Although I’m copying a quote about a children’s book, I thought it was important to post information, as victims of sexual assault are on the rise and are of all ages.

There is an excellent children’s book to help children who it is either known, or suspected, are being sexually abused. It is a faith-based book and they included the faith element because it is the child’s real story, fictionally told, and he relied on faith to help him, and also because many children are threatened and silenced by abusers using faith as a weapon. The book is easy to read, small and discreet in size, and something children will be attracted to and will want to read. The first in a series of four. The second, David’s Shield, is about to begin publishing and has been endorsed by the Chaplain of the New England Patriots and Award-Winning Singer/Songwriter Natalie Grant among others. It has already been added to Resource Lists in many places and is a safe and tasteful tool to help children share. The title of the book is David’s Sword by David, Lee and Marybeth Elliott. It can be purchased or ordered at any bookstore in the U.S. or you may visit David’s Sword Dot Com for an autographed copy.

While attempting not to blame the victim and offend anyone, as it is a fact that these crimes are underreported, all of this story seems so derived…down to the quote in which the victim says she showers and scrubs herself and feels dirty. And she just woke up with bleeding and facial damage? She didn’t notice it between Sigma Chi and her return home? All of the details seem very suspicious. I also am bewildered by her attack on the ODOS. I had a much more minor personal crisis last semester and had to return home for a number of weeks and I was completely overwhelmed by the response I received from the Deans there. Not only did I receive their full support, but also received follow-up phone calls and was extended many offers of help along the way. If the victim really wants to figure out what happened to her and who did it, she shouldn’t be spending her time giving interviews to the Herald in which she blames everyone and everything for not coming to her aid.

Good to see another unbiased article in the Herald

I smell BS here. Here�s how it really happened� girl drinks all day/night under her own will and wakes up naked in frat house, feels embarrassed about it and the sex she probably had last night, so she makes up a story to try to put innocent people behind bars� a story where she becomes the helpless victim. Sure she was wasted (under her own will), but she WAS NOT roofied. Contrary to what she said, roofies will almost always stay in your system for 72 hours.

And by the way, if her friend was indeed roofied at a party there last Spring, why the hell would she not tell anyone, and also if you did think that Sigma Chi roofied people, why would you go back to that house?

The cops know she was at Sigma Chi, right? And they know that’s where she woke up? And that she can’t remember anything after the vodka?

Sounds like probable cause to me to detain the bartender, search the entire Sigma Chi building, and question and possibly take DNA samples from all the brothers.

Great article, Signe.

Not that this isn’t a sad story, but if she was really roofied, it seems odd that she’d be able to play beer pong way later in the night. This would have to be at least 6 hours after the intake of the drug. One of the most common indications of a person that was roofied is dizziness and extreme slurred speech. It seems likely that her friends would have noticed their friend was really messed up and taken her home, even if they are really naive.

I’d put money down that Sigma Chi is off campus by semester’s end. It sounds like their new brotherhood bonding activities now include gang rape. A bunch of fucking class acts.

�I would like to think I hold my staff to very high standards, and I believe strongly in my staff and I believe strongly in terms of their advocacy and support of students,� Berquam said.

yeah fucking right. the bureaucracy at this school is ridiculously convoluted, and the deans don’t do SHIT. i’m not surprised that they FAILED TO HELP A RAPE VICTIM. so if you’re reading this, FUCK YOU.

@10:15: there’s a world of difference between “I was drinking and stuff got fuzzy” and “I was barely buzzed and next thing I know, I’m several blocks from where I started and 6 hours have passed”

PS, Women who have sex and then regret it complain to their friends, not try to get people arrested. If the victim here tried to get anyone arrested, it’d result in MORE publicity about all the “sex she had,” which is counterproductive to the cause.

she was raped. whether or not she was roofied is less relevent. the real issue is that she is choosing to remain anonymous while she watches this fraternity fall. if she is anonymous, and the “purpose” of these articles were to alert and inform the campus, then naming sigma chi specifically was uncalled for. “a fraternity” would have been sufficient.

@1:00: Consensual drunken sex doesn’t tear up a vag like you were masturbating with a pine cone and coincidentally look consistent with forcible gang-rape.

whether roofies were involved or not doesn’t matter.

If i’m a guy who is having sex with a very drunk woman after several of my friends have had sex with her, and we’re leaving behind injuries, we know what we are doing is WRONG.

How can all of you say shit like that? If she had, had consensual sex, she wouldn’t have woken up the next day with bruises all over her body and have been bleeding. The doctors said she was raped by several men. It doesn’t matter if she was roofied or just wasted — she was still raped by SEVERAL MEN. not just one.

I question quite a lot about this story. Rape is awful, and I am in no way at a loss of sympathy towards victims of such a brutal crime, but if you read the transcript from the interview, it seems there’s much more to the story than just the alleged rape.

Many of the points that have been made on this message board are valid, but nothing will be known until more facts are released about this case. There are lots of issues here in play. According to this woman, everyone is at fault - Sigma Chi, the Dean, the University, the 90% of her sorority sisters who she doesn’t feel comfortable with and appear to not be supporting her, the girls she was with that night who she didn’t know that well and who left her at the house - everyone was to blame, so she states.

I really think the roofie aspect of this is out the door. She seems to be just tagging that into a separate alleged incident, I believe involving one of her friends, which seems convenient. I know of a woman who was once a victim of a date rape drug. She was ok, she was not raped, but she did say that she had one drink and remembers nothing after that point. Her friends who were with her said she all of a sudden became incredibly dizzy, slurred her speech terribly, and was so ‘out of it’ that she had to be taken home where she basically slept it off. I agree, playing beer pong on her own two feet several hours later seems highly unlikely for this current situation.

What does seem likely? She had too much to drink all day. It was the Saturday of the Ohio State game, everyone partied all day and night, even after that heartbreaking loss. Whether that eventually led to forced sex between her and one or several men is entirely up to the records. Doctor reports will tell a lot in this case - not sure if DNA samples were really taken, or if oral samples is all they really took (according to her story it sounds like she was tested down south too, not just up north…), but all of this is based on just the woman’s story - nothing of fact has been offered by the school, the authorities, the hospital, anyone.

Ultimately though, we all need to see what comes out in the next few days/weeks before we can make any judgements here. I’m saying basically what most people have already stated: there’s a lot of questions marks here and there needs to be more hard evidence revealed before jumping on the ‘kick those m-f’ers off campus and do it now’ bandwagon.

Sad story though, as someone who was in the Greek system, it’s a terrible thing when an organization takes a hit from an incident like this that, at the very worst, may have involved only a few select individuals. We all see cases like this from time to time and know that’s just one of the risks involved in choosing to be part of organizations like this where bad things can certainly happen.

I’m sure none of the dean’s assisted her because it certainly seems that none of these facts she states can be proven. It sounds like she blacked out, woke up, was embarrassed, and now wants to take her emotions out on a fraternity.

I am flabbergasted by the number of men and women who question the validity of this student’s ordeal. The doctor’s report of the bruising and tearing is enough to make me want to vomit…..vomit all over each and every fucker at the Sigma Chi house who thinks he is too cool to get caught acting like a thug.

I haven’t even read the other comments on this, but I know many people are going to say that they smell lies- But seriously… I think it’s amazing of the victim to come out and share her story. If you’re reading this, my friends and I, who are also in the Sororities, think you are really brave for coming out with this story. You are so right in saying that people don’t come out with these stories. I mean, sometimes… girls think that if they are at a party, drinking and going out and having fun, that something like sexual assault is “deserved” or they were embarassed. That doesnt make rape an excuse. I just want you to know, that despite people’s negative comments— You have a lot of people in the greek system and elsewhere who support you and think that you sharing your story is extremely brave. Thank you for coming forward. You are amazing.

I do not like that she has implied that every sigma chi member is a bad person. My brother is in that frat and he would NEVER do anything like this. However it angers me that his reputation is also on the line because of this ordeal. I do understand he has chosen to be a part of this fraternity however this does not mean he is aware some members are capable of doing what they have allegedly done. I think something needs to be done about this if there is truth to these allegations, and whoever is at fault needs to be severely punished however it makes me sad that now it seems all at Sigma Chi will be looked down upon. Yes others say they were rufied or raped but did not come forward so no one was aware of this, including those men at Sigma Chi who were not involved. So they cannot be blamed or looked down upon for living with these men who have allegedly done something horribly wrong, because they very well may not have been aware of what allegedly happened. I know my brother, he is a great guy, and respects woman. He is one of the most respectful people I know and would never do anything like this. It just makes me sad he may be looked do upon for something he had nothing to do with. I’m sure if Sigma Chi was aware of the alleged earlier incidences than the men who were at fault would have been kicked out, and future attacks, if by the same men (most likely so) would not have happened. However they were not aware, so nothing was done.

My brother has always protected me, has always has respect for women and has always stood up for them in situations where they were taken advantage of. I do not like that he may be looked down upon because of this. I love him and will always respect him and will never not just because of the fraternity he is a part of.

I say allegedly and alleged because nothing has been officially proven and no criminal punishment has been taken. So I do not feel comfortable saying this has happened because I personally do not know and I do not want to join the bandwagon of slandering this fraternity.

-A younger sister.

I disagree with BH’s choice to go with this article period, I wish this would have been the cover article. All three articles were poorly put together and quite frankly any kid who wrote for their high school newspaper would have known the negative controversy this would stir. And assuming the incident is true, this article, the victim’s statement, etc. could all possibly be used against her in the case, because as so many critics have put it, it looks “fishy” and as a friend of more than one victim of violent crimes and an advocate for a safer campus, I was disturbed by some of the poorly made statements in these articles and was myself inclined to believe that this is at the very least not the entire truth of the story, and for me that is the saddest part of all.

whereas i am disgusted by most of the comments here, at lease the previous post shows her invested interest in the story by revealing her relationship with one the guys in the frat. but your bro should also understand that individuals are never just individuals; they join social organizations and take up social roles. Being a frat bro is one of them. That is why, given your bro wants to uphold his reputation, the frat needs to step up (I wish) to clean up the house were this charge turn out to be true. That is also why the alleged victim is to be strongly commended for stepping up to call attention to a bigger problem beyond her own.

I am the victims mother. She called me crying I met her at the hospital, they did a COMPLETE rape exam. DNA takes months to test, the state lab does testing in order of what the lab feels is most important. I know some of the frat brothers have given their DNA, IF YOU ARE SO PURE WHY DON’T YOU ALL GIVE DNA SAMPLES. The few who refuse would sure look guilty. I hope you are sweating if you are found my daughter will take you to court. I CAN’T BELEVE YOU ARE SUCH A BUNCH OF LOSERS WHO HAVE TO DRUG A GIRL TO GET SEX.

When a woman says she has been raped, brutally raped, and the doctor says she was as well, believe her. maybe it’s hard for some people who have posted their doubts about her story to believe that this kind of sick criminal behavior exists in Madison. Why would she make this kind of story up? It’s affected her enough to have ruined her life. To fellow women out there: never accept drinks handled by other people, and keep your mace handy.

Amen to the younger sister!

@5:54 PM: She bought the drinks. She said so.

I was given a date rape drug, and I woke up the next morning in my own bed with no recollection. I was (thankfully) with excellent friends who realized something was wrong with me and took me home, away from the guy who’d bought me the drink. I was so messed up within several minutes of drinking that drink (feverish, dizzy, woozy) that my friends (who’d been drinking) realized something was wrong.

With that said, even consensual sex in the state she was in IS classified as rape. However, everyone involved needs to own up and admit what actually happened. That includes not blaming ODOS or the Greek System.

I am not a member of the Greek System (although I do have a sister who is), but I am disgusted by the slander the Badger Herald constantly pours upon the Greek System. This would have never been three front page articles if a non-Greek had committed the rape.

More women, like this one, need to come forward with their stories. However, women like this one, who leave details blank, blame the world, and exploit the media, give the rest of us ladies a bad name when we attempt to come forward. The response they deservingly get is the reason more ladies don’t come forward.

Again, having an entire fraternity give DNA samples will use more resources than are available. What organization has the money, time, and man power to do that. If the criminal justice system can’t do it how can the members be expected to. It is not an admission of guilt to not do so. Additionally, to everyone who makes a point about the probation. It is stated in the article that the probation is VOLUNTARY. It is not put in place by any governing body. It is a clear measure taken by the president to assist in whatever needs to be done to help solve all of this.

@5:54: If a rape account was made up for revenge/craziness, then nothing can happen to you because there are no sexual predators out there. “If people knew what was out there hunting them, they’d never leave the house.”

It troubles me that people are denying that a rape has occurred. Can we please keep a distinction between scrutiny and dismissal? I am also disturbed by the fact that some are questioning the journalistic merit of this article. It is simply a representation of the victim’s account of what happened. It is hardly the BH’s fault that Sigma Chi declined to comment. Clearly it has started a much needed dialogue among students and faculty on the issue of rape. @4:47, I never knew a good journalist that didn’t embrace controversy. You are stupid, go back to high school.

P.S. It is called libel when it is printed in the newspaper, not slander.

what did she seek to gain by submitting this story to the badger herald? UNLESS YOU ARE CERTAIN OF WHO DID THIS TO YOU, DON’T BASH AN ENTIRE HOUSE! half of these kids went to my high school, middle school, elementary school, church, youth groups, clubs - the point is, i know many of them very well. the boys i know in the house are honestly amazing people. for them to suffer a bad reputation for no reason is absurd.

to the victim: i am so sorry for whatever happened to you. however, this was not the right way to deal with anything. how would you feel if your entire sorority were being blamed for something really serious that could change your life - but you were innocent?

If you are reading this, the victim, I want you to know that you are not alone and you are SOOO brave for doing this. Rape is not a foreign possibility. It could happen to anyone on campus. It is not a reason to blame this young woman for going out with her friends and drinking because it is something that the majority of this campus does EVERY weekend. That does NOOOT mean that she deserves to be violated. Being drunk does not mean that what happened is ok. And even if you don’t believe that this is true (which evidence is against you on that) it happens to women every day! 1 in every 4 women will be sexually violated some time in their life. Thank you for your bravery. I hope that any girl who reads this understands that this could easily be any one of them and instead of exiling this poor cool as fraud, we should come together and try to prevent rape from happening EVER! PEACE and LOVE

How absurd to suggest that members of the fraternity shouldn’t have to volunteer DNA samples. If you’re innocent, prove it. I find it ridiculous that MPD has “no suspects” 5 months later….there’s a house full of suspects sitting on Langdon street. A matter this serious should not be sitting behind excuses like it’s somehow disrespectful to this frat, those who are innocent and don’t want to be dragged down with this sinking ship that is Sigma Chi, they should be lining up to prove their innocence. Anyone with information shouldn’t be unwilling to come forward in the name of brotherhood. For all the people who think it was just a drunk girl who is embarrassed…you should be ashamed. I wish that all the guys on this campus had to go out one weekend night and be in fear of rape, or assault walking home alone or drinking too much and being taken advantage of and then have people who want to tell you it’s your fault. If someone told the guys on this campus that they shouldn’t drink if they don’t want to get raped, there’d be mayhem. How repulsive that there are people on this campus who subscribe to this viewpoint. As a female student and a member of the Greek system there is not one weekend night where the girls on this campus are not pursued by sexual predators… you meet them in bars and in houses, they want to take you home when you can’t stand up straight. They try to take your friend home, tell you they’ve got it…it’s constant and you have to be on guard 100% of the time, watch your girlfriends like hawk and that’s still not a guarantee that you’ll be safe. Asking again after she says “no” even if you think she wants it or you just need to work harder is coercion. Coercion is rape. Multiple guys bruising and having their way with a girl too drunk to remember is definitely rape, look it up being drunk makes consent a moot point anyway. There is a girl who’s life has been dramatically altered for the worse, and some people are worried about the reputation/ the innocent members being victimized of a social club? Be serious.

Rape is always a tragic event, no matter what preceded or didn’t precede it. The victim is just that: a VICTIM. They are justified in their anger, confusion, and any other horrible emotions that come after the event. That being said, writing an anonymous column that reflects terribly on ODOS, the Dean of Students, Greek life, and the UW-Madison campus as a whole is not the correct way of going about expressing those emotions. To slander and bring shame upon the members of the Sigma Chi fraternity without any evidential proof just brings the flood of negative responses that can be read in this thread alone. This kind of negative attention is exactly why it is hard for the victims to come forward and get help or seek justice. Sigma Chi brothers are not the only people who actually physically live in the Sigma Chi house on Langdon. The members of Sigma Chi could all have nothing at all to do with this event and more evidence is needed to even discuss who is to blame. I’m sure it wasn’t the intentions of the victim to bring unjustified harm to more innocent people, but unfortunately I believe this poorly handled situation has probably done just that. Rape awareness is always a good thing. Playing the blame game that affects the lives of innocent bystanders on a campus-wide scale is not.

U.S. Law: a female who is younger than a certain age or who has Consumed alcohol is unable to give consent. Sexual activity in this situation is therefore automatically considered to be rape.

notice how all it says is “consumed alcohol” and doesn’t specify the amount… think about that the next time you go home with someone from a bar.

Absolutely RIDICULOUS! And we wonder why so few survivors/victims ever come forward after an assault or press charges. Our campus and community have too many misguided people that would rather denounce this alleged attack then take up a call to action!

Let�s go over the facts: 1. It is illegal to have sex with someone who is feeling the affects of alcohol. A person who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs cannot give consent! Attempting to have sex with anyone under the influence is called sexual assault and/or rape! That is not to say that a consenting couple cannot go out drinking together and have sex afterwards. What it means is that you cannot go up to a guy/girl who is clearly intoxicated at a party or bar and take him/her home with you. Wait a couple of hours. Then see if they still agree to move beyond making out. 2. Roofies and any drug in general work differently on different people, especially in different doses. The assumption that the survivor wasn�t roofied because she didn�t describe text book symptoms is ludicrous.

This brave woman came forward to reveal that there are people in our community that have potentially committed an atrocious crime. It is our duty, our responsibility to see that those who may have violated this woman�s trust, mind, and body are brought to justice. It is absolutely outrageous that such abuses exist in our society. What�s even more despicable is that there are people in our community who would rather shame and condemn the victim/survivor than clamor in support of more preventative programs and faster evidence gathering. In no other crime do you have people denouncing the victim in this way. A person whose home is burned down is never attacked like this. There should be a call for a thorough investigation. The members of the alleged organization should come out in support of the alleged survivor/victim by donating their DNA.

I hope one day every person can walk around naked, as drunk and drugged up as they want to be, and never be approached by an interested stranger wanting them to come back to their apartment. I hope one day the only sex anyone will ever be having is amazing consentual sex. Until then, we have to do more.

Thank you Badger Herald for printing this piece (although you shouldn�t have mentioned the organization). By discussing this topic, I hope that we will all be more aware of the problem and therefore become more active as bystanders, asking if someone is ok when they look a bit tipsy, not laughing when our friends joke about fucking the drunk girl, calling the police when we see a girl purposely feeding drinks to a guy in the hopes of scoring that night.

As a society we have to do more to stop these horrific crimes.

Dean of Students Lori Berquam has called for a campus forum to discuss sexual assault issues on Tuesday, March 10 at 6:30pm (TITU).

THE DNA EVIDENCE IS IN THE STATE LAB FILES. ANYTIME IN THE FUTURE YOU GIVE YOUR DNA FOR A JOB IT IS PUT IN THE FILE. WHEN IT COMES UP A MATCH THEY’VE GOT YOU. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE SCARED THAT SOMEDAY YOU WILL BE FOUND OUT.

My daughter also is a student at UW and my greatest fear for her has been to be raped or abducted since there have been many rapes/attacks and murders since she started there in 2005. Let me say this. Don’t ever think that Fraternity members are exempt from horrible acts of crime. When I was 19 (early 1970’s) I went to a Fraternity party with a guy I had been dating for four months. The party was held at a pub down the street from the college and there was music and dancing. I had ONE beer and while we were dancing I started to feel strange. My boyfriend took me outside to get air and we had to leave. Fortunately for me I was with a kind of gentle young man who truly cared for me. I passed out and he took me to my brother’s house (so that my parents wouldn’t freak out) and we found that someone had put a “roofie” in my drink. I warned my daughter when she left to ALWAYS watch who pours her drink and keep an eye on it at all times, even if it is just bottled water or soda. (and, isn’t it sad that we have to put that fear into young adults!) Not all parents and UW staff believe this does indeed happen. It seems to be that YOLAND GARZA, ASSISTANT DEAN OF STUDENT SERVICES needs to be put on suspension immediately and a full investigation should be put forth rather than defending her based on any previous help she has given. Having worked in the education field for over ten years, I can say that I have witnessed Administrators I know become cold or for lack of better words, “shut down,” in dealing these types of complaints and problems. I think they start out caring too much, and then, to keep their emotional stance, they emotionally block out feelings so they can just handle the pressures of their job. This is what Yoland may have done. However, that does not excuse YOLANDA GARZA. There were comments above that stated: “how come the victim didn’t realilze she was raped before she left the Frat House and again when she got home?” The simple answer is, the drug was still in her system (note she fell back to sleep immediately upon arriving back at her place!!) For those of you who are making the comments against this girl, let me say, until you have absolutely lived inside her life and walked in her shoes, you should not be casting ANY stones at her. Shame on all of you!!! I hope that the UW does a complete investigation, and again, I want to say they should suspend/probabtion/lay off (without pay) YOLAND GARZA as punishment for her actions in this case. In our family, we currently have five relatives that have been accepted to UW-Madison. I just got off the phone with my two cousins and they are really having second thoughts about having their daughters go to UW-Madison. Attention ALL DEANS AT UW! Stop sweeping these problems under the carpet. Sexual or attacks of any kind need to be thoroughly investigated; all students should be alerted of the date, times, and locations, any any pertinent information released (description: i.e. roofies put in drinks, sexual assault while walking down street, mugging/theft, etc) so that ALL students (and parents and all staff) can be put on alert. My hat goes off to this girl for coming forward and letting her voice be heard. It is a very brave and courageous thing to do. In closing, I think EVERY MEMBER OF SIGMA CHI SHOULD CONSENT TO DNA TESTING and if they do not consent, they should be arrested as suspects in the case!!!!!!

And you wonder why she JUST came forward?

—- It’s because of all you ANONYMOUS commenters!! Would ANY of you have the emotional stability to read the types of things you are all saying about her IMMEDIATELY following a brutal and savage rape?

—- And as for the International spokesman for Sigma Chi who said something like, “the allegations that have been made do not correspond with the values of Sigma Chi.” ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!? JUST because when you were in college, and things were possibly a tad bit different than they are now, doesn’t mean shit doesn’t happen nowadays!!! MULTIPLE men from this fraternity RAPED an innocent young woman; you should be saying that you will remind all of the men who are a part of Sigma Chi of their duties as fraternity members, and that is showing everyone just how “classy” and “respectful” they are by making them not only fully cooperate with the police/investigation, but also to come forward and submit their DNA—— And that means ALL of the members.

I am absolutely shocked at how many comment writers act like this student is making these claims to cover up getting drunk and having sex! It is not at all likely that a girl would have sex rough enough to cause bleeding and bruising of her own free will. How many of you have ended up brusied and bleeding after sex? Not me or anyone I know. Whether or not she was given a date rape drug can not be proven one way or the other but every member of that fraternity and any male guests there that night need to be given lie detector tests and then those that fail need to be DNA tested. This girl was RAPED and the perpetrator(s) need to be charged and convicted. The university and the fraternity need to follow up on this. I’m SURE the majority of the young men in that frat do not condone this anymore than the rest of the community. They are not going to be popular guys if girls don’t feel safe there. They are the ones that need to pursue makeing sure the rapist is caught. The frat members who know what happened need to come forward and the sooner the better! Be real adult men and come call the police; you need to do this to protect the girls on campus. Rapists are not normal guys doing nomal guy things. They are men who hate women and won’t stop with one rape. This girl should be commended for speaking up.I guarantee it wasn’t easy. It would have been much easier to go home, clean up and shut up. She is protecting some other girls from going through the ordeal she has. She has my admiration and respect. The rapist and the wimps covering up for him don’t. -Anonymous

Did anyone stop to consider that it may not have been one of the brothers within the fraternity? Although this act did take place in Sigma Chi, and therefore responsibility does lie there, a lot of times that other people are present in the houses. And given the fact that the guy whose room it was had no knowledge of her being in there & wanted her out could be a sign that it wasn’t the frat members.

I’m not letting the fraternity off the hook. This obviously was a horrific deed. And given the fact that she has been through this trauma, it’s easy to see why she may feel it’s her against the world. But for everyone else not emotionally attached to the situation, don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions just because she did.

As someone who spends a lot of time at a fraternity, I hate the bad light this has shed on the Greek system. It’s a horrible tragedy, but don’t blame an entire house or entire system for what, as of now, appears to be an isolated incident.

I can’t believe how many people are victimizing the victim. And we wonder why rape is under reported. I feel for this young lady and the piece of her that was shattered through this horrible ordeal. Let us all learn from this situation and comfort and care for our sisters in pain. I admire your strength. Stay strong and proud.

Nice, Badger Herald. Way to write an unbiased, fact-based article.

It’s an alleged incident for a reason. It should be judged within the legal system, not the court of public opinion. I hope that Sigma Chi sues the paper for slander.

As a female alumnus who had ties to the both the Greek System and the Badger Herald during my undergraduate studies, I find your choice of sensationalist journalism disgusting, and have lost all respect for The Badger Herald. Your editorial decisions are not only poor, but reprehensible.

Frat culture is a disease to this university; treating pettiness, cruelty and small-mindedness as though they were virtues. UW should take action for the future and well-being of its students by permanently shutting down the greek system. They have no place in a serious academic community.

the comments regarding this article dismissing the seriousness or questioning the validity of what happened to this girl make me sick. it makes me sick to think i attend school on a campus where people like you are my “peers”. they call it a rape kit for a reason. it tests for rape. when conclusive, thats not negotiable. can you think how many rape victims a hospital in a college town must see? for this girl to be one of the worst, for her to have suffered multiple attacks, and for all of you heartless bastards to QUESTION or BLAME her is beyond reprehensible. it makes me too sick to even think or effectively continue to comment on.

what if it was you? what if it was your little sister or best friend? you incredible assholes.

I am a mother of a student who put a comment up here earlier on March 5th at 1:59 pm. I have decided I am going to write a letter to the Administration regarding Yolanda Garza’s lack of action on behalf of this woman and ask for her dismissal or at the minimum a suspension without pay. I suggest other parents do the same.

There are Fraternities that can play a positive spot in campus life and throughout their careers. I know some gentlemen in their early 30’s all the way to their 50’s where it played a positive place in their life and these were fraternities that did not push the edge in bad ethics and behavior during pledging and from then on. However, it only takes a small percentage to ruin the good for all. That is why every single young man at the Sigma Chi Fraternity on Langdon Street should come forth and give their DNA. If they have nothing to hide, it shouldn’t be a problem. Plus, with their DNA on file, they will know that if they step out of bounds again, they are doomed. This is probably why the guilty will not volunteer to give their DNA. Just know, God is watching you guys and eventually what goes around comes around. and, didn’t you make your own Mothers proud…..you sick pups!!!!

“they call it a rape kit for a reason. it tests for rape. when conclusive, thats not negotiable.”

A “rape” kit is a misnomer. It’s an ‘evidence-collection’ kit. Juries, not doctors, make a determination of whether or not a ‘rape’ took place. Doctors only determine whether there was sex, and if there are injuries.

“having an entire fraternity give DNA samples will use more resources than are available.”

It could probably be done; but it would be unconstitutional. You have to provide “probable cause” for each individual whom you want to test. And that individual has the right to defend himself and offer proof he should not be included in the test (as, for example, if he was out of town at the time of the alleged crime).

Finally, since we have a presumption of innocence as our legal doctrine, let us retain that and wait for a court process to determine whether or not anyone is guilty here. An accusation does not make a trial a mere formality.

I applaud this young woman for coming forward with her story. It is traumatic to endure the rape itself, and even more so when one views the insensitive comments here. Truly disgusting. For those who don’t believe this happens in fraternity houses, WAKE UP! There have been hundreds of substantiated accounts of rapes on college campuses. Why do you doubt this one? Immaturity and your own naive notions of what happens on this campus. Time to grow up UW.

While every horrible story like this one deserves scrutiny from all angles, I am absolutely shocked at the lack of support for this unfortunate young woman. She is just like any of you, your friend or your girlfriend or your roommate. She is a member of this university and part of this community, she could be in any one of your classes. What is happening here is not unexpected. It happens everyday, and it is the reason why rape is hard to punish. It is easy to sweep through this woman’s story and find fault with it, but ask yourselves…shouldn’t we be doing everything we can to find and question the people that have done this? It is not a crime to go out and get drunk. It is a crime to rape a woman. You are all staring a rape victim in the face and saying she should have known better. This is not her fault. Every woman on this campus should feel safe, and every woman on this campus has the right to get drunk and not be terrified that she will wake up the victim of a rape. It is our job as students and friends and roommates to advocate for this. I am of course not saying that it is not the responsibility of everyone on this campus to maintain their own safety. It certainly is. If anything, this is a wake up call to everyone to be in control of their own person because their are horrible people out there. If anything, this is the reason why this brave woman has taken the time to share her story. So that we can learn the truth, and realize that a too “good” of a time could come at inestimable cost. Why did she not come forward earlier? You tell me if you would be able to look at someone and trust them with the most humiliating and dehumanizing experience of your life. She is healing, and this is a small step in a process that will be life long for her. The fraternity system is not at fault, the rapists within it are. I ask everyone who is a member of this organization to work with the community, the police, and the investigators of this crime. Do this so that the people who are making the entire system look bad can be punished and caught, not retained within YOUR system, forcing YOU to share the blame of this nauseating occurence. Please, for yourselves and this woman and any other person that has experienced rape, do not hinder this investigation and do not make excuses for the people who took away a person’s autonomy.

I heard about this debate and decided to chime in. I was raped by two men at a fraternity party almost 10 years ago. It was at a different university and I was not drugged. I was simply filled with alcohol to the point where I didn’t know what was going on. The two men who took me to their room were the ones who got me drunk. They knew full well that they were taking advantage of me. First they convinced me to just kiss, which I did willingly. I started to feel nauseous and told them I wanted to stop and go home because I thought I might get sick. I asked them for help getting me home. Instead, they pushed me down on the bed and raped me. Yes, it was stupid of me to get drunk. Yes, I shouldn’t have trusted them. But ultimately, they completed a violent act against me. No woman, no matter what, should be forced to have sex. Period. I have told only a handful of people for fear that the same judgment would be passed upon me as was passed against this victim: that I brought it upon myself by my partying and interest in the guys. It is true that I was interested in a lot of things with these guys: I had an interest in dating, in being a part of the greek scene, in showing that I could party like the older girls, etc. But I had no interest in having my life ruined forever. If you haven’t been raped, and in particular, if you haven’t been raped when you are under the influence, you can’t understand what you go though. You can barely believe that it happened. I believe that this woman was brave and thought her actions could help others. After the ridiculous judgment thrown at her, you have to wonder whether she regrets doing something so brave. I know that I am one of hundreds of rape survivors out there who didn’t have the courage to come forward and who support her 100%.