Spring Break
My Spring Weekend Nightmare
A Firsthand Account Of Sexual Assault On 'The Rape Trail'
Melissa Bruen
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: News
I started running barefoot toward Celeron, but ended up throwing myself on the ground, crying and screaming hysterically. I saw a friend in the crowd, and all I could do was scream his name over and over. I could see the ambulance and police checkpoint in the distance.
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This Spring Weekend there were 51 arrests, 10 fewer than last year. I have no idea how many went unreported, or in my case, reported with no arrest. I was able to give descriptions of my assailants to the police, but the sheer volume of people on the path made it impossible to find my attackers. Earlier in the evening I had seen many undercover policemen and members of UConn's Student Affairs administration who had blended in with the crowd. It made me laugh and smile to know they were watching out for us. As editor of The Daily Campus, I was the one who proposed an editorial that ran earlier in the week, which said the university worked hard to make this Spring Weekend a safe experience. I believed that then. I believe it now.
I have spent this last year trying to make campus a safer place. I worked with Betsy Cracco of the Violence Against Women Prevention Program to have a Media Responsibility forum, sexual harassment training for Daily Campus editors and I am on the Campus Climate/ Task Force for the Prevention of Violence Against Women On Campus.
UConn should be a safe, respectful community. We have a new and very visible president, Mike Hogan, who truly cares for students. He was at one end of the Celeron Path wishing people a safe and good night. I was at the other. Most members of the administration will listen if you approach them.
When I went to UConn Police Saturday, I learned that at least one other woman was jumped by two men on the Celeron Path that night. I can't help asking myself what would have happened if I hadn't fought back.
I was raised to fight back, so I made sure to get a few good swings in. My bruises will fade, and I will move on. But if you ever see someone being assaulted, do the right thing.
Contact Melissa Bruen at Melissa.Bruen@UConn.edu.
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This Spring Weekend there were 51 arrests, 10 fewer than last year. I have no idea how many went unreported, or in my case, reported with no arrest. I was able to give descriptions of my assailants to the police, but the sheer volume of people on the path made it impossible to find my attackers. Earlier in the evening I had seen many undercover policemen and members of UConn's Student Affairs administration who had blended in with the crowd. It made me laugh and smile to know they were watching out for us. As editor of The Daily Campus, I was the one who proposed an editorial that ran earlier in the week, which said the university worked hard to make this Spring Weekend a safe experience. I believed that then. I believe it now.
I have spent this last year trying to make campus a safer place. I worked with Betsy Cracco of the Violence Against Women Prevention Program to have a Media Responsibility forum, sexual harassment training for Daily Campus editors and I am on the Campus Climate/ Task Force for the Prevention of Violence Against Women On Campus.
UConn should be a safe, respectful community. We have a new and very visible president, Mike Hogan, who truly cares for students. He was at one end of the Celeron Path wishing people a safe and good night. I was at the other. Most members of the administration will listen if you approach them.
When I went to UConn Police Saturday, I learned that at least one other woman was jumped by two men on the Celeron Path that night. I can't help asking myself what would have happened if I hadn't fought back.
I was raised to fight back, so I made sure to get a few good swings in. My bruises will fade, and I will move on. But if you ever see someone being assaulted, do the right thing.
Contact Melissa Bruen at Melissa.Bruen@UConn.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 104
- Nameless
posted 5/02/08 @ 1:45 PM EST
I'm happy you fought back, drunkenness is no excuse. I was forcibly kissed and grabbed this weekend and being to drunk to push away I couldn't do anything but utter the words "no" over and over again. (Continued…)
Nameless
posted 5/02/08 @ 2:27 PM EST
Thank you for being the voice of the silenced.
Pat
posted 5/02/08 @ 2:29 PM EST
Good for you in defending yourself. It's a shame that so few around you tried to help.
Maureen
posted 5/02/08 @ 2:57 PM EST
This story seems like a graduating journalist's cry for fame. If I'm mistaken, then I am sorry, but I don't buy into any of it. Sweet picture on the front page, and nice "swimmer's build," but I feel sorry for anyone who is actually a victim of assault and doesn't have such a romanticized story to tell. (Continued…)
Bill Rose
posted 5/02/08 @ 4:28 PM EST
Five drinks makes you too drunk to drive a car, but it doesn't make you too drunk to get the facts of your story wrong. I think your story rings true and I'm so sorry it happened. (Continued…)
Orlando
posted 5/02/08 @ 5:30 PM EST
That takes courage to write an article like that. Hopefully, and I think it will, at least one person (if not more) will think about this story while walking alone next Spring Weekend or any weekend for that matter. (Continued…)
saturn2187
Craig
posted 5/02/08 @ 6:07 PM EST
Wow. I guess this just goes to show that when these warnings about the dangers of spring weekend are espoused, the "it can't happen to me" reigns. In no way am I saying you deserved it, as the guys were clearly assholes and deserved to be punished, but Uconn needs to do something to address the problem. (Continued…)
Jaime
posted 5/02/08 @ 6:14 PM EST
Thank you for putting your story out there. It keeps us aware that no matter how many police and school officials are there we still need to look out for ourselves and know to fight back. (Continued…)
Thomas
posted 5/02/08 @ 6:29 PM EST
I have talked with a number of people about this topic, and I am torn between talking about this between two different ways.
Let me first start off by saying that I feel sorry for what happened. (Continued…)
Sara
posted 5/02/08 @ 6:48 PM EST
I agree with Thomas. It was very brave for her to come out and tell her story, but I believe that it could have be done more tastefully. First, the phrase on the tee-shirt distracts the reader from the story. (Continued…)
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