Staff editorial insensitive, offensive to victims of sexual assault

Alison Losik

After reading your April 27 edition, I was shocked and infuriated with many of the articles. But the article I wish to address is the staff editorial about the Sexual Assault Awareness propaganda around campus. Not only is the article ignorantly written, but it is also personally insulting to me, and to many other students I have spoken with. Whoever wrote the article, thankfully, at least bothered to admit that sexual assault is something that people should be aware of. However, t-shirts made by assault victims/supporters are too offensive for their cause. While the t-shirts assaulted you over your cup of coffee, did you stop to think how much torment rape victims deal with every day? Did you think about how many families have been destroyed by the after effects of sexual assault? Do you even know how many lives on this campus alone have been affected by sexual assault or that the t-shirts might be a form of outlet and healing for the victims? The apparent answer to these questions is no. Because I’m sure The Lawrentian would never print anything that is so offensive to so much of the student body. So if the article was a poorly thought out space filler, like the staff editorials usually are, this editor can be forgiven. And I’m sure if the assault victims had the chance; they would apologize for disturbing your sheltered morning coffee. But the next time you care to be so insensitive, please don’t hide your identity behind the “Staff Editorial.” It makes the staff members who can actually write look bad. —Alison Losik

Staff editorials are written by a member of the editorial board on a topic recommended and discussed by the whole board at its general meeting the week before the paper goes to press. The editorial represents the consensus of the opinions of an undisclosed majority of editorial board members and not the biases of any single editor.

—Ed.