All anyone’s been able to talk about recently is the events which transpired at the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity. I know a lot of us are getting sick of hearing/reading/talking about it, so if you’re one of those people I suggest skipping this post.

Last week, Onward State published an article calling on the betterment of how women are treated at Penn State (linked here). While Melissa McCleery does a great job discussing the issue, I would like to go into further depth on this issue.

As disappointing as it is, I would be shocked to find out that what happened at Kappa Delta Rho is an isolated incident. The issue of privacy in this digital age is a large one. Millennials, for one, seem to not know the definition of the word. We have all heard the comments by the KDR member who spoke out, but in case you haven’t, he described the pictures to be posted as “satire” (interview here). While it remains to be debated whether or not this person knows the true definition of the word, it’s easy to see what he’s trying to say. The individuals who choose to post photos such as these find it humorous. They make slut-shaming a game. However, college kids are not the only culprits. It seems as though every other week some celebrity’s revealing photos are leaked for the world to see. There are entire sites dedicated to posting the photos of ex-girlfriends. It’s sickening. And with recent technology advancements, its easier than ever. While I personally love Snapchat, it supports privacy infringement in stride. Many people use the application to send provocative photos, banking on the promise that once the picture has been viewed, it will be deleted. However, snapchat still allows the receiving party to take a screenshot of the photo, and after that nothing can be done to retrieve it. It also allows for the possibility of people, such as the members of KDR to send pictures without a trace. Imagine if these young men had simply been taking snapchats of these women and sending them to their brothers instead of posting them. How could they be caught?

It’s scary to think about, but it’s possible that things like this do happen without our knowledge. Thankfully, pictures posted with the intention of getting a laugh or recognition tend to be posted on a more permanent platform, thus allowing these images to be traced. However, who’s to say people don’t send snapchats to their friends of the person they hooked up with asleep next to them?

I do not intend to scare, but it’s something that we need to think about. Whether pictures such as these are taken to be funny or to brag about getting laid, it’s wrong. The KDR member in the interview stated that this incident is not a legal issue, but why shouldn’t it be? It is one ladder rung below pornography, and it is a non-consensual sexual act. In my opinion, there is no reason for it not to be considered a legal matter. Whether or not these people are considered criminals, it’s about time we step up as a society and take a stand against blatant invasion of privacy.