Opinion | Thanks, But There’s No Way I’m Drinking That

When walking into a party, having some random guy hand me an open drink and then turning down that drink, was one of the best decisions that I have made. I don’t know you, therefore don’t hand me drink. Not accepting that drink doesn’t mean I’m judging you or being stuck up, it just means that I am being smart.

How am I supposed to know what’s in there? I have never met you in my life. Sure, maybe I would talk to you at that party, but not if the first thing you do when you see me is offer me a suspicious drink so that I become incoherent in order for you to possibly take advantage of me. No, I am not being paranoid; I am being safe. I don’t want to be one of those people who wake up not knowing what happened to them the night before or where they are.

When it comes to UW-Milwaukee, I don’t necessarily think that we have a problem with reoccurring sexual assault; I think we have a problem with fear. UWM is an urban campus, and with all of the recent armed robberies and the TKE situation, that fear is a logical thing to have. The fear is what keeps us safe.

Twenty to twenty-five percent of women will be sexually assaulted during their time in college. Seventy-five percent of the time, the victim, the attacker, or both have been drinking. Ninety percent of the time, the victim knows their attacker. With those statistics, the fear of being attacked is very real. Not knowing if you’re going to wake up the same person the next morning all because you wanted to go drinking at some party, is not the mentality that a college student should have.

Specifically at UW-Milwaukee, three sexual assaults were reported in April 2014, all against members of TKE. As someone who has been to a TKE party in the past, that scares me. What if it had been me? What if it had been my friend? Women and men should feel safe when they go to a party, and they should not have to feel the need to constantly have eyes in the back of their head. A TKE party is the perfect example of why women are paranoid of being sexually assaulted.

The fear will always be in the back of our minds. When we walk down the street alone at night just coming home from class or work, is someone following us? Are we being watched? Do I need to pull out my pepper spray because this guy is walking towards me? What would happen if I don’t? These thoughts shouldn’t have to run through the minds of women when they go out in public or to a party. That fear, however, is what keeps us safe.