Alleged gang rape rocks campuses of top HBCUs in Atlanta

A self-identified Spelman College freshman has made a startling allegation on social media. The anonymous student has claimed that she was gang raped by four Morehouse College students at an off campus alcohol fueled party. Using the Twitter handle @rapedatspelman, she posted a series of tweets that detailed her rape and the Spelman College administration’s reaction to her claims. The tweets were posted on May 2, 2016 and have been combined below:

    “This page is anonymous because I want to be able to express myself without being attacked by AUC students for what happened to me.”

    “This is my freshmen year at Spelman and my last year because I decided to leave after what happened to me.  I went to a party with my friends there were a lot of people there and it was really fun so we decided to drink with the upperclassmen. I was drunk but that doesn’t mean I forgot about what happened. I went to the bathroom upstairs to throw up and when I opened the door I was surrounded by 4 Morehouse students who took me to another room and took turns raping me. I was in shock about what had happened. After it happened I went to find my friends who had already left the party so I had to walk back to campus by myself. When I got there I went to public safety to do a report and I was sent to the hospital for a rape kit. It took Spelman a month to get back to me about my case.

    When I got to the meeting with the Dean and Public Safety they asked me what was I wearing, why did I separate from my friends, & why was I drinking under age. The Dean also said that Spelman & Morehouse are brother & sister so I should give them a pass. I never felt so worthless in my life. I got so depressed that I wanted to take my own life and I started to self-harm. I don’t want to be at a school that does not make me feel safe and wants to silence me. So I would like to say goodbye to Spelman and to the amazing people I’ve met along the way. Spelman has taught me to be a free thinking woman and also to be a woman who has to keep her mouths closed to protect her “brothers”. You can NEVER say Morehouse has their sisters back if they are just going to force her on it.” -@RapedatSpelman

The tweets have led to a flow of support from students at both all female Spelman College as well as the all male Morehouse College. Spelman College President Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell issued the following statement:

    “Our hearts go out to this student and I want to personally offer her our full support and assistance. We are a family at Spelman and we will not tolerate any episode of sexual violence. No student should ever have to suffer and endure the experience she has recounted on social media. Spelman is conducting a full and thorough review of these events.”

Cathy Clark Tyler, spokesperson for Morehouse College, has stated that the school had no knowledge of the alleged rape until Monday.  In addition she stated, “We are looking into it, but we are unaware of any police report,”

Incidents of sexual assault on college campuses are on the rise across the country. This led to Vice President Joe Biden visiting the campus of Morehouse College in 2015 to speak on the issue and draw attention to these crimes. The students of Morehouse and Spelman share a unique brother-sister bond at the two adjoining campuses and these allegations strike at the heart of this relationship.

-rollingout