Letter to the Editor

Author: [no author name found]

To the Editor:

The Middlebury Campus has a right to know only what the office of the Vermont District Attorney can lawfully issue about the pending investigation. Frankly, The Campus cannot be trusted even with accurate information. Please note that a rape charge - violent penetration - is much more serious than sexual assault, which can be as simple as uninvited touching. In the article, "Accused student reported to have withdrawn from College" The Campus reports that "the student accused of raping two Middlebury women had withdrawn from the College," and cites a Burlington Free Press article posted on its web site on Saturday, April 24.

First, April 24 was a Monday, and the BFP article by Dan McLean was posted on Saturday, April 29. Second, the article does mention the student's withdrawal, but does not state that this Middlebury student has been accused of rape. The Campus's editorial repeats the unsubstantiated assertion that "alleged rapes" were reported.

The Campus has engaged in trumping up criminal allegations in the recent past. In a February 16, 2006 Campus article its staff added a sensational headline, "Panthers blocked from postseason competition becasue of hazing violations." That article concerned the coach's decision to terminate the men's swim season due to alcohol violations, which were uncontested by the team, but nowhere in that article was there mention or attribution for the far more serious allegation of hazing offenses. The headline, as apparently intended, set off a firestorm across campus, and throughout the internet, which resulted in formal disciplinary proceedings being commenced against the team's captains. There was no accuser and no evidence whatsoever of hazing, and all were acquited of these charges fabricated and first published as news by The Campus.

No one has thought to retract or apologize to the team for this shabby piece of yellow journalism.

Rather than whine about the lack of information concerning the alleged sexual assaults, The Campus should immediately retract its false reporting that rape allegations have been made against this former Middlebury student, and let justice take its course. In my opinion the editorial staff deserves a public paddling, but, of course, this would be a violation of Middlebury's hazing policy.

Sincerely,
Richard H. Lamere
Parent of Middlebury Grad.