Following the July arrest of a UA student charged with multiple sex crimes against an intoxicated UA student, several students have come forward to share their own experiences with sexual assault and date rape as they call for higher safety measures on campus and at local bars.
The accused student, 23-year-old Gambill Gentry, was denied bond for an alleged assault last month, and police say he may have had multiple victims.
The American Psychological Association says sexual violence occurs when “someone is forced into unwanted sexual activity without consent.” According to APA’s website, campus sexual assaults make up 43% of on-campus crimes in the United States.
The association’s website calls the time between mid-August to November the Red Zone, where sexual assault increases at the beginning of the school year due to more social gatherings. 50% of campus sexual assaults occur during this time.
Steven Hood, vice president for student life, wrote in an email that the July assault was reported to police, and the University distributed information about the arrest.
“Campuswide communications are issued when there is a known, ongoing threat, or when a suspect has not been detained,” Hood explained.
Hood wrote that several resources on campus can provide support to victims of sexual misconduct, including the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX Programs, the Women and Gender Resource Center, and UAPD.
One student, who wishes to remain anonymous because she was under 21 years old at the time of the event, said she was drugged at a local bar. The student said she never reported the incident because she was afraid of getting into trouble and didn’t know who drugged her; however, she was “disgusted” when she heard about Gentry’s actions and wanted to speak out.
The student said she ordered one drink and had only taken a few sips when she started to feel sick.
“I started getting really, really hot … and I felt like I was about to throw up,” the student said. “I felt really nauseous and was like, ‘What’s going on?’”
The student said she started walking to the restroom but felt like she was about to pass out and couldn’t see clearly. She managed to get inside the restroom before passing out in a stall.
“I was told that I just passed out onto some girl and she caught me,” the student said.
She said she was with friends who made sure she got home safely; however, she fears the situation could have been worse if she had been alone.
She said she has not been back to the same bar, but she has friends who have visited the same establishment and claim to have also been drugged.
She’d like to see a higher security presence at bars that watches for potential victims who are drunk or in dangerous situations, and she supports bars offering lids for drinks.
“It is not expensive at all to offer those covers for drinks, so if they really cared you’d think they’d offer those,” the student said.
Another anonymous student said she sought help from DCH Regional Medical Center and Tuscaloosa SAFE Center in December 2021 after being sexually assaulted her freshman year.
The student said she was shocked when she heard about Gentry’s actions, but she is glad another alleged predator is off campus.
“I know so many girls who have been through this at Bama, too many actually,” the student said. “I’m … relieved that one of them is gone, but there’s still so many.”
The student said she was sober when an acquaintance, whom she had met at a fraternity party, met with her to hang out and then sexually assaulted her.
“This was like a very traumatic thing for me just because … he was more sadistic more than anything,” the student said. “He inflicted pain on me because he wanted to … like he got something out of it, which is very sick.”
She had not heard about the SAFE Center until she was referred to the center after going to the hospital, she said. She went to the center and was examined within 24 hours of the assault.
The student said the nurse at the SAFE Center reassured her as the nurse walked her through the pelvic exam.
“I was bleeding everywhere … I was so scared to do this exam,” she said. “I remember hearing these words, ‘The hardest part is over,’ and that brought me comfort.”
The student said she attends therapy and highly recommends it for anyone who has experienced similar situations.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of … We all go through things that are traumatic,” the student said.
Even though other alleged victims of the same man told the student they had proof they were assaulted by the same person, the student said the other victims were too scared to share evidence of pictures and screenshots of death threats he had sent when the anonymous student took the case to court.
The student said she fought her attacker and left marks on him; however, she said the evidence and the pictures taken during the exam weren’t enough and the case was dismissed.
“He had no repercussions,” the student explained. “He just got off the hook.”
The student said she would like to see more cameras on the Strip, lids on cups and security that can call an Uber for anyone who feels unsafe. She’d also like to have more students educated so they realize these incidents are not normal.
The anonymous student said she’d also like to see more people educated on what angel shots are, including students in Greek life who frequently attend social events at bars, like date parties and swaps. She said more young women need to learn the phrases and how to order an angel shot.
Sailor Castellano, a bartender at Gallettes, said it’s very rare for patrons to express any concerns for their safety.
“The bartenders are trained on how to watch people’s drinks,” Castellano said. “If people walk away, we’re always throwing them [their drinks] away or putting them down near us.”
Although she said the bar doesn’t participate in serving angel shots, Castellano said the bar has a security staff as well as cameras inside the establishment that can be looked at if an incident occurs.
Another current UA student, who also wishes to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of her story, said she was involved in a sexual misconduct incident while she was attending a summer program at the University.
While staying at a dorm on campus for the summer program, she said a student whom she had met during the summer session came to her room and started assaulting her after she opened the door.
Fortunately, the student said someone found them and stopped the situation before it could have escalated.
The student sought help from her student peer advisor, who told her to contact the University employees in charge of the summer program. She emailed the employees and was able to have a conference with them; however, the student was forced to sit next to her attacker and didn’t have any alone time with the committee to explain her side of the story.
An email thread that the student sent to the staff explaining how she was uncomfortable with the idea of attending the conference with her alleged attacker was reviewed by The Crimson White. In the thread, a University employee responds by saying the other student was asked to be there. It appears the employee did attempt to schedule a one-on-one meeting with the victim but the two only met for a few minutes to discuss the procedure for the upcoming conference.
“It was only after I talked with them that I realized I hadn’t been told the proper resources and the situation wasn’t handled properly,” the student explained.
She said the attacker was given alone time to describe his side of the story and she wasn’t made aware of her right to request an officer or Title IX representative at the meeting. She later reported the assault to the Title IX Office on her own.
The student said she thinks the University should spend more time educating students about resources and ways to stay safe without dismissing students who do speak up. She said she felt as if there was a bias and lack of following regulations in her experience with UA staff.
She said she wasn’t made aware of the SAFE Center until she attended Bama Bound orientation.
Alex House, assistant director of communications for the University, wrote in an email statement that all UA employees must follow the reporting guidelines described in the University’s Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Policy. All employees are required to complete annual training regarding sexual misconduct.
“The University has no tolerance for sexual misconduct and provides a variety of resources and measures to educate and support students and campus community members,” House said.
According to the University’s Title IX and sexual misconduct policy, all employees are encouraged to have the complainant contact the Title IX Office; however, employees, except human resources staff and UAPD officers, are not required to report sexual misconduct to the office.
She wants the University to take sexual misconduct allegations more seriously and follow through with repercussions for those who commit such acts.
“They were kind of just like, ‘Well, boys will be boys. We don’t want to ruin his summer,’” the student said, describing how the case was dismissed and no further action was taken.
