K.C. Johnson and Stuart Taylor Jr., who co-wrote the book about the Duke University lacrosse case, have found similarities between that case and the “multiply discredited” gang-rape alleged to have happened at the University of Virginia.
Johnson and Taylor asked whether U.Va.’s response to the accusation, which was printed in Rolling Stone, was worse than that of Duke administrators.
“As to lacrosse case similarities, the most obvious was the initial mob-like rush to judgment at U-Va. by left-leaning faculty, administrators, and news media in embracing the now-infamous claim by ‘Jackie’ of being gang-raped on a bed of shattered glass,” Johnson and Taylor wrote. “By presuming the guilt of college men accused of implausibly barbaric crimes against women and minorities, these academics were oblivious to the lessons from Duke.”
At Duke, 88 professors signed a statement in 2006 condemning the lacrosse players without any more evidence than an accusation (which was later proven false). Duke’s president, Richard Brodhead, also repeatedly condemned the alleged acts of the lacrosse players, all the while providing token comments about not rushing to judgment. Lacrosse games were forfeited — eventually the coach was forced to resign and part of the season cancelled.
At U.Va., Johnson and Taylor note, faculty members have also come out with claims of a campus “rape culture,” condemning anonymous fraternity students without any evidence other than an accusation. U.Va. president Teresa Sullivan rushed to suspend all fraternity social activities until Jan. 9 and has no plans to lift the ban or apologize for the rush to judgment.
Where Johnson and Taylor believe U.Va.’s response is worse than Duke’s, however, is in student reactions.
“The one encouraging on-campus aspect of the Duke case was the reaction of many students, including the award-winning news and editorial team at the student newspaper, The Chronicle,” the pair wrote. Campus journalists, Johnson and Taylor wrote, as well as other Duke students (who were rarely interviewed by national papers pushing the gang-rape narrative) “were refreshingly open to evidence and critical thinking as the case there unfolded.”
But at U.Va., the student newspaper accepted immediately the notion that classmates had committed such an egregious offense, without any serious effort to prove anything. Katherine Ripley, executive editor of the Cavalier Daily, continuously tweeted the Twitter hashtag “#IStandWithJackie.” After the story began to fall apart, Ripley used the hashtag “IStandWithSurvivors.”
Assistant Managing Editor Julia Horowitz told Politico that “to let fact checking define the narrative would be a huge mistake.”
That’s a frightening statement from a young journalist.
Johnson and Taylor wrote that they were unsure why U.Va. didn’t appear to have learned from the Duke lacrosse tragedy, but noted that since the 2006 case, due process has been devalued rather than made more essential.
“In such an environment, it might be understandable that few students would risk being branded as ‘rape apologists’ by defending due process,” the pair wrote. “In this respect, the U-Va. student response may evidence a troubling trend over the last eight years. In any event, it surely illustrates a poisoned campus culture that has implications far beyond Charlottesville.”
