But, isn't that the rub? An investigation by the police department was done, evidence was presented, prosecutors saw it, not charges were pressed precisely due to the evidence. Now, all of a sudden they've been suspended?
Full disclosure, I have an 18-year old daughter. Fortunately for me, her final year of high school and her job are the most important things in her life right now. She has had one boyfriend and ended it quickly when she realized what he was about. She has no interest in men or s e x at this point in her life, believe it or not. That said, some girls do and some girls enjoy it for various reasons. It's not out the realm of possibility that this girl knew what she was doing and enjoyed every bit of it. It seems that that police department and prosecutor's office has come to that conclusion.
This is such a sensitive issue, and one must be careful to tread lightly so as not to risk misinterpretation of one's intent.
That being said, as a member of a frat at SU there were many times, at many wild parties and gatherings, where incidents such as you describe did indeed happen, and yes...each to my knowledge was consensual. Indeed, some young women compared notes and were remorseless about said encounters.
So...let's not be naive here. Not every woman is a pillar of virtue and honesty, and in as much as we need to hold those players accountable, its not beyond the scope that these types of incidents do happen, repeatedly, and from my experience, are usually consensual.
I knew several athletes at SU in the 80's and I have relatives and acquaintances currently or in the recent past, at different schools, who have related similar experiences as well. Again, times change and obviously each incident is different- there is no one size fits all here. But in this particular case, there WAS a video which apparently led authorities to conclude that the young woman was likely a willing participant, coherent, and under no apparent distress during the incident.
Hindsight being 20/20, and youth being the folly of the young, is it totally beyond comprehension that some sense of remorse comes into play following an incident such as this?
Again, I'm attempting to tread lightly here and am in no way excusing criminal or abhorrent predatory behavior. The young woman is adamant an assault took place, and she has the absolute right to seek redress. Obviously hormones and alcohol were also involved, adding more fuel to the fire. But these situations are not always stereo-typically black and white, and as difficult as it may be at times, its important to keep an open mind when dealing with them.
I hope I've adequately expressed myself in such a way so as NOT to invite the requisite cries of, "you're a male chauvinist, insensitive a-hole, who should be shunned and hanged for stating such garbage"...etc. etc, I'm simply trying to illicit mature dialog as to the matter at hand. JMHO
