Rape On Campus: Megan Wright's Story (WATCH)

A new Department of Justice study (PDF) revealed that most schools "vastly underreport" sexual assault -- and as many as one in four women are raped before graduation.

Megan Wright was one of those students. As a 19-year-old Dominican College student, Wright was raped on campus, and the school did little in response to her situation. ABC News reports on her tragic story below.

Comments

[Mando1]

01:10 PM on 09/09/2010

Thanks to the Center for Public Integrity for producing this! Their website has many more projects they have worked, the quality of their non-partisan journalism is the standard all should follow

[Acert]

09:20 PM on 09/08/2010

Why is it the college administration's responsibility to investigate rapes? Shouldn't the campus/local police and prosecutors handle that?

[MrsFonebone]

11:03 AM on 09/09/2010

Because in so many cases traditionally the administration actually blocked investigations, hushed them up, refused to call in police. They need to be held accountable, particularly if they have created conditions that lead to unsafe environments. There are lots of horror stories available of women who were denied access to police because the crime happened "on campus" and went through having to meet with to talk to the rapists to "work it out."

[Acert]

02:27 PM on 09/09/2010

Is there a reason the victims who choose to report it cannot call the police? The last time I checked campus and local police had concurrent jurisdiction.

[Ty Thompson]

08:15 PM on 09/08/2010

Funny that there is so much rape at colleges but later in life when similar behaving people do such at bars and parties they're one night stands that they regretted. You would think that if such behavior is going unpunished it would get worse with men later in life having gotten away with it, reinforcing the behavior. Instead there are more women regretting sleeping with men. This would lead one to believe that a good deal of rapes at colleges are more cases of regretted sex.

[sydneymoon]

08:32 PM on 09/08/2010

Why women don't report rape more often:
Fear of reprisals,
Not being able to identify an assailant,
Anxiety ahout having own conduct scrutinized.
Undeserved guilt combined with embarrassment
Victim/self-blaming
http://www.ibiblio.org/rcip/reporting.html

[MrsFonebone]

11:05 AM on 09/09/2010

It is also expected that males would--at least some--"grow up" or wise up. How dare you say that "a good deal of rapes" are "regretted sex"--what possible motive would the woman have to put herself through that? I hope you never serve on a jury.

[kmeccat]

07:44 PM on 09/08/2010

Never trust the colleges to do anything...they are not law enforcement.. I would have immediately called the police.

[fireincarmation]

04:26 PM on 09/08/2010

The ads on the player on this page keep making the player not run, so I can't view the video. I have tried three times so far, and all that will play is the ad. Classy, Huffpo.

[Dale Yeager]

01:39 PM on 09/08/2010

EXPERT GROUP DISCOVERS 5 REASONS WHY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ARE NOT SAFE

Read more: http://www.seraph.net/2010/09/08/expert-group-discovers-5-reasons-colleges-universities-safe/#ixzz0yxdPVKoQ

[NYC-CatLover]

12:42 PM on 09/08/2010

Where is the police department in all of this? Isn't it the responsibility of the hospital and the police to help rape victims with the community resources that are available to them? Is it really the college's responsibility?

[kmeccat]

07:46 PM on 09/08/2010

agreed.
The hospital and the mom should have called the police to report a rape, and then notified the college.
I can't fathom why they left it up to the college, and didn't go any further... The boys responsible should get far more punishment than just expelled.

[MrsFonebone]

11:06 AM on 09/09/2010

Campus have their own security and there are frequent turf wars. Which is just dreadful.

[sydneymoon]

10:42 AM on 09/08/2010

Why do men feel it is okay to have sex w/ an intoxicated woman after several 'boys' have already had had sex w/ her? What is going through these kids' heads? Was there not one person on that dorm floor able to take the high road and do something about the situation? At the very least get the woman to a safe place and out of harm's way.

[sydneymoon]

11:10 AM on 09/08/2010

First sentence should be ammended to read,"Why do *some* men.....?

[tuckersk]

09:57 AM on 09/08/2010

it saddens me that people are having discussions about whether or not meghan's case "qualifies" as rape. this is one of the greatest problems that affects rape victims today. rape is a subjective matter and it is difficult for some people to understand this, but maybe attending college campus lectures and discussions - and even hearing the experiences of past victims has enlightened me to this. and before anyone claims bias for being on a college campus - remember, this is a discussion about a rape that occurred on a college campus. my condolences to her family.

[sydneymoon]

10:30 AM on 09/08/2010

Amen.

[MrsFonebone]

11:07 AM on 09/09/2010

I'm sorry, what do you mean when you say "rape is a subjective matter"?

[thewirah]

07:31 AM on 09/08/2010

The mods seem to think that rape is okay. Why the heck was my post removed?

[Leto II]

12:34 AM on 09/08/2010

Dear Huffpo,

Let's wait until ALL the facts come in before making a judgement on rape.

Sincerely,

The Duke Lacrosse Team

[Rich Zubaty the Rude Guy]

10:18 PM on 09/07/2010

Recent statistics by whom???? To what end??? The statement: “I think I was raped”, is a non-statement, especially when uttered the next day. If you were raped, you KNOW it immediately. Rape is a horrible violation and whatever happened to Megan was wretched and terrible. But watching her sashaying in and out of a room under her own power can hardly be called rape. Every September we have to go through this “take back the night” charade because some students on work/loan programs hope to earn money sitting around a “campus rape hotline” phone that never rings. Let ‘em bus tables and stop demonizing men. Campus rape is just another bogus feminist “industry”. You wanna run a rape hotline do it on the South Side of Chicago or Harlem or Compton. That’ll get your phone ringing.

[reasonshouldrule]

11:18 PM on 09/07/2010

You're not exactly a good person to comment on this situation since you appear to know little about this issue on college campuses. Whatever the facts are about this particular case, rape is a real problem on college campuses. And NO, you don't always KNOW immediately if you're raped; you don't know if you're passed out from a drug or liquor. Campus rape is absolutely NOT a "bogus feminist industry" and you've destroyed your credibility on the issue by that statement.

[sydneymoon]

11:27 PM on 09/07/2010

Thank you for this post.

[Rich Zubaty the Rude Guy]

12:16 AM on 09/08/2010

You are trivializing real rape. I was doing TV shows on date rape before you were born. NO rape is NOT a real problem on college campuses. “Campus rape” is a cash cow for feminists. The War in Afghanistan is a REAL problem.

[JohnSmith9991]

11:57 PM on 09/07/2010

to me, "i think i was raped" is a euphemism for: "i was raped. please help me."

[Rich Zubaty the Rude Guy]

12:14 AM on 09/08/2010

You are trivializing real rape. I was doing TV shows on date rape before you were born. This video did not show rape.

[MelodieSays]

06:05 PM on 09/07/2010

My deepest condolences to her family.

[adoantarel]

05:03 PM on 09/07/2010

And before any of you call me a male chauvenist rapist, you should know that I'm gay and have no love of frat boys or the like. As a gay guy, who is part of a culture replete with alcohol use, I'm uniquely qualified to see this issue from both sides.

Real rapes are horrible things, be they between strangers or acquaintances or dates or friends. But perhaps both genders need healthier attitudes toward and better education about sex.

[Thaddeus Blanchette]

07:00 PM on 09/07/2010

Right on!

[cookerman45]

09:18 PM on 09/07/2010

in your mind yer "qualified" not in any one else ....gay rights and rape????? " uniquely".............................. come on.

[adoantarel]

05:00 PM on 09/07/2010

Ok, let's examine this objectively and dispassionately. I didn't hear any evidence presented that she was drugged. Didn't they test her for drugs in her system? Was she roofied?

I watched video of her walk into that room, under her own power. She wasn't carried in, she wasn't dragged, she wasn't even supported by anyone's shoulder. This isn't a girl who was passed out somewhere and was violated.

I also watched her walk out of that room and walk back in. She wasn't crying or running away. She didn't need to be supported to exit the room. This does not fit any of our classical definitions of rape.

I saw her steady herself on the wall while walking. This demonstrates she was to some degree intoxicated. But, I ask, supposed one the men did the same. If she is not responsible for her actions in consenting, would he be? Because he is male, most automatically deem him the predator and say no BAL excuses his conduct, so why does any BAL excuse hers?

Isn't it possible that this was a shy girl whose sexuality was somewhat repressed, and when her inhibitions were lessened by a night of college drinking, she went overboard sexually, perhaps feeling attractive for the first time in her life and acting stupidly? Then, after realizing her actions, rather than reaction with some shame and learning, it was easier to feel the victim and blame others? The immense shame overcame her, sadly.

[Thaddeus Blanchette]

05:12 PM on 09/07/2010

It also doesn't fit the DoJ's understanding of acquaintence rape. If Megan was walking about and talking to others, she was not incapacitated and unable to say "yes" or "no" to sex.

Your supposition may be correct, Ado.

I myself see how treating sexually mature human beings as if they were children - i.e. prohibitting them from drinking or having sex - is going to overcome this sort of situation.

[clevernamehere]

12:01 AM on 09/08/2010

The video cover

[MrsFonebone]

11:32 AM on 09/09/2010

No one knows what went on in that room; no one knows what was said; she was clearly being lead and impaired. These are opportunists who took advantage of her. You can be walking around and talking and still be incapacitated. Which doesn't mean "unconscious." Why are you so eager to make what happened to her HER fault? Why are you so eager to excuse these thugs?

[Michael Mouton]

05:35 PM on 09/07/2010

Sexual assault, the report is about sexual assault. There is a difference.