Consider this nation’s enormous number of lawsuits filed for less than legally justified purposes – which are thrown out of court.
Then consider what is going on at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Last month, UVA suspended all of its fraternities and sororities in reaction to a Rolling Stone magazine article alleging gang rape at one fraternity: Phi Kappa Psi.
These fraternities and sororities continue suspended despite Rolling Stone Managing Editor Will Dana apologizing for what he admitted were “discrepancies” in the story of the accuser, who went by the pseudonym “Jackie,” that were exposed by the Washington Post and other media after this report drew national attention.
On Nov. 22, UVA President Teresa Sullivan announced the suspension of all fraternities and sororities until Jan. 9.
Fraternity and sorority advocates say the unraveling of the Rolling Stone account means there is no reason to continue the suspension.
In a statement, the Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee, the National Panhellenic Conference and the North-American Interfraternity Conference said “the decision to suspend hurt the reputation of thousands of outstanding student leaders in our organization who had nothing to do with the alleged events described in the article.”
The groups called on the university “to immediately reinstate operations for all fraternity and sorority organizations on campus, to issue an apology for its actions of the last two weeks, to publicly explain and release all records for the basis of its decision to suspend our organizations, and outline what steps it will take to restore the reputation of our groups and students at UVA.”
The Washington Post reported:
“A UVA spokesman, McGregor McCance, has declined to answer whether Sullivan plans to rescind the suspension.”
(This raises the question as to whether or not one well-worded lawsuit might move him along.)
The Washington Times added:
“Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, had called Rolling Stone’s initial apology ‘deeply troubling,’ saying the magazine should do more to clear up the report’s mistakes.
“Mr. Herring, chairman of the Governor’s Task Force on Combating Campus Sexual Violence, also stressed that the faulty account would do nothing to hinder state and campus efforts to fight sexual assault on campus.
“The report contained the account of a 2012 attack in which a woman claimed to have been raped by seven men at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house.
“The article also focused on the university’s botched response to the allegations, and prompted fierce backlash from alumni and students. …
“Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said he was ‘deeply disturbed’ by the article.
“The Rolling Stone statement came as the fraternity at the center of the allegation, Phi Kappa Psi, issued a statement rebutting the account, saying it did not hold any social events at the frat house on the date of the reported rape.”
Media wishing to interview Les Kinsolving, please contact [email protected].
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