Students Protest Rape Culture at Stanford Graduation

Students at Stanford’s graduation ceremony Sunday carried signs denouncing rape culture at the elite university in the wake of a sexual-assault case. The university’s president referenced the recent rape in his comments to students, calling for a moment of silence for sexual-assault survivors. Some students held signs reading “Stanford protects rapists” and “It doesn’t matter what she was drinking.” A women’s group also arranged for a plane to fly overhead pulling a banner that read: “Protect survivors. Not Rapists. #PerskyMustGo.” Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky ignited outrage with his ruling in the case, after he gave Stanford student Brock Turner a six-month prison sentence despite prosecutors’ requests for a harsher term. Turner was convicted for raping an unconscious woman on campus in 2015.