For Katie Koestner, the worst night of her life has turned into a personal crusade.
Koestner silenced the audience with the story of her rape experience Tuesday night at the Cox Center for Student Athletes to a predominantly female crowd in an event sponsored by Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Order, Kappa Delta and Chi Omega.
Her story was one of a normal girl being away from home for the first time and attracted to guys she had never seen before. One guy in particular caught her attention from the beginning.
“We got along great,” Koestner said. “But we were not dating. We were doing this thing called hanging out.”
After dinner and champagne one night, Koestner and the guy, Peter, returned to her dorm room at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.
“I was uncomfortable,” Koestner admitted. “But I was not that assertive at 18.”
After a time, Koestner and Peter wound up on the floor of her room.
“I’m telling you the story of the worst night of my life,” Koestner said.
Despite bad experiences at other colleges and universities, including mocking and teasing, Koestner said she felt compelled to continue telling students her story. Her crusade is what brought her to the University.
“If we’re ever going to have a day without rape, it’s not going to be about me. It’s going to be about you,” she said.
Koestner left the audience with three things to think about — responsibility, communication and respect.
“It matters to me what you’ll do when you leave here,” she said. “It’s about deciding what you’re willing to take and what you’re not.”
For more information, students can visit The Katie Koestner Initiative Web site at www.tkki.org.