Culture | Politics | Universities
Surviving ‘The Rape Capital’: A College Experience in a Post-Dobbs World
The women got abortions; the men planned keggers
When I was an undergrad, my state university earned the chilling title of “The Rape Capital,” with the highest per capita rate of rapes in the country. It wasn’t just a statistic — it was my reality.
Three of my friends became pregnant — not by choice, but because they were roofied at parties.
Two fell victim at frat houses; the third at a football team compound. Another suite-mate contracted herpes through a similar dimly remembered encounter — I found her weeping on the floor of our shared bath and learned the story. These were the ugly consequences of rape culture on campus, where the predators walked freely while the victims bore the shame.
Back then, we were lucky enough to have access to safe, affordable healthcare. Peers ostracized the three who chose abortions, not out of moral outrage, but out of fear. Every woman in our all-female dorm knew she could be next. We lived with the haunting knowledge that any one of us could wake up the morning after a party with a new life-altering reality.
