Keeping secrets is a bad idea. First, facts are hardly ever worse than rumors. Second, secrets usually don't stay secrets forever.
All of this seems especially true now when it appears the Madison police have kept secrets for two months about another violent crime — an alleged rape — involving a UW student. Unless the Madison police have a good legal or investigative reason for keeping it secret, they haven't helped a situation in which many members of our community already think Madison isn't doing enough to protect us.
What we know so far leaves much to be desired. In short, the UW student — who has since dropped out of the university — claims she was sexually assaulted at a Zeta Psi fraternity party last December. According to Madison's WKOW-TV report, the woman said she brought her own liquor and mixers to the party but woke the next day feeling "ill" and claimed "her memory of the party was largely blurred." The same report says a medical examination backed up her claims of sexual assault.
The most obvious question to ask in light of the recent news is how exactly UW administrators were unaware of the alleged incident. The fact that UW administrators were blind to the alleged incident until they saw it on the evening news Tuesday night is extremely troubling, not to mention embarrassing. Interim Associate Dean of Students Elton Crim even admitted to The Badger Herald yesterday that it was "not [the way to be informed] of our choosing."
No kidding. For a university that has touted its dedication to improving campus safety, this seems to be a clear example of its complete ineptitude for knowing what is going on in students' lives. Further, the fact that the university didn't even know the reason this particular student had dropped out of UW is another telling sign of the lack of communication between the university and the student community — especially when considering newly appointed Dean of Students Lori Berquam's self-proclaimed commitment to preventing students from falling through the cracks at such a large university.
And on the same note, if UW was in fact in the dark about the alleged incident, why did the Madison Police Department not automatically inform the administration about the investigation? It seems some sort of procedure should be set in place where police, who are informed of a campus crime, are required to notify the university. Otherwise, assertions by both city officials and university administrators that they are working together to combat crime will fall short of getting students' trust — and students are likely going to leave the Madison community wondering who, if anyone, is paying attention to campus safety.
Whereas concerns about campus safety following this incident are totally justified, there are other concerns that may not be. For example, many students in the Greek community — more specifically the fraternity in question — are beginning to feel victimized. It is no secret that there is a clear division on campus between the Greeks and the non-Greeks, and I would bet that many from the latter group are automatically assuming a frat boy is to blame. The problem is that while it's a shame that stereotypes are perpetuated, it is not out of line to acknowledge that Greek communities across the country have historically had problems with sexual assaults. This is not to say that all of them do — or even any on our campus do — but it is a real concern, not unique to UW.
And even without the current example of the Duke scandal, it is important to remember that these cases often are not open and shut. The assumption too often is that the woman is telling the truth and the frat boy or jock is automatically guilty.
Still, we have to take these cases seriously, investigate them thoroughly and discuss them openly. Already this case has been complicated because keeping it a secret raises questions about who's hiding what. However painful — in this case to the girl, to the frat and to the university community — it always gets worse when you try to keep secrets.
Emily Friedman ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism and legal studies.
