COLUMN: "The Girl Who Cried Rape"

From Brandon Fogel and Jason Seiden's "Skippy Gone Batty," Spring '92 Bat: What? Skippy: That girl I met at Smoke's last night, I slept with her. Bat: And you raped her?!? Skippy: No, I don't think so. But she was gone when I woke up. Who the hell knows what's going through her mind. Bat: Did you actually force her to have sex with you? Skippy: No, of course not. But I don't know this woman at all. For all I know, I might have inadvertantly frightened her into submission by undoing her bra. She could be filing charges right now. There were no witnesses; it would be my word against hers. And judging from the outcome of the Mike Tyson trial, I've got a lot to worry about. · Earlier this week, Mike Tyson, former heavyweight champion of the world, was convicted on one count of rape and two counts of criminal deviate conduct for an encounter that took place seven months ago in an Indianapolis hotel room. The guilty verdict signaled the probable end to a boxing career that was at once legendary and incomplete. The news shocked the sports world, and further soils the image of boxers and sports-demigods alike. However, the most far-reaching consequences of the verdict deal not with sports, but with the everyday workings of the male-female relationship in general. This case sets a precedent in acquaintance rape cases for years to come. Unfortunately, the foundations of this precedent are questionable, at best. It seems that the verdict was influenced more by circumstances surrounding the alleged rape than by the encounter itself. Location played a role: Indianapolis is not the most forgiving of towns. As defense attorney F. Lee Bailey put it, "[Indianapolis] is a tough place to stand trial. Lawyers would tell you if you commit a murder there, make sure to drag the body across the state line." This is very different from the William Kennedy Smith rape trial, held in Palm Beach, Florida, where perhaps some things are not as shocking. The status of the accuser played a role, too. The prosecutor in the Tyson case portrayed the alleged victim as a sweet, naive and inexperienced eighteen year-old. In the Kennedy case, Patricia Bowman was described as "older and more mature . . . and more sophisticated with men," according to Richard Gerstein, a criminal defense attorney and former head of the National District Attorneys Association. Tyson's adversary was not seen as someone who "should have known better," accoording to Gerstein, who viewed this to be the major difference between the two cases. These two factors had nothing to do with the defendant or events as they happened, but both heavily influenced the verdict. Factors that in one case led to an acquittal led to a conviction in another. Although Smith has been acquitted, his innocence is seen only in the eyes of the law -- as is, by the way, the innocence of Clarence Thomas. These two are considered by many to be as guilty as Tyson legally is, despite their aquittals. USA Today reported this week that "women's advocates all across the USA breathed a sigh of relief. Anita Hill and Patricia Bowman found the system did not believe their stories." From this it would seem that Smith and Kennedy were guilty of sex crimes merely because they were charged, and that the courts' findings were based on which attorney was sharper -- nothing else. "It was getting hard to have much faith that a woman could ever win," said Barbara Otto of "9 to 5," a national organization for working women. Claire Walsh, director of a rape prevention program in St. Augustine, Fla., went so far as to make a contest out of these trials. "[Tyson's conviction] is not the goal that wins the game," she said. "It's one that keeps us in the running and at least gives us an opportunity to win the game." Exactly what game are we playing here? How does one win? Is the "game" won when every man charged with rape is convicted? What ever happened to justice? You remember: innocent until proven guilty? The problem is, there are hardly ever witnesses to an actual rape, and irrefutible evidence is usually hard to come by. In other words, rape trials usually pit one person's words against the other's, without physical evidence to corroborate either side. Witness testimony which tries to determine whether the alleged victim consented is often confusing, or, as in the Tyson trial, outright contradictory. According to New York Times articles from throughout the trial, testimony of discussion with the accuser ranged from her fawning over Tyson's body and speculating on the size of his penis to her rebuffing his every move from the start. Three different doctors testified that the two abrasions found around the accuser's vagina could have resulted from normal, unforced intercourse. There were no other physical signs -- bruises on the face or body, for instance -- to indicate that Tyson forcibly subdued her. Mike Tyson was convicted because of the way jurors viewed his personality. He has a past history of violent and erratic behavior; however, that does not automatically make him guilty of every violent crime. The only reason for believing one story over the other is a gut feeling, or personal hunch that one person is telling the truth. There is no justification for deciding a man's fate on the basis of a hunch. The stakes are too high, and that is why the burden of proof needs to exist. Perhaps Tyson is guilty, perhaps he isn't. How can you be sure? The twelve jurors think he was, but only because he seems like the kind of guy who would rape someone, and she was believable as a victim. The possible repercussions of the decision are frightening. Basically, a slight character flaw could mean the difference between freedom and a jail cell. As two sexually active males, we're scared shitless. Not about syphilis, or having kids, or even AIDS. We're afraid of raping someone. It might not even be rape when we do it, but now we're helpless to defend against it. Brandon "Wombat" Fogel is a freshman Physics major from Potomac, Maryland. Jason "Skippy" Seiden is a freshman Entrepreneurial Management major from Highland Park, Illinois. "Skippy Gone Batty" appears alternate Fridays.