In mid-2016 there was a massive public outcry after former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner received a notably short jail sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster the previous year. Since then, the college has relandscaped the area where the assault took place with a “scenic spot” and had plans to include a memorial plaque with a quote chosen by his victim.
Per anonymous student newsletter and independent campus news source The Fountain Hopper, that hasn’t happened and doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon. They report that Stanford refused quotes from Emily Doe even though they were pulled from her victim-impact statement (which went viral when BuzzFeed released it after the trial).
The Fountain Hopper also reports that Stanford suggested the quote “I’m okay, everything’s okay” instead and after that, Doe declined to participate in the plaque’s creation. Michele Dauber, a Stanford law professor and family friend of Doe’s, confirmed the report to the Cut and added that “the decision, approved by Provost Drell, to reject the quotes from Emily’s letter was a very poor choice.”
Turner himself, meanwhile, is now the actual textbook definition of rape.
The Cut has reached out to Stanford University for comment and will update this post as more information becomes available.
Update, 7:08 p.m.: “Stanford was in discussion with Ms. Doe’s representative about this issue. The Fountain Hopper statement was not a correct representation of the discussions,” Stanford spokesperson E.J. Miranda wrote to the Cut. “Because these were confidential communications, we cannot say anything more specific about it.”
Update, 1/26, 4:30 p.m.: Miranda wrote to the Cut again to share that “several quotes” had been proposed for the plaque from “both sides.” He said that the university pulled “I’m right here, I’m okay, everything’s okay, I’m right here” from Doe’s victim-impact statement letter, along with two other options.
Miranda said that Doe’s lawyer proposed another quote from the letter, but the university “had a sexual assault counselor review the quote suggested by Emily Doe’s lawyer, and she felt that it would be triggering to some sexual assault survivors.” From there, he says, they proposed two other quotes and “Emily Doe’s lawyer subsequently communicated that she did not want any quote to be used.”
