Ched Evans: Has He Served His Time?

I've been slightly reluctant to post my opinion with regards to the Ched Evans case. Maybe I'm a tad harsh on what I think, but its just something I feel strongly about.

Personally, I cannot comprehend how football clubs would even consider giving this 'man' a career. What he did to that 19-year-old girl is absolutely vile. It is purely his status that allowed him to be offered his job back. If he came out of prison a 'nobody' - not having his professional footballer career behind him - he would find it a lot harder to get a job. Evans was convicted of rape and sentenced for five years, and is now on the Violent and Sex Offender Register. If he did not have the status that he does, circumstances upon leaving prison would be entirely different.

My lecturer and I had a debate on this topic in my previous lesson; to which he told me that Evans had served his time, so why punish him more? I believe this is true, to an extent. Yes, he 'served his time' in prison, however, that young girl cannot so easily move on with her life. The girl claims she cannot remember the incident happening as she was too drunk. THIS IS NOT CONSENT. If somebody is too drunk, they are not in a right frame of time - which does not mean yes! Why is that so hard to understand? Somebody in that position is vulnerable, that does not give a person the right to take advantage of them.

We seem to live in a society that teaches girls and women how not to be raped, rather than teaching boys and men not to rape. There are so many different things women have to be aware of constantly, in order to prevent themselves from being raped; its almost like its becoming a part of every day life. This is absolutely appalling in my eyes.

WHY should women have to be so on edge constantly? Why can people not wear what they want to wear, without fear of being attacked? "She was asking for it for dressing promiscuously": NO, she was not. It does not matter if a woman walks around naked; she is still not asking to be raped. A woman should be entitled to wear whatever the hell it is she wants, without fear of being raped.

When I moved to university, it was drilled into us 'don't walk through the parks on your own at night', as the parks in the surrounding area are referred to as 'rape park'. We are constantly told not to walk anywhere on our own, as it 'isn't safe'. WHY is it not safe, and WHY is this issue not addressed? By warning people of it, it is merely displacing the issue; it is not attempting to resolve it. Why is more not being done to prevent rape happening?

I applaud Jessica Ennis. When she found out that Evans might have been signed by Sheffield United following his release, she demanded she wanted her name removed from the stand that was named after her. She claimed signing him would "contradict her beliefs". Sponsors for the club also pulled out following this news; ensuring they would have nothing to do with a club that supported a man of such a crime. Surely, this in itself, says something?

I am twenty years old, and have witnessed first hand what rape does to a person, and the true repercussions its has. I would not wish that on anybody. To watch somebody become a shell of their former self is absolutely heartbreaking. Rape destroys a person. It is not something to joke about. It is not something that should still be discussed in today's society. Rape IS a disgusting crime.

He may have served his time, but to society, he is a long way from redemption.

The Realisation of University

University doesn't seem to be what you think it will. You have all these ideas in your head of what it will be like, what the people will be like, what your course will be like, and so on; however, things don't seem to match up to your expectations.

The people you live with in halls seem to have the 'every man for themselves' mindset. You may think you're the closest of friends with them, but when it comes down to it, you find out the hard way that you're not. University can be a very lonely place at times. You're away from home, away from everything and everyone you know, and it can make you feel so alone, regardless of the amount of people around you. Phone calls home help slightly, but as soon as you're off the phone the loneliness kicks in as you're just sat in your room wondering how to fill your time.  You sometimes find yourself just counting down the days until you're back there again, or making drunken 4am calls to your sister telling her how much you miss her, and how alone you really are.

Money does disappear! It goes quicker than you think it will, trust me. Do not go out and get drunk every night, because you'll get two weeks down the line and realise you have no money, and no food in the freezer and you'll be stuck on what to do. The bank of Mum and Dad doesn't have unlimited funds; its time to start learning to budget and sorting yourself out money wise. Be careful with it! Or get a job, but find one that's happy with you going home during holidays - which is much easier said than done.

Stay on top of your work. Do not leave that big project until two days before its due and hand in a rushed piece of work - you WILL regret it, I can assure you of that. Everyone says first year doesn't count, which is true to an extent, but it does help you get into second year, and if you fail units in your first, it could affect your overall grade. The moral of the story is: first year is not as much of a doss as everybody makes out.

University is the time for you to be selfish. You need to think about what is best for you. Not enjoying your course, thinking its not for you? Just drop out! Do not even bother wasting your time. Don't consider how your parents will react, there is no point in staying if you don't like it, because you won't focus and you'll get bad grades, which will look even worse. They will understand, just talk to them! Just think of yourself while you're here. Make sure you just do what you want to do, and forget everyone else's opinions. It's all you can do. You need to make sure you're happy, and living life how you want to; not how your parents want you to.

You WILL lose friends when you move to university. Its sad, but its true. Those friends from home you thought would always be there? They won't be. You'll get a text every couple of months asking how things are going, but when you're struggling on your own, you won't hear from them. But that's just life. Things don't go as planned, and as you grow older, friends leave, but that's okay. You will be okay, and you'll get new friends. Don't waste time on people that clearly don't care about you, you'll only hurt yourself more trying to hold onto something that isn't there any more.

Family are everything, just remember that. They are the ones that will be there when nobody else is, even if you don't think they will be. That drunken phone call to your sister? That shows she cares, believe me. Don't push them away because you're in a bad mood, it will only make things worse in the long run. As lonely as you feel, taking it out on them will not resolve the situation. University has made me a lot closer to my sister, and I tend to spend a good hour and a half on the phone to her just ranting about life. Whether she wants to listen or not, she does. She seems to just put things into perspective sometimes. She's the one that tells me when I'm being over dramatic and to man up a bit, or she'll just let me cry down the phone until I feel better.

It's time to start sorting your life out a bit. Get your head down, and get on with things. You've clearly gone to university for a reason, so make sure you come out with something to be proud of. Don't spend 90% of your time drunk, you're bound to look back in a few years and regret it.

At the end of the day, just have fun. Don't think about things too much, just enjoy it.