In the wake of the Vandy conviction, I’ve been reading the coverage of the rape trial. I was STUNNED that the “Vanderbilt Hustler,” Vandy’s student newspaper, did not print the names of any current students, “our peers,” who were involved in the trial.Here is the editorial note:
I can understand refraining from publication of the victim’s name, but refusing to publish the names of students who admitted on the witness stand that they had reason to know the victim was in jeopardy but did nothing to help her?!!!
It’s not as though the names aren’t out there, but still…shouldn’t the campus paper publish their names?
It might be some concern that they might be the targets of harassment. Some campus papers are wary about publishing the names of witnesses in case they might be targets of harassment or retaliation, either by people who (rightly or wrongly) see them as callous bystanders or by friends of the accused who blame them for what happened to their friend. Witnesses can often find themselves in the crosshairs regardless of their actual level of culpability so I’m not surprised that the campus paper is being conservative.