We are very thankful for the individual support from the amazing and competent faculty and staff at Northeastern, including Professors Denise Garcia, Lori Gardinier, Greg Goodale and Denise Horn, as well as Northeastern University Division of Public Safety (NUPD) and the courageous students who came out in support of us. But overall, Northeastern’s official statement was underwhelming and failed to address all of our concerns. We wanted the administration to send out a school-wide email, similar to those sent out before large sporting events. This did not happen, and instead an editorial was posted in the non-Northeastern affiliated Huntington News. As a university, Northeastern could have done much more to take a stand against the very real issue of sexual assault and rape on college campuses.
We had an incredibly successful speak-out and rally in the freshman quad. During the speak-out, sexual assault and rape survivors talked about their experiences, how their lives were turned upside-down by a single violent act. They talked about the healing process and how Knockout Barstool was helping some of them realize that they were not alone. It was an emotional time. Immediately after a rape survivor spoke, Barstool Sports Publisher David Portnoy (El Presidente) was revealed in the crowd.
We refused to let Portnoy speak out of protection for the survivors and out of protection for everyone who has been insulted, harassed or otherwise harmed either directly by him or indirectly through the comments on his website. This was not his space to talk. We at Knockout Barstool don’t have many safe spaces to discuss our thoughts and opinions. He has an entire website to espouse his opinion. His presence at the speak out was unexpected, offensive and uncalled for.
Knockout Barstool would also like to state that although we accept and welcome the support and solidarity of other groups, we are an autonomous, independent movement. We are not affiliated with any outside sources.
We are excited for the future of this movement. There are now anti-Barstool protests beginning at Boston College and Boston University. We will continue to fight for a safe and equal campus, both here at Northeastern and at colleges all around Boston.
For any who are curious about the nature of our movement or the definition of rape culture, we encourage you to go to the teach-in on rape culture on Thursday, February 9th at 6:00 p.m. in 19 International Village. Staff, faculty and students will have a panel discussion about what rape culture is and how it affects us.
– Martha Pearson, a freshman history major, Kimika Ross, a senior English major and Anna Siembor, a junior English and linguistics major, are members of Knockout Barstool.
