Gang rape article discredited

University deals with fallout from Rolling Stone magazine’s retraction

WASHINGTON — On the sombre campus of the University of Virginia, students are preparing for final exams while getting a crash course on journalistic ethics.

“Punish Rolling Stone not the entire UVA Greek system” is scrawled in chalk on University Avenue, a block from the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house.

The Charlottesville school was catapulted onto the national stage by a Nov. 19 Rolling Stone article that told of the fraternity gang rape of a woman named “Jackie.” The story unravelled two days ago when the magazine apologized, citing “discrepancies” in its account.

“I’m not angry, more like shocked about all this,” said Joslin Markowski, a second- year student who said she’s friends with Jackie.

The now- discredited story cast aspersions on UVA, from its administrators to its lifeguards, prompting protests, a ban on fraternities and vandalism at Phi Kappa Psi, where the alleged attack was said to have taken place. Most students are reluctant to talk to the press, saying they’ve had

Instead of owning up to the journalism and what they chose to put out there, they seem to be scapegoating Jackie and putting all of the blame on her. RYAN GILLIES UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA FRESHMAN

enough of reporters. They expressed disappointment with Rolling Stone and the media for getting it so wrong.

“No one has denied that something tragic happened,” said Philip Tan, a second- year biomedical engineering graduate student. Tan said he was saddened that Rolling Stone wasn’t “more careful,” particularly for the sake of sexual assault victims. “Lots of people noticed discrepancies in the original article.”

In a letter to readers on Dec. 5, the magazine said its trust in Jackie was “misplaced,” and the publication regretted failing to contact the alleged assailants. It apologized “to anyone who was affected by the story.”

The statement sparked anger from students and media critics, who said the magazine was blaming a source for its own lack of due diligence. The hashtag # IStandWithJackie cropped up on Twitter in support of the thirdyear student at the centre of the controversy.

“Instead of owning up to the journalism and what they chose to put out there, they seem to be scapegoating Jackie and putting all of the blame on her,” said Ryan Gillies, 19, a UVA freshman.

The magazine quietly amended the apology letter on its website, while keeping the same Dec. 5 date stamp. The new version drops the sentence about misplaced trust, as well as the signature of managing editor Will Dana.

“These mistakes are on Rolling Stone, not on Jackie,” the publication said in its altered note.

The note was updated “to account for discrepancies others are reporting, and we are continuing to investigate the story,” Melissa Bruno, a spokeswoman for the magazine, said in an email.

Windows at Phi Kappa Psi are still boarded up, with shattered glass lying beneath them and signs reading “Private Property, No Trespassing” taped to the building.

Giant black banners displaying a passage from Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls still hang from UVA’s most prominent buildings, where they were placed on Dec. 1.

“This is a story of complicity,” a laminated letter posted in front of each banner says. “With whom should we be angry if not ourselves?”

Markowski said the article and its aftermath has brought the campus closer together. At the school’s admissions office, Peabody Hall, Post- it notes express support for victims of violence. On Friday night, Charlottesville high school students held a candlelight vigil at McIntire Amphitheatre.

The ordeal seems to have hardened the resolve of students who say the magazine’s mishandling of the issue doesn’t change the commitment of those who have worked to raise awareness of sexual assault and the treatment of women at UVA.

“I think people will be more aware of looking out for each other,” Tan said.