They start you off early

7th grade they say, ‘No shorts above your fingertips’ they say, ‘Tank tops: 2 finger width.’ They teach you that your thighs and your shoulders are provocative spaces. They teach you it is your job to make sure others are not intrigued by them. the mentality carries. You overhear conversations about assault beginning with, “Well,

a piece i did for today’s speak-out on my campus against sexual violence:

  There is a contagion on my campus.There is a sickness in society.I am not a doctor but I am deeply concerned‘cause it doesn’t take an MD to realize that we are unwell. Our women are coughing, our men are ill too- this is gender neutral‘cause we’re all infected.It’s not just my malady, or yours.This is everyone’s illness.so