<p>“In the face of new information, there now appear to be discrepancies in Jackie’s account, and we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced. We were trying to be sensitive to the unfair shame and humiliation many women feel after a sexual assault and now regret the decision to not contact the alleged assaulters to get their account. We are taking this seriously and apologize to anyone who was affected by the story.”</p>
<p>“The fraternity said that the chapter had no event scheduled on the weekend in question. In addition, the fraternity questioned the claim that one of the men involved had worked at a campus pool. “As far as we have determined, no member of our fraternity worked there in any capacity during this time period,” the statement said.”</p>
<p>There are additional details on the Washington Post website refuting many aspects of her story.</p>
<p>"A group of Jackie’s close friends, who are sex assault awareness advocates at U-Va., said they believe something traumatic happened to her, but they also have come to doubt her account. They said details have changed over time, and they have not been able to verify key points of the story in recent days. A name of an alleged attacker that Jackie provided to them for the first time this week, for example, turned out to be similar to the name of a student who belongs to a different fraternity, and no one by that name has been a member of Phi Kappa Ps</p>
<p>Reached by phone, that man, a U-Va. graduate, said Friday that he did work at the Aquatic and Fitness Center and was familiar with Jackie’s name. He said, however, that he had never met Jackie in person and had never taken her on a date. He also said that he was not a member of Phi Kappa Psi."</p>
<p>Not saying UVA does not have some issues to address, but this is ridiculous and what an insult to genuine victims.</p>
<p>When I actually read the whole article, I had an uneasy feeling that this was going to be the case. Not that any of the details sounded impossible, but it didn’t seem to me that the reporter had done any investigating to verify her story, like asking the fraternity about that event, fact checking names, etc. Maybe I just don’t remember, but did she even interview the fraternity man who was president at that time to confirm party dates, etc.?</p>
<p>The really awful thing about stuff like that is how incredibly far back it sets the cause of rape victims, both male and female. If any of the details of her story are false, then none will be believed.</p>
<p>The Washington Post article is the most detailed. Here’s an eyebrow raising quote:</p>
<p>"Jackie said she never wanted to go to U-Va. Graduating near the top of her high school senior class of 700, she had planned to attend Brown University. She dreamed of pursuing a career in medicine like her childhood hero, Patch Adams.</p>
<p>“I wanted to help people,” Jackie said.</p>
<p>She said she was disappointed when her family told her that they could not afford the Ivy League tuition. She enrolled at U-Va. without ever visiting the school."</p>
<p>Are they implying this was an act of revenge? An effort to be allowed to transfer? Holy cow.</p>
<p>So she could only pursue a career in medicine if she went to Brown? Seems like it would be smartest to go to the cheaper school to have some left to help out with med school. Is she in med school now? I mean, who actually “plans” to go to Brown? It’s a crapshoot for anyone. Perhaps it’s just poorly written.</p>
<p>I have no idea whether the allegations are true or not, but it’s crazy how to think how much one person can affect an entire university. I mean, think about how many times this has been covered in the news, retweeted, shared, and otherwise talked about. Also, think about how it affects campus life, the reputation of the college, and prospective students/alumni. </p>
<p>I for one am glad they are taking steps to take an honest look at their system and how they handle rape (something I think every university should do), but at this point even if the allegations were fabricated (which, for the sake of all the real sexual assault activists out there, I hope it isn’t) I think the impact has already gone too far to reverse.</p>