Why college students need to be paying more attention to Kesha’s court case

Kesha has become a household name to teenagers. She has released songs that we’ll still be singing along to when they come on the throwback radio stations in thirty years. What she is going through right now is something that has a much larger message than her songs.

On February 19th, a New York judge ruled against Kesha’s court case in which she claims her producer Dr. Luke drugged, sexually assaulted and emotionally abused her. This ruling means she cannot escape her contract with Sony, ultimately, meaning she cannot record music without his involvement.

Social media outlets, such as Twitter, have been exploding about the scandal. Kesha fans are expressing their outrage and drawing much attention to the issue – in fact, it was the number one trending topic on Twitter for several consecutive hours. Other stars like Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato also posted, showing their genuine support for Kesha during this difficult time. Taylor Swift even donated $250,000 to the pop star for any sort of financial troubles she is experiencing.

This court case goes much deeper than just pop music and studios. Sexual assault is an incredibly important and relevant issue that very seldom gets the attention and consequences it deserves. There are few cases under this category that get national attention and shed light on the dark truth about them: that the victims are typically accused of not telling the truth and the abuser gets off with little to no punishment.

Cases like Kesha’s reaching the national, and even international spotlight shows just how life-changing any form of assault can be. Kesha had to check herself into rehab and undergo therapy for the mental damage allegedly inflicted on her by Dr. Luke. These kind of things never escape the victim’s mind once they happen. It is overwhelmingly difficult to forget something so traumatic.

Sexual assault is a devastating problem on college campuses. In a recent survey conducted by CNN, 23 percent of female college students reported some form of “unwanted sexual contact.” Those comments that you should never take your eyes off your drink, never walk anywhere alone and always carry pepper spray all have the same underlying message: protect yourself from assault. However, these precautions only go so far because all forms of rape and assault are unwanted, forced and/or threatened.

Teaching someone how to protect themselves is only half of the problem. The other half is to teach everyone that assaulting someone is never even remotely acceptable. Destroy the problem at the root. Not only does this court case demonstrate the damage done to the victim from the trauma they experienced but, hopefully once justice is restored, it will also demonstrate the consequences someone who assaults another person will be faced with.

Luckily, Temple has many resources and programs to prevent things like this from happening. Free shuttles and walking escorts ensure that no one is ever forced to walk anywhere alone, and the required online Think About It programs are extremely informational about sexual assault.  There are also organizations related to facing and tackling these problems head on, such as the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and Her Campus.

Social problems like sexual assault cannot be pushed under the rug and treated as if they are unimportant or have no validity. Things like this happen to regular people every single day and change the lives of victims forever – and that is not something that can simply be ignored.