Stereotyping Must Be Avoided In Duke Rape Case

To the editors:



In her column, “Stripper Ergo...Rape?” (Apr. 12), Ashton R. Lattimore makes a commendable effort to address the disturbing cultural tendency to “explain” the crime and blame the rape victim. But the Duke lacrosse situation is not, thus far, a Jane Doe case. Lattimore’s concern—that the media firestorm has played a major role in discrediting the alleged victim, an exotic dancer—has been substantially outweighed by the thorough vilification of the ostensibly rich, white, privileged team members and the elitist university they represent.

Never have I heard a Duke student utter, “Well, she is a stripper.” Blaming the victim and using her occupation to destroy her credibility cannot be condoned. But typecasting 46 individuals as unsurprisingly racist rapists and juxtaposing them with a diligent student, single mother of two? Not an unrelated evil.



JANE CHONG

Durham, N.C.

April 12, 2006



The writer is a freshman at Duke University.