I was shocked at the absurdity of Adam Rinkleff’s letter, “Daily’s sexual assault coverage unfair.” How one could suggest that someone who just lied to the police about a rape deserves sympathy is beyond me.

While someone saying what Ms. Robb did was racist may be jumping to unfair conclusions, there is no denying the way that it looks. Does it matter whether or not she intended to hurt black males with her accusation?

To fabricate her perpetrators as black males suggests to me that, in her mind at least, a story about a rape that involves four black males and a gun is more believable than a story about a rape that involves four white males with a gun. Whether she meant it to be degrading of African-Americans or not, the damage is done.

It is a dominant myth in our society that women like being forced to have sex, and that rape victims “had it coming” or “deserved it.” Another myth may be that rape victims just want to get their partners in trouble because they feel ashamed of what they’ve done. I don’t see how this helps any of these myths from being refuted.

This only perpetuates the alienation of rape victims in our society. Maybe Rinkleff is right and the seriousness with which rape cases are handled will not change (I would certainly hope it won’t change at DPS or other police agencies).

However, the public’s perception of rape victims in this community certainly has changed; next time a rape is reported, I wonder how many people will remember this case instead of cases in which a rape really did happen.

Again, for Rinkleff to suggest that it took “strength and courage” to come forward is absurd and irresponsible. While it may have taken strength and courage to lie in this fashion, this kind of strength and courage is NOT something anyone should value.

Maybe Rinkleff’s parents didn’t teach him that lying was wrong and that you should respect the authority of people that are here to help you (police), but someone with a college education should realize that these two things comprise the foundation of society.

I disagree entirely with Mr. Rinkleff’s conclusion. She deserves no sympathy whatsoever. I believe that Ms. Robb should get the maximum sentence allowed for the unrest that she has caused the university community.

Dan Greenfield

Sophomore

Psychology and Pre-Medicine