A Classic Case of Jumping the Gun....the U. North Carolina rape case

(cross posted at Daily Kos)

What generates this post: it is this article from Common Dreams which appeared on my Facebook feed:

After going public with her story of sexual assault, a student at the University of North Carolina faces expulsion or other sanctions for being “disruptive” and “intimidating” her alleged rapist – who she hasn’t publicly named, but who still lives across the street from her – thus possibly violating the school’s “Honor Code.” No doubt completely coincidentally, before she got hauled before the “Honor Court” sophomore Landen Gambill was one of three students and a former assistant dean to file a federal Civil Rights complaint on behalf of 64 other sexual assault victims alleging university officials pressured the dean into under-reporting such cases. At an earlier hearing, Gambil charged school officials were “offensive and inappropriate,” blaming her for her assault and trying to use her history of depression against her. Apparently, UNC has a bit of history on the issue.

Oh my gosh, sounds bad doesn’t it? Well, you might want to read one of the source articles.

This is from the student newspaper:

Gambill said she was charged Friday with a conduct violation of the University’s Honor Code that claims she engaged in disruptive or intimidating behavior against the man she has accused of raping her.

Ok, so who filed the charges? The university did NOT.

But University officials play no role in determining Honor Court charges, said a UNC spokeswoman, who added that any claim of retaliation is unfounded.

So who did? The ex-boyfriend and alleged rapist:

Gambill said she learned a complaint was filed against her in January, citing that her intimidating behavior — going public with her case — adversely affected her ex-boyfriend’s pursuits within the University.

“What my ex-boyfriend is saying is that by speaking out about how the University has handled my case, I’ve created an intimidating environment for him on campus,” she said.

When students bring charges (in this case, the charge that she lied), they can’t just be summarily dismissed. Nor can the University comment on the specifics, even if the charges have no merit at all.

What we have right now is: a charge has been filed by the ex-boyfriend, period. The University isn’t responsible for that.

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