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    GibbelinsAnna Merlan
    10/31/14 2:32pm

    I'm sure I'll get hate for this, but I don't believe it should be a college's responsibility to protect their students at all times in every aspect of their lives. There is a ridiculous amount of mission creep in modern universities, in which a college is expected to service every aspect of a student's life experience, rather than just their education. That is part of what makes American colleges so fucking expensive. College students are adults.

    The way colleges respond to rape accusations is, of course, a completely separate issue.

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      whskygirlGibbelins
      10/31/14 2:38pm

      I think your point is somewhat valid. But, a university is required to enforce the law. And I think here the point is that the university knew illegal activities were taking place, enough so to warn people about said activities, but did nothing to prevent the activities. It's like saying that the university knows that the locks on the dormroom doors are easily picked, but refuses to fix them. Instead, the university just warns people not to leave valuables in their rooms. I realize that's a simple analogy, but you are talking about campus parties. And the university knew that there was a problem with women's drinks getting drugged at campus parties. Instead of trying to figure who is drugging women's drinks or doing anything to stop the problem, the university is instead warning potential victims not to be victims. I don't think it's as strong of an argument as their poor handling of rape, but it is an issue I believe.

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      Gibbelinswhskygirl
      10/31/14 2:42pm

      Those are all reasonable points.

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    adultosaur married anna on the astral planeAnna Merlan
    10/31/14 2:27pm

    JSYK

    AN UNWANTED FUCKING KISS ON THE FUCKING CHEEK IS A FUCKING ISSUE

    IT'S NOT A NON ISSUE

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      me567632606adultosaur married anna on the astral plane
      10/31/14 4:07pm

      Oh you mean how they say hello in Europe?

      Jesus fucking christ. Calm yourself down.

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      adultosaur married anna on the astral planeme567632606
      10/31/14 4:19pm

      a cultural greeting an someone coming up and kissing my fucking cheek out of nowhere are two complete different things, which you know, making you a cunt.

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    haribooAnna Merlan
    10/31/14 2:25pm

    "Robert Roe, the student accused of raping Doe, was ultimately found responsible for the crime in an on-campus disciplinary hearing and expelled. But the school changed his records to state he had "voluntarily withdrawn" in order to "assist him in seeking further studies."

    .______.

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      Beachmonkeyhariboo
      10/31/14 2:29pm

      Sounds like they followed the model used by the Roman Catholic Church, also referred to as "the hot potato method"

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      Missy PantsBeachmonkey
      10/31/14 3:35pm

      Newfoundland and Australia are still pretty pissed about where those hot potatoes ended up...

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    R2D2ESQAnna Merlan
    10/31/14 2:27pm

    This is all kinds of ugly. The fact that colleges try to sweep these things under the rug - and worse, blame the victim for having been victimized - continues to baffle me.

    That being said, did the college have a responsibility to prevent the rape in the first place? What would that entail, exactly? What kind of reasonable policies (awareness programs aside) should a college have in place to prevent a person who is so inclined from assaulting another person when they're on campus but in a private setting like a dorm room?

    I'm not trolling, I'm genuinely asking what people think they should have done here.

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      College GranddadR2D2ESQ
      10/31/14 2:35pm

      I was wondering this too. It's hard to see anything outside of freshman "don't rape people you dumbass" classes they could really do.

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      benjaminalloverR2D2ESQ
      10/31/14 2:40pm

      If there was a pattern of sexual assaults in the previous years and they failed to address it in a meaningful way (an comedy skit and telling women to keep an eye on their drinks doesn't cut it, obviously) I think they're somewhat responsible. Women are paying them good money to go there, and they are not being properly warned that this institution protects rapists. Girls should be told upon arrival, "this is how many students are raped each semester. When that happens, they typically drop out of school." I mean, if that's the way they handle the problem, at least women should get fair warning.

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    thisandthatAnna Merlan
    10/31/14 3:15pm

    I keep seeing this "unwanted kiss on the cheek" business lately. Is this some new dog-whistle? Actually, scratch that- it is definitely code for "wimmenz be overreacting to men being men." And, you know, committing sexual assault.

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      JustTheTippiHedrenthisandthat
      10/31/14 3:34pm

      It's an effort to ensure that men who aren't rapists and never will be to identify with rapists by convincing them that they are all equally at risk of being accused of rape just because they're men. Men are the only ones who can control other men, so it's crucial that they never stop erroneously identifying with rapists.

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      AbeLincolnthisandthat
      10/31/14 4:05pm

      There was a quote from a politician that I am too lazy to search for where he said that because some counts of sexual assault reports were just "unwanted kisses on the cheek," that we shouldn't take the large number of campus rapes as a serious issue.

      You know, a few people were only assaulted and not raped. So those rapes aren't really a problem after all. /s

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    LambicPentamterAnna Merlan
    10/31/14 2:41pm

    "But VWC's lawyers breezily disagreed, questioning how serious those assaults were anyway: "How many of the alleged prior rapes and sexual assaults involved forcible intercourse, as opposed to an unwanted kiss on the cheek?" they wrote in a filing. (You can read it in full here.)"

    I'm going to go out on a limb capable of supporting an elephant's weight and say that zero—or close to zero—of those alleged rapes/sexual assaults involved an "unwanted kiss on the cheek".

    We've seen time and time again that the events that surround the reporting of a rape are pretty awful in and of themselves, given the way women are constantly questioned and attacked as if they are somehow the culprit in their own rape. I'm gonna take a guess that not many (if any) women are volunteering to go through that over an unwanted kiss on the cheek.

    I also wanted to note that the whole "we can't be liable to protect women from being raped" argument would hold a lot more water if it wasn't accompanied by a bunch of other 'we don't care if our female students get raped' messages. I understand why a school might object to being legally liable for the criminal act of someone over whom they have control, BUT, their lack of control over a rapist/potential rapist doesn't absolve them from promoting a safe environment, treating claims of rape with seriousness and importance, or being responsible for allowing an environment that makes rape easy. For example, cracking down on campus parties would be a tiny step in the right direction, and would probably be a good idea anyway, given that I'm guessing a large number of the partygoers/drinkers are underage.

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      EisenBolan, SJWAnna Merlan
      10/31/14 2:39pm

      "Assist him in seeking further studies" translation we can still make money off of him.

      What happens on campus IS their responsibility.

      Also she was a minor thus providing her booze was also illegal. Why doesn't the college involved in making sure booze isn't made available to minors. When I was in college (late 80s) booze drunk by students over 21 could only be taken in the main hall of the school (it was a common building where students were fed) in the upper floor and booze was only served after 7pm to 9pm. Booze elsewhere meant possible expulsion. It was a Catholic Liberal Arts College.

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        me567632606EisenBolan, SJW
        10/31/14 4:20pm

        Absolutely untrue and divorced from reality.

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        EisenBolan, SJWme567632606
        10/31/14 6:07pm

        Whats untrue?

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      helenahandbasketAnna Merlan
      11/01/14 6:09pm

      Ok, I guess I would have to click on the multiple links to actually understand this story, then, because it doesn't tell me what ACTUALLY happened to the accused rapist, why the victim is suing about 'not protecting her from rape' instead of 'not prosecuting her case properly' and whether or not police were involved, which all seem like logical second-order questions to me.

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        girladywomanAnna Merlan
        10/31/14 2:30pm

        I used to work there and am not at all surprised by the administration's response to this. The environment is extremely conservative, so of course rape would be the woman's fault. I'm so sorry she experienced this kind of treatment.

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          minxymaxx1Anna Merlan
          10/31/14 2:31pm

          Yeezus they are more willing to help a rapist than a victim! They honestly do not believe this is a problem and probably wish all these sluts would shut up already.

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