You probably recognize Terry Crews. Maybe as the soft-hearted sergeant on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” the flirtatious Latrell Spencer from “White Chicks” or as a professional football player. He is hard to miss—245 pounds, six feet and three inches of pure muscle. Even so, he has an unmistakable comedic and lovable air to him. He’s a nice guy, but can certainly handle his own.

 You look at this famous actor and former athlete—and I can bet the word “sexual assault survivor” never comes to mind.

 Terry Crews came forward about his experience with sexual assault in October of 2017. He talked about it on Twitter and gave his testimony for the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights, detailing an experience he had with a Hollywood executive in which he was belittled and violated. He discussed how the #MeToo movement motivated him to come to terms with what happened—even when countless people told him his experience was invalid. 

After coming forward, he has received countless support, along with backlash. Backlash as in unless he agreed to drop his case, he would not be in the fourth installment of the Expendables franchise. Backlash from the likes of rapper 50 Cent, who mocked Crews on a now deleted Instagram post. Backlash that adds to the toxic culture of invalidating male victims of sexual assault. 

 In the United States, 1 in 6 men are raped and/or sexually assaulted. Around 10 percent of rape survivors outside of criminal institutions are male. High school students Zorely de la Rosa and Travis Ambroise estimated that the percent of male rape victims is only 6 and 2 percent, significantly lower than the reality. 

1in6.org helps bring clarity to what the words “sexual assault” means—unwanted sexual experience involving force, coercion, unconsciousness or age difference.

Men, and women, like 50 Cent who shame people coming forward as victims add to the part of rape culture often ignored—the fact that men can and are sexually assaulted. Many men do not come forward with their experiences and if they do, they are made into caricatures, forcing them into hiding. It is an issue that takes toll on all survivors.

We have all heard the blame placed on female survivors before—she was dressed too provocatively, she was too drunk, she didn’t say no—even when the only one at fault is the rapist. The misandrist attitude towards men comes in when they are the ones on the opposite end of the situation. De la Rosa said “People in general would find it odd if a guy does not want to have sex, let alone someone coming onto him and him denying it.”

 Some argue men should be able to stand up for themselves and fight back. This idea alone negates male victims who are children. Children like Jaidyn Tucker, who had been continually molested by an adult at his after school program for months. Invalidating male victims can lead to men who were victims as children to deter from coming forward and get justice, or even just closure.

There are so many reasons survivors do not come forward. Terry Crews himself discussed how for him, he realized that as a black man, he was at a disadvantage and there were unfair consequences if he stood up for himself.

 “Senator, as a black man in America,” he said in his testimony, “You only have a few shots at success. You only have a few chances you make yourself a viable member of the community.” The next day, he called the agency and told them about what happened—and nothing was fixed. In fact, 10 percent of Crews’ income from season six of his show “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” will go to the company that still employs the man who molested him, Adam Venit. Countless people who he told the experience about brushed it aside, and told him what had happened was not assault, and he should leave it alone. “I can only imagine it makes men feel like they have been stripped from their own humanity and are only seen as sexual beings,” de la Rosa said.

It is incredibly unfortunate we live in a world where we must fear being shamed as survivors. Not victims, but survivors. Survivors of a crime any person can live through. No matter gender, race, age, size or stature. No matter what, every case and every person who comes forward should be treated with the same rights as the one before them.

At the Harvard Museums, there is an incredibly large range of different things to experience and explore. Whatever kind of history you are into, or if you are not into history at all—there is an exhibit that at the very least will catch your eye. Here are my favorite things and must-sees if you ever end up in Cambridge.

If seeing the skeletons of animals that could swallow you whole as easily as you can swallow a grape terrifies you, then this exhibit is not for you. There are incredibly well-preserved animals such as early mammals, fish and dinosaurs (including the world’s only Kronosaurus on display, which is 42 feet long), then step no further than the Romer Hall of Vertebrate Paleontology. It is packed with gross and deliciously cool animals and reptiles preserved in jars and cases of glass like that in the lab of a mad scientist. 

You can find The Great Mammal Hall as you pass through the museum, and through time. Make your way past all the evolution and extinct animals, and find yourself cornered by a million mammals—from tiny rodents to grimacing predators. You can land on any one animal and find a disturbing, bulging expression, or some that are actually quite comical. If there is an animal that you are interested in, or even just love, you will find it here.

One of the most interesting things that you can explore about a civilization is, for one, how they dress, and for two, how they protect themselves. In the Arts of War exhibits in the Peabody Museum, you can walk through and connect pieces from places like Japan, Hawaii, Italy, Borneo and more, guns, knives, suits of armor, shields, clubs and my personal favorite: helmets. There is something entrancing about stunning headpieces like these that you can imagine gracing the heads of those on the battlefield.

Maybe your eyes get bored at what, to you, are just fancy rocks and stuffed animals. “Who cares about some boring ceramics?” you may ask yourself. Well, inside the Encounters With America Exhibit, your eyes will land upon the overwhelming Día de los Muertos exhibit. The altar set-up features Mexican art with Aztec influences, decorated by local and international artists. The aura of it can be described as a “unique blend of Mesoamerican and Christian rituals,” in which you can play a fun little game I like to call “Find The Jesuses."

As you make your way up the stairs of the Peabody, you can reach The Javanese Village—an exhibit that showcased parts of the Japanese Bamboo Theatre. There are gorgeous puppets as well as paper depictions of Hindu gods and stuffed glass representatives of class. So if you are drawn towards Eastern Asian culture, you will certainly find yourself lost in the eyes of the Krishna puppet.

Now that LGBTQ characters are abounding in the media, it is time to raise expectations on their portrayal. The majority of LGBTQ representation revolves around characters behaving like the caricature of their sexuality, similar to flamboyant side characters like Damian from “Mean Girls” and Kurt Hummel from “Glee.”

While there is truth to the cliché, it is also healthy to see members of the community be accepted and normalized in the media so that young members of the community can see more of themselves in the characters, rather than what writers assume they are.

Having an LGBTQ character is a start, but an important part of normalizing the community is writing them like human beings, rather than caricatures. Becky Albertalli, author of the book “Simon VS The Homo Sapiens Agenda,” which was adapted into the movie “Love, Simon,” exemplifies how to properly integrate LGBTQ characters into her novels.

There is a scarce amount of books that have a homosexual protagonist, so Simon is a breath of fresh air. The novel follows closeted teenager, Simon Spier, who is in danger of having his emails with an anonymous gay kid at his school leaked to the public. Through Simon’s character, Albertalli proves that LGBTQ characters can differentiate from their stereotype. While the story revolves around romance and his sexuality, his romantic relationship is as fleshed out and focused on as a heterosexual’s relationship would be in any other book. 

Albertalli’s second book, “The Upside of the Unrequited,” follows Molly Peskin-Suso, an overweight teenager who struggles with her self-esteem and love life. Molly’s twin sister, Cassie, has a subplot love story with a pansexual teen. Cassie is very flirtatious and can easily pick up girls. She is deeply flawed, quirky and protective. She is not constantly tormented by her sexuality; she proudly embraces it without it being her only character trait. Seeing people so confident in their sexualities helps to encourage younger members of the community to do the same. 

Albertalli could have stopped there, but she is truly a LGBTQ character dispenser. Cassie also has two moms. Most authors would not write about a family with more than one member of the gay community, but Albertalli was really onto something—a household where the majority of the family members are LGBTQ, and none of the characters are negatively affected. Stories praised for representing the gay community usually only have one or two gay characters. Albertalli proudly showcases many gay characters, demonstrating how similar the lives of a gay family and straight family can be. 

If gay characters are underrepresented in literature, then bisexuals are treated like they do not exist. During the rare occasion that a bisexual is featured in the media, the word “bisexual” is usually treated like Voldemort, the thing that shall not be named. Cheryl Blossom from “Riverdale,” for example, has a sexuality that is never mentioned in the show, despite having romantic encounters with both men and women. 

In “Leah on the OffBeat,”Albertalli sheds light on bisexuality. The protagonist, Leah Burke, is a bisexual teenager who is out to her mom but not her friends. Leah’s bisexuality is acknowledged frequently in her own inner dialogue. While her tendency to be reserved withholds her from being out to her friend group, she is not ashamed of it. 

Homophobia blatantly exists and prejudice is something most, if not all, members of the LGBTQ community face. However, the majority of LGBTQ representation in the media centers around characters being treated like a burden, and being excessively ridiculed because of their sexuality. Meanwhile, Albertalli executes an interpretation of these characters in a matter that makes them feel like authentic human beings, rather than bizzare exaggerations of the assumptions society places on them. She makes her books seem less like an LGBTQ genre novel and more like a story that just happens to have LGBTQ characters in it. In a literary utopian world, more authors would take after Albertalli when integrating LGBTQ characters into their work. 

Flickered lights and sunlight shining through blinds. I stumble towards the bathroom. Recalling the previous month, I remember that I ran away—terrified.

My mom was not what I once thought she was. After dad passed away in the accident, I began to push everyone away, as if it was their fault. A year after the incident, mom began dating a hostile meathead. One day, I ran out of patience and I had to leave. I began to live on packages of 89-cent ramen and my stash of substances to make money in my motel room. I would sometimes think to myself I could just disappear.Like a bomb, I could just destroy everything around me. 

***

I remember the day I walked towards the front of the miserable building known as school. I busted through the double doors, all eyes on me. I blankly stared at every face, old and new. Brushing past those who I once knew. Quickly, I paced to the bathroom and rushed towards the mirror. I put my hands on the cracked porcelain sink, transfering all my weight to my upper body while looking down. As I looked up in the foggy mirror, I saw a bearded man in the reflection. Rick.Frightened, I slowly backed away but I ended up hitting my back on the hard sink. 

“Well if it isn’t Trenton Dean. So?” he said in a venomous voice, sending chills through my spine. 

“C’mon man, I don’t have any more cash,” I pleaded.

 Rick stepped closer towards me, breathing in my face. 

“I’m not playing games, man.” 

He grabbed my neck and pushed me back into the wall. 

“I need my cut by tomorrow morning or else,” he threatened.

***

Panic runs through my body as I wonder how I am going to get the cash.

 I step up the stairs, walking towards my motel room. I take out my rusty room key, inserting it in the keyhole. I have to run away.Wouldn’t be the first time.

I throw my bag on the ground, sinking into my bed, the packs of junk and coke flashing at me. Rapidly, I get up and storm outside with the bags. Tapping to open my phone, I go into my messages and find Chad. Shuffling my fingers, I begin to type, “Do you still want the smack?” 

In a few seconds, a response pops up in the display, “Yes, how much now?” 

Raising my brow, I type out, “$20 per gram.” 

As pricey as can be: I’m in need. Sunset-colored leaves and plastic bags flowing, I walk, feeling free for the first time. 

Now, as I look back on the past five years, I regret my decision to leave my mom in despair and worry. I should have been there. I should have grabbed her hand and told her it was going to be okay. 

Lying here, I stare at the cracked ceiling still, feeling different than before. Trash surrounds the bed. I quit school to sell stashes of cocaine, heroin and weed as a supporting job since I figured that’s what I’m best at. I have some myself every now and then.But after chasing that high, I ended up here, in a dirty motel room. I look down at my arm, a needle pumping black tar heroin into my veins. 

Moving the toggle forward with my fingers, I increase the dosage.