"During my first year of college, one of my closest girlfriends asked me to go on a double date with two medical students. After dinner, we stopped at the one of the guys' apartments. My friend and her date disappeared. My date began to make sexual advances. I felt very uncomfortable and I resisted -- first verbally, then physically. But I couldn't get him to stop. I finally ran out of the room. But, he followed me and trapped me in one of the bedrooms. When he tried to kiss me again, I pushed him away. But he threw me on the floor, got on top of me, and raped me. The guy who raped me was a medical student. He was studying to be a gynecologist.

"Afterwards, I was too ashamed and confused to tell anyone what had happened. I tried to forget about it. But, it was eating away at me. I withdrew from my friends. I couldn't concentrate. My grades fell. I started to drop classes. I had no self-confidence. Eventually I dropped out of college and returned home to Los Angeles, where I heard about the Rape Treatment Center. After participating in therapy for several months, my self-confidence returned and I felt ready to return to college. As I was ending my therapy, I heard that the RTC was producing a film about campus rape. I wanted to help other college students so I volunteered to tell my story in the film.

"When I went back to school, I reported my rape to the dean of the medical school. I also went to the campus police and reported the rape to them. I got a group of students together and we petitioned the university to create a class on acquaintance rape, which I helped teach."

---BEVERLY