Oct. 26, 2018 Collegian

The student voice of Hutchinson Community College

October 26, 2018

www.Collegianweb.com

, s r e h t o y b d e I g d e s u j u a e c b e l I l b ’ t I l d e e u a k n f i e l y p l e p “I fe these ha t it was m .” that hem, tha molested t d d n e a w allo as raped w

“I never thought it would happen to me, until it did.”

Vol. 60 Issue 7

t u b , ’ o n ‘ “I told him I , n o i t a u in that sit ” . k c a b t h g fi t ’ n d l u o c

Sexual Assault: In their words

“He wo

uld unb utton m and he y p ants, finger m would e. ... W hat else say? I w can I as so sc ared.”

Sexual assault doesn’t care about age, politics, race, religion, or gender

By Brad Hallier Collegian Advisor

Today, we share four stories with readers of The Hutchinson Collegian.

This is not a political stance we’re taking today.

Sexual assault doesn’t care what political affiliation you are. Sexual assault doesn’t care what race, religion or gender you are. It doesn’t care what age you are, or where you live.

Sexual assault is rampant, and today, you can read four

stories of women who were sexually assaulted.

This also has nothing to do with Hutchinson Community College. None of the assaults has a thing to do with HutchCC. These stories are being told for several reasons, but one reason we wanted to do this was for this reason – when you read these stories, you’ll notice three of the four women opted to tell their stories anonymously.

Who are these women?

The student reporters know.

I know. You don’t. Maybe it’s your sister. Maybe it’s your mother. Maybe it’s your best friend. Maybe it’s your teammate or roommate.

Maybe it’s your current girlfriend. Maybe it’s the instructor down the hallway you’ve known for years.

Maybe it’s someone you see in the cafeteria. Maybe it’s someone you bumped into at Walmart, or was in line in front of you at The Metropolitan.

These women have lived with this pain, confusion

and humiliation. Not many people know their story.

You will. Read their words, and realize this – we want sexual predators to be these evil men. We want them to be the face of evil. Murderers like Timothy McVeigh, like Dennis Rader, like Adolf Hitler.

But most of them are not the faces of evil. They are friends, boyfriends, their sister’s boyfriend, their neighbor. The good, wholesome kid down the street who is a star athlete, or a great

student with a great job, or the person whom everyone describes as “a great person who never could do something like that.”

Don’t ignore this week’s newspaper. Don’t ignore these stories. Read them. It might make you uncomfortable, and that’s OK. Journalism isn’t always about making you smile. Sometimes, it’s about giving a voice to the voiceless. Who is more voiceless than those who live being the victim of sexual assault?

Opinion

Page 2

Voting:

It’s important and it matters Our view For those of you who do not pay attention to recent events or don’t get into politics, Nov. 6 is Election Day this year.

Voting is extremely important, because that is how we choose our leaders.

Selecting a candidate isn’t just affiliating with your party. It is deciding who fits the bill the best.

You should take voting very serious and research the candidates without bias.

That way, you can decide which person is the best to you. Don’t let your peers, family members or anyone else dictate who you choose.

It is your vote and no one should change your mind.

Some people don’t vote just because they don’t believe that their candidate will win or that their vote doesn’t matter. That is far from the truth. Each individual vote counts.

Take the Kevin Costner movie “Swing Vote” for instance. He is a pretty

The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, October 26, 2018

You are not alone

crappy dad when he forgets his daughter at school to drink and he ends up missing the election. So his daughter decides to sneak in and vote for him and the computer malfunctions, making his vote unfinished.

This ends up being the tie-breaking vote for the whole country.

Any way, the point is that every vote counts for your state and county. If you aren’t voting when you are legally able, don’t be upset with the candidate elected if you aren’t in favor of them because you didn’t do your part, or help the others who voted for the same candidate you would have.

According to fairvote. org, about 60 percent of Americans vote during the presidential election years and 40 percent of Americans vote during the midterm election years. The statistics are even lower for local elections.

So please, go out, take American responsibility and vote.

Izzy Caldwell/Cartoonist

The Women’s Corner

Their stories are being heard

For me, this edition of The Collegian is the most important one we will put out this year.

The topic of sexual assault is something that people hate talking about.

Each story is somehow pushed under the rug because people want to avoid the topic. It makes people uncomfortable. But that is the exact reason why we are talking about it.

The past two months have made the talk of sexual assault a major issue and I don’t want it to go away.

I want the conversation to continue.

This isn’t just some trending topic that disap-

Columnist

Tabitha Barr pears away in a week. This is a crucial subject that always needs to be talked about, and I hope this edition does exactly that.

I interviewed two women about their experiences with being sexually assaulted. Those inter-

views and those stories will stay with me forever.

When I say that their struggles hit me, I mean it. These two women have gone through so much, and it kills me to hear them recount how someone took advantage of them. It makes me sick to even think about it.

The reason I think I’m connected to the stories is because I personally know these women. I’ve known both of them almost my whole life. I consider them my friends. And to hear what they had to endure, what they had to fight through, it sends my emotions into a whirl.

Hearing them say the details of their trauma sent two main emotions through my body. At first I become heartbroken.

My heart hurts for them because I hate that they had to endure that pain.

I just want to give them a hug and thank them for letting me have the honor of hearing their story.

I am truly and utterly grateful.

But the second emotion that washed through me was pure anger. To the horrible human beings (if they can even be called that) who hurt these girls and put them through hell.

I just want to throw a chair at them. It just makes

me so mad that these men could be so selfish and horrible that they would hurt these two women without thinking twice. I’m getting so flustered that I can’t even write how angry I am.

These women have gone through so much but are overcoming it everyday.

They are focusing on their futures and creating a life that they are proud to live.

They seriously inspire me.

I’m so proud to know these girls and I’m so happy that they have taken this horrendous situation, and made it their life goal to prove that it won’t stop them.

I hope that all of you readers read the stories and

let them register. It’s a lot to take in and sometimes our own brains want to reject the messages, but don’t let it. Actually read and comprehend the stories, and understand their struggles.

But then, take those stories and let them inspire you to keep going. Any person’s story that deals with sexual assault is important in every way.

Hear them, see them, feel them. These survivors are inspirations.

Tabitha Barr is a Nickerson freshman studying Media Communications and Production

Being respectful is a must; please hear us Editor’s note – Columnists Rachel Lyons and Kat Collins have dealt with some annoying people lately. Read how they are handling the loud and the obnoxious.

Rachel: Well, this might be a tad bit out of context, but let’s go back to elementary school for a moment and remember the courtesies we learned for the cafeteria.

Yes, we aren’t in elementary school anymore, but why should we forget

those simple courtesies?

It isn’t that hard to have a good time with your friends and be respectful at the same time.

I’m sorry, but I shouldn’t be able to clearly make out every word you say to your friends from two or more tables away.

It isn’t attractive to anyone when you are making fools of yourself, especially where people want to eat in peace.

We’re in college and no one is going to tell you that you need to quiet down and

The Hutchinson

Collegian

The Hutchinson Collegian is the official student newspaper of Hutchinson Community College.

It is created by the Newspaper Production class each week during the academic year, except for when school is not in session, or during final exams.

Columnist

Columnist

Rachel Lyons

Kathrine Collins

make better decisions about your actions, it’s on you.

Kat: I was at work one day and we ran out of a certain item. This item was

supposed to come on the truck but didn’t.

Later, I had a customer who wanted the item that we didn’t have, and some-

Staff

Editor In Chief: Brenna Eller Campus editor: Pablo Sanchez Opinion page editor: Tabitha Barr Sports editors: Rebecca Carney and Amanda Carney Digital Content Coordinators: Cody Schroeder and Caleb Reed Social Media Editor: Emily Fehrman Design Chief: Amanda January Ad Manager: Lucas Barlow Adviser: Brad Hallier Staff members: Kathrine Collins, Jared Shuff,

one told them that it would be put out later after we got it out of the truck.

When the customer came back later and wanted that item, I had to tell her that we were out of it, and they asked if they could speak to someone about this item.

After speaking with a manager, the customer insisted that she was going to contact upper-level management.

Which I felt it was unnecessary because the sale was for “while supplies

last”, meaning that not everyone would receive the item on sale, and it wasn’t a super expensive item at full price.

So if you really need it, then I suggest this off-brand version of it.

Rachel Lyons is a Newton freshamn studying Business Kathrine Collins is a Hutchinson freshman in general studies

Breann Rogers, Rachel Lyons, Casey Bailey.

Editorial board: Brenna Eller, Pablo Sanchez, Tabitha Barr.

Editorial cartoonist: Izzy Caldwell.

Letters to the editor:

The Hutchinson Collegian welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include the author’s signature, address and phone number. The Collegian reserves the right to edit letters for style, legality and length. Letters may not exceed 300 words.

Send letters to hallierb@hutchcc.edu.

The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, October 26, 2018

In their words

Page 3

“I started screaming for him to stop”

By Brenna Eller Editor-In-Chief

Editor’s note – The following story was told on the condition of anonymity. At the request of the survivor, the names have been changed.

Jodi was 15 years old when she was first sexually molested. It was done by her sister’s boyfriend.

Jodi, her sister, and her sister’s boyfriend John were downstairs watching a movie and her sister got tired, so she went up to her room.

At some point during the movie, Jodi fell asleep.

“I woke up to him having his hand inside my panties.

I was too scared to do anything, so I pretended to still be asleep,” Jodi said, “When he left me alone, I then ‘woke up’ and went to bed. I didn’t say anything to anyone in fear of what they would say.”

Jodi – the wife of a Hutchinson Community College faculty member – didn’t say anything to anyone right after it happened and didn’t want her sister to know.

It took her a few years to actually speak up about it, which was because her boyfriend, Steve, at the time said something that triggered the memory.

“We had just gotten

in an argument on the phone, he then said something to the effect of, ‘go find a boyfriend like your sister’s, he’s perfect’,” Jodi said.

She was so angry that she finally had the courage to tell someone about her traumatic experience.

“I was scared to death it was finally out of my mouth and someone else knew,” Jodi said.

“He ended up telling my mom right away and we didn’t go to authorities.”

However, Jodi’s sister found out and asked if it was true, and when Jodi confirmed it, her sister broke up with John.

It wouldn’t be the last time Jodi experienced a sexual assault.

Jodi was 21 and in college when the second sexual assault happened.

At the time, she was living in an apartment with a roommate.

They usually went out, but Jodi and her stayed in that night and were sleeping. A male high school friend of Jodi’s had been out drinking.

“He had been going through a rough time and had been upset that evening,” Jodi said, “He called me after he left the bars and asked if he could come over and talk.”

Jodi agreed to him coming over and talking.

When he arrived, they

“I woke up to him having his hand inside my panties.

I was too scared to do anything, so I pretended to still be asleep.”

- Jodi

Photo illustration by Cody Schroeder/The Collegian went into her bedroom so they wouldn’t bother her roommate.

“We started talking, and then all of a sudden he had gotten on top of me, held me down, removed my pants and started to have sex with me,” Jodi said.

She couldn’t move, so all she could do was scream while he was raping her.

“I started screaming for him to stop and get off of me,” Jodi said. “I kept shouting ‘no’. He wasn’t listening to me.”

Jodi’s screams woke up her roommate, and she was able to come in and get him off of her. He then ran out of the room and left the apartment.

“She didn’t know what to do for me, so she just sat there with me and we

talked and made sure I was OK,” Jodi said.

Again, Jodi didn’t go to the authorities because this time, she was in so much shock that a long-time friend, whom she trusted, would do anything like that to her.

It has been 21 years, and she has still only told a few people.

“My parents do not know, just my roommate,

my best friend and my husband,” Jodi said.

With today’s society, or any time for that matter, coming forward about sexual assault can be difficult for the victims.

“I feel like I’ll be judged by others, that these happened because I allowed them, that it was my fault I was raped and molested,” Jodi said.

“I was left to pick up the pieces and move on with my life”

By Tabitha Barr Opinion Page Editor

Sexual assault stats

Did you know?

Sexual assault is a hard thing to hear about, but it’s even worse to go through.

For Nichole Alexander, she was taken advantage at a very young time in her life. She was in the fourth grade when she started talking to a boy. He was two grades above her, so their main way of communicating was through email. They were a grade school couple, so it was just playful messages back and forth. He liked her, and having him there “made (her) feel better about (her) self.”

That was until he started saying things that were over the line of innocent and crossing into inappropriate.

She remembers one of his messages asking her what color of underwear she was wearing. Because their way of communicating was through email, Nichole’s mother had access to it.

Her parents found out about the private messages and immediately sit Nichole down. They told her to stay away from this boy because he was bad news. This was during Thanksgiving break, so she had space away from the situation. When school started back up, the boy still wanted to talk to her. So from then on, their only way of communicating was on the bus. They conveniently rode the same bus, and it just so happened that his mom was their bus

1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men experienced some form of sexual assault.

51% of female rape survivors were raped by an intimate partner, 40% by an acquaintance.

52% of male rape survivors were raped by an acquaintance, 15% by a stranger.

91% of victims of rape and sexual assault are female, and 9% are male.

8 out of 10 victims knew the perpetrator.

8% of rapes occur at work.

Source: www.nsvrc.org

Out of every 1,000 accused rapists 994 will walk free 310 are reported to police 57 reports lead to arrest 11 cases get referred to prosecutors 7 cases will lead to a felony conviction 6 rapists will be incarcerated.

Source: www.rainn.org

driver.

A year went past. They just talked to each other on the bus. Their relationship had gone to just friends and everything seemed fine. But her fifth grade year is when things turned south. On the bus, Nichole was the first to get picked up, and the last one to get off. But this didn’t include her assaulter because he was on the bus as long as his mom was driving it. So that meant there was a lot of bus time where not a lot of people were around.

The boy’s mom was the bus driver and that gave him access to any seat.

So when the bus was less crowded, he would come and sit in the seat behind Nichole. On buses, there is this gap between the seat and the window that students can talk to each other through. However, it wasn’t used for talking in this situation, but for something unfathomable.

“He would stick his upper arm in the gap and then

reach his lower arm down into my seat where I was sitting,” Nichole said. “He would unbutton my pants, and he would finger me.”

During the series of molestation, he would ask her if it felt good. With tears in her eyes, she would say yes.

“What else can I say? I was so scared,” she said this with a tone in her voice that conveyed more emotions than almost any human can take on.

Part of the reason she went with it was because she had told a couple of her friends. But none of them knew what to do, who to tell or even if they should.

He did this to her for the entire school year. But in the beginning of May, Nichole had grasped enough courage to tell him he needed to stop.

She was utterly terrified but she told him that he needs to stop, it’s wrong, it hurts and that she doesn’t like it.

After this, he lessened his intensity but he didn’t stop pestering her. He would constantly ask if she had

changed mind and would touch her on her thigh to convince her. She remembers shaking, telling him no and praying that the bus driver would quickly get to her house. She was scared everyday to ride that bus and there was no way to escape it.

Exactly one week into sixth grade, she finally told her parents what had been happening to her. That night, her mother called her best friend’s husband, who was an on-duty police officer. He ended up taking Nichole’s statement that night.

The process of pressing charges was started and they went to court for a restraining order against him. Being in court at such a young age was difficult for Nichole because she had to tell everyone what happened. At the end of this, she remembers the judge looking at her attacker and saying “son, you better get an attorney.”

That quote is one that stays with Nichole, because

a couple months later, the detective working on the case told her that she was lying. He told her that there was absolutely no way that the situation happened and the case was dropped.

The case being dropped was only part of the fallout, because she could no longer attend therapy for free because she was no longer a “victim”. With therapy costing hundreds of dollars an hour, Nichole was no longer able to attend because her family couldn’t afford it.

She was dropped, just like the case had been.

“I was left to pick up the pieces and move on with my life,” she said.

Her attacker wasn’t punished, not through the law, and not through the school.

“Nothing changed,” Nichole said. “Here I was, feeling so lost and broken. I was just trying to put myself back together again.”

The trauma doesn’t stop just because he did. She went through a long period of depression and anxiety.

Self-harming was a way of letting out her pain because

she had lost sight of her worth. She’s gotten better, but she still suffers with knowing her own selfworth.

Just recently, Nichole shared her story on social media with the hashtag #WhyIDidntReport. With the events of the Brett Kavanagh hearing, she wanted to help other people realize why sexual assault isn’t reported immediately. To show that someone people know personally, didn’t report when it started happening. When she watched Blasey Ford’s testimony, she saw herself. She saw herself going through everything all over again.

“For so long I kept it to myself,” she said.

But she said that she knows that it’s helped people actually listen and not just argue. Because “this is not a political issue.”

Nichole said sexual assault is a human problem that needs to be heard and stopped. For everyone who hasn’t experienced it, she wants them to know that sexual assault really happens and it’s a big deal.

She hopes that sharing her story will help those who have gone through similar situations.

She is still here, she has shared her story, and she’s living her life despite her past. Nichole is 18 years old and is currently a freshman at University of Missouri-Kansas City studying, chemistry and pre-med.

Campus

Page 4

The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, October 26, 2018

“I didn’t think they were going to believe me”

By Tabitha Barr Opinion Page Editor

Editor’s note – The following story was told on the condition of anonymity.

At the request of the survivor, the names have been changed.

Sexual assault can happen to anyone. It can happen at any age. And it can happen more than once.

Carter’s story doesn’t have one instance of violation, but two different instances with two different assaulters.

The first time happened when Carter was 14 years old. She went to school with Ian and developed a crush on him. He ended up taking that to his advantage. One night, they were hanging out in his truck off the road, hidden from sight. They started making out, but it quickly turned into something much more intense. Ian maneuvered his way on top of Carter, pinned her down, and put his hand down her pants.

She didn’t fight back, she just laid there because she didn’t know what to do.

It is common to freeze in these situations because it’s a shocking violation.

After everything settled down, Ian ended up dumping her in a church parking lot.

“It was always weird after that, because he didn’t see it as I saw it,” Carter said.

She would see him almost everyday because they went to school together, and there was nothing that can be done to change that. It was uncomfortable to be around him.

By Emily Fehrman Social Media Editor

and ran for the bathroom, saying she didn’t feel good. She locked herself in the bathroom and immediately texted her then-boyfriend and another friend what happened. Nic came banging on the door, questioning if she was OK, but eventually went back to bed and was waiting for her to come back.

When she could tell he was no longer by the door, she grabbed as many of her possessions as possible and “ran down two flights of stairs, got in a car, and drove home drunk at 3

“They didn’t think I was going to pull through,” she said. “They had me on a ventilator, they had me so sedated I was pretty much in a medically induced coma.”

Her then-boyfriend was actually the one that saved her. He found her and called 911. If he hadn’t been there for her, she would not likely be here today.

She actually lost her job over this. That day, she tried hard to find someone to cover her shift but she finally just said, “f--- it.

Did you know?

20%-25% of college women and 15% of college men are victims of rape.

90% of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault.

Nearly two thirds of college students experience sexual harassment.

Source: www.nsvrc.org

a.m.”

But the story doesn’t end there. When Carter went back to work and saw him there, that’s when things got more complicated. She pulled another co-worker to the side and told her what had happened. This led to Carter telling her manager about that night and how Nic raped her. The manager asked the questions of “did you promote this kind of behavior?” and “were you drunk?” The questions seemed to be pointing judgment instead of empathy.

Two days later, Carter overdosed on pills.

I’m going to be dead in however many hours and I don’t care.”

In the hospital, her parents asked her then-boyfriend and her other friend if they knew why she would do something like this, and that’s when they told them that she had been raped.

She woke up two days later with “an IV in my neck and arms, a catheter in, and cops in my room with an advocate for the domestic violence sexual assault center.”

After Carter was released from the hospital, she was sent to a mental health facility in Topeka.

In Their Words She stayed there for a few days, but was then able to come home.

When she got home, her parents actually tricked her in riding with them to the courthouse.

“They dragged me into the police station,” and had her tell her story to officers.

During this time between that night, she had many people say to her that they didn’t believe her.

That she shouldn’t ruin this boy’s life just to get attention. When speaking to the detective, she ended up telling her that she lied.

She just didn’t want to look like she was cheating on her current boyfriend and that it was all consensual.

The next day or two, Carter got a call from that detective saying that the district attorney was wanting to press charges against her for a false claim. But she was given a deal that the charges would be dropped, if she was to tell her parents the truth. And so she did.

The whole situation was pushed to the side. Five months later, she ended up telling her parents the truth.

“I didn’t think they were going to believe me,” she said.

It was a big deal because she had been alone in this with no one who knew what really happened.

During the time after, her mental health suffered tremendously.

“I questioned my sanity,” she said. “I didn’t

know if I believed myself anymore.”

Her mind was playing tricks on her, denying that it ever even happened. She had a hard time believing that it wasn’t her fault.

Part of the reason she had such a hard time was because there was no legal action against the assailant.

“People would tell me, ‘he doesn’t seem like that kind of guy,’” she said.

“He denies that it ever even happened. It’s my word against his. And I know the statistics. I don’t want to be violated all over again just for him to get away with it.

“It’s an unfortunate thing that happened, but I have learned to forgive, not only him, but myself.”

These events have shaped Carter’s life into what it is now. They are gruesome and horrifying.

The statistics are scary.

Out of 1000 cases of rape, only 994 perpetrators will walk free. But the conversation has started.

“You just have to hold on,” she said. “It is so hard and I get it. I’ve been at the very bottom. I think about it and I still want to die and I still hate the situation.”

But Carter is now living her life. She is pushing past the huge obstacles of the past and striving for a bright future.

“It is worth it in the end,” she said. “It is worth the struggling, it is worth the crying and wanting to die over. You just have to keep your head up and know that you never are alone.”

“It was their fault, not mine”

Editor’s note – This story was told to Social Media Editor Emily Fehrman. The subject wanted her story to be told in first person. This is her story as told to Fehrman.

Names used in this story are not the real names.

When I was 17, a big part of me disappeared for what felt like an immeasurable amount of time.

I took a chunk of myself and tucked it away just so I wouldn’t have to think about the events that happened that summer. I completely blocked out the fact that I was sexually assaulted, by someone I never thought would hurt me. A friend who was also friends with my then-boyfriend.

It was Friday night, which meant everyone would be out partying, including myself. I always surrounded myself with people who would keep my best interest at heart, or at least I tried to.

I never in a million years

By Jared Shuff Staff Writer

The second time she was sexually assaulted is the one that came very close to ending her life.

She was 17-years old and was best friends with Nic who she also worked with.

They had known each other for about six months and were close. At that time, Carter was in a relationship and thought nothing of her co-worker in a similar way.

She did know that he liked her, but she made it clear that nothing would become of it.

One night, Carter went over to Nic’s house to have a drink. The night went on and time had flown to early the next morning.

“I was s--- faced,” she said. “I couldn’t move at all. I was so drunk.”

Suddenly, Nic started kissing her and he asked her if she wanted it.

“I told him no, but in that situation, I couldn’t fight back,” she said.

She was so intoxicated that she couldn’t do anything about it. Nic picked her up and took her to the bedroom.

“He threw me on the mattress and he pulled my romper completely off.”

Carter was left in her bra and underwear and completely unable to defend herself.

“He got on top of me and started raping me,” she said.

She couldn’t do anything to stop him. She could only lay there and “take it.”

After a little time had gone past, he got off of her and told her he wanted to switch positions.

Carter saw this as her only opportunity to escape

thought that I would ever be put in an atmosphere that being taken advantage of was even an option.

The whole evening everything was fine. I was around friends, so I took the opportunity to get intoxicated. We weren’t moving parties or doing anything wild, so I thought, why not live a little. Henry, my then-boyfriend, and I were having fun with all our friends, including two of his “best buddies”, John and Patrick.

The night went by in a flash, and before I know it, I’m laying down to sleep in Henry’s bed while he is still at the party downstairs. I decided to go to bed because I was too drunk to function any longer, and literally kept falling asleep on Henry’s shoulder.

I was woken up with a set of hands running up my thighs, and a set of hands keeping my mouth and eyes shut.

I was so drunk there wasn’t much I could do, except try to beg them to stop, cry and pray for it to

In Their Words

end. I didn’t know how to stop what was happening, let alone how to figure out who the boys were that were doing this to me. Once the hands were removed from my eyes I thought maybe that signified the end of the torture. But all that was revealed was who my attackers were and that it wasn’t going to end any time soon.

I saw that the two boys that were touching me were John and Patrick. Two people I had never thought would hurt me. They were my friends and they had betrayed me. As they switched places with each other all I could think about was how embarrassed I was, and all the ways I could have prevented this from happening.

I could’ve locked the door, maybe I was just too friendly, maybe I shouldn’t have worn a low cut shirt that night, or maybe I shouldn’t have gotten drunk in the first place.

But really, it comes down

to the fact that it was nothing I did that made this horrible thing happen to me. It was their fault, not mine. I didn’t ask to be taken advantage of. What it comes down to is when they saw a defenseless, unsuspecting, sleeping girl, and they thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of her.

It felt as though it would never stop. I prayed and prayed that it would end. In that moment, I wished I were dead. They took turns giving oral sex to my limp body, and then the rest is a blur.

I have glimpses of memories every once and awhile of that night. And when I do remember bits and pieces, they are so horrible for me to think about that I get physically and visibly sick.

The next morning, I woke up and they were gone, but Henry was there.

Not knowing how to handle the situation, I got up and left. Walking past my rapist on the way out the door. I

couldn’t look at them. Even while they were asleep they were still the most terrifying thing out there to me.

The drive was completely silent because what music do you play the morning after you’ve been raped? I had a 20-minute drive home to contemplate the night before and come to terms with what had happened.

I decided I should call Henry and tell him what happened. But before I had even moved to grab my phone it was already ringing, and it was him. Thinking I would pick up the phone to a curious boyfriend wondering where I was, I was shocked to hear such loud screaming on the other end of the phone.

He was screaming things at me I would never wish to repeat to anyone. John had came up with this lie that I had tried to touch him inappropriately. Claiming that in my drunken haze I tried to rape him, but that he had thrown me off and went back to down to the party.

Completely shocked by

this I tried to tell Henry that it was the other way around, but he wasn’t having any of it. Called me a liar and said I should go to hell for what I put his friend through.

I didn’t tell anyone what happened that night for two years.

During that two years, I blocked everything that had to do with that night away.

I broke up with Henry and I stopped hanging out around those people I had thought were my friends. It wasn’t until this last summer that I really came to terms with everything that happened that night.

I never filed any charges because I assumed no one would believe me. If the boy who was supposedly in love with me didn’t even believe me over his friends then who would?

In the end, I’d like to say I’m healed and all is forgiven, but it’s not. It’s been two years, but it still feels like it was yesterday. I never thought it would happen to me, until it did.

Redenbaugh: The Dragon Warrior

Specialist Micah Redenbaugh, a Hutchinson Community College fire-science student, was recognized as the Kansas Army National Guard Soldier of the Year after competing in the Best Warrior Competition for the state of Kansas.

Redenbaugh is a computer/detection systems repairer assigned to the 170th Maintenance Company, 997th Brigade Support Battalion. She enlisted in

Michah Redenbaugh the Army National Guard in February of 2016. However, it wasn’t originally in her plans to visit a recruiter.

“Actually, my sister was joining, and she asked me to talk to the recruiter,” Redenbaugh said. “I thought it would be nice to check it out, so we went together.”

This chance encounter would lead to Redenbaugh winning the state-wide portion of the Best Warrior Competition, an achievement she never expected to have.

“I was surprised and super excited that I won.

The fire science program (at HutchCC) definitely

related to a lot of my military training,” Redenbaugh said. “You have to stay in shape and train a lot. It was good motivation and just an awesome competition.”

The Best Warrior Competition tests basic knowledge of military skills, such as weapons care, shooting, first aid procedures, and an assortment of other important skills every member of the military should know.

Her achievement in the state competition led her to the regional competition in

North Little Rock, Arkansas. After days of physical and mental challenges, she placed third in the region.

Because she won the state competition, Redenbaugh met with two high-profile figures in the army, General Mark A. Milley and Command Sergeant Major Daniel A. Dailey. They are the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Sergeant Major of the Army, in that order.

She received both of their challenge coins, which

are high honors to receive.

Redenbaugh had some words of encouragement, as well as a few helpful tips to share with anyone who might be considering joining the National Guard.

“It’s definitely an adventure. If you’re really considering it, stay in shape,” Redenbaugh said. “The military offers job opportunities in many different areas of study. You can gain extra money for school, and you can still return to your civilian career.”

Sports

The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, October 26, 2018

Page 5

GC vs Hutch by the numbers

HCC Sports Information Garden City Community College’s Dwayne Lawson eludes the pressure of Hutchinson Community College’s Ronheen Bingham during their 2016 game at Gowans Stadium. Garden City won the national championship that season.

Garden City

Nickname: Broncbusters Head Coach: Jeff Sims Current Record: 7-0 NJCAA Ranking: No. 2 Last Conference Title: 2016 Next game: Saturday, at Coffeyville Community College Scoring offense, Conference rank: 37.7, No. 2 Scoring defense, Conference rank: 18.3, No. 2 Three players to watch: Charles West, RB. Dillon Williams, LB. David Moore, QB. Rebecca Carney’s Prediction: Hutchinson, 2421

Scenes from fall sports

Photos by Bre Rogers/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Cassidy Crites (9) passes to teammate Tara Davis who leaps to attempt a kill during a match against Butler.

Photos by Bre Rogers/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Cecil Stallings blocks Dodge City’s Francisco Pedrozo during their game last Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Dodge City.

Hutchinson won 45-7.

Photos by Bre Rogers/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Ronald Williams breaks free for a long gain on Saturday at Dodge City. The Blue Dragons are one win away from winning the Jayhawk Conference Championship.

Hutchinson

Nickname: Blue Dragons Head coach: Rion Rhoades Current record: 8-1 NJCAA ranking: No. 4 Last conference title: 2014 Next game: Nov. 3 home vs. Garden City Scoring offense, Conference rank: 38.4, 1st Scoring defense, Conference rank: 15.6, 1st Three players to watch: Monty Montgomery, LB. Dezmon Jackson, RB. Sebastian Garcia, kicker.

Amanda Carney’s prediction: Hutchinson, 14-9

Sports

The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, October 26, 2018

Page 6

Viva las Venegas

Athlete of the week (Oct. 14-20) Monty Montgomery, football

Photos by Casey Bailey/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Ashley Venegas takes a shot on the goal during a game against Hesston College at Buhler High School.

The Blue Dragons open post-season play on Thursday at Johnson County.

By Rebecca Carney Co-Sports Editor Hutchinson Community College soccer player Ashley Venegas has been a standout player for the women’s soccer team, but especially these last couple of weeks.

Venegas, a native of Odessa, Texas, is a midfielder for the team and does her fair share of work on the field.

Venegas’ story of coming to HutchCC is not your typical story. As it turns out, head coach Sammy Lane and assistant Corey Bryant didn’t even know about Venegas until they recruited her high school and current teammate Cameron Rodriguez.

“It took a while for Ashley to get here,” Lane said, “a while to commit, but we had recruited one of her

teammates earlier, and she said that we had to come down and watch this kid.

We drove nine hours one way, and were watching her warm up and hoping it was her.”

As it turns out, Venegas was indeed the player Lane and Bryant had seen warming up, and they knew they had to sign her. Venegas eventually made her way to Hutchinson and has been

a huge asset for the soccer team ever since.

Throughout the season, Venegas has started in all 16 games, in helping the Blue Dragons to a 13-2-1 record. She is also one of the leading goal scorers for with 14 goals, seven assists and one game-winning goal.

For Venegas, coming to HutchCC was a risk, but in the end, the risk eventually

paid off with how successful she has been here.

“I heard about Hutchinson from a who friend who had committed here. I had never heard of Hutchinson before that,” Venegas said, “when I started looking into it and took a visit here with Sammy and Corey, I felt like the environment and aura and how they work was best for me and I knew I wanted to play for them.”

The week: Montgomery scored not one but two touchdowns, imMontgomery pressive for anyone but especially for a defensive player.

Montgomery had a 20-yard fumble return for one score and a 28yard interception return for another in Hutchinson’s 45-7 win at Dodge City.

The season: A freshman from Grayson, Georgia, Montgomery has 41 tackles for the season, 8.5 tackles for loss of yards, 5.5 quarterback sacks, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

Roundup: Football routs Dodge City, turns focus to GC

Photos by Bre Rogers/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Jahmard Morgan (30), Josh Reliford (5), and Monty Montgomery celebrate a Montgomery touchdown on Saturday during the Blue Dragons’ 45-7 win at Dodge City. hands of Dodge City ball blocking a 30-yard field

By Amanda Carney carrier and sprinting 20 goal.

Co-Sports Editor yards into the end zone for The Blue Dragon ofThe Hutchinson Comhis first touchdown. Montfense produced 314 rushing munity College defensive gomery scored for a second yards, a season high. unit continues to key in time when he picked off Sophomore running winning football games.

Dodge City’s Drew Harris back Dezmon Jackson had The Blue Dragons for a 25-yard touchdown.

157 rushing with 17 carries scored defensive points for Hutchinson held Dodge with touchdown runs of 81 the fifth time this season City to 251 total yards with and 34 yards.

Saturday in their 45-7 win three quarterback sacks.

Freshman Drake Bolus at Dodge City. Linebacker Dodge City was 2 for 15 on rushed for 84-yards, a seaMonty Montgomery led the third down and 0 for 2 on son high, on nine carries. wa,y getting two touchfourth down. Dodge City Hutchinson improved to downs. had 109 total yards on 55 8-1 overall and moved to Leading 7-0 Montgomoffensive plays. Hutchinson 6-0 in the Jayhawk Conferery made his first move for held the Conquistadors to ence. the Blue Dragon defense, 0 of 2 on red-zone opporThe Blue Dragon have taking the ball right of the tunities, with Caliph Brice a bye week before playing

No. 2 Garden City at Noon on November 3 at Gowans Stadium.

Soccer - The women’s soccer team experienced one of the wildest games Blue Dragon history Saturday in Concordia.

Sophomore Brailey Moeder also had a game to remember. Moeder scored three goals in a little over five minutes, giving the Blue Dragons a victory over Cloud County 4-3.

The Blue Dragons lead at half, 1-0, on a goal form Ashley Venegas from 22 yards.

Starting the second half, Cloud County took the lead, 2-1, leading into the last 15 minutes and craziest minutes that the Blue Dragons have had.

Moeder shot on the run but Cloud’s Alanya Hannagan made save.

She couldn’t control the rebound. Moeder followed up with a score giving Hutch the lead 3-2 with a little over 10 minutes remaining.

One minute later, Kaitlyn Sabala was taken down in the penalty box with a penalty kick to follow.

Moeder took it and accomplished her second career trick. Hutch 4-2.

The Blue Dragons finished the 2018 regular season at 13-2-1, 11-2-1 in the Jayhawk West.

Hutchinson will travel to Johnson County on Thursday to open the Region VI Tournament.

The Hutchinson Community College volleyball team watched as the Barton Cougars took over the fifth match after winning the first two sets.

The Blue Dragons started out the game strong with 17-25, 20-25. Ending the game with a disappointment 25-19, 25-19, 17-15.

Hutch started out the fifth with a bang leading 8-3, forcing Barton to call a time out. The Dragons then had the opportunity to go up 9-3 but a misfired on the attack led Barton to five- zero run. Cassidy Crites made a kill, Hutch lead 9-8. Dragons then fell 13-10. Followed by a Eden Hiebert save at first point match but Blue Dragons followed with a service error and attack error on the final.

After the Barton game the Dragons fall to 16-15 overall and 10-5 in the Jayhawk.

Volleyball – The volleyball team watched as the Barton Cougars took over the match after winning the first two sets.

The Blue Dragons started out the game strong with 17-25, 20-25 wins, but the match ended with disappointment, as Barton won

the final three sets, and the match 25-19, 25-19, 17-15.

Hutch started out the fifth with a bang leading 8-3, forcing Barton to call a time out. The Dragons then had the opportunity to go up 9-3 but a misfired on the attack, leading Barton to a 5-0 run, and the Cougars seized momentum for good.

Golf – With one fall tournament to go, the men’s golf team is ranked No. 6 in the GolfStat/NJCAA Division I rankings. This makes the Blue Dragons the highest-ranked Jayhawk Conference team in the GolfStat rankings and the second-highest ranked District 3 team.

Hutchinson has two golfers that are currently ranked in the top 20 of the GolfStat/NJCAA stats.

These two golfers are both freshman. Charlie Crockett is ranked 15th. Crockett’s stroke average is 71.77.

Charlie Herbert is ranked 17th with a stroke average of 72.77.

The Dragons duo ranks Nos. 3 and 5 in District 3.

The Blue Dragons will end their fall season at the Park Universiety Fall Invitational this Monday and Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo. The Dragons and Dodge City are currently tied for 10th in the latest NJCAA rankings.

Blue Dragon schedules, results. All home games, events in caps.

Basketball, men’s nonconference

Nov. 2, NORTHEAST NEBRASKA, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 3, NEO, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 6, at Northern Oklahoma-Enid, 7 p.m.

Nov. 9, vs. Spring Creek Academy, at Great Bend, 3 p.m.

Nov. 10, vs. Redlands at Great Bend, 3 p.m.

Nov. 16, vs. Murray State at El Dorado, 3:30 p.m.

Nov. 17, vs. Labette at El Dorado, 3:30 p.m.

Nov. 20, NORTHERN OKLAHOMA-ENID, 7 p.m.

Nov. 24, HESSTON, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 27, at Region 6 Championship

Nov. 1, BETHANY JV, 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 9, vs. Murray State at Great Bend, 1 p.m.

Nov. 10, vs. NEO at Great Bend, 1 p.m.

Nov. 14 at Washburn JV, 3 p.m.

Nov. 17, at Central Christian JV, 3 p.m.

Nov. 20, LAMAR, 5:30 p.m.

Nov. 24, HESSTON, 5:30 p.m.

Aug. 23, ELLSWORTH, W 30-12 Sept. 1, at Independence, W 37-27 Sept. 8, IOWA WESTERN, L 33-24 Sept. 15, FORT SCOTT, W 61-21 Sept. 20, RPA, W 82-0 Sept. 29, at Butler, W 27-13 Oct. 6, HIGHLAND, W 16-13 Oct. 13, at Coffeyville, W 24-14 Oct. 20, at Dodge City, W 45-7 Nov. 3, GARDEN CITY, noon Nov. 10, IOWA CENTRAL, noon

Basketball, women’s nonconference

Cross country

Oct. 13, at Fort Hays State Tiger Open

Football

Soccer

Sept. 15, at Hesston, W 4-1

Sept. 19, DODGE CITY, W 3-1 Sept. 22, at Pratt, W 2-0 Sept. 26, CLOUD COUNTY, L 2-0 Sept. 29, NORTHWEST KANSAS TECH, W 7-0 Oct. 3, at Barton, L 4-2 Oct. 5, at Garden City, W 3-0 Oct. 10, HESSTON, W 6-0 Oct. 13, at Dodge City, W 2-0 Oct. 17, PRATT, W 3-0 Oct. 20, at Cloud County, W 4-3 Oct. 25, at Johnson County, L 3-1

Volleyball

Sept. 28-29, at Holiday Inn-South Broadway TJC Invitational, Tyler,

Texas; Blinn, L 3-0; Hill, W 3-1; North Central Texas, W 3-1; Monroe, W 3-2 Oct. 3, PRATT, W 3-0 Oct. 6, at Seward County, L 3-0 Oct. 8, COLBY, L 3-1 Oct. 10, at Garden City, W 3-0 Oct. 12-13, at MSU-West Plains Grizzly Invitational; Panola L 3-1; Jefferson W 3-0; Tyler L 3-1; West Plains L 3-2 Oct. 17, BUTLER, W 3-0 Oct. 19, at Dodge City, W 3-1 Oct. 22, at Barton, L 3-2 Oct. 24, INDEPENDENCE, W 3-0 Region 6 Tournament, TBA