Classmates. Really?

On October 27th, a Richmond, California high school girl was raped by at least four boys near her campus after leaving her Homecoming dance. Almost two dozen students watched. And no student stopped or reported the crime to authorities for over two hours.

The initial account of the incident was reported on MSNBC.com:

“Police said the girl left the dance and was walking to meet her father for a ride home when a classmate invited her to join a group drinking in the courtyard. The victim had drunk a large amount of alcohol by the time the assault began, police said.”

Two days later, The Digital Journal revealed additional information:

“More details have emerged as to what transpired Saturday night. The victim left the dance around 9:30 p.m. and planned to call her father to get a ride home. Before making that call, a classmate called to her from behind a chain-linked fence.

The victim and her friend then joined a group of teens in a poorly lit campus courtyard. The teens were drinking and, according to the San Jose Mercury News, police said "The victim drank a large amount of brandy in a short amount of time while socializing then collapsed. Someone dragged her to a bench, where several people stripped her, beat her, stole her jewelry and other belongings, and raped her."

Are you kidding me? A young high school girl was enticed to drink, violently raped, beaten and robbed until unconscious by students who were her classmates? Really? And her fellow classmates watched? Really?

I might be sounding like a broken record, but I don’t apologize. This story is becoming way too common, too often repeated, and too much of the fabric of our culture not to speak oft and long about the subject of teenage drinking.

If you ever thought drinking was a harmless pastime of teenagers and their classmates, this story is a wake-up call to all adults.

Drinking is not a harmless pastime with classmates. And this is not just someone else's problem.

(1) Alcohol is the reason more and more students are dying from overdoses (alcohol poisoning), dropping out of college, killing themselves (and others) while driving under its influence, or is the mysterious companion that hides illicit “date rape” drugs.

(2) Classmates (or friends) and alcohol are involved in a majority of the rapes of teenagers and young adults (See October 11th Little Changes Big Results post for more studies and statistics).

Maybe we just don’t want to believe such terrible statistics? Or maybe we don’t have teenagers, so we don’t feel the need to be concerned with the issue right now or any longer?

Whether we have teenagers or not, you and I can make a difference in our communities by having candid conversations regarding alcohol abuse with any and all the students or parents we know and care about—our neighbors, siblings, coworkers, family members, or church friends.

What can we say? First we have to educate ourselves. (If you need or want some practical advice, click here to check out Kansas State’s website regarding the prevalence of date rape drugs and alcohol.)

Then we can be informative, rather than judgmental. We can ask questions and be concerned listeners. We can be surrogate or spiritual parents who are shamelessly cautionary. And by all means, we should not hesitate to talk about this story with the parents, teenagers, or young adults who cross our paths.

One brief discussion (or even having the umpteenth conversation) regarding this issue has the potential to powerfully impact and potentially save someone's life. Isn't that worth any embarrassment or discomfort?

Be encouraged to make a difference,

Becky