He's been released from jail:

http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index....from_jail.html


The part that sounds interesting to me is how they both ended up in the bathroom. Unless he dragged her there, she had an opportunity to not follow him in there. This article states that he "led" her there.

The HQ might be negligent not to do that. "Suspending all activities" sounds kind of harsh and it somehow never makes the papers when the organization is completely restored and reinstated, so we don't really know what that means, the duration, etc. For all we know, things were suspended a week so that alumni volunteers could conduct interviews and let HQ know whether there were any real concerns... but again, speculation.. that's all there is to do now.

It is irrelevant whether she willingly went to the bathroom for whatever consensual activities she had in mind. It is only relevant as to whether consent existed when whatever did happen happened.

If you think the fact that she willingly went into the bathroom with him rather than being forced is even somewhat exculpatory, then you would be wrong.

He is apparently being charged for this: "Ballinger allegedly forced the student to engage in oral sex, sexually violated her with his hands and attempted to have sexual intercourse with her." I would assume that the victim is saying she did not consent to that activity, and whether she was dragged into the bathroom or went there willingly and enthusiastically, if there's no consent, that's all that matters.

I don't doubt her story, but I also don't doubt his.

If no one else was a witness to what happened, it comes down to he said/she said or what she is able to prove. Only the two of them know what happened inside that bathroom and it will be up to the court to decide which story is more accurate.

I do feel bad for him, though. Because he's being treated as if he committed the crime. He hasn't been convicted yet and he's already been banned from campus, and likely removed from his post at the fraternity, if not possibly deactivated. If the allegations prove to be true, then take action. But in the meantime, why ban him from campus? Why not a restraining order instructing him to remain xx number of feet from the victim at all times, which could allow him to attend some of his classes or at the very least voluntarily take this semester off.

You can't have it both ways.

Wonderful. More mansplainin'.

Are we to assume that every woman who alleges she was raped was indeed raped?

She very well could have been, and that is really unfortunate. Therefore, he should be locked up for years.

But if she wasn't raped, if there's a more credible story to what happened, then why treat him like a criminal guy now. Wait for the investigation and the trial to take place first.

So if he did it, he should be punished. If he didn't, he shouldn't be punished.

Thank you for your profound insights.

You know nothing about either story except what has been printed in the media. Who are you to doubt either or believe either? How the hell does anyone form any conclusions based on so little information?

And here's where you and I have a bit of common ground. I don't think these VAWA Title IX things go far enough in protecting the rights of the accused. And just about every state, maybe every state has remedies for victims of domestic violence available in the civil court system. It all goes back to my argument that there are real legal consequences in these cases and it's kind of bullshit to assume an assortment of college faculty is equipped to deal with these things. I don't think the college student should be treated any differently or have any different access to remedies than someone who decided to go straight into the workforce after high school.

There are two stories:

1) Hers - Went into bathroom with alleged rapist unknowing of what would transpire, and he forced her to have oral sex, put his hands on her body and tried to have sexual intercourse.

2) His - As he's already plead not guilty, he states that he didn't rape her.

Obviously, as details surface and the investigation is done, there will be more added to each story. Will we ever know exactly what happened in there, or are we just going to get two versions of events, two completely different stories?

And no one should be punished for something they didn't do. If/when he's convicted, give him the maximum sentence. But already, he's been banned from his campus, so he's forcibly been removed from his house and community, not to mention the disgrace and humiliation. All I'm saying is wait to punish him when we know for sure he actually did it.

That's what Title IX basically does.

Please don't be Psi U, please don't be Psi U, please don't be Psi U. *Reads* God Dammit!