(Article Photo from InsideHigherEd.com)
A recent higher
education news article was titled, “Questions on Money, Influence and Competence.”
The news item in
focus is based on two young women who attended a fraternity party and woke up
the next morning feeling drugged…and with one, raped. Rape is one of the
most confusing crimes to me. It is a
crime of pure violence that requires a deranged man to be aroused throughout
the process. Rape victims live their
entire lives fighting awful memories and harboring hatred and mistrust placed
by the rapist. Bo Burnham put it best at 1:15 in this video.
In response to the allegations, Brown University
hired laboratories to take samples. It
seems like they need to review their list of laboratories. An Ivy League university managed to mismanage
the entire process, and this sparked the protest pictured at the top: people
taping dollar bills to their mouths to signify how rich dads can make “rape
charges go away.” The IX written on each
bill signifies Title IX, which is supposed
to protect women.
The story is being
lauded by commenters as balanced in its approach. I can stipulate (for now) that the facts may
all be included; I disagree that the story is balanced. Or “Fair & Balanced!”
The opinions of the
accused do not appear in the story until the end of the story. This assumes a lot of the reader. The story moves begins with a picture of a
protest and the outrage at Brown University among its community. It details what allegedly happened. It discusses Brown’s bungled attempts to
investigate. It speaks to the denial of
the alleged victims. It allows for the
idea that one of the accused young men had a rich father exert influence. Only after these do we see the other side of
this accusation, under the heading “Privilege and Power.” You see, the alleged perpetrators have a pretty
compelling story, as well.
So I’m going to throw
out one of the least popular questions I’ve ever put in writing:
What if they didn’t do
it?
Although these kinds
of things are rare, in terms of sexual violence cases—so are sexual assaults in
general. To assume this young man’s
guilt is akin to assuming (on a macro level) that sexual assault “just don’t
happen” at Brown…or South Texas College.
Yes, two young women were denied their “day in court,” at least on
campus. On the other hand, at least one
father, two fraternity brothers—and an entire fraternity chapter—were presumed
guilty, punished directly, punished indirectly, discredited…and denied their “day in court,” at least on
campus. And as of right now there is NO
protest coming to support them if they can somehow PROVE their innocence.
The show of power at
Brown (the dollar bill march) may be generally directed at Brown—but it is specifically directed at two college-age
students (and a father) who remain accused of some awful things. It’s one thing to come directly after a
person you know to be guilty, i.e.—Ferguson, Staten Island, Pine Ridge. It’s a completely different situation when
guilt remains in question. Many of these
same protesters oppose the death penalty, often on the grounds that a state
could put an innocent person to death.
How is this different, aside from the stakes?
Groups like Families Advocating for Campus Equality (F.A.C.E.) work to promote the rights of the accused in these cases, but doing so tends to
make you as unpopular as a LGBT person in the early 2000’s. Did you notice the men in the picture? Why are
they shoved in the back (or to the side) of the camera angle?
Rape should equal
prison time. False accusations of rape should equal
prison time. In the end, the two
possible victims will be seen in a positive light. In the end, the two alleged perpetrators will
be made uncomfortable and miserable…and they will likely have to find another
school to try to start their lives over.
My guess is their next schools won’t be Ivy League schools. It’s a de
facto means of expulsion, which is justice being served on some lower-level
degree.
Unless they didn’t do it…
