This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Davidson chapter.
As I walked out of my favorite breakfast place over fall break, my friend and I were approached by a reporter with a cameraman in tow. “Are y’all students here?” she asked, “Can I talk to you about Hannah Graham?” This is just one example of the way in which the tragedy of Hannah Graham’s disappearance has taken over my hometown. The second-year student at the University of Virginia went missing on September 13th and now, weeks after a man was arrested in connection with her case, human remains have been found on a nearby piece of abandoned property, and they have been confirmed to be Hannah’s.
While many Davidson students are familiar with Hannah’s story, the daily Facebook updates and searches for information hit a little closer to home for me. Hannah was last seen only five minutes from my house, her supposed attacker graduated from a nearby high school that I visited countless times for basketball games and fundraisers, but perhaps most importantly, I remember the similar chaos in Charlottesville when Morgan Harrington went missing. Morgan Harrington, a Virginia Tech student, disappeared in 2009 while in Charlottesville for the weekend and Hannah’s accused attacker has now been linked to Morgan’s disapearance as well. Both of these girls vanished from a place that I consider safe, a place that I call home. With the recent string of reported sexual assaults here on campus, Hannah’s case called into question my assumption of safety at another place I call home – Davidson.
We, the students at Davidson College, take for granted our community of trust here at school. While some students have inexcusably abused this trust by assaulting their peers, Davidson, at least in my eyes, remains a unique environment. Faculty trust us enough to take unproctored exams, I feel comfortable walking back from the library at night, and I don’t need to call a cab to get home from a party. Hannah Graham’s disappearance has made me value this all the more. We have to hold on to Davidson’s idealism. We have to continue to ensure that our school is a safe place for every student who calls this place home.
While being interviewed about Hannah Graham, my friend who is both a UVA student and a Charlottesville native, said, “I feel so grateful to have grown up in Charlottesville and I’m saddened to think that the rest of the country now has a negative view of my town. I have always thought of Charlottesville as a safe place and I would like to continue to think of it as such.” This statement stuck with me because I believe it applies to Davidson as well. I am so grateful to be a student at such an amazing institution and I would like the world to continue to pay attention to my school for its Division I sports teams, impressive academics, and beautiful campus. I never want to be interviewed on Main Street about why Davidson’s community of trust has been broken. We must not become complacent, and we have to ensure that Davidson remains what we all fell in love with as high school students – a close-knit community and a place of endless possibility.
