Brock Turner victim no longer involved in memorial after Stanford ignores her
It’s been more than two years since Stanford University student Brock Turner sexually assaulted a woman behind a dumpster on campus. In the time since, Turner has been jailed and released (after serving three months), and the university has removed the dumpster and re-landscaped the area, creating what it calls a “scenic spot.” The refurbished area was also supposed to include a memorial plaque to the victim, known by her alias as Emily Doe. But as Jezebel reports, the victim’s voice seems to have been erased from her own tribute.
In an article titled “Stanford’s Final ‘F*** You’ to Brock Turner Victim,” independent campus newspaper the Fountain Hopper reports that Stanford rejected Doe’s two suggestions for her own quote on the memorial, both of which were pulled from her moving courtroom statement. The university then selected the phrase, “I’m okay, everything’s okay,” to use in the memorial — an out-of-context phrase Doe apparently used to calm her sister upon her release from the hospital after the assault.
In response, Doe ended her involvement in the memorial. “The victim subsequently decided she did not want anything more to do with these people and their scenic spot,” says the Fountain Hopper. Stanford law professor Michele Dauber confirmed the situation to the Stanford Daily, saying, “The decision, approved by Provost Drell, to reject the quotes from Emily’s letter was a very poor choice.”
Stanford denies the allegations. “Stanford was in discussion with Ms. Doe’s representative about this issue. The Fountain Hopper statement was not a correct representation of the discussions,” a spokesperson told the Cut. “Because these were confidential communications, we cannot say anything more specific about it.”
While Stanford deals with the nuances of a memorial, the judge who sentenced Turner to a (later reduced) sentence of six months in jail and three years probation faces the possibility of being removed from the bench. A campaign to recall Judge Aaron Persky received 100,000 signatures — enough to put the question to recall on the next ballot. In June, Santa Clara County voters will decide the matter.
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