Utopia Talk - Politics - False Rape Article leads to lawsuites

Welcome to the Utopia Forums! Register a new account
The current time is Wed Apr 24 23:21:27 2024

Utopia Talk / Politics / False Rape Article leads to lawsuites

Aeros
Member Mon Apr 06 19:35:32
University of Virginia fraternity is filing suite for defamation. From the sounds of things, the University and the State are also going to pile on. Rolling Stone had better huddle with their legal team because you can bet your ass the Virginia Attorney General is looking to see if anything criminal happened, rather then just gross incompetence.

http://www...4-acfe-cd057abefa9a_story.html

U-Va. Phi Psi chapter plans lawsuit against Rolling Stone magazine

The University of Virginia chapter of Phi Kappa Psi said Monday that the fraternity house will file a lawsuit against Rolling Stone, calling the magazine’s discredited reporting of an alleged gang rape by some of its members “reckless.”

The lawsuit comes a day after Rolling Stone editors retracted a Nov. 19 story, “A Rape on Campus,” that presented a chilling account of a brutal sexual assault that allegedly occurred in the Phi Kappa Psi house at U-Va. in 2012.

A Columbia University report issued Sunday described significant lapses by the magazine’s staff while reporting the gang-rape allegations, and the story’s writer, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, and the publication’s managing editor, Will Dana, apologized for the deeply flawed account. But the fraternity noted in a statement Monday that Erdely did not apologize directly to the Phi Psi chapter at U-Va.

“The report by Columbia University’s School of Journalism demonstrates the reckless nature in which Rolling Stone researched and failed to verify facts in its article that erroneously accused Phi Kappa Psi of crimes its members did not commit,” said Stephen Scipione, the fraternity’s U-Va. chapter president. “This type of reporting serves as a sad example of a serious decline of journalistic standards.”

In a note to readers, Dana wrote that the magazine planned to revise editorial policies in light of the Columbia report. Rolling Stone spokeswoman Kathryn Brenner said there would be no comment on Phi Psi’s plans to sue the publication.

Education
U-Va. Phi Psi chapter plans lawsuit against Rolling Stone magazine

The original Rolling Stone story roiled the bucolic campus in Charlottesville. Students demonstrated on the steps of the Phi Psi fraternity house. Phi Psi members went into hiding after the building was vandalized.

In the immediate aftermath of the sensational story, critics questioned the university’s apparent lackluster response to sexual assaults on campus and its initially tepid response to the article. After the article’s publication, U-Va. President Teresa Sullivan froze all Greek life activities on campus and the administration re-drafted the agreements fraternities must sign to be accepted on campus.

[U-Va. officials pushed for investigation]

On Sunday, Sullivan issued a statement denouncing the original article.

“Irresponsible journalism unjustly damaged the reputations of many innocent individuals and the University of Virginia,” Sullivan said. “Rolling Stone falsely accused some University of Virginia students of heinous, criminal acts, and falsely depicted others as indifferent to the suffering of their classmate. The story portrayed University staff members as manipulative and callous toward victims of sexual assault. Such false depictions reinforce the reluctance sexual assault victims already feel about reporting their experience, lest they be doubted or ignored.”

On Monday, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) described the Rolling Stone account as “shameful.”

“The abject failure of accountability in journalism that led to Rolling Stone’s ‘A Rape on Campus’ article has done untold damage to the University of Virginia and our Commonwealth as a whole,” McAuliffe said in a statement. “More importantly, this false account has been an unnecessary and dangerous distraction from real efforts to combat sexual violence on our college campuses.”

The U-Va. Phi Psi chapter spent “130 days of living under a cloud of suspicion as a result of reckless reporting by Rolling Stone Magazine,” according to the fraternity. A spokesman said that the chapter is considering expanding its lawsuit to include Erdely, the story’s author. The main subject of the story, a U-Va. student identified only as Jackie, declined to comment through her lawyer, Palma Pustilnik.

In March, Charlottesville police detailed a months-long investigation that exonerated the fraternity and found there was no evidence to substantiate the sexual assault allegations described in Rolling Stone. The report also showed that U-Va. administrators acted quickly to provide Jackie with resources after she disclosed her alleged sexual assault and arranged for her to meet with detectives about the case. Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy J. Longo said last month that Jackie refused to cooperate with investigators.

[Police investigation found no evidence of alleged sexual assault]

Fraternity members told The Washington Post in the fall that they knew within hours of the article’s publication that there were significant discrepancies in the account. Phi Psi members said they used social media logs, digital records and financial statements to confirm that the fraternity did not host a function on Sept. 28, 2012, the night Jackie said she was attacked by seven Phi Psi members while two others watched.

Phi Psi members at U-Va. now pledge to undergo sexual assault awareness training and collaborate with sexual violence prevention groups on campus.

“Clearly our fraternity and its members have been defamed, but more importantly we fear this entire episode may prompt some victims to remain in the shadows, fearful to confront their attackers,” Scipione said. “If Rolling Stone wants to play a real role in addressing this problem, it’s time to get serious.”

Dakyron
Member Mon Apr 06 21:53:08
Rolling Stone should be sued. I dont see how any jury in the world would fail to find them liable. Its just a matter of how much.

Dakyron
Member Mon Apr 06 21:54:11
Also, Teresa Sullivan should STFU and probably consider killing herself, or you know, at least resigning from a position of authority.

Sam Adams
Member Mon Apr 06 22:17:12
That cunt should be in jail for a long time.

Rugian
Member Tue Apr 07 08:00:50
Dakyron
Member Mon Apr 06 21:54:11
Also, Teresa Sullivan should STFU and probably consider killing herself, or you know, at least resigning from a position of authority.

Are you kidding? There's still a multitude of people out there who don't even care that the story is false, because "the rape epidemic is real and it happens every day on campuses nationwide." This woman will never lack for supporters.

show deleted posts

Aeros Member	Mon Apr 06 19:35:32 University of Virginia fraternity is filing suite for defamation. From the sounds of things, the University and the State are also going to pile on. Rolling Stone had better huddle with their legal team because you can bet your ass the Virginia Attorney General is looking to see if anything criminal happened, rather then just gross incompetence. http://www...4-acfe-cd057abefa9a_story.html U-Va. Phi Psi chapter plans lawsuit against Rolling Stone magazine The University of Virginia chapter of Phi Kappa Psi said Monday that the fraternity house will file a lawsuit against Rolling Stone, calling the magazine’s discredited reporting of an alleged gang rape by some of its members “reckless.” The lawsuit comes a day after Rolling Stone editors retracted a Nov. 19 story, “A Rape on Campus,” that presented a chilling account of a brutal sexual assault that allegedly occurred in the Phi Kappa Psi house at U-Va. in 2012. A Columbia University report issued Sunday described significant lapses by the magazine’s staff while reporting the gang-rape allegations, and the story’s writer, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, and the publication’s managing editor, Will Dana, apologized for the deeply flawed account. But the fraternity noted in a statement Monday that Erdely did not apologize directly to the Phi Psi chapter at U-Va. “The report by Columbia University’s School of Journalism demonstrates the reckless nature in which Rolling Stone researched and failed to verify facts in its article that erroneously accused Phi Kappa Psi of crimes its members did not commit,” said Stephen Scipione, the fraternity’s U-Va. chapter president. “This type of reporting serves as a sad example of a serious decline of journalistic standards.” In a note to readers, Dana wrote that the magazine planned to revise editorial policies in light of the Columbia report. Rolling Stone spokeswoman Kathryn Brenner said there would be no comment on Phi Psi’s plans to sue the publication. Education U-Va. Phi Psi chapter plans lawsuit against Rolling Stone magazine The original Rolling Stone story roiled the bucolic campus in Charlottesville. Students demonstrated on the steps of the Phi Psi fraternity house. Phi Psi members went into hiding after the building was vandalized. In the immediate aftermath of the sensational story, critics questioned the university’s apparent lackluster response to sexual assaults on campus and its initially tepid response to the article. After the article’s publication, U-Va. President Teresa Sullivan froze all Greek life activities on campus and the administration re-drafted the agreements fraternities must sign to be accepted on campus. [U-Va. officials pushed for investigation] On Sunday, Sullivan issued a statement denouncing the original article. “Irresponsible journalism unjustly damaged the reputations of many innocent individuals and the University of Virginia,” Sullivan said. “Rolling Stone falsely accused some University of Virginia students of heinous, criminal acts, and falsely depicted others as indifferent to the suffering of their classmate. The story portrayed University staff members as manipulative and callous toward victims of sexual assault. Such false depictions reinforce the reluctance sexual assault victims already feel about reporting their experience, lest they be doubted or ignored.” On Monday, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) described the Rolling Stone account as “shameful.” “The abject failure of accountability in journalism that led to Rolling Stone’s ‘A Rape on Campus’ article has done untold damage to the University of Virginia and our Commonwealth as a whole,” McAuliffe said in a statement. “More importantly, this false account has been an unnecessary and dangerous distraction from real efforts to combat sexual violence on our college campuses.” The U-Va. Phi Psi chapter spent “130 days of living under a cloud of suspicion as a result of reckless reporting by Rolling Stone Magazine,” according to the fraternity. A spokesman said that the chapter is considering expanding its lawsuit to include Erdely, the story’s author. The main subject of the story, a U-Va. student identified only as Jackie, declined to comment through her lawyer, Palma Pustilnik. In March, Charlottesville police detailed a months-long investigation that exonerated the fraternity and found there was no evidence to substantiate the sexual assault allegations described in Rolling Stone. The report also showed that U-Va. administrators acted quickly to provide Jackie with resources after she disclosed her alleged sexual assault and arranged for her to meet with detectives about the case. Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy J. Longo said last month that Jackie refused to cooperate with investigators. [Police investigation found no evidence of alleged sexual assault] Fraternity members told The Washington Post in the fall that they knew within hours of the article’s publication that there were significant discrepancies in the account. Phi Psi members said they used social media logs, digital records and financial statements to confirm that the fraternity did not host a function on Sept. 28, 2012, the night Jackie said she was attacked by seven Phi Psi members while two others watched. Phi Psi members at U-Va. now pledge to undergo sexual assault awareness training and collaborate with sexual violence prevention groups on campus. “Clearly our fraternity and its members have been defamed, but more importantly we fear this entire episode may prompt some victims to remain in the shadows, fearful to confront their attackers,” Scipione said. “If Rolling Stone wants to play a real role in addressing this problem, it’s time to get serious.”
Dakyron Member	Mon Apr 06 21:53:08 Rolling Stone should be sued. I dont see how any jury in the world would fail to find them liable. Its just a matter of how much.
Dakyron Member	Mon Apr 06 21:54:11 Also, Teresa Sullivan should STFU and probably consider killing herself, or you know, at least resigning from a position of authority.
Sam Adams Member	Mon Apr 06 22:17:12 That cunt should be in jail for a long time.
Rugian Member	Tue Apr 07 08:00:50 Dakyron Member Mon Apr 06 21:54:11 Also, Teresa Sullivan should STFU and probably consider killing herself, or you know, at least resigning from a position of authority. Are you kidding? There's still a multitude of people out there who don't even care that the story is false, because "the rape epidemic is real and it happens every day on campuses nationwide." This woman will never lack for supporters.
	show deleted posts

Your Name:
Your Password:
Your Message: