Victims should not be doubted or silenced

TO THE EDITOR:

This semester, a UNC junior, Faith Hedgepeth, died of head trauma after being beaten to death in her local apartment complex.

In addition, a female UNC student reported rape, a male UNC student was robbed at gunpoint, two women were assaulted at gunpoint and a woman claimed to be assaulted on campus.

These are only the reported assaults.

Despite the gravity of the influx of violence this semester, students have taken the alerts as described: “Not a threat to the community.”

In Monday’s article, Sabrina Caudle claimed that UNC police asked her to take a lie detector test and asked if she was capable of “doing this for attention.”

While we do not know the all details of her attack, the greater concern isn’t about what potential arrests can be made.

It’s about the manner in which the investigation placed the victim in a situation in which her story was deemed “incredible.”

In our country, only 25 percent of all physical assaults and five percent of sexual assaults are reported.

Regardless of disciplinary action that ensues, those who report should not find themselves doubted and silenced before the investigation has even been conducted.

It is time that our University realizes that all violence is, in fact, “a threat to our community,” and that perpetuating silence does little to alleviate it.

If our University’s mission can claim to want to “improve society and help solve the world’s greatest problems,” we need to prove that we are still a university that listens to its people and does not silence the critical concerns in our community.

Andrea Pino ’14
Political science
English