UVA and the alleged frat rape - Rolling Stone backpedals

Re: Rolling Stone on rape at UVA

You meant "... are not exclusive...", right?

 

Re: Rolling Stone on rape at UVA

LongTimeListener, I downloaded this book last night. I saw it referred to by you and also in some other articles in the last few days.

I admit that I skipped the introduction and foreward for now. I probably read about one-third of the main text of the book. The part I read is about an alleged gang rape that occurred at the University of Pennsylvania at a fraternity house in 1983. The author does not name the house, which is strange, because it is clearly this incident. She names the district attorney and she discusses a Mark Bowden article about the incident in the Inquirer.

The incident in the book is more like what I would expect to occur. The woman was by all accounts very, very drunk, and probably also high on LSD. From what I can tell so far, and I am still reading it, the big question was whether she was able in her state to grant consent. The men all claimed that she was very sexually aggressive. Although the number of men involved, the setting, and the type of school resemble the UVA story, the rest of it is quite different. It is much more believable.

I am interested to read the rest of the book. It is interesting. At the same time, the writer sometimes seems to villainize normal college dating behavior. There is a sentence, for example, where she ominously writes that, "The men 'hit on' women by talking, dancing, and drinking with them."

She also speculates that the reason men enjoy getting oral sex from women is because they can imagine one of their fraternity brothers doing it instead of the woman.

 

Re: Rolling Stone on rape at UVA

Yes.

 

Re: Rolling Stone on rape at UVA

Unless they make a Pledge app for your iPhone.

 

Re: Rolling Stone on rape at UVA

I don't know how much to read into this -- whether it's just something to bring down the heat or whether the the initial stages of this investigation are yielding some damning confirmations -- but a university official apologized to the Rolling Stone story subject Tuesday.

"I’d like to say to [the victim] and her parents I am sorry, and to all survivors of sexual assault, I am sorry," George Martin, the board’s rector, told a packed meeting room. "As we said last week, this type of conduct will not be tolerated at the University of Virginia. The status quo is not accepatable. Like all of you gathered here today, I am appalled."

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/education/university-virginia-officials-apologize-wake-rape-report-n255761

 

Re: Rolling Stone on rape at UVA

Even if it's all made up, the university still has to take the allegation more seriously than it did. That's the big problem.

 

Re: Rolling Stone on rape at UVA

Yes. I was in fraternity in college.
My fraternity has a national philanthropy, dedicated to creating playgrounds for special needs kids nationwide. A select few brothers are chosen to do an an annual cross-country bike ride for fund-raising and awareness. They have national promotional campaigns against hazing and sexual assault. Alumni sites dedicated to helping new grads network, land jobs and meet brothers in new cities and towns

At my school: I was not hazed and we did not haze (though that changed quickly in a few of years). Our fraternity was known was the "Little Mafia." We were the most expensive fraternity on campus (No housing). To help offset costs we took control of many of the paid students positions at the school. We controlled the yearbook staff, the student courts, RAs, and the SGA.
I had a great experience.

At large schools one the advantages is better, more affordable housing. The better part is associated with sororities. College boys in a house - you can imagine what they often look like. The frat house at WVU, which is now condemned, looked like a meth house.

That said: Our fraternities charter was revoked last year when they became arrears on national dues. They also had issues with hazing (one bad apple) ... I think hazing starts out small (pledges clean your room or scavenger hunts) but it quickly escalates as the next guy wants to do out-do and be tougher than the previous ones so hazing becomes more and more prevalent. It is spawned from the attempt to out-do the the guys before you and make your own impression.

 

Re: Rolling Stone on rape at UVA

https://twitter.com/pamelacolloff/status/539628322297090048

 

Re: Rolling Stone on rape at UVA

http://www.richardbradley.net/shotsinthedark/2014/11/24/is-the-rolling-stone-story-true/

I’m not sure that I believe it. I’m not convinced that this gang rape actually happened. Something about this story doesn’t feel right.

 

Re: Rolling Stone on rape at UVA

Boy, would that be a backfire in the intent to spotlight and force action on the matter of campus sexual assaults.

They're going to have to write something, right?

 

Re: Rolling Stone on rape at UVA

Why? Do the facts matter?

If you've got a good narrative, you can work with that, independent of what the facts show.

 

Re: Rolling Stone on rape at UVA

The glass table detail really bugged me when I went back and read this piece. So the woman is thrown through the glass table, which shatters and sends glass all over the floor, and the UVA frat guys all just get down on the floor amidst the broken glass, and go one with their raping? Like no one cares about shards of glass piercing knees or hands because they are so intent to rape?