i wasn't going to write about this at all

it is a tragic story. parents have lost their daughter. people have lost a friend. a university did the ABSOLUTE WRONG thing (it is MORE than wrong actually).





a case of a covered up murder on a college campus.





then, something kept bothering me about this (this story in particular but many other stories quite similar to this one).





it was only a couple of hours since i read it but something was pinging in my brain.





laura dickinson was found murdered in her dorm room. she was naked from the waist down and a pillow was over her head. she had semen on her body. the university for a LONG time covered ALL of this up. they never mentioned murder and never told ms dickinson's parents the facts UNTIL there was an arrest a couple of months later. they never warned the students directly after finding ms dickinson's body either.





why was this especially bothering me (aside from the horrible tragedy and the asinine actions of the university). i'll tell you why. because this was a CRIME OF POWER AND IT WAS AGAINST A WOMAN. yes, a WOMAN. she was violated. anyone can tell that just by a very general description of the crime scene (you don't need csi vegas to figure it out).





why was this bothering me so? i'll tell you why. women are (thought to be) worth less than men in our society (and in every current society i am aware of right now). oh they are NOT worth less mind you. we must rise up and in the memory of laura dickinson and all others like her, never stand for second class treatment again. we are NOT yours to violate. we are NOT yours to be commanded. we are NOT yours to use for YOUR sexual pleasure alone. we are NOT yours to be your maid or chauffeur or baby-popper-outter-er. we are NOT yours to put in a cage. we are NOT yours to abuse. we are NOT yours to cower under your power. we are NOT yours to violate.





we are our own persons. we are strong.
AND




we MUST fight like grrrls

University Accused of Lying to Hide Killing
Eastern Michigan Official Apologizes

By Kari LydersenWashington Post Staff Writer

CHICAGO -- A janitor found Laura Dickinson dead in her Eastern Michigan University dorm room in December, naked below the waist, a pillow over her face. The door was locked, and her keys were gone.
No foul play was suspected, the university announced. As the campus mourned and Dickinson's family gathered to bury the 22-year-old rower, police opened an investigation. But school authorities stuck to their story for more than two months -- even after they learned that the medical examiner had found semen on her body and even as police questioned other students and faculty and took DNA samples -- until the arrest of a fellow student on rape and homicide charges......