Recently, there has been much attention given to the rape trial involving John Tate and Kara Elsasser.

I would like to remind the Daily staff that only Tate was on trial, not the SAE house, which is what Monday’s headline implied.

I also want to remind readers and outsiders that NO ONE knows what happened that night except Tate and Elsasser, and Elsasser’s memory was tampered with.

Those who were quick to condemn Tate are now those rushing to call Kara a liar.

I may be biased, as Kara is a friend of mine. However, I am not writing to pass judgement on Tate, so I ask those who would judge Kara to please refrain from doing so.

Tate had character witnesses in the trial and I, and everyone who knows Kara, would have given anything to have been her character witness.

We would have told everyone about her enormous heart, generosity, warmth, honesty and sense of humor.

Miraculously, none of these have been destroyed in the last year.

I also want to express my dismay at the outcome of this trial and the reaction to it.

I ask those who write in, as Nathan Treloar did Tuesday, not to treat this as a joke.

I hope, Mr. Treloar, that neither you nor anyone close to you ever experiences anything even close to rape.

Catherine Conover seemed to share my sentiments about the trial when she ridiculed defense attorney Guy Cook’s statement that he would have gotten down and examined himself if he were a woman who thought he had been raped.

She was unconscious.

Rape is a devastating experience, and Mr. Cook would have no idea how he would react to being raped, just as he would have no idea what it is to be a woman.

I have no doubt in my mind that this trial and the backlash caused by it will scare other victims from coming forward.

True, Kara took a long time to come forward.

Anyone who has been raped knows the sheer terror of exposing something so private, of nobody believing you and of ultimately suffering through a trial to have it turn out the same way Kara’s did.

It is horrifying enough to keep someone — even the strongest woman — in silence.

True, Kara consumed alcohol that night, but that in no way justifies the crime.

SHE NEVER GAVE CONSENT.

Finally, it is true that Kara didn’t “examine” herself to see if she had been raped. Other than a doctor, would anyone know what to look for when they examined themselves?

Maybe Mr. Cook could fill me in, as he seems to know so much about being a woman and what rape would inspire him to do.

None of these things make Kara a liar or indicate that she has a “morally casual attitude,” as Mr. Treloar put it. None of these things justify rape. Please remember that Kara is still the victim here.

---

Annie Johnson

Junior

English