her sexual assault. Again- a member of the University’s administration was seeking to shame and punish a survivor of sexual assault for having the courage to come forward and share her story. Was I offended and outraged? Absolutely. Was I surprised? Not at all. I knew that unless there was a change of leadership, nothing would change. The patriarchy was in full force with the men at the top seeking to hold on to whatever privilege and protection they had left. (Eventually the Vice President stepped down from his position, but it was only to move to a new position on campus where he would go on to make over $125,000 a year.)

I spent the summer working on campus in Missoula. The students had all dispersed for the summer, but the controversy had not. The Department of Justice was actively questioning and investigating police officers from the city and campus who had handled the reports of sexual assault. The County Attorney made news by refusing to work with the Justice Department on the investigation, saying that he had no legal authority to do so. He would go on to ask the county for $100,000 in order to pay for Department of Justice expenses if he was forced to corroborate with them. The city council allotted several thousand dollars for an anti-rape campaign for the city. The University drafted a mandatory class for students that educated them on sexual assault. It was an online class and test that took an hour to do but was mandatory for any student and employee on campus. I worked on the committee set to design and implement the course. I thought it was a good course for what it was and, with everyone else, recognized that improvements would need to be made as the years progressed. A patriarchy at work - making sure the issue was being "addressed" but the tactic was questionably as to its effectiveness. 

As the year progressed, I found my campus and my community a different place than it had been when I started out three years prior. There was a thick tension on the air. There was an elephant in the room and people were, for once in a long time, forced to recognize the issue of sexual assault. 

There were positive moments and negative moments. One negative moment was when the star football player was found not-guilty of sexual assault. I say that it was a negative moment, not because I questioned his innocence or guilt. I say that the experience was negative because I found the community’s response less than appropriate. This was a woman who had been brave enough to come forward and report that she was sexually assaulted. She was reported as “Jane Doe” in the press and her image was concealed from all forms of media, but we knew who she was. She was a good, decent, honorable individual. Bringing this claim forward was a gamble and she ended up losing her case. For her, there was no justice and the community’s main concern was whether or not the football player would be allowed to play on the team again. The conversation quickly went from awareness and prevention of sexual assault to whether or not we would ever have a winning football season again. Seeing the comments online made me physically ill. How could, after the past months, just ignore everything that had happened and move on like nothing happened. What sexual assaults? What negligent police officers? What failure of the University to report and prevent assaults? It was all about football. A few days after the verdict, I joined hundreds of fellow students and members of the community for a vigil by the Clark Fork River. We lit candles and placed flowers in the river in honor of every brave soul who had (and will) come forward to report their sexual assault. The weather was rainy and the mood was somber, but the message shined bright and clear: We Are All Jane Doe.

I knew two people during this time who were sexually assaulted; no matter what capacity you're in, when someone close to you is sexually assaulted, you always ask yourself “What could I have done? Could I have done more? Could I have prevented this?” I have made peace with the fact that there was nothing that I could have done. But there is something that I can do in the future- something that we can all do. We need to make the problem of sexual assault a public one. Sexual assault can never go back into the closet and be a hushed subject that we are too afraid to discuss and resolve. We need to empower survivors to be able to come forward and share their stories. Even more importantly, we must respect the survivors who don’t want to come forward and we need to always remember to not shame survivors. The most important thing we can do is discuss and educate. Nobody asks to be raped. 

If a woman is wearing a Victorian-era dress, she is not asking for it. If she is wearing a tracksuit, she is not asking for it. If she is wearing Lady Gaga’s VMA meat dress, she is not asking for it. If she is wearing nothing at all, she is not asking for it. We have the power to change the discourse, but more importantly, we have a responsibility to do so. We are all Jane Doe.

Bradley Kneeland is a 2013 graduate of the University of Montana, in Missoula. A Montana native, Bradley now lives in Springfield, MA where he attends Law School. A great thanks to Bradley for sharing his experience and passion with this guest post!