Landry's Pundits

Landry Litel Mrs. Duke AP English Language and Composition 23 March 2020 The Rape of Recy Taylor (1944) An article written by the Lily News describes a rape case dating back to 1944, the rape of Recy Taylor. Taylor was a 24-year-old African American woman at the time and was picked up and raped by more than six white men. The article touches on Taylor’s story, but mainly on the injustice that followed. The lawyer that represented the suspects told Recy Taylor’s husband, “Nigger — ain’t $600 enough for raping your wife” (The Lily). The defendants were each willing to pay $100 “if Recy Taylor would forget” (The Lily). The men that raped Taylor were never indicted for the crime they committed. This article is reliable because it is based on factual information with accounts from Rosa Parks and Recy Taylor, both involved in the case. The article informs the audience about the injustice that existed during this time and how these men were never held accountable for their actions...

Landry Litel Mrs. Duke AP English Language and Composition 23 March 2020 Swathmore Fraternity “Rape Attic” (2019) The New York Times posted an article on April 30th of 2019, describing a case at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Julie Turkewitz, the author of the article, briefly describes the inappropriate behavior of a fraternity on campus, and explains that “campus publications leaked details from a lengthy document in which members of the school’s Phi Psi fraternity bragged about sexual conquests and referenced sexual assaults” (Turkewitz). Turkewtiz focuses more on how the students reacted to the news and how they plan to put an end to this rape culture that exists in fraternities. This article was reliable due to its source and did not seem biased. The goal of Turkewtiz is to inform her audience about what students are doing at Swarthmore and to encourage them to look for signs of this existing on their campus. This article was helpful in my research because it intro...

Rape culture is a society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalizing or trivializing sexual assault and abuse. This culture is a prevalent issue in today’s society and the topic I am focusing on throughout the REDHUGO project. My focus is specifically on the many factors that contribute to this culture and how it has taken place. For the entertainment portion of the project, I listened to a podcast titled, This Happened , directed by Janey Williams, a survivor of sexual assault. This Happened follows Janey’s story of her sexual assault and her friend’s and family’s reactions to her experience and how they dealt with the issue. In Janey’s case, her assaulter was her best friend, Matt, who was in the same social group as Janey and many of her close-knit friends. Janey’s podcast focuses on why her friends had a “lack of response” to her coming out about the assault and why they turned a blind eye when they knew that Matt had a history of inappropria...

3/3/20: For my REDHUGO reading, I decided to read and analyze the novel; I Have The Right To , a memoir by Chessy Prout with Jenn Abelson. The novel follows Chessy Prout’s story of her high school sexual assault, justice, and hope. I chose this book to accompany the documentary Roll Red Roll, another story of a high school sexual assault, and the rape culture that allowed this to happen. Since Chessy’s story is also set in high school, I have an assumption that rape culture is also present at her school, a boarding school in New Hampshire. Chessy’s purpose is to spread awareness of sexual assault and inspire others to come forward with their stories as she has done. Within the prologue, Chessy draws her audience in as she gives a vivid description of the first time telling her older sister and role model, Lucy, about the night a senior boy raped her. Chessy describes a tradition known as “Senior Salute,” where senior boys have a reputation of hooking up with freshman girls. This i...