Stanford Fails Brock Turner Victim Again, This Time Over a Rape Memorial

In 2016, Stanford University agreed to install a plaque at the site where then–Stanford sophomore Brock Turner sexually assaulted a woman, publicly known as "Emily Doe," in 2015. But after the university denied several quotes that the victim proposed for the plaque, she has decided she would no longer participate in the creation of the symbolic memorial.

Stanford agreed to install the plaque after Michele Dauber, a family friend of Doe and a professor of law at the university, proposed that the school install a “marker” featuring a quote of Doe’s choice at the site of attack, which has has since been renovated. (At the time of the attack, it was a parking lot; it's now a park area with benches and a fountain.) The intention was to ensure that Stanford students not forget that the incident occured. Over a year into negotiations, though, university officials and Doe have failed to reach an agreement over what quote to include on the plaque, NPR reports .

According to The Stanford Daily, Doe initially proposed a quote from the statement that she read during Turner’s June 2016 court sentencing, which went viral after being published on Buzzfeed. After Stanford rejected Doe’s original proposal, officials came up with three new quotes from the court statement, including, “I’m right here, I’m okay, everything’s okay, I’m right here.”

Dauber, who proposed the memorial, criticized Stanford’s choice, telling Broadly it is an “out-of-context” phrase.

Stanford’s two other suggested quotes were: “You are beautiful, you are to be valued, respected, undeniably, every minute of every day, you are powerful and nobody can take that away from you,” and “On nights when you feel alone, I am with you. When people doubt you or dismiss you, I am with you. I fought every day for you. So never stop fighting, I believe you.”

Doe rejected Stanford’s three suggested quotes and provided a second of her choice. Stanford rejected Doe’s second choice, however, because a sexual assault counselor thought the quote could be “triggering” to victims of sexual assault, The Stanford Daily reports. After the rejection of her second quote, Doe declined to participate in the design of the memorial plaque.

It appears that the disagreement hinges on how the memorial should function: a reminder of a horrifying event, or a space for survivors to reflect.

“[Doe and her representatives] proposed two quotes that the university could not accept, as they were not consistent with a contemplative space and the intention of a place where members of our community could seek solace,” EJ Miranda, the senior director of Stanford’s media relations office, told Broadly over email.

Miranda described the University’s three suggestions as “eloquent statements from Emily Doe’s letter that were consistent with the purpose of the garden.”

But Dauber and Doe had something less idyllic in mind. “Emily Doe's victim impact statement inspired millions around the world. It was read on the floor of Congress and live on CNN…This is a statement that directly contributed to launching a national social movement of survivors,” said Dauber. “Yes, it deals with a hard subject, but it does so in an eloquent and inspirational way. A great university does not fear its students engaging with challenging texts—it embraces that opportunity.

“What is upsetting is not the words she wrote, but the insensitive handling of this situation by the [Stanford University] Provost,” said Dauber while describing the university’s denial of Doe’s suggested quotes.

To the outrage of many, Brock Turner only served three months in jail after being convicted of sexually assaulting Doe outside of a fraternity party while she was unconscious.

Last September, Turner’s mugshot was included alongside an explanation of state and federal definitions of rape in the newest edition of Introduction to Criminal Justice: Systems, Diversity, and Change.

After publication, the textbook’s publishers, SAGE Publishing, released a statement saying that future reprints of the book would clarify that “Turner’s actions, as determined by the California jury, fit the standards for the FBI definition of rape, as well as certain other state definitions, but not the California definition as of the time of the final book manuscript.”