No Means No

Students Protest Rape Culture at Stanford Graduation

Some students lashed out at university for “protecting rapists.”

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.