Cameron University student and sexual assault victim plans protest in response to how school handled her case and others

Most parents like to believe that when they send their child off to college, they’ve prepared them for the challenges that adulthood may present. However, there’s just some challenges a person can’t prepare for. This was the case for Isabelle Dessinger, a Cameron University student who says she was sexually assaulted on campus. While Dessinger feels no one on campus has taken her experience seriously, she now intends to make her voice heard by holding a protest on campus.

“It really impacted how I felt about my safety at the college, and my trust. I became really aware of my surroundings, and anxious, and paranoid, and scared that he would always just be there,” Dessinger said.

By now, many have heard about what took place at the Chi Phi fraternity house on the Cornell University campus and the minimal repercussions the assailants face under the authority of the school. While the circumstances of the case were shocking to many, the situation serves as a grim reminder of how sexual assault is sometimes handled across the country. Further, it’s a reminder that assault can take place anywhere.

According to statistics gathered by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men have been victims of rape. Of these instances, around half of female victims reported that their rapist was an intimate partner or acquaintance.  Further, the statistics revealed that “less than a third of college women who experienced nonconsensual penetration (rape) sought help from a program or resource, as did 17.8% of men and 42.9% of transgender and nonbinary students.”

In Dessinger’s experience, her assailant was a boy she had met through a friend group in October of 2025. They both attended Cameron University and he is a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. She admitted that she developed a crush on the boy but intended to take things slow. She said they hung twice before the assault took place.

She explained that the second time they hung out, she visited him in his room. She said they “cuddled,” which she was comfortable with and then he kissed her. She said she told him upfront that she didn’t want to do anything physical with him. She said that as the night went on, he continually tried to “get handsy,” which she said she put a stop to each time.

She explained that it was getting late and they were “stoned” and she found herself feeling extremely tired. Because it was late and she had walked, she didn’t feel comfortable walking back to her room. She said she fell asleep multiple times and had to continually wake up to stop him from making advances while she was asleep. Dessinger said the final time that she was woken by his advances, he was already on top of her. She explained that she told him no once again to which he responded “it’s okay” and ignored her and began undressing her. Dessinger said he was so exhausted and caught off guard by his forwardness that she stopped fighting and he raped her. Afterwards, Dessinger said he threw a towel on her and told her to “be gone by the time I get out of the shower.”

Dessinger explained that when she made it back to her room, she told her friend what happened to her. She said her friend was supportive and encouraged her to seek help. From there, she said she talked to a therapist who put her in contact with the campus’s Title IX coordinator, Kaleigh Hooper, who generally handles instances of assault on campus. A court hearing was scheduled. She said she also spoke with someone at the school to issue a no-contact order and underwent a Sexual Assault Nurse Examination. Dessinger finally shared her experience with professors to explain her lack of focus.

Dessinger noted that even after taking all the suggested steps to protect herself physically and mentally, she often found herself in uncomfortable situations involving her assailant. She said he would commonly be in areas she was in, as if he was taunting her. He would loudly speak about the Title IX case and his friends would laugh or make comments about her. She began keeping record of these occurrences.

“He would, out loud, talk about the case to his friends and would point and say things – not to me directly, but he would make it very loud to make sure it was known,” Dessinger said. “He would be just very often around. It was kind of odd and when I notified my advisor about it, she agreed that something seemed off.” 

Dessinger added that she reported these behaviors to her advisor and the president of the fraternity. Her advisor shared the information with those overseeing the Title IX case, who did not include the information in the hearing. Dessinger said the fraternity president didn’t take her seriously and blew her off.

The entire process of Title IX hearings lasted until May. Dessinger said her assailant’s advisor twisted her words and actions in court to misconstrue her having had a crush on her assailant as consent. The determination concluded that “the respondent was not responsible under the university’s preponderance-of-the-evidence standard,” but that the “no-contact order remain in place.”  The case was dismissed. 

“Whenever I was going through the title nine process, it added a whole other layer of stress. I had to repeatedly discuss what happened, back and forth. No matter how many times I told them the story, I just kept having to repeat it over, and over, and over. I wanna  say through the whole process, I probably repeated the story twenty or more times,” Dessinger said.

While the hearings were over, Dessinger was forced to struggle with the aftermath. She said she tried to appeal the decision but was quickly denied. She added that she began seeking legal help from that point but hit roadblocks when it came to the cost. While the no-contact order was still in place, it didn’t bring her much peace after her previous experiences so she said she began spending less time on campus, outside of attending classes. As a result, her grades began to decline along with her mental health. 

Not long after, Dessinger learned that she had lost her financial aid due to her grades dropping. She explained that by the time she found out, it was too late to appeal it. She then began reaching out to her professors and the president, to no avail. 

Frustrated and unsure what to do next, Dessinger began posting about her experience on social media in an attempt to feel heard. What came next was a surprise that left her feeling seen but more frustrated.

Several people began reaching out to Dessinger through social media and even in person to share their negative experiences with Title IX cases and Cameron University’s handling of assault. While the variances of assault were broad, the one thing each scenario had in common was the victim’s frustration about how their report was handled.

Arden Souliere is one of the students that shared her experience with Dessinger. Souliere explained that she was physically assaulted by a pair of boys she was seeing romantically in a polyamorous relationship in November 2025. The assault took place on campus in front of the lake that’s part of Cameron Park and the Aggie Mile. 

Souliere said an argument broke out between the three of them and she tried to walk away before one of them grabbed her by her hair and threw her to the ground. She said the second boy came up and began choking her. She said some of the staff from housing approached and asked the boys what they were doing, to which both boys left her on the ground and began talking to the staff. Souliere said she scrambled to her feet and quickly ran away to call her mother who hurried to pick her up. 

Like Dessinger, Souliere’s friends and family convinced her to seek help and report the incident. She reported it to campus police who she said contacted the Lawton Police Department upon seeing the still-visible marks around her neck. She mentioned that no one brought up the option to pursue a case with Title IX. She said she filed for a no-contact order and was told that it would be “temporary” in case her and the assailants made up. 

“It just shocked me so much because he almost killed me and you’re here saying that we could make up, like are you kidding me,” Souliere said. 

While one of the boys was arrested, she said the other was not and he soon-after threatened her. The boy that was taken to jail was only there 10 days before his trial where he only got 52 weeks of domestic violence classes, according to Souliere. She said he was told by the judge that once he completed the domestic violence classes, he could contact her again. 

Souliere said the assault and the way it was handled by the school have had lasting impacts on her mental health, on top of already struggling with PTSD and being autistic. She said it has led to her self harming, which she was recently hospitalized for, only to be released before her assailant contacted her again. She admitted that she no longer feels safe on the Cameron campus and now attends classes online. 

“I think they need to find better ways to ensure the victim can feel protected,” Souliere said. 

Dessinger’s assault took place nearly a year ago now. With no progress being made in her own situation and having now spoken to so many individuals with similar stories, Dessinger has decided to provide a platform of her own to the voices she said she believes have been ignored. Dessinger has organized a peaceful protest for her and the other Cameron students that have come forward as victims of assault on campus. 

Dark Roast Report contacted representatives of Cameron University who responded with the following statement:

Cameron University takes reports of prohibited conduct seriously and has established processes for reviewing and responding to such reports in accordance with university policy and applicable law. Because these matters involve student privacy, the university does not comment on the circumstances of individual cases.

The protest will take place at 12 p.m. on October 3 at the Aggie Mile, in front of the Aggie Recreational Center on the Cameron University campus. The protest will follow the Aggie Mile route during homecoming celebrations.

“I am hoping to get my voice heard, because obviously, emails, calling, and trying to speak directly to Cameron has not been working in my favor. I’m hoping to get a peaceful protest group gathered will mean someone of Cameron will listen to me and try to better this for their students,” Dessinger said.

Several victims have expressed their belief that Cameron needs to reform the way it handles assault, in a fashion that makes victims feel protected. Dessinger said she hopes that will be the result of the protest. She said she believes this needs to start with preventative measures, like providing incoming students with a list of resources and clear repercussions and steps to getting help when it comes to assault. Dessinger also believes there needs to be a broader, more modern view of consent that doesn’t result in victim blaming. Finally, Dessinger and Souliere both expressed their belief that Cameron needed to investigate assault incidents more thoroughly and uphold consequences more sternly so that victims don’t feel that their only route to feel safe is to leave the school.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, contact the RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline for counseling and guidance through the steps to take to pursue justice.