Rape stories disturb student

The rape did not disturb me, but the way the paper chose to report the  incident, when it obviously did not have all the information, does disturb me.

Out of respect for those involved, I am limited in what I can say about what I know to be the facts and how I know them.

However, I can say that it was unfair to those involved, especially your unidentified male, to cause an uproar around campus about this incident. Yes, it has caused an uproar.

Since Wednesday, I can't tell you how many people are gossiping about the situation and coming to conclusions about what really happened.

Was she drunk? Was he drunk? Was he sober? Were they alone? Was there a party? Is Parkside Commons now a dangerous place to live because of the rape?

These are questions that should not have been discussed because it is none of these people's business.

I'm not saying people shouldn't be aware of a rape situation but the Forty-Niner has made this situation out to be a mad rapist roaming the campus. This is not the case and obviously the Forty-Niner reporters don't know this.

If you do know this, why wouldn't you write an article discussing some of the real issues such as being responsible when you drink, or being aware of the situations you put yourself into, and whom you chose trust and surround yourself with?

Don't misunderstand me because I'm not saying it was her fault. I'm saying it was all people's responsibility to be aware of the situation into which they were all putting themselves.

I was again disturbed by the articles in Thursday's paper and the questions posed to students on campus about what they thought of the reported rape.

How can you expect them to respond when the information they were given was limited.

You waited almost two weeks to mention the rape so if it wasn't important to you to speak about right after it happened, maybe you should have waited another two weeks when you would have been better informed and received more accurate facts, or at least worded them better.

Do you really think the unidentified male and female involved aren't known?

Remember, rumors fly faster than a forest fire so your articles have already done damage to those involved.

By the way, I live on-campus and I have no reason to fear for my safety now or before the rape. I feel the dorms are safe and an enjoyable experience and not where the problems are or begin.

Editorial reply:

We never said or implied a "mad" rapist is on campus. We gave all the information available at press time, but University Police and campus officials refused to give us details on the incident.

We could not hold the story because the campus community has the right to know immediately that an incident as serious as rape was reported on campus. We ran the story as soon as campus police alerted the Forty-Niner. The police waited until March 24 to release the information on their daily crime log. Readers believing the information should have been released faster should tell the university and campus police.

Drinking responsibly was an issue we also addressed as part of our ongoing coverage in Thursday's Our View column. A report of rape concerns the safety of everyone not only here on campus, but anywhere.