CORVALLIS, Ore. — The buzz around Oregon State University’s campus still surrounds the viral pornography video that police say was filmed in a public area of the library. Oregon State Police cited the woman on Tuesday for public indecency – making headlines around the globe. But now, friends are speaking out against the community’s reaction.
Kendra Sunderland, 19, is accused of creating a porn video in the library on campus, and comments about the case are all over social media, including Facebook. On community pages, negative comments target the woman, including one that says: “What a sleezy girl! Ew. Seriously slutty.”
But Sunderland has yet to share her side of the story, and in the meantime, her friends are sticking up for her; describing her as smart and loyal.
“People are too quick to judge,” said Brittany Short on Thursday. “Everyone says don’t judge a book by its cover, but you see it happening all the time.”
Short says she has been friends with Sunderland since the fourth grade – and she says the online comments are going too far.
Another Facebook comment says: “It’s no pity story. She looks like she’s having fun being a hoe in the library. Went to school with her and that’s a disgrace.”
Short says there is a larger issue at play: the sexualization and pressure that is put on women across the nation in campus communities.
“When I was at OSU I saw that guys would only pay attention to girls who would show off cleavage or sexualize themselves,” Short said. “So it’s that mentality of oh, I have to sexualize myself to have friends or be seen. So I think it’s kind of like that. And I think everybody does it, not just her.”
Short says she isn’t condoning Sunderland’s actions, but she is asking the community not to be too harsh until her friend is ready to share her story.
“I think that people just need to understand that you don’t need to judge until you learn her side of the story and understand why she actually did it.”
