Keeping safe at college: Who shoulders the responsibility now?

One face has been haunting the halls of academia for months. The once-famous Penn State rapist, also sometimes referred to as the "sublet attacker," has been keeping a silent eye on State College and it's about time someone does something about it.

Women cannot be held responsible for their safety any longer. Fear is too soon forgotten.

Now I know most of you women out there can probably remember the first time you heard about this threat to the sanctity we so often feel at Penn State. It's sort of like when you first heard about the Nicole Brown Simpson murder, except that the action was occurring only a few blocks from where you live, and Nicole Brown Simpson isn't someone you sat next to in Chem class.

Like a lot of people here, I can remember where I was and what I was doing when I first heard about the rapist. Most of the women I spoke to on campus were shocked and shaken by the news. Some were in disbelief. At first they were hesitant to walk to their evening classes. They were hesitant to go to the library alone. They were hesitant to separate from a group.

Rumor of new run-ins with the rapist surged through the student body. Concerned parents Fed-Exed care packages full of everything from mace to stun guns. But with the weekends fast approaching, I also saw people's individual fear of the rapist slowly diminishing.

Weekends always seem to take away our better judgment. Rather than doing homework, we go out with friends. Rather than getting up early to start the day, we begin at 1 p.m. Rather than waiting for someone to walk us home from a party, we attempt the feat ourselves. After you get a few drinks into your system you forget that Penn State isn't such a safe place after all.

You begin to think you're invincible and so maybe it is OK to walk home by yourself . . . just this one time. You tell yourself you'll be fine . . . you'll just walk really fast.

Then when you see other women walking home alone you start to relax. You aren't the only one out so obviously things must be safe. So you walk out into the streets and get yourself home with a quick-paced, alcohol-slurred waddle. And you probably made it home that time.

Therefore, the next time you weren't so worried. If you happen to be studying at the library a little later than usual you wouldn't think twice about leaving into the night alone. With each passing day you felt a little bit safer. You began to forget that there's a panther waiting in the bushes. You forgot that he will pounce again. There's no guarantee that he will come to you with the same face posted around campus now, but he is out there and he will strike. My fear is that the slightly faded and possibly torn fliers that now hang limp around State College will too soon be replaced with new fliers and a new face.

Facts and figures about women who are raped on college campuses have desensitized us. These numbers have been drilled into our heads for so long that nothing is left of our common sense but dust. Because of this I am not going to fact you to death about the dangers of campus. You all know the facts.

Students have a false sense of security here that is not going to change. Instead, I'm going to speak directly to the problem, the people whose minds are bubbling with evil. They seem to be the ones with all the power. They're the ones making the decisions. If we can't make a change in our actions perhaps they will.

So I'm calling to all the rapists, all the delinquents and all the conspirators out there in Happy Valley. You know the student body here is naive, so I plead to you to keep your self-control.

Obviously the future is in your hands because women are not yet afraid of you enough to change their ways. I ask you to seek help if you think you might be compelled to hurt another person. I don't know where you are right now. I don't know what you're planning. But please do not abuse the trust of the children here again.

The students do trust too much, but that will pass with time and experience. Just let them have a few more years of innocence. Even if you are not willing to come out and get counseling, please do us all a favor and stay hidden in the folds of your books.

Otherwise, I fear that next semester it will be your portrait I'm faced with each time I glance down the sidewalks of College Avenue.