#IStandWithJackie: “Something terrible happened to Jackie.”

Emily Clark was a freshman year roommate of Jackie, the rape survivor thrown under the bus –and straight to the misogynist trolls — by Rolling Stone. In an op-ed in UVA’s Cavalier Daily the other day, she shared her perspective on the aftermath of the assault and stood by her friend. 

My name is Emily, and I was Jackie’s suitemate first year. I am writing to you in regards to Rolling Stone’s recent statement of “misplaced trust” in Jackie. I feel this statement is backwards, as it seems it was Jackie who misplaced her trust in Rolling Stone.

I fully support Jackie, and I believe wholeheartedly that she went through a traumatizing sexual assault. I remember my first semester here, and I remember Jackie’s. Jackie came to UVA bright, happy and bubbly. She was kind, funny, outgoing, friendly, and a pleasant person to be around. That all notably changed by December 2012, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Our suite bonded that first semester and talked many times about the new troubles we were facing in college. Jackie never mentioned anything about her assault to us until much later. But I, as well as others, noticed Jackie becoming more and more withdrawn and depressed.

[…] While I cannot say what happened that night, and I cannot prove the validity of every tiny aspect of her story to you, I can tell you that this story is not a hoax, a lie or a scheme. Something terrible happened to Jackie at the hands of several men who have yet to receive any repercussions.

Emily goes on to offer a reminder to her fellow UVA students that they’re currently in the national spotlight, so now is the time to really show, not just talk about, what working to change the culture and stand with survivors looks like. “We can either let that cripple us, and shove us back into the mold of a perfect institution, or we can recognize that we have flaws, but that we work to reconcile them.” We can also send messages of support under the #IStandWithJackie hashtag — they’re being storifed to send to Jackie herself.

Header image credit: Ryan M. Kelly, AP Photo/The Daily Progress