You Are Guilty: The Perpetuation of Rape Culture at UAlbany

This article is not intended to address the people involved in this story individually. It is meant to address the larger problem of rape culture and victim blaming. To allow the message to come through with the least friction possible, names were changed and this article is being published anonymously. 

On April 22nd, 2022, Beatrice was raped during a fraternity function. Beatrice was intoxicated and didn’t remember what happened. A few days later, she told her friends about the bruises she found, recalling a vague memory. Her friends were initially supportive, helping her get a medical exam and file a police report.

For someone in Beatrice’s position, it appears there are many paths one could take to pursue justice. These avenues fall into two general categories. The first is social – made up of friends, clubs, and support systems. The second is procedural, and includes the legal system, the school’s Title IX office, and a variety of conduct boards.

Beatrice pursued each of these avenues and they all failed. This may seem inexplicable but, upon further investigation, this makes perfect sense. All of these options for justice depend heavily on each other. Often, if the first avenue fails, the others have little chance of succeeding.

The first path most people in Beatrice’s situation take is social. They seek their friends' support and guidance. If comfortable, they reach out to their club’s leadership for help, hoping they will provide them with a safe space while keeping their perpetrator out.

Beatrice did just that. As the weeks went by, Beatrice reflected on the night, trying to determine what happened to her. One of the people Beatrice thought may be the perpetrator was Oliver, a fellow fraternity brother who was part of her friend group at the time. Friends of both Oliver and Beatrice became concerned with Beatrice’s suspicions, and started trying to deter Beatrice from investigating further. The methods they selected were varied, ranging from lying to the police to telling Beatrice that there were people following her and that her phone was being bugged. As these underhanded behaviors began to distance Beatrice from her social circles, her friends took this opportunity to spread a dangerous narrative: Beatrice was “crazy” and she’d had a “schizophrenic break.” This led to complete social isolation. 

Beatrice’s first avenue failed. Her friends did not support her. 

Beatrice’s next avenue was still in the social category. Beatrice, Oliver, and all their mutual friends were in the UAlbany Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International. Beatrice tried reaching out to fraternity leadership, hoping they could help. Immediately, fraternity leadership discouraged Beatrice from seeking any remediation efforts through the law, the school, or the fraternity national division. The President made the decision that the event and everything associated with it constituted a “fraternity secret.” The fraternity did this due to a fear of the social and legal repercussions of a rape happening at their event. Would this mean the school would find out they were hazing people? Would this mean the fraternity would get shut down? The resulting story spread by fraternity leadership was along the same lines of what Beatrice’s friends had set up: “Beatrice is crazy and Oliver is innocent.”

Beatrice’s second avenue failed. Her clubs did not support her. Her friends made sure of that.

The next avenue Beatrice pursued was in the procedural category. She decided to file a Title IX sexual assault complaint with the school. The school initially seemed to want to help. As they started talking to Oliver and other people who were at the event, the witnesses all stood by the fraternity's story and refused to discuss what really happened with the Title IX investigators. Fraternity members even refused to talk to Beatrice about what they saw for fear they would be shunned by the fraternity. Shortly after, the Title IX office reached out to Beatrice and told her they would be terminating their investigation, listing a few reasons centered around Beatrice’s mental health. 

The following is an excerpt from an email sent to Beatrice by the Title IX Director. It was sent only after Beatrice requested a reason why her case was being dismissed:

A UPD officer spoke to one of your friends who came to the police station with you. That individual stated to an officer that they were at the party with Oliver and left the party with Oliver. They noted that you were intoxicated on the night in question and stayed up until after 6am, adding that you “barely eat, never sleep and bruise easily.” This same person stated that you had a “mental break” and have since accused others of “hacking [your] phone and stalking [you].” This person also stated that people try to avoid you because of your behavior. You told me that others have told you that you are having mental health issues and stated that they believe you suffer from schizophrenia.

Beatrice’s third avenue failed. Her school’s Title IX office did not support her. Her friends and fraternity made sure of that.

At this point, Beatrice attempted another try at the social category, recognizing how much that influences everything else. She delivered a speech before the UAlbany student population asking for their support and backing. The student population was receptive and stood behind Beatrice, but this only made fraternity leadership more determined to stand against her. Now, they started spreading their story as an effort to “defend the fraternity name.” They saw Beatrice’s speech as an outright breach of fraternity procedure. Some brothers said it was “spreading the fraternity’s dirty laundry.” The same day Beatrice spoke to the student body, brothers held an emergency meeting platforming Beatrice’s old friends to spread their version of events to as many people as possible. Fraternity leadership declared that Beatrice just wanted to damage their reputation. Everyone associated with Beatrice would now be branded “enemies of the fraternity.”

Beatrice’s public backing resulted in the school reopening her investigation. However, with everyone at the event being intimidated to not provide any information, the investigation suffered. At this point, the school also felt the need to protect themselves and back up their original dismissal of the case. Admitting they made a mistake would be detrimental to their reputation. Their solution? Drag out the investigation as long as possible.

The next avenue Beatrice pursued was the New York State Police Department. The investigator spoke to some witnesses, a vast majority of whom told the investigator that Beatrice was crazy and just wanted to hurt the fraternity. The few who didn’t say that were too afraid to say anything at all. The result was the police shut down their investigation in December of 2023.

Beatrice’s fourth avenue failed. The New York State Police Department found the social scene too complicated to navigate. Her friends, her clubs, and her school’s Title IX office made sure of that.

Next, Beatrice tried one last procedural attempt. She reached out to the conduct board of the Phi Alpha Delta National Chapter. Their investigation concluded much faster than the others. About two weeks of looking into it, they determined that Oliver was a valuable member of their fraternity and did not violate any policies.

Every attempt so far by Beatrice to find justice has failed. Her friends influenced her fraternity, who influenced the witnesses at the event to not talk, who then influenced the Title IX investigation and the police investigation, who influenced the fraternity national chapter investigation.

Today is April 22nd, 2024. PAD hosted a fundraiser on Dutch Quad lawn. It’s two years after Oliver raped Beatrice. Oliver and Beatrice are about to graduate from the University at Albany as equals on paper. The investigation is ongoing. In less than two weeks, the case will be dropped – whether or not a verdict has been given.

After everything that happened, the only punishment Oliver received was a minor inconvenience. The trauma Beatrice endured was complete social isolation and PTSD.

Oliver did not get away with rape because he is innocent. Oliver did not get away with rape because he is some genius mastermind. Oliver got away with rape because the social structures involved decided Beatrice was crazy and Oliver was innocent before the investigation even started. They exercised their social control and made sure no one talked about the events in any way other than how they wanted. Oliver was first tried in the court of public opinion. When he was exonerated there, all other bodies of justice followed suit.

The current fraternity leadership has said “We don’t talk about it, we just want to move past it.” They have made the topic of Oliver raping Beatrice taboo. They are guilty. The social leadership and everyone who has aided in the social suppression of events is guilty of accessory to rape. Each of these individuals played a big role in helping Oliver get away with rape. Any benefactor of this suppression is, therefore, a knowing benefactor of rape itself. Every single person who respects and enforces the taboo created by social leadership is an accessory to rape. They are guilty. Every person who participates in social cultures, like PAD, where such taboos are enforced, are accessories to rape. They are guilty.

This is an instance of rape culture. This is an instance where the culture protected the rapist and shunned and silenced the survivor. This is not the only such instance. They happen every day, all over the world, across many universities, and across many social circles. 

Beatrice is not an anomaly. Oliver is not an exception. The procedures put in place by our social structures did not fail. They are working as they were intended to.

Everyone guilty of perpetuating rape culture in Beatrice’s case believed that they would always support survivors. They justified it because “this case is different." They justified it because Beatrice is not a perfect victim.

Because Beatrice was drunk. Because Beatrice is “schizophrenic." Because Beatrice expressed interest in Oliver.

Because Oliver is a “nice guy." Because Oliver has good grades. Because Oliver was Beatrice’s friend.

They justified it because Beatrice was not the victim they imagined. They justified it because they liked Oliver.

Beatrice was not a perfect victim because there is no perfect victim. Beatrice wasn’t raped because she was drunk, because she wore a short dress, or because it was late. Beatrice was raped because Oliver is a rapist.

We need to reconstitute the social structures which allowed for Beatrice’s rape, the difficulties in the subsequent case, and otherwise perpetuate rape culture. When one avenue of justice fails, the others cannot fall like dominoes. When in pursuit of a solution, we must first discuss the problem openly and clearly.

Keep telling Beatrice’s story. Keep telling every story, especially the uncomfortable ones. Don’t let anyone forget. Don’t let anyone pretend it didn’t happen.

Associated Links:

• https://telegra.ph/You-Are-Guilty-The-Perpetuation-of-Rape-Culture-at-UAlbany-04-23

• https://www.tiktok.com/@karynhelda/video/7360912475023265066

• https://www.reddit.com/r/ualbany/comments/1cc7vio/anyone_heard_about_the_article_going_around_about/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/ualbany/comments/118k2zn/phi_alpha_delta_rape_apologists/