Last October, a former student (under the pseudonym of “Jane Doe”) filed a federal lawsuit against Beta Theta Pi fraternity, the Baird Association (which owns Beta’s house), and Wesleyan University. The lawsuit alleged that Wesleyan had failed to abide by Title IX law through failure to “warn or otherwise take corrective action” against the fraternity that could have prevented the assault on the student that occurred in Beta two years prior.
The case accumulated significant attention in national media (as well as, uh, me), especially when it came to light that lawyers for Beta were attempting to force the survivor to reveal her identity.
The case has been settled. The details of the settlement are not public.
This settlement does not mean, by any sensible standard, that the issue is settled. All across campus, similar crimes are still perpetrated. The culture of our campus enables those crimes. I hopefully do not have to remind anyone that we all have a responsibility to respect basic fucking human dignity and rights. Consent is necessary. Bystander intervention is necessary. You can must do your part to ensure that our community–and humanity in general–is free from this sickening scourge. Sex is fun; get consent and make sure it stays that way.
From press release: “A recent episode of “Law & Order: SVU” was loosely based on the incident.”
WTF? This true?
The SVU episode is called “Girl Dishonored.” It apparently draws on a lot of recent university rape events, not just Wes.
http://tylerkingkade.com/2/post/2013/05/law-order-svu-campus-rape-episode-girl-dishonored-is-basically-a-bunch-of-real-headlines-rolled-into-one.html