The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

No Justice on Campus at Vassar?

Posted on | August 6, 2013 | 49 Comments

K.C. Johnson, who did some of the best writing about the infamous Duke University lacrosse team rape hoax, has uncovered a genuinely disturbing story: “The Dubious Rape Trial at Vassar.”

You should go read the whole thing, but I’ll summarize briefly: Two college students go to a party and get drunk, then the girl goes back to the guy’s dorm room and they start having sex, but are interrupted by the guy’s roommate. Girl goes home, remains friendly to guy but then — BOOM! — a year later accuses him of rape.

So far as I can see from K.C. Johnson’s article, there is zero evidence that would tend toward convicting this guy of rape, and plenty of evidence that would tend to exculpate him. However, it’s obviously impossible to judge a case based on what you read on the Internet.

What stands out is that this case was handled not as a crime, but as a campus disciplinary procedure, so that the accused guy had none of the legal protections that any criminal suspect would have in a court of law. The upshot is, this guy was expelled from college earlier this year on the basis of a judgment rendered by a panel of three faculty members, with little chance to offer a defense.

If this guy is, in fact, a predatory sex offender, he should be charged and tried for the alleged crime. Merely to kick him out of school — to ruin his name on the basis of a disciplinary hearing — is both unjust to him, and inadequate as a public safety measure.

And let me be perfectly blunt here: Belated remorse over an unsatisfactory drunken hook-up doesn’t make you a victim.

Any drunken hook-up is a bad idea, but feeling embarrassed or regretful about it afterwards does not make your partner a rapist.

Also, there is this: The accused guy, Peter Wu, is Chinese-American, and the girl who accused him, Mary Claire Walker, is white.

Does anyone doubt that if Wu were a black guy named Dontay Robinson, Al Sharpton would be leading rallies at Vassar on his behalf?

“No justice! No peace!”

Maybe race had nothing to do with it. On the other hand . . .

Would a white chick at Vassar who hooked up with a Chinese guy be subjected to derogatory remarks by her classmates? Might there be some kind of social stigma involved? I am not familiar enough with contemporary campus culture to know. Maybe all this blah blah blah about “diversity” is as sincere as it is unnecessary. Maybe kids nowadays are completely colorblind and it’s ridiculous to suspect that anything remotely akin to racism was a factor in this case.

Leaving that aside, however, the process that led to Peter Wu’s expulsion from Vassar doesn’t look much like justice and, while I don’t want to go all Reverend Al here, this process needs to be critically examined and Wu ought to have a chance to clear his name.

Finally, let me advise young people: Don’t get so drunk that you have that “what-or-who-did-I-do-last-night?” morning-after horror.

You might wake up with a Democrat, or a terrible disease.

But I repeat myself . . .

 

Category: Crime, Education, Sex

Comments

49 Responses to “No Justice on Campus at Vassar?”

  1. MrEvilMatt
    August 6th, 2013 @ 7:20 am

    No Justice on Campus at Vassar?: K.C. Johnson, who did some of the best writing about the infamous Duke Univer… http://t.co/kzcUQosDur

  2. CHideout
    August 6th, 2013 @ 7:20 am

    No Justice on Campus at Vassar?: K.C. Johnson, who did some of the best writing about the infamous Duke Univer… http://t.co/ukOcIjTCvv

  3. Citzcom
    August 6th, 2013 @ 7:20 am

    No Justice on Campus at Vassar?: K.C. Johnson, who did some of the best writing about the infamous Duke Univer… http://t.co/qlyJ8XnLWv

  4. jwbrown1969
    August 6th, 2013 @ 7:20 am

    No Justice on Campus at Vassar?: K.C. Johnson, who did some of the best writing about the infamous Duke Univer… http://t.co/wFu75XyQp5

  5. preciseBlogs
    August 6th, 2013 @ 7:39 am

    No Justice on Campus at Vassar http://t.co/Ty03pGXipq #news #conservative #education #sex #crime

  6. joethefatman
    August 6th, 2013 @ 7:40 am

    From what I’ve seen and read about, as far as college sex assault cases, he’s lucky he even got a hearing of any kind. The guidelines” the government has issued have made it to where even asking a gyrl out on a date can get you charged with sexual harassment. Men are an unwanted class at college and it’s only getting worse.

  7. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    August 6th, 2013 @ 8:17 am

    A Chinese American student arranges for a Vassar coed to come to his room for the evening. Once in the room they undress, climb into bed, and go at it.

    When finished, the Chinese man jumps up, runs over to the window, takes deep breath, dives under the bed, climbs out the other side, jumps back into bed with the coed and commences to repeat the performance.

    The Vassar coed is impressed with the gusto of the second encounter. When finished, the Chinese man jumps up, runs over to the window, takes a deep breath, dives under the bed, climbs out the other side, jumps back into bed with the coed and starts again.

    The Vassar coed is amazed as this sequence is repeated four times. During the fifth encore, she decides to try it herself.

    So when they are done she jumps up, goes to the window and takes a deep breath of fresh air, dives under the bed…and finds four Chinese students.

  8. AdamKissel
    August 6th, 2013 @ 8:21 am

    No justice on campus at Vassar? | @rsmccain http://t.co/BmFIlGu7De @kcjohnson9

  9. rsmccain
    August 6th, 2013 @ 8:29 am

    RT @AdamKissel: No justice on campus at Vassar? | @rsmccain http://t.co/BmFIlGu7De @kcjohnson9

  10. rsmccain
    August 6th, 2013 @ 8:29 am

    RT @commonpatriot: via @rsmccain: No Justice on Campus at Vassar? http://t.co/8lKBcRsNs6 #tcot

  11. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    August 6th, 2013 @ 8:31 am

    A man goes to his doctor and complains that his penis is developing a bend in the middle. So the doctor ran a series of tests, and had the man return to his office to report the results. “Have you been to Vassar recently, within the last year or so?” “Why, yes,” replied the man. “And did you have sex while there?” The man looked worried. “Well, yes, once or twice.” The doctor’s face got a grave expression on it. “That’s what I was afraid of. You have a new disease that’s just starting to spread in this country. It’s called ‘Vassar PC Dong.'” The man gulped. “What do you do for it? Is there a cure?” “Well, sort of. You see, there is no way to cure the disease, but you must have an operation.” “An operation? What kind of operation?” “We cut off your penis.” “Wow! Do you mind if I get a second opinion?” The doctor replied, “Of course not. In something of such a serious nature as this, I think you should get a second and a third opinion!” The man consulted a urologist who told him essentially the same story, diagnosis, prognosis, and recommended treatment. He was understandably upset, so he asked the second doctor to recommend another doctor for his third opinion. The urologist suggested that, since this disease originated at Vassar that he travel there, as the local doctors might know more about it. Mr. Unlucky promptly booked passage on an airline for Vassar, where he received an immediate consultation with the university’s most eminent physician. After a series of tests, he awaited the verdict. The doctor entered the examining room. “Well, is it Vassar PC Dong?” he inquired, unable to wait. “Yes.” “And is it really incurable?” “Yes, there is no known cure.” The man’s face crumpled as he fought back tears. “And am I going to have an operation? Will they have to cut off my penis?” At that the man was astonished to see the doctor break into laughter. “What’s so funny, Doc? You mean I don’t have to have surgery?” As the doctor regained control of himself, he managed to choke out, “Oh, those other doctors! Cut, clamp, sew! Surgery, surgery, all they can think of is surgery!” “I don’t have to have my penis cut off?” The man was overjoyed. “Of course not! Just wait a couple more weeks, and it’ll fall off by itself!”

  12. annmcelhinney
    August 6th, 2013 @ 8:31 am

    RT @AdamKissel: No justice on campus at Vassar? | @rsmccain http://t.co/BmFIlGu7De @kcjohnson9

  13. Rosalie
    August 6th, 2013 @ 8:47 am

    A year later? I don’t understand why she waited one year to accuse this guy. I would think she would have done something about it before one year. I wonder what the statute of limitations is on rape?

  14. robertstacymccain
    August 6th, 2013 @ 8:49 am

    It’s weird. On the one hand, sexual attitudes in academia are very “liberated” — one dare not mention the concept of morality or sin — but on the other hand, there is this neo-Puritanism that is willing to impose harsh sanctions on any man whose sexual behavior leads to complaint. We see this, for example, in the Colin McGinn case — the professor makes unwelcome advances (or engages in sexual “banter,” as he says) with a Ph.D. candidate and is forced to resign. Evidently, it never occurs to the Ph.D. candidate to say to the professor, “Hey, knock it off,” in the same way it never occurs to Mary Claire Walker to write off her drunken fling with Peter Wu as just an unfortunate consequence of her own drunkenness.

    Perhaps the two incidents aren’t really comparable, but the lesson in each tale is: Women on campus are encouraged to see themselves as victims of men, and any man on campus would be well advised to be extremely cautious in their behavior with women, lest some misunderstanding or conflict lead to an accusation in an environment where the accused man has few if any rights.

  15. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    August 6th, 2013 @ 9:12 am

    It is about empowerment! If you have to ask and still have a penis, you are part of the patriarchy and part of the problem.

  16. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    August 6th, 2013 @ 9:14 am

    It is certainly more than a year in most places (I would guess three years) but for practical purposes (child sex abuse cases excluded) if you don’t allege rape as soon as possible it is very difficult to prosecute it.

  17. robertstacymccain
    August 6th, 2013 @ 9:14 am

    I’m sure the full story of this case — if we could ever know the full story — would be quite interesting.

    My guess is that Wu had a crush on Walker, that she didn’t feel the same about him, viewing him as “just friends,” and that their one drunken hook-up was therefore the source of some embarrassment or remorse to Walker.

    But that’s just guesswork. There must be two sides to this story, and it’s wrong to try to “solve the mystery” on the basis on a few facts gathered from reading a story on the Internet. That’s what I hated about the Trayvon Martin case, the way people jumped into it and turned it into a national circus without full knowledge.

    Nevertheless, whatever actually happened between Wu and Walker, the issue is the use of campus disciplinary procedures to punish what should have been treated as a criminal accusation. If Wu committed sexual assault, this was a crime and should have been investigated as such. Instead, Wu is accused of having violated student regulations, and has none of the constitutional protections that would accrue to any criminal defendant off-campus.

    College students get drunk and hook up all the time. Is every guy on campus at risk of such an accusation, and vulnerable to this kind of star chamber treatment?

  18. ajpwriter
    August 6th, 2013 @ 9:25 am

    Some among the academic left approve of the political correctness and associated neo-puritanicality in the hope that it will bring back all the behavioral benefits of the old moral order without any actual morality being involved.

    They do love constructing Rube Goldberg machines. Even social ones.

  19. ajpwriter
    August 6th, 2013 @ 9:26 am

    Yes. Yes they are.

  20. Professor_Why
    August 6th, 2013 @ 10:11 am

    No Justice on Campus at Vassar? http://t.co/rj16XIxeEr

  21. joethefatman
    August 6th, 2013 @ 10:58 am

    “Is every guy on campus at risk of such an accusation, and vulnerable to this kind of star chamber treatment?”

    Short answer? Yes. Men are the second or third class people of our times.

  22. richard mcenroe
    August 6th, 2013 @ 11:13 am

    The lesson is don’t hire a woman who went to Vassar for anything. She’s a hostile workplace lawsuit just waiting for an excuse.

  23. richard mcenroe
    August 6th, 2013 @ 11:14 am

    Gotta remember, this naif waif had only been on the planet 20mor so years. She had to wait until the right professor told her she was a victim.

  24. robcrawford2
    August 6th, 2013 @ 12:17 pm

    While I think he deserves his due process, I have to ask: What did he expect when he went to Vassar?

  25. robcrawford2
    August 6th, 2013 @ 12:18 pm

    In whackademia, the only acceptable sex is that which would be called “perverse” elsewhere.

  26. Colorado Alex
    August 6th, 2013 @ 12:19 pm

    Sexual assault guidelines like the ones at Vasser aren’t in place to protect women, they’re there to protect the powerful. Specifically, powerful liberal men. What they do is provide ammunition against less powerful men, forcing them to adopt weakling roles or else face expulsion.
    It’s almost like a FLDS cult, where the powerful patriarch expels young men in order to reduce competition.

  27. Zilla of the Resistance
    August 6th, 2013 @ 12:41 pm

    I live near Vassar college and have visited the campus several times; it is a feminist college, actually a better word would probably be “feminine supremacist”. A man of any ethnicity would find himself a second class citizen around there.

  28. Emilio_Crosby
    August 6th, 2013 @ 12:51 pm

    No Justice on Campus at Vassar? http://t.co/jp7zSnRFIa

  29. jakee308
    August 6th, 2013 @ 1:24 pm

    Exactamente.

  30. jakee308
    August 6th, 2013 @ 1:25 pm

    No justice, no Piece?

    *I denounce myself*

  31. CruisingTroll
    August 6th, 2013 @ 1:57 pm

    Sounds like he should have a fine civil case against the college for fraud, slander (or is it libel??), breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, etc.

    Unless they’re going to pony up and refund every dime he gave them….

  32. PubliusNV
    August 6th, 2013 @ 2:11 pm

    “You might wake up with a Democrat, or a terrible disease”. | No Justice on Campus at Vassar? http://t.co/VzRZvJ3HJb

  33. OldmanRick
    August 6th, 2013 @ 2:30 pm

    It only took the Vassar coed an entire year to realize she had had sex with some guy. Back in the day Vassar girls were known for their smarts. Based on this incident one might assume our education system isn’t as good as it once was or the Vassar ladies aren’t as bright as they once were.

  34. K-Bob
    August 6th, 2013 @ 2:46 pm

    At eighteen, most people expect much, much better of the world than they ought.

  35. K-Bob
    August 6th, 2013 @ 2:49 pm

    Yep. It becomes sanctioned as artistic expression.

  36. Bob Belvedere
    August 6th, 2013 @ 5:45 pm

    Same with Wellesley grads.

  37. Bob Belvedere
    August 6th, 2013 @ 5:49 pm

    This is for you, Evi, as payment for the two good jokes:

    http://instantrimshot.com/index.php?sound=rimshot&play=true for the first;

    http://sadtrombone.com/?play=true for the second

  38. Cube
    August 6th, 2013 @ 5:51 pm

    Hey, didn’t some political VIP’s come from these places? I don’t see the political establishment worrying about lawsuits.

    What’s that? Politicians are held to different rules than the rest of us? Inconceivable. /sarc

  39. Bob Belvedere
    August 6th, 2013 @ 5:51 pm

    So damn true – I dated a Wellesley girl. Big mistake.

  40. Bob Belvedere
    August 6th, 2013 @ 5:53 pm

    I denounce myself for my LOL.

  41. Bob Belvedere
    August 6th, 2013 @ 5:54 pm

    I have a lot of sympathy for the guy, but it’s hard to root for him. I mean: WTF was he attending Vassar?!?

  42. thatMrGguy
    August 6th, 2013 @ 7:04 pm

    No Justice on Campus at Vassar? http://t.co/RW29TRVKR4

  43. AdamKissel
    August 6th, 2013 @ 7:34 pm

    KC Johnson, who wrote up the Duke lacrosse hoax, relates “The Dubious Rape Trial at Vassar.” Via @rsmccain: http://t.co/BmFIlGu7De

  44. rsmccain
    August 6th, 2013 @ 7:36 pm

    RT @AdamKissel: KC Johnson, who wrote up the Duke lacrosse hoax, relates “The Dubious Rape Trial at Vassar.” Via @rsmccain: http://t.co/BmF…

  45. DaveO
    August 6th, 2013 @ 8:01 pm

    After a year, she was coached. What is her reward for ruining Wu?

  46. SantaisaSMOKER
    August 6th, 2013 @ 10:51 pm

    http://t.co/KSEUSDiZH1 Excellent piece by @rsmccain. No Justice on Campus at Vassar?

  47. rsmccain
    August 6th, 2013 @ 10:53 pm

    RT @SantaisaSMOKER: http://t.co/KSEUSDiZH1 Excellent piece by @rsmccain. No Justice on Campus at Vassar?

  48. Paratisi
    August 6th, 2013 @ 10:58 pm

    No Justice on Campus at Vassar?(Nor Any Other Bastion of Liberalism) http://t.co/29E08tzo5U

  49. Steynian 485nst | Free Canuckistan!
    August 10th, 2013 @ 8:57 am

    […] All Working for Jeff Bezos Now; America Loves You, Sama Elmasry!; A genuinely disturbing story: “The Dubious Rape Trial at Vassar”; LIVE AT FIVE: 08.06.13 … […]