I’ve written enough about campus sexual assault to know that the current climate looks at facts and evidence as secondary — or inconvenient — compared to emotional accusations.
Now we have a petition from Change.org asking Ohio University to ban a fraternity based on accusations posted to an anonymous social media outlet called Yik Yak. (No, I hadn’t heard of it either.)
The petition, posted by a student group called F—RapeCulture OU, claims that on Nov. 22, Yik Yak was “flooded with accusations” that members of the Acacia fraternity drugged and raped women at an off-campus house. Known on campus as the “Blue House,” the petition claims such accusations are not uncommon or new.
“There have been many accusations on Yik Yak throughout this past year that these men drug and rape women,” the petition says. “There are yaks that serve as warnings for women to stay away and not drink the punch.”
The petition says OU has done nothing despite the existence of the saying, “Acacia will rape ya,” having been around for years.
But instead of petitioning OU to investigate the claims, the group wants to outright ban the fraternity and then investigate. In other words, treat as guilty until proven innocent.
And remember the accusations against the fraternity are coming from anonymous social media accounts. That doesn’t mean something bad isn’t happening in the Blue House or with these fraternity members. It probably should be investigated if such accusations exist, but as the Athens Police Department told the campus group, there’s nothing they can do unless someone actually reports an incident.
Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle told the Post, a student-run newspaper, that they have received no reports of drugging or rape like the ones posted to Yik Yak.
“There’s no proof we have, other than Yik Yak or things like that, and we deal in the world of proof and fact,” Pyle told the paper. “That kind of allegation is not going to go far.”
He added that the situation was “frustrating,” but that taking action against the fraternity required evidence of an “institutional plot” to drug and rape.
The petition was posted on Nov. 24, two days after University of Virginia President Teresa A. Sullivan announced she would suspend “all fraternal organizations and associated social activities until January 9th.” This suspension affects all fraternities even though only one was mentioned in a recent Rolling Stone article.
Even if one is assumes the validity of studies showing fraternity members are more likely to rape than non-members, blanket treatment of guilt serves no one’s best interest. Investigate accusations, and then decide punishment if any is needed.
