Eavan O’Neill
Ms. Tommaso
Ap Lang and Comp 5B: Editorial Blog Post
December 10, 2014
This editorial was written by the Editorial Board at the New York Times. I believe there are two central claims to this editorial. Rolling Stone did major damage to the reputation of the University of Virginia when it published a 9,000 word article on an alleged 2012 rape of a student at UVA, and the school’s resistance to help this “poor girl.” The article spread nation-wide and caused much uproar at from students and families at UVA and other top Universities. Rolling Stone later came out to say they have received new information regarding the rape, and shouldn’t have published the article before delving deeper into the story. The Editorial Board stated that in reporting such an intense article on an sensitive subject, Rolling Stone should have taken more care with all of the factors and details of the story before publishing it. The Editorial Board also stated that they believe sexual assaults on college campuses are getting out of hand and overlooked. The board claims that “the lack of clarity on what is happening on campuses isn’t helping anyone, least of all victims who, after the Rolling Stone report, may unfortunately face more doubters.”
The Editorial Board at the NY Times using a piece of evidence stated by Vice President Joe Biden Jr. in the editorial. VP Biden stated, “one in five of every one of those young women who is dropped off for that first day of school, before they finish school, will be assaulted in her college years.” He got that statistic from a 2007 study conducted for the Department of Justice, which found that nearly 20 percent of women reported experiencing a completed or attempted sexual assault since entering college.
In my opinion, Rolling Stone should not have published such a insulting and harsh article before collecting all the right facts and making sure they interviewed or spoke to all sources about the alleged assault. I also believe that rape and sexual assault on college and university campuses is not treated with the proper amount of gravity. We do not recognize the staggering number of women who will be and have been raped at their school. Recognizing these issues and dealing with them properly is still a work in progress for many schools. I hope this topic/issue becomes more widely known as a major problem our country is facing.
No comments:
Post a Comment