On Rape

To The Editors of the Crimson:

Re: "Alleged" Rape: In this letter the authors state their strong objections to the use of the team "alleged rape" because one generally does not speak of an "alleged" robbery or of an "alleged" murder. Their claim rests upon the assumption that the crimes of murder and robbery are somehow unalogous to rape in this context.

Rape, like murder and robbery, is a serious offense. But, as with other crimes, we do not know whether or not a rape has taken place just because "a woman calls the police to report [it]." Indeed, one can imagine several scenarios in which a plaintiff's accusation of rape could be seriously doubted. Thus, the authors of the letter are right: "The use of the phrase 'alleged rape' implies that the victim's word is being questioned." This is desirable, because we (and the press) must not assume that a crime has been committed--it is the job of our legal system to determine this fact.

Remarkably, the six authors of this letter even sem to realize this fundamental basis of our law. They write: "The two 15-year-olds whom the victim accused may be called 'alleged rapists' because under our law, a person is innocent until proven guilty. "If, after using this terminology, we then refuse to continue to use it (by referring to the crime as an "alleged" one), what have we done but convicted the accused before the trial ever begins?

Rape is an extremely serious crime, and acquaintance rapes are no less grave. Naturally, when dealing with a crime as serious as rape, one expects the Crimson, and indeed all newspapers, to remain objective.

I, for one, am glad that it has. Barry Kornblau '87