Dear Oregon Daily Emerald,

You aren’t cute. You have a great tool, an independent newspaper, and as a student body we expect you to report accurately on things that are important. On Tuesday, April 24, you made a mistake. The article, “University community, Greek and non-Greek, needs to confront sexual assault (ODE 4/23/12)” was well-intentioned, we give you that. Yes, Greek Life (especially fraternity men) needs to step up and join the fight against sexual assault. We’ve been saying this for years. However, you missed the point when you said:

“‘(Some) women proceed to engage in skeptical decisions and wake up the next morning feeling extremely embarrassed or ashamed,’ she says. ‘I have witnessed so many circumstances where women claim they have been sexually assaulted because they don’t remember what happened or they ended up cheating on their boyfriends, and (they) use sexual assault as a justification and to reassure (that) their boyfriends won’t break up with them.’”

Survivors of sexual assault should always be believed. Survivors of sexual assault are being incredibly brave by telling you their story. So what if they were drunk, so what if you think they are a “slut” — if they tell you that they are a survivor of sexual assault, you believe them.  The greatest thing you can do to help a survivor is listen to them, respect their story, and help them when they ask. You don’t roll your eyes and ask them “wait, are you joking?” just like how you don’t ask someone who has just been stolen from if they give to charity a lot.
The survivors of sexual assault and their allies on this campus are tired of your patriarchal articles. Please cover Sexual Assault Awareness Week correctly, and do not rely on Letters to the Editor to say it for you. You are our newspaper, start acting like it.
Nina Nolen
Public Relations Coordinator, ASUO Women’s Center
ASUO Senator, Seat 15
Cassie Bruske
ASUO Senator, Seat 9
Emma Newman
ASUO Senator, Seat 16
Ben Rudin
ASUO Senator, Seat 19
Ben Bowman
ASUO Senator, Seat 8, ACFC Chair
Sam Brazil
Lieutenant Commander, Sigma Nu
SafeRide Dispatcher
Joanna Stewart
ASUO Volunteer Coordinator
Sophie Luthin
ASUO Environment Advocate
Whitney Logue
Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team Member
Michelle A Hyde-Wright
Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team Member
Alex Sonnichsen
Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team Member