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Another Emerson students sues over treatment of her rape allegations
By adamg on Fri, 01/02/2015 - 9:49am
UPDATE: Judge dismisses case.
An Emerson student who says school officials dismissed her story of being raped by a fellow Emerson student and an MIT student in October has filed a federal lawsuit against the college.
In the suit, the student, identified as Jane Doe, charges a classmate took her to an MIT frat party in October, 2012 - possibly after first plying her with a spiked drink - where he and an MIT student raped her. She alleges college officials refused to seriously investigate her claims, in fact, were openly hostile to her, and that dealing with the whole situation drove her to suicide attempts.
The woman, at the time a freshman, is seeking unspecified damages under Title IX and for emotional distress, in the suit filed this week in US District Court in Boston.
In August, another Emerson student filed a similar lawsuit. That case is still pending; the college responded by saying that while the rape was "serious and tragic," it in fact did everything it could to investigate and handle the case, and showed none of the "deliberate indifference" required for punishment under Title IX.
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| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Entire Doe complaint | 155.37 KB |
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Comments
in loco parentis
Disturbing news. Hopefully, this will be resolved by the administration so that future students at Emerson College can focus on their education and need not resort to Title IX litigation to feel they are respected and have unbiased treatment.
"spiked drinks"
So, this lady went to the ER, where presumably they collected evidence as to whether she had any drugs in her system. Why is it "possibly"? They either found drugs or they didn't (also, why didn't Emerson PD escort her, or arrange for her to be escorted, to the ER ASAP to preserve evidence? They do really seem to not have any idea how to handle this stuff.)
https://www.google.com/search?q=myth+of+spiked+drinks
The most common "date rape drug" is alcohol. Society has become so paranoid about women's drinks being spiked, that women are taught and lectured extensively about protecting their drinks instead of being taught safe alcohol consumption, and doing things like chugging their drinks while out and about (to reduce the "danger" of their drink being spiked)...after having not drank much water or eaten much food.
What happens when you're of relatively light body mass, dehydrated, haven't eaten much, and chug your drink?
Huge numbers of women show up in the ER swearing up and down that their drink was spiked, and the ER finds nothing but alcohol in their system. They describe the symptoms they're suffering from, and the doctor rolls their eyes and says "all symptoms of over-consumption of alcohol..."
"What happens when you're of
"What happens when you're of relatively light body mass, dehydrated, haven't eaten much, and chug your drink?"
You puke, dumbass. How about you try clutching your pearls over the predators who infest college parties instead of the normal folks trying to enjoy them like everybody else?
Call Rolling Stone?
Call Rolling Stone?
Seriously, there have been quite a few bullshit stories along this line. Every one of them hurts the real ones.
Rape cases should be investigated by the local police department. That's what they do. Why is Emerson held responsible for the investigation? If she was killed would they be responsible for the murder investigation?
If it was an armed robbery would they investigate it?
No. Take it out of the school's hands. Give it to local police that have the expertise to investigate it correctly. The (as they say, 'allegedly') guilty will be charged and the spurious stories filtered out. Maybe.
Agreed
However, there are some campus rape activists who say that it's wrong of the universities to send rape victims to the cops, because it's "too traumatic, it's like raping us all over again, we need counselors, not police, rape kits are an invasion of our privacy, we need help processing the rape before we decide if we want to take criminal action,"
I actually got into an e-mail "argument" with one when I was an undergrad at BU, around 2006-2007: she'd written a long op-ed in the Daily Free Press openly slamming the university for routinely involving the police in rape investigations, and I wrote a letter to the editor explaining the importance of rape kits and legal procedures in handling felonies. She was actively discouraging rape victims from going to the police; I felt that was a wrong-headed message to be sending out to young people on their own for the first time.
Said young activist was so vehement that the police are not appropriate for handling rapes that she tracked down my email address from the "letters to the editor" account and sent me not one but two vicious, harassing emails personally attacking me and accusing me of hating rape victims and wanting to punish them, and being a generally evil person who wanted to shame women and enslave them back into the 1800s.
I'm female, with an obviously female first name; this was just the advice I'd give to anyone close to me who'd been a victim of crime, anywhere: let the REAL police handle felonies. I'm not entirely sure what some of these activists want, short of punishing people on demand with no proof.
Yup.
I guess one takeaway from that social justice warrior would be that only college enrolled women have access to non-police rape investigators.
And this isn't what the
And this isn't what the police are for? The alleged crime happened at an MIT frat house, and Emerson needs to investigate? The possibility that this suit could be even considered just shows the fundamental wrong-headedness of Title IX.
If she was raped, and someone is convicted, he or they should be executed. You all take rape as seriously as I do, right?
Why the "Real Police" should investigate
College cops have little to no experience or training in these issues. The real police should only be allowed investigate the situation, which Cambridge detectives did. The victim refused to have competent police bring charges. The schools should stay out of the criminal law business and only be required to report to local police and provide assistance only after an incident is reported. I hope she gets 25 Million dollars. what a pack of clowns.
Yes, rape is a serious crime
However, and with respect to the victim, if she refused to press criminal charges with the "real police", then what business does she have filing a lawsuit against Emerson NOW.
?
If she was assaulted / raped, why didn't she call the police after the fact?
It's in the complaint
It can be hard to report something like that. The complaint goes into her reasons in more detail.
She experienced TRAUMA from the rape
any of the administrators should have recognized that - the complaint mentions a DEATH THREAT in email and text messages, as well as a second incident of harassment.
All possible felonies. Call
All possible felonies. Call the cops.
Of Course It Can Be Hard.
It is much less difficult in the US nowadays than, even in Western Europe a few years ago. (Experienced. Was told to expect jail time and probable expulsion from the country for defamation.)