an update (?) on Brianna Denison

The tragic rape and murder of Brianna Denison is back in the news. CNN picked up on it , the others followed.
Here's the thing (or the non-thing): there's no new news - not really. The headline is "Serial Rapist Suspected in Student's Slaying". Um, they've suspected that for a while. Since the media only reports what is current and won't touch a story that is a week old, I was re-reading the story over and over again trying to figure out where the "news" was.
CNN says that the police have been able to link a sample of blood taken from her pillow to another case in the area from December. The Post Chronicle states that they are looking for a 45 year old man and that they have surveillance video of his truck. According to the Reno Police Department he was a "person of interest, not a suspect". Since the media coverage does not mention "new" evidence, I'm confused why they didn't bring him in before. There must be new evidence as they didn't just stumble upon the DNA match.
It infuriates me when the media leaves gaping holes in their reporting. I can't find anything new in this story - if I cut and pasted the past year of media coverage, it would be this article.
I would like to recycle some old news of my own: the city turned down supporting (and threatened to shut down) a safety seminar produced by safety experts in Reno who put their sweat, tears and money into organizing a conference to give their community information, inspiration and some piece of mind. The local papers also turned down a national anti-sexual assault organizations's attempts to help Reno as well. Oops, the college turned me down too. Since then, two other assaults have occurred. That's all.

Work-shopping at SBCC

Kaylie, Caitlin, Vanessa, Me, Brian and Thaddeus - Sigma Chi Eta, SBCC

After months of working with a Reno NV group planning a safety day for their community and doing some online outreach to students at SBCC and UNR, I headed a few hours north to speak at a workshop produced by SBCC's Sigma Eta Chi and sponsored by the President's office and Communications Department.

Knowing that the community was grieving the loss of the much loved Brianna Denison, I hoped for a full house. The school did a great job promoting the workshop as most of the seats were filled on this Tuesday afternoon in the middle of classes and so very close to finals.

I was greeted by two incredible women: Professor Sarah Hock and Sigma Chi Eta's president, Vanessa Gonzalez. Bright eyed and so very welcoming, I knew that if asked to do so, I would make this trip a thousand times over. We put out RAINN posters, call cards, and flyers and syched up the tech stuff. David disappeared into the almost full room as Sigma Chi Eta rolled their presentation and introduced today's speaker. I listened as if it were a stranger until I heard my name. Oh right, that's me (sometimes I forget). To make that quick change to survivor/activist takes a second - you are you, and then you are the you that has a story to tell. It's what I call turning the light on so that other survivors and co-survivors can find me. It's always on, really, but on stage it becomes a spotlight.

The topic was creating a safer campus but in order for people to care about anything I have to say, they have to know why I'm there to begin with. So to begin I go back to 1996. And then the aftermath. Now we can talk about now. Creating a campus isn't tearing up a street or installing more lights in darker places (although that is helpful), it's about caring and protecting your community - yourself and the people around you. College is another family. You love your chosen family - you respect and protect them. It takes courage to speak about a taboo subject - not for me so much as students who want to just be as much as they want to trust their environment. It's a step towards some serious responsibility but in itself it is powerful just how much one word, one action can change your landscape.

I met some amazing people on my short trip to Santa Barbara and took a little piece of their hearts home with me. To Vanessa, Kaylie, Thaddeus and Brian - thank you for your kind hearts. To everyone was there or wasn't able to attend but still wrote to me, you know where you can find me, always. So keep writing - my love and admiration will be with you long after finals are over.

xxoo

SBCC Speaking

THE CHANNELS ONLINE ARTICLE

SBCC student Brianna Denison's murder inspires event to shed light on rape, domestic abuse
Communication Department, President's Office among others sponsor forum featuring rape advocate Marnie Goodfriend
Miguel Arana
Issue date: 4/23/08 Section: News

Nobody knows when tragedy will occur and few are truly prepared if something disturbing actually happens.

The memory of the tragic death of slain Santa Barbara City College student Brianna Denison remains fresh inside this college community.

For that reason, the college is hosting a special event to discuss how to prevent rape and domestic violence.

The event, named "Let's Build it Together: Women, Men and the Toolbox for a Safer Campus," will be held on Tuesday April 29th at 3:30 p.m. at Room 211 in the Administration Building.

This event is sponsored by the President's Office, Campus Diversity, the Communication Department and the Sigma Chi Eta Honor Society.

"The purpose of this activity is to raise awareness about rape prevention and domestic violence," said Vanessa Gonzalez, president of Sigma Chi Eta and who used to work with Denison at the Communication Lab. "It is very important that we as college students never underestimate our safety, which is why Sigma Chi Eta has made this seminar the focal point of the semester."

Sigma Chi Eta is the community college honor society of the National Communication Association. The society was founded in 2000, but is a new addition to SBCC this semester.

The guest speaker will be Marnie Goodfriend, a freelance photographer, mixed media artist and writer. Goodfriend is also an advocate, activist and rape survivor who donates artwork and time speaking for women's organizations that address sexual assault and violence prevention, such as Rape Abuse & Incest National Network and SAVI, according to her Web site.

The network, which is an affiliate of the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center, states that: "college-age women are four times more likely to be sexually assault than any other age group."

The Brianna Denison case has impacted Gonzalez greatly.

"This situation affected me greatly because was so shocking and unexpected," Gonzalez said. "It was definitely an eye opener to the fact that something like this could really happen to anyone. I feel that this is a topic that we don't think about often enough and therefore need an opportunity like this to help inform the student body."

Sigma Chi Eta is also looking for the opportunity to host a self-defense seminar, said Gonzalez.

Crazy settles in Reno

Yesterday morning, I received an email for a speaking op in Reno, NV. Didn't take more than the city name to know this was for the beautiful 19 year old Brianna Denison, who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by what police officials think is a serial rapist. I reached out to the contact who is organizing an event on safety and awareness in honor of Brianna and to support a community who is afraid to leave their homes. The free event is on Sunday, April 27th in Reno and is open to anyone who wants to learn more about safety, awareness, DNA evidence, or simply to be there for Brianna. Believe me, just being present goes a long way.
It will happen a million times over and I'll still be blown away by people's generousity. These folks are well on their way to a very comprehensive and crucial event for a city frozen in fear. I am proud to be a part of the day and am working on getting some additional support and connect to Brianna's college. Two cities hurting by the loss of one girl her mom nicknamed "Breezy" because she was "like a breath of fresh air". My heart hurts. I was pinning together a recycled vintage dress when I spoke at length to the organizers. My pinning stopped; my plans for the evening and for the next month took a very different turn. Some people take vacations to sunny places. I live in a sunny place and take vacations to bring some light to darner corners. At least I hope that's what I'm doing.
I talk a lot about media perception versus the real world. In the real world, 1 in 4 women will be assaulted by the time they graduate college. There will be many who will say, or think, "Oh I wouldn't have done that! Whatever that is: go out alone, forget to lock a door, or in my case, walk home from work. Really? I'm not saying you shouldn't be aware of your surroundings, but you will never know what you will do until it happens to you. These are false perceptions that it can't happen to you because you are stronger, smarter, quicker, savvier than others. Pray that it doesn't. Start by stopping - the cycle of blame, the myths, the people who prey. Get their MO: we've got their number. Call it.