MY STORY:
It’s On Us and rape culture on college campuses
MY BLOG:
When I started writing my story, I was unsure where exactly to go with it because rape is such a broad topic. After interviewing Christina Bargelt, however, the story practically wrote itself. Bargelt gave me thoughtful answers to questions that were personal, and borderline intrusive. Bargelt’s complete transparency is one of many reasons that I have the utmost respect for her. After Bargelt gave me so much information about It’s On Us and sexual abuse, I was easily able to find new people to interview and I knew exactly what I wanted to write about.
I primarily found my sources through the Greek community. Each of my sources is involved in different aspects of Greek life. Bargelt is in my sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Ty Monroe in Phi Delta Theta, and Paul Eicker in Sigma Nu. Eicker was a friend of mine before this process, but I did not know Bargelt or Monroe very well. The way I found Monroe may not have been the most typical when finding interviewees. I was walking through my dorm when I saw his fraternity flag hanging on his door, so I took a chance and asked him questions. These were the best sources for my article because they are involved in the two main things that I talked about: Greek life and It’s On Us.
I focused mainly on the aspects that I find to be most important: Informing people of their options and the differences in treatment of male and female survivors. I wish I could have gone more in depth about Bargelt’s assault and the aftermath because her story is so empowering.
I did face a moral dilemma while writing the story. Eicker was apprehensive to give his name for my piece because he was scared to share his story. I told him that I would not include anything he was not comfortable with, and I am thankful that he gave me permission to share his story. Even though he claims that he no longer cares about anonymity, I still felt that I was doing wrong by including his name.
Initially, writing a story in which I had free rein to talk about anything I wanted was daunting. Once I began writing and interviewing, however, my mindset completely changed. My passion for Bargelt’s cause grew tenfold, and I thoroughly enjoyed writing this piece. I’m thankful to have inspiring women like Bargelt in my life, and I hope one day I can be somebody who others look up to as well.
ABOUT ME:
I grew up in Long Beach, California, where I was spoiled with warm weather year-round, a 15-minute commute to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and a two-hour drive to Big Bear Mountain. In 2018, I graduated from Los Alamitos High School, a public school of roughly 3,200 students that is on the border of Long Beach and Los Alamitos.
Growing up, I lived in a very sports-oriented household, specifically baseball. My father played baseball at California State University, Long Beach, and helped bring his team to the College World Series in 1989. Shortly after, he met my mother in a co-ed slo pitch softball league. My parents’ passion for sports kindled my love for them as well. From the ages of 5 to 17, I played softball, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, and flag football.
I am now a freshman studying communication at the University of Utah in hopes of becoming a force to be reckoned with within the sports journalism and broadcasting field. Ever since I was a child and found out that I could not become a Major League Baseball player, I’ve been enamored with the idea of working, rather than playing, for the MLB.
The brief time I have spent at the U has given me everything I could have asked for and more. The leap of faith I took in moving out of a home that I have always lived in, and moving to a new state with completely different weather, sights, and opportunities. Knowing that I live among some of the most incredible national parks in the nation has been a sobering experience, and I cannot wait to see what these next three years have in store for me.
U NewsWriting 