Help Get Justice Against My Rapist

Hello, my name is Meagan Pederson.

I was a freshman theatre major at Michigan State University until I was raped, this is my story, as told on Facebook.

Due to an email I just received from Michigan State, let's discuss why I withdrew from my dream school that I got an almost full ride to, shall we?  On

On Labor Day weekend, I was sexually assaulted by a fellow student. We were not drunk, I was not "asking for it," and I  knew him. By sexually assaulted, I mean raped. It took me a very long time to be able to say that word when describing my situation. When it happened, I was in shock and I didn't report it. I kept telling myself that I couldn't have been raped, I couldn't have been raped. I thoroughly convinced myself that. I told my friends about what happened and they told me I needed to report it because that was most certainly rape, but again, I couldn't have been raped, that couldn't happen to me. A week went by and I started drinking heavily. I was sad all the time and I drank to get rid of that sadness, my friend Abby was there with me one night and I broke down completely and kept asking her why this happened, why anyone would do that, why I felt like this, and why there were bad people in the world. It was that night I admitted to myself that I was raped. I still didn't report because a friend of mine told me that maybe I shouldn't ruin his life for this, which I can see where she was coming from because I didn't give her the details of the incident. I didn't tell her that I said stop countless times and that he physically pinned me down so that I could not move. I was also scared that they wouldn't believe me since I had waited a week. Another week goes by and I'm still staying out every night until 4AM because his apartment was right by my dorm and I was scared I'd see him. One night I walk over to my friend Sam's house to talk and he convinces me to report. The next morning comes and I go to the school and report the incident, then to the police, they take down all the details and they move me to a different neighborhood so that the man didn't know where I lived. I felt safer, sort of. But every time I saw a man with dark hair I had a panic attack. It was getting to the point where I could not function in my daily life because I was depressed and constantly scared. I talked to an academic advisor who emailed all of my professors to tell them that if I wasn't in class there was a reason. He also told me that if I needed a break the school would give me a refund and offer me admission next year. I discussed this with friends and decided that it would be best to take a break because my grades were slipping and work was helping me keep my mind off of the incident. The final report came in of the case from the school and I read his statement where the man admitted that I said stop and that he didn't respond quickly. He downplayed how many times I said stop and the whole situation, but he admitted to not stopping. Despite this, the school went on his side. He is an athlete and is very connected to the mayor of Detroit, and I have no doubt that these factors played into the decision. I appealed the decision and highlighted the problems of the decision. I received an email today that said that they were not appealing the decision. I will not go down without a fight. I was raped and I was held down and I have frequent panic attacks due to the whole event. I have seen him twice and have never had my breath taken away so fast I felt like I was being punched in the gut with the force of 1000 trucks. He damaged me but I will not be stopped. He did not ruin me. I am strong and I will fight. It is time to stand up for what is right, and Michigan State University covering up a rape is not right. Michigan State charging me over 2,000 for leaving because they refuse to take action despite them telling me they wouldn't charge me more than 80 dollars. I gave up a full ride to my dream school, became rather homeless for a while, and left my job because of the damage that has been done. But I will fight and become even stronger, there is no denying that. This isn't the last they have heard from me.

What the Money will be used for:

As of right now, Michigan State is charging me $2,684.96 for my withdrawl. This amount of money is more than two years would have cost me at Michigan State. They are punishing me for them not properly handling my case. They are punishing me for that man's violent crime. The money I can raise will go towards that, as well as legal help to gain justice from my attacker, as well as the school. I do not like asking for help, but right now I need it to seek justice.  Any amount helps, and thank you so much.

Thank you so much for listening to my story.  And if you are going through something similiar, just know that you are NEVER alone.

Sincerely,
Meagan