FOR EXTRA CREDIT POINTS, ATTEND THE EVENT AND WRITE A SUMMARY AND RESPONSE OF AT LEAST 500 WORDS. EXPLAIN WHAT THIS HAS TO DO WITH MEDIA ETHICS!
Jentz to Tell Survivor’s Story March 26
3/13/2007
26
BREAKING THE SILENCE CONFERENCE SPEAKER FEATURES
SURVIVOR TELLING OF 15-YEAR SEARCH FOR ATTACKER
On June 27, 1977, college students Terri Jentz and friend Shayna Weiss were seven days into an 80-day bicycle trip across the United States.
They never made it back on their bikes for day eight.
That evening, a stranger in a high-clearance pickup drove over their tent as they slept in a state park in Cline Falls, OR. After exiting the vehicle, the man in western cowboy attire attacked them with an ax, and disappeared into the night.
Both Weiss and Jentz survived, but carried scars for the rest of their lives.
On March 26, Jentz will tell attendees of the Breaking the Silence Conference at Bemidji State University of her 15-year journey to uncover the facts of that June evening as she searched for and eventually confronted her alleged attacker. Her session is scheduled during the 4-8 p.m. evening program.
The presentation will take place as part of the March 25-26 conference to build a civil community through the comprehension, education and prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault. Open free to participants, Breaking the Silence will be held in the American Indian Resource Center and Hagg-Sauer Hall on the BSU Campus.
Jentz, plagued by memories and the knowledge that no one was ever arrested for the crime, returned to the scene of the attack in 1992 to, “solve the crime that would solve me.”
Through extensive interviews over many visits, she discovered a small community traumatized by the violence that had cost Jentz her youth. Along the way, she came to terms with the wounds that broke her life and ultimately found herself face-to-face with the alleged assailant.
Her story became a best-selling book, “Strange Piece of Paradise,” that both reflects on the violence and the myth of American individualism as well as records a brave journey from violence to truth.
The Breaking the Silence conference has been designed for victims, volunteers and students as well as professionals in law enforcement, health care fields, advocacy roles, and education. The schedule includes panels and individual talks on sexual assault, abuse, surviving, rape, and legal issues.
The event is co-sponsored by the Sexual Assault Programs of Beltrami, Cass and Hubbard counties; Anishinabe Legal Services; and Bemidji State University’s Women’s Studies Program, Criminal Justice Department, Social Work Program, Psychology Department, Counseling Center, Student Health Services, and Women’s Center.
