Re ading Yo u r P u l se The three Pulse staffers behind our Fall 2016 feature story, Sexual Assault on Campus, share what it was like to report and write this story, and the responses they've had. They recall long nights lying in bed thinking about how best to get the story’s message across, reconsidering every word choice and the responsibility they felt in tackling and bringing awareness to such an important topic. You can read the original article in Fall 2016 Issue 2 on www.cwupulse.com. Bailee Wicks: After the article was published, I
was approached personally by someone who had just been through a sexual assault case and told me her story. It is heartbreaking to know someone has or currently is struggling with being sexually assaulted. It is difficult to hear the stories of others going through harm and harassment, especially at Central. You would think that because I wrote the story and am aware of the statistics that I wouldn’t be surprised, but it is a totally different thing when you see the face of a survivor and hear their story explained. Simone Corbett: Sexual assault is one of those
things we subconsciously think will never happen to us. But the reality is women and men become victims every single day and the majority won’t ever tell a soul. Since the publication of this story, a friend unintentionally confessed to me that she had been sexually assaulted. Weeks following the event, I was the only person she had told, and she didn’t even realize that what she had gone through was considered sexual assault. Nicole Trejo-Valli: Looking at what we did and
how we were able to touch people and make them feel comfortable enough to tell us their story is the most rewarding part of it all. Taking on this role as storyteller was far from easy. I remember the day we were going live I had done two extra interviews
on top of the six we had already done. We probably looked like chickens with our heads cut off by the end of it because we ran around so much with little to zero sleep making sure we did this right. The eye twitches, the research, the interviews, and the no sleep was worth every single word. Bailee: None of us had experience with anything
that qualifies as sexual assault, so we had to do a lot of interviewing and fact checking to make sure we were representing this topic accurately.
Nicole: As I begin to write this I can feel the
memories start to flood back, and it almost gives me chills. I have never been so physically, emotionally, and mentally attached to a story in my life, and it wasn’t even my story that I was telling. Simone: Although the fact-checking, research and
follow-up phone calls didn’t end until minutes before our issue went live on the web, I wouldn’t take back any minute of this experience as it reminded me why I want to be a journalist in the first place. If there’s one thing I hope someone takes away from reading our story, it’s to speak up. Don’t fall victim to the easy route of being a bystander—speak up for those who are unable to speak for themselves.
CWU CAMPUS CLIMATE STUDENT VICTIMIZATION RESULTS*
6
Sexual Assault; defined as non-consensual sexual touch, no attempted rape since at CWU (n = 1,103)
Rape; non-consensual, completed oral, vaginal, or anal penetration since at CWU (n = 1,099)
18.8% of women experienced sexual assault 5.2% of men experienced sexual assault 18.5% of trans/gender-queer identified students
7.1% of women experienced rape 3.6% of men experienced rape 3.7% of trans/gender-queer identified students
experienced sexual assault 9.2% were reported to CWU administration
11.1% were reported to CWU administration
experienced sexual assault
*Sample includes both undergraduate and graduate students and both online and Ellensburg campus students