<p>^^^^
Yes and I do question whether it is wise for her to even be at the school after such an extreme experience. Certainly it would be easier for her to file the criminal charges if she was enrolled elsewhere. Why would she want to continue matriculating at a school that has treated her so shabbily? </p>
<p>Lately I just feel like our world is disintegrating around us.</p>
<p>RS has certainly done plenty of shoddy reporting on this kind of sensational issue in the past, mostly by Janet Reitman. This article, by a different author, seems better than those. The details about the song may be selectively reported, shall we say. In fact, I think it’s likely. But the central story? I doubt it. </p>
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<p>Oh please, to you too. </p>
<p>My issue is, and continues to be, a quest for the stats. I have never denied that rape has happened at fraternities. If that is how you interpreted my writing, then you need to go back to school. According to RAINN, campus rape most often occurs in the victim’s residence.</p>
<p>This incident and others like it need to be brought to light not only for justice, but in order to understand what is going on. Since sources are stating that 1 in 5 undergraduate women are raped, that means at UVA there are about 1,649 more rape victims. Sources also say that only about 5% report their rapes. That means 81 other women have reported rape at UVA. Information on where those rapes occurred ought to be made available.</p>
<p>But where those rapes take place on campus are not reported nor unfortunately are they required to be under the Clery Act. So stop asking us to provide you with statistics that you already know do not exist.</p>
<p>The only school that gives a brief description of the sexual assault in it’s Clery Report is Yale. But still no reporting of where exactly it took place.</p>
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<p>I’m not asking you. I already know you don’t know. I’m responding to IxnayBob, not you. That is what the quote function is used for.</p>
<p>stop already with the stat game Bay. It’s old.</p>
<p>I don’t know why anybody is surprised when these women in power want to cover up the rapes. Bay is a woman, many posters on this board are women. “It could never happen to me,” type women. It must have been her “fault.”</p>
<p>Or, “Show me the statistics for this underreported crime,” and then I will believe it exists. Hah! </p>
<p>That story is heartbreaking. What is more heartbreaking is how many of them there are we haven’t even heard.</p>
<p>Wow, just wow.</p>
<p>poetgrl,
You ought to be ashamed for accusing other women of things they have not said or done. You are really reaching and making yourself and all women look bad.</p>
<p>Thank you Bay. I’m flattered you see me that way. </p>
<p>I don’t think poetgrl is “making all women look bad.” In fact she is standing with the rest of us and being vocal about something that needs to be confronted. What is happening to our daughters on some college campuses is reprehensible and it appears no one is stepping up. Personally I feel a lot of anger when I read article after article, year after year. We need to fix this.</p>
<p>“students somehow feel more loyalty to the name of their school than to specific students in their community who have been wronged in many ways.”</p>
<p>I think that this is something that is very much a human trait and not just this group. Almost all people have a way of seeing the facts of a situation differently depending on which outcome they thing will benefit them personally, even though they do not consciously think about it that way. So a woman who is a University President views what matters in their position is to defend the University first, the same view as the men have always had. Therefore, they want to deny that these events are happening on their campus. Whether a woman or a man is in charge has less of an impact than many people think it will. </p>
<p>@Harvestmoon"Personally I feel a lot of anger when I read article after article, year after year. We need to fix this."</p>
<p>You raise exactly the thing that is the critical issue in my mind. Cases are difficult to prosecute because in most cases, there is a small chance that the woman is lying, and I am certain that in a handful of cases, that does in fact happen, and no one wants to put an innocent man behind bars. </p>
<p>Having said that, I also have no doubt whatsoever that in most of these cases, the woman is telling the truth and nothing is being done. There are way too many of these incidents and nothing is being done. It is the article after article, year after year, drum beat of articles in aggregate that leaves no doubt about what is happening in the significant majority of these cases, whether or not the individual incidents are prosecutable. </p>
<p>I understand the feelings of people who want to protect an unjustly accused son. I have a son and I do worry that that could happen to him. At the same time, I also have daughters and they deserve to be able to live on campus without fear that they can be violated with impunity and that they will be blamed if they tell anyone. </p>
<p>We have to be able to acknowledge the issue and take stronger steps to prevent this from happening and to be better at getting to the truth when it does happen.</p>
<p>That is why it is so important for women to stand together on these issues. These girls need to feel supported enough to find the courage to file criminal charges and let these boys know their actions will cost them. University administrations are not set up to handle criminal matters nor do they have the expertise. Further, there is an obvious conflict of interest that comes through loud and clear in the Rolling Stone article. </p>
<p>The response of Jackie’s “friends” to her rape was really just hard to fathom. I fear sexual assault has just become the “new normal.” I think that is a very dangerous trend for all women.</p>
<p>UVA has asked the police to investigate Jackie’s rape: <a href=“UVA asks police to investigate rape claims published in Rolling Stone | Virginia | The Guardian”>http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/20/university-virginia-police-investigate-rape-claims-rolling-stone</a></p>
<p>One question that I have about these incidents involves the use of polygraph testing. I know that it is not admissible in court, and I know that they are not always accurate. However, in a situation like this one, where there are a number of individuals involved, I would think if all individuals involved took a polygraph that was administered by an FBI or similar expert, it is likely that the combined results of the test would be conclusive enough to contribute significantly to a University inquiry, even if it has no legal standing.</p>
<p>In the case where one side is tested and passes, but where the other side refuses to be assessed, I would think that much would also be learned from those responses. Again, I understand that none of that is legally binding, but a University is not a court of law. </p>
<p>What do you think about that?</p>
<p>@Much2learn, I have been told by attorneys to always refuse a voluntary polygraph, whether innocent, guilty, or in-between. They are just too prone to error. I would hate to think that a refusal would be considered probative.</p>
<p>I discount any polygraph, and any refusal to take a polygraph. They are just not accurate. They don’t exonerate, they don’t implicate, they don’t confirm or refute accusations. They’re worthless and you should ignore them.</p>
<p>Well, I understand that attorneys will always say that because they view it from a legal perspective. In that case they assume, probably correctly, that results are not entirely accurate, and that a positive result will not help their client, but a negative result will have an adverse effect. Therefore, no one should take one. </p>
<p>However, it seems to me that if there were an expectation that all parties are expected to explain what happened openly and honestly, and that honesty is being assessed, it would significantly enhance our ability to understand clearly what actually happened. Therefore, it would seem that the only way to get a better handle on the truth is outside of the legal system. </p>
<p>I imagine that if I were either the victim or accused in this type of case, that I would want to do this and tell everyone exactly what really happened. By taking it outside of the legal arena, perhaps this provides a way for Universities to obtain a higher degree of confidence about what really happened. That would seem to be especially true when there are many individuals involved. </p>
<p>I imagine that if the questioning were done skillfully, and the results of multiple individuals tests present a consistent picture, that at some point, there could be enough evidence to be compelling, at least in a non-legal setting. The fact that none of it could be used in court would seem to remove the objections of attorneys for innocent individuals. </p>
<p>And because they are worthless, you should in particular discount a defense lawyer’s release of polygraph evidence supposedly exonerating his/her client. You don’t know how many of the lawyer’s clients took polygraphs, had the wrong result, and then the test results were suppressed. </p>