On this week’s 51%, a professor and researcher on topics related to Title IX and sexual assault publishes a letter to her stalker, and a woman talks about living under a VA tent.
Two years. That’s how long Donna Freitas’ graduate school mentor, a priest and celebrated scholar, stalked her. Last year, Freitas released her book Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention. She says writing the memoir made her feel more powerful than she had ever felt, and she wasn’t afraid of him anymore. After years of fearing contact with her stalker, she was ready to speak directly to him. Her newest publication, Dear Professor: A Woman’s Letter to her Stalker, allows her to do just that. Freitas spoke with 51%’s Elizabeth Hill about her memoir Consent, and how it led to her new letter Dear Professor.
Now we head to Los Angeles’ the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is trying a new way to help homeless veterans. It’s allowing them to live in tents on the VA campus, where they can also receive food, health care and other services. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, it’s a model that could expand outside the VA. Matt Tinoco reports for the American Homefront Project.
That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Tina Renick for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. If you’d like to hear this show again, sign up for our podcast, or visit the 51% archives on our web site at wamc.org. And follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio This week’s show is #1619.