THIRD PLACE WINNER
NEWSPAPER FEATURE WRITING
2017 ARKANSAS COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION
Alexa McGriff grew up in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and was familiar with the people in
the area. She had many guy friends who were like brothers to her.
“I carried that same world view to college which I shouldn’t have,” McGriff said.
The summer after her freshman year, McGriff was watching a movie in a friend’s duplex
on John Brown University’s campus. They were holding hands and soon
started kissing. Before she knew it, he started unzipping her pants. He covered her
mouth, pushed her onto the futon and while struggling, she kept saying “no,”
but all he said was “shh.” Her mind was commanding her to fight back, but her body
immediately froze.
“I thought it was my fault,” McGriff said.
The entire summer, McGriff did not tell anyone. She also decided not to report him to the authorities.
“Looking back, I don’t think I fully grasped what had happened to Alexa. I remember
being in shock and my heart aching for her. My later reaction was anger. Angry that
someone would do that to another person and also that is was never brought
to justice,” Ashley Knapp, McGriff’s best friend, said.
McGriff believes that she ignored the red flags about the assailant and his friends. They
would comment on how a girl was looking sexy or the short length of her skirt.
McGriff’s friends did not approve of this group of guys, but she ignored them.
“I was always thinking like ‘ew’ that’s not cool, but again I had this mindset of but he’s not talking about me, because I’m just like a friend and so I’m not worried about whatever
it is that he is saying,” McGriff said.
When Becky Lambert, McGriff’s mother, found out that her daughter had been sexually
assaulted, thoughts of anger, sadness and helplessness filled her mind.
“I was so angry at the person who assaulted her. Why would he do that? How could he
hurt my daughter? What was he thinking? How could I make sure he was punished?
I was so sad for Alexa,” Lambert said.
Lambert encouraged Alexa to report this case to the police and JBU, but she declined.
“I couldn’t force her to; I realized that. So, I encouraged her to get help. I encouraged her
to contact the NWA Rape Crisis Center. She needed to be able to talk with someone
who had been through what she experienced.”
Lambert encourages parents to believe their children when they tell them that they have been sexually assaulted, instead of blaming them.
“I admire many things about Alexa, but one of the things I admire most is her recurrent
bravery in telling her story and encouraging others that have gone through sexual
assault through that story. I think that’s been a path of healing for her and so
many others,” Knapp said.
McGriff ‘s encouragement to survivors is that they can walk out of this as stronger people by putting their faith in God and relying on the people that He has placed in their
lives such as family and friends.
“If I start speaking out, I can empower other women to also speak out. It’s a ripple effect,” McGriff said.
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