Barrack Obscumbo smoked immense amounts of marijuana while he was on the rosters at Occidental -- but he didnt attend anything I dont think
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Rape at Occidental College: Official Hush-Up Shatters Trust
When Leah Capranica decided to go to Occidental College in Los Angeles, she thought she had found a school whose values matched her own. With its tranquil campus in Eagle Rock and its diverse student body — after all, President Barack Obama went there — the Springfield, Ill., native couldn't wait to attend an institution that would give her the opportunity to pursue her dream of studying politics.
But two weeks before her sophomore year began, Capranica, now 22, says she was sexually assaulted by another student. When she went to report the crime to school officials, Capranica was shocked by their response.
"I was told I might have to stay in the same dorm as the guy who had done this," she says, "and that my case wasn't really that serious."
ILLUSTRATION BY PATRICK FARICY
PHOTO BY TED SOQUI
Occidental professor Danielle Dirks: "People have the idea this college is kind of idyllic."
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Capranica, who declines to divulge details about her rape, unfortunately didn't report the alleged assault to the Los Angeles Police Department. "It's an incredibly emotional process," she says, "and based on the experience I was having at the school, I just didn't feel it was something I wanted to do at that time."
Capranica did push for an internal investigation at the school, though, and following a secret, closed-door hearing involving campus faculty and administrators, her rapist was found responsible by Oxy for assaulting her — as well as two other students. But after initially being expelled, the male student's punishment inexplicably was reduced to a suspension.
He will be allowed back on campus in December, never having been publicly named.
Then, when a rape near campus was revealed by CBS2 News in February, angry students and faculty began lashing out at college president Jonathan Veitch, dean of students and vice president for student affairs Barbara Avery and college counsel Carl Botterud for failing to alert the campus and for mishandling previous rape allegations. Critics dubbed themselves the Oxy Sexual Assault Coalition.
In April, members of that group, including Capranica and 37 current and former Occidental students, filed two federal complaints against the college. They say Oxy's secretive, image-conscious administration violated Title IX, which prevents colleges and universities from discriminating against students based on gender, as well as the Clery Act, which requires schools to report crimes that happen on campus.
They allege that Occidental has made a habit of discouraging students from reporting rapes to the college administration, retaliating against the mostly female students who do report rapes, and allowing alleged rapists back on campus.
Amidst this tension, a student accused the college's attorney, Botterud, of belittling the Oxy Sexual Assault Coalition to a group of male athletes, telling the men, "Fuck 'em," and arguing that the coalition had vilified male students in the complex cases to which police sometimes refer as "he said, she said." On May 6, the faculty considered a vote of "no confidence" in Avery and Botterud. It passed overwhelmingly.
Then, on May 22, prominent attorney Gloria Allred — representing eight students at Oxy — announced that those clients would be joined by women from USC, UC Berkeley, Swarthmore and Dartmouth who had filed similar complaints. "We have up to 16 violations that we lay out in the complaint," says Tucker Reed, 23, a female co-filer at USC. "They are not only federal civil rights violations but also violations of school policy."
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has announced that it is investigating one of the federally filed complaints. If that investigation ultimately shows that the school isn't compliant with Title IX and Oxy doesn't correct the problem, it could cost the private four-year college its federal funding.
Avery did not return numerous calls from L.A. Weekly seeking comment, but Botterud says it's possible he said "fuck 'em" because he strongly feels that all students — male and female — should have a voice in the tense conversation unfolding at Occidental, and some men feel they don't. "I don't recall whether I said that or not," Botterud says. "But it sounds like something I would have said under the circumstances."
Unfolding events have left the campus divided and the highly active Eagle Rock community wondering how this could happen in their backyard.
Danielle Dirks, an assistant professor of sociology, has firsthand experience with what she describes as the school's mishandling of rape allegations. After starting her job at Occidental in 2011, she says she was floored by the number of students who came to her office feeling "hurt and betrayed by the administration" after trying to report they had been sexually assaulted by other students.
"People have the idea that this college is kind of idyllic, and our campus is stunningly beautiful and amazing in every other way," Dirks says. "So it's hard for them to think, 'Oh my gosh, that's going on at Oxy.' "
Dirks and other faculty members say that, when they pushed the administration to change, long before the eruptions in the spring, they were ignored. Veitch, who took over at Oxy in 2009, admits he was too slow to respond, telling L.A. Weekly, "When we get these cases, we need to do a better job of investigating them, adjudicating them, responding empathetically to the students that have been violated, and we have to do a much better job on education."
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251 comments
On the surface, reporting the rape to police seems like the logical thing to do,
until you find out about how people who report rape are treated. It makes perfect sense to me that students would go to the college
administrators before the police, and I don't see how you could call meeting
with someone privately a "public act." I am a rape survivor and have actually been discouraged from going to the police by rape counselors because, most of the time, dealing with a police investigation when you don't have DNA evidence or a witness only adds to the trauma. First you have to deal with being interrogated, and if the case makes it to court, you have to go through this humiliating, incredibly personal violation in excruciating detail and have every aspect questioned, and your credibility shot through at every turn--all in a public trial by jury.
Someone I know reported her brutal rape to police, and they treated her like a criminal. She was interrogated for four solid hours, where they yelled at her, called her a liar, and in the end, traumatized her over again. Her case never went to court due to lack of evidence, the rapist got off scot-free and continues to teach at the institution at which he assaulted her, and she ended up having to leave her college because of retaliation from faculty. That was over a decade and a half ago and it still haunts her. So you really can't judge the victims for not reporting immediately, nor can you say, "if I had been raped, I would have done X," because unless you've actually gone through that trauma--which stays with you for the rest of your life, and changes you in ways that you would never have imagined--you simply don't know what you're talking about.
Students are afraid to report to police because they want to go public yet they report to college administrators, which is a public act - That reasoning is illogical
The other problem I have is with the closed courts make it open -
Not condoning any bad behavior, but many people do get drunk and make choices they never would have if sober and regret it - In these cases it is so easy for a women to accuse a man out of feelings of regret after drunken sex - This can not be dismissed and is unfair to men who have to prove innocence
That said if a young women is raped call the police and have the bastard arrested asap - That protects everyone - If I was raped that is what I would do I would not contact a school official
The answer is: report these assaults to the police immediately!! Of course no one can really do anything about a rape reported (to the school, not even to the police) years after the fact. I know it's upsetting and very hard to do, but if these young women want things to change they MUST be willing to involve law enforcement right away. The school couldn't do these cover up actions if the police were involved.
In 2003, I was raped at Colorado State University. I went the next day to get checked out and get a morning after pill from the school's health center. At that point in time, I was not planning on reporting the incident. After hours of keeping me at the health center, the school basically talked me into filing a police report. Once filed CSU police told me that since I am a student, but it happened off campus I needed to be in contact with the local police as well. The school transferred my case to the Fort Collins Police Department. During the case transfer, all of the evidence pertaining to my rape just somehow disappeared. This included semen stained clothing and sheets, as well as pictures of my injuries. Since there was no evidence, the Fort Collins police department told me the only way they could prosecute him was if he admitted what he did wrong. Of course he didn't and I my case was brushed aside. After years of therapy, I have moved passed the actual rape, but not how the police handled it. I already went through such a tramatic and demeaning experience that I still cannot believe the police (aka the people there to protect me) handled things so poorly. College campuses really need to work on curbing this epidemic and doing something more to help the victims. Ten years later and I am still not ok with how I was treated.
It is disgusting that schools like Oxy & Penn State are more concerned about the schools reputation than the safety & well being of the youth that visit or attend their schools. God bless all of you victims.
Lots of false accusations of rape out there. How do we know what happened if she never filed a report. Did she regret sleeping with the guy, drink too much and black out? There's more to the story but women's victimization is a very powerful story.
yea this is pretty creepy too https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151588052074681&set=a.10150684058959681.417379.36563149680&type=1
whereas if no one had argued with you, we would have magically gained the ability to teleport ourselves to exactly where those rapes were happening and interfere. or.....something? and I'm sure we would be expected to be doing this 24/7. no arguing on the internet for us, for sure.
It's irresponsible to place such a harsh burden on men who have never committed a sex crime or will ever commit one. It's creates a unrealistic perception of people which can become a stereotype. I don't want all men to be stereotyped as rapists.
perhaps this conversation would move along better if you did it front of a mirror? it is all about you after all...
"your discomfort over reasonable fears" =/= RAPE or RAPE CULTURE (i.e. blaming rape victims for rape, etc.). really dude? also "causing Goyo (or even all men) discomfort" is such a weird definition of "irresponsible" that it is just...baffling.
I love the hypocrisy of all of your arguments. You claim that I am selfish yet you keep talking to me. If you don't want this to be about mr then stop talking about me.
I "love" how to Goyo, "dangerous" means "might make women a little more suspicious of me and other men." Stakes are a bit higher for some of us, buddy.
And in the time it tool you guys to argue with me more females were raped. Nothing was resolved
it is certainly relevant to the topic. whether you needed or wanted to know is what's irrelevant, and it's adorable that you think anyone cares.
wow...knowing this much about a stranger? do you have any idea how many women are raped? seriously. it is not a unique experience, unfortunately. also, good. sit with that discomfort, maybe. do you think you would feel the same way about hearing from a victim of a different violent crime? might you actually have some...I don't know, sympathy? at least enough to realize how fucked up it would be to tell them that you weren't "comfortable knowing this much about" them? I "wonder."
Goyo is still wallowing in self-pity and an undeserved sense of victimhood? Talk about issues, making a cover that he himself didn't like on the systematic, pernicious cover up of rapes on UC campuses about him. That is some A grade narcissism right there. He should be grateful, all this attention for someone too lazy to read an article. He must have been similarly indulged at home.
Okay. And you have been rude , condescending, and trying to preach to me about things I already know. I'm sorry that you redundant tirades are cumbersome. You tell me to read sexist literature and get mad when I don't agree with your point of view. You think that because you were raped I automatically have to bow down to you. You're not better than anyone. Get off your high horse.
and he does it one more time. you are on a roll! you have yet to attempt peace. you have tried to derail, speak over me, speak for me, deny my experiences, and then tried to shame me when i shared experiences. but kudos for effort, eh?
@mcuvillier One last thing. After a severe trauma, your brain does very strange things. You may tell yourself now, "If I get raped, I'm going to report it to police," but if that actually happens to you (which truly I hope it never does) you may be so overwhelmed that it just doesn't occur to you. It's hard to explain exactly what you go through after something like that. Instead of judgmental finger-wagging towards the victims for not seeking justice the way you believe they should have, why not try to look at it from their perspective and consider why they did what they did?
@mcuvillier How is meeting in private with a school administrator a "public act??"
Also, these aren't just cases of girls having drunk-sex and then regretting it later, these are cases in which repeat offenders have targeted multiple students. One of the assailants even admitted to the rape, and he was allowed to return to campus. Which is INSANE on the school's part. What does this tell people? That at Occidental college, you can rape someone and get less punishment than if you had cheated on an exam or been caught smoking weed on campus?
Last thing--keep in mind how many people have been raped in the United States vs how many of those actually see any justice happen. The statistics vary, but according to various sources referred to by the Huffington Post, around 300,000 Americans are raped every year, and 1 in 5 women have been sexually assaulted in some way. And that's only the ones that report. It's estimated that 54% of rapes go unreported, and an astonishing 97% of rapists are NEVER incarcerated. Even if a man is falsely accused of rape, his chances of being found guilty are practically nil. That's great if you've been wrongly accused, I guess, but it's awful if you're a rape survivor who just wants your attacker behind bars so he can't hurt anyone else, but will never see that happen because you don't have evidence or witnesses. The justice system, unfortunately, does not favor justice in the case of sex crimes. Even if there is DNA evidence, lots of rape kits in the US are just sitting around untested. Rape is such a complicated thing that, unfortunately, it can be nearly impossible to prove.
@Patriarchy_works Please back up your assertions. Show us a single case in which an individual falsely accused of rape gets found guilty. Just FYI, 97% of rapists never do a single day of time.
Patriarchy only works if you're a patriarch.
@Patriarchy_works So, if she drank to much, she deserved to be raped, is that how you treat the women in your life? So, if your daughter drank to much, she deserves to be raped. That's sick! "Lots of false accusations" BS.
@Patriarchy_works That is why the school should not discourage victims from making police reports. Without an adequate investigation, no one knows.
@trobairitz @Patriarchy_works YOu are so full of dated and overused feminist garbage its stinks up the web page! Patriarchy works?? Look at the several FEMALE COMMUNIST representatives from California who do not represent those things that are pertinent and relevant to the nation or to this state - only to the communist agenda that you are too young to know anything about - It isnt patriarchy its a system that is contrary to our American Traditions and forma of Governance - You wont hear this at Oxy or from any liberal professor or otherwise!
she does not deserved to be raped - but what abut drunk people who make bad decisions and regret it the next day get mad and blame the other person for what happened - It does happen - That is why reporting should be done asap to the police
@trobairitz The politics that inspires one to use a moniker Patriarchy works reveals the politics where your buddy and perhaps you may be stranded reveals where at least one of your two minds are stuck (and thus your age.) I'll challenge your degrees and GPAs against mine any day - I happen to know all about Liberal professors - I am a Conservative Professor and the women that we have in office is precisely the direction that my message pointed you towards -- you didnt listen. If you can not understand the context between California electeds and Communists then I am not the least embarrassed. This generation is lost because it pretends to possess all the answers without having accumulated any knowledge, practical experiences or life skills.
"Creeeepy?" you comes off as an immature kid.
@c.carlos.ramos @trobairitz @Patriarchy_works
Your response is nonsensical and unwarranted. I'm only quoting statistics from, among other places, the CDC and Department of Justice. If you have a problem with it, you can take it up with them. And I only shared my and my friend's personal experiences. "Patriarchy works" is the username of the person I was responding to.
Judging by your sweeping generalization about universities, "liberal professors," and state representatives being part of the Communists agenda, I think it's safe to assume you are stuck in the McCarthy era, and never went to college. Well, take a deep breath and count to ten. It's 2013, we have women in office, and the Ruskis are not coming to get you.
Now please quit embarrassing yourself and take your Thorazine.
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