"His whole attitude was, 'Oh, you're just a stupid little white girl who doesn't know anything.' I don't think there has been much [sensitization since the rape]," Deakins says.

Although the actual Science Center rape may have faded from memory, many women say, a lot of the consciousness of fear has not. And that consciousness results in habits like never travelling alone at night.

Pitkin says she thinks the most salient reaction to the rape was "self-protectedness"; she summons the image of women travelling in groups during the night from the Women's Center in Agassiz Hall.

And while she concedes that change is slow in coming at Harvard, Pitkin--after a year's worth of activism on security issues--is nonetheless optimistic that the demands of the rally will someday be met. "It takes a long time for a big organization like Harvard to get in motion," she says.

"I'm more impressed by things that are going to happen, than the things that have happened," Pitkin adds.

And for now, many women say they must continue to improvise their own solutions, and to seek out those that are already available.

"[The rape] kind of put the fear in me. I never walk home alone at night. If my roommates are out at night, I make them call SafeStreets," says Deakins.

For Blais, there is a strange sort of comfort in knowing that the Science Center, where the rape occurred, is also the home of the new student-run escort service.

"I go to the Science Center, I think about it," Blais says. "I like the fact that SafeStreets is in the Science Center. I think it's a nice statement."

Still, the rape last December is one that continues to affect the community, and mostly that effect is a negative one.

"I think the fear now is a lot more diffuse, but it's still there and it's not going to go away," says Serena Y. Volpp '92, a counselor at Response. "We wouldn't have anything to fear if there wasn't any violence against women, but that day is a long time coming."