Charles Nailen/The Hoya Gaelan Gallagher (COL ’06) speaks out against gender violence at a Red Square rally yesterday.

A threatening e-mail sent to a sexual assault victim prompted a rally against gender violence yesterday at noon in Red Square.

After being sexually assaulted at a costume party on 37th street last Saturday night, March 27, Gaelan Gallagher (COL ’06) publicly shared her experience in a large ethics class last Wednesday and in The Georgetown Voice last Thursday.

On Thursday she received an anonymous e-mail threatening her and anyone else who would speak out against assault or take part in sexual assault awareness activities, including the “Vagina onologues” and Take Back the Night.

“Stop doing things like genital monologues,” the e-mail read. “You don’t need to take back the f-ing night. Its ours. This should be enough warning.”

Gallagher, along with other students, was appalled at the nature of the e-mail.

“Attitudes that are expressed in the e-mail are unbelievable to me,” she said. “It implies that other people are in danger for working toward this cause.”

A second threatening note which Gallagher found taped to her dorm room door in the early hours of Sunday morning has prompted Gallagher to leave earlier than she planned for the coming Easter break. The note read, “Stop telling people about last weekend or we will find you and do it again.”

Gallagher became an advocate against sexual abuse and began educating others about the effects of abuse after she was raped in 2002. She co-directed this year’s “Vagina onologues,” and was a speaker at the Take Back the Night rally in November. She also speaks in ethics and philosophy classes about her experiences.

Some, including Gallagher, have questioned whether her advocacy for this cause has prompted this second attack to be targeted specifically at her.

The Department of Public Safety and University Information Services are currently investigating the cases but both departments declined comment citing confidentiality.

Gallagher said at the rally that she spent three hours on Sunday talking to the Metropolitan Police Department as well and she may pursue the case with them depending on the results of the university’s investigation. MPD officials declined to comment because the investigation is in progress.

Many students were also angered by the e-mail.

The e-mail warned Gallagher, “You deserved every thing you got Saturday night and if he had gottne [sic] you alone you would have recieved [sic] more. Serves you right for being a f-ing hipocrit [sic] . Girls here dress like hores [sic] and ask for it. Even if they say no they mean yes.”

Ben Cote (COL ’05) began Georgetown University Men Advocating Relationship Responsibility this year and said he was appalled by the e-mail as well.

“Women should be able to wear what they want,” he said. “They should never have to deal with people attacking their character.”

Nearly 100 people attended yesterday’s rally, many of whom supported the cause through wearing red. Five speakers shared stories and expressed concerns over gender violence, including Sexual Assault Services Coordinator Shannon Hunnicutt, GUSA Vice President-elect Luis Torres (COL ’05), Cote, Gallagher and her father, Mike Gallagher.

The rally addressed the responsibility students have for each other and specific actions the university should be taking to ensure the safety of students on campus.

“I feel like there’s more the students could be doing. We need to take responsibility for each other,” Gallagher said. “That party was packed, there were people surrounding me who must have seen something.”

Liz Ellcessor (SFS ’04), head of Take Back the Night, shares similar sentiments.

“I think that the real barrier to changing the situation surrounding sexual violence on this campus is student attitudes and apathy. While the administration is forced to consider issues such as this, the student body is not,” she said. “Recognizing the prevalence of acquaintance assaults – violence committed by other students – is imperative to changing the entire campus climate.”

Some students are already taking steps in that direction.

The rally was not the first this year that responded to a hateful e-mail. An inflammatory and racist e-mail sent to the Black Student Alliance and the Georgetown chapter of the NAACP triggered two similar rallies against racial intolerance in February and arch. Originally thought to have come from a Georgetown student, the e-mail has since been traced to a Florida man who is already on an FBI watch list.

Georgetown officials said they hope to trace the threatening e-mail sent to Gallagher and carry out a full investigation of all related incidents.

“Our Department of Public Safety is working very actively and collaborating with [MPD],” Todd Olson, vice president for student affairs, said. “We care very much about our students and the resources we have are all there for students who need support.”

Hunnicutt also promoted the use of Georgetown’s resources.

“When someone is sexually assaulted it impacts almost every area of their lives and it can take a long time to recover,” she said. “Healing is very possible and we do have very good campus resources for people to heal.”

The recent dialogue concerning sexual assault follows a student effort last year that prompted a revision of the university’s sexual assault policies that is still in progress. Kate Dieringer (NHS ’05) alleged that in the fall of 2001 she was raped by a New Student Orientation Leader.

Dieringer also filed a complaint with the U.S. Board of Education against Georgetown University because she had to sign an agreement that would require that the details of the hearing be kept confidential.

Gallagher, whom many students said they admired for her courage, said she is still committed to fighting against gender violence and sexual assault on campus.

“People still have a very `this can’t happen to me’ attitude toward sexual assault,” Gallagher said. “They need to open their eyes and realize how frequently it happens and that we do have the power to stop it.”