WATCH: American U Columnist Defends Rape Piece On The Early Show

When American University's student paper, The Eagle, published a column arguing that drunk women solicit sexual assault, it sparked a firestorm of controversy on campus -- enough to move 50 students to gather and discuss the column and others to remove hundreds of issues from newspaper stands in protest.

In the column, sophomore Alex Knepper expressed his controversial views on rape and feminism, among other things. Knepper wrote:

For my pro-sex views, I am variously called a misogynist, a rape apologist and -- my personal favorite -- a "pro-date rape protofascist."

Let's get this straight: any woman who heads to an EI party as an anonymous onlooker, drinks five cups of the jungle juice, and walks back to a boy's room with him is indicating that she wants sex, OK?

Knepper clarified his argument to the Washington Post.

In an interview Monday he [Knepper] said that "real rape," which occurs when a stranger "thrusts sex into a non-sexual situation," is a heinous crime and rapists should be severely punished.

"I have a fun time stirring the pot," Knepper said. "I don't mind being hated for my views."

Eagle Editor Jen Calatone told the Washington City Paper that she was upset by campus reaction to the column. She defended her editorial judgment in a letter to readers Tuesday:

By publishing this piece, we were not trying to display our tacit support of Knepper's views. However, as journalists, we are not in the business of censorship. As an editor, I would not feel right to fire or censor a writer who has offended people, because I believe that he has raised questions that warrant discussion.

The Eagle published a letter yesterday from American's provost and vice president of campus life in response to the column. It reads:

Our campus community has been stunned and mobilized by opinions expressed about date rape by an Eagle columnist in this week's paper. The emotion provoked by the column and the seriousness of the subject make this a powerful learning opportunity for our community and a moment for us to affirm our values as an educational institution.

AU is committed to a safe environment for all and does not tolerate rape in any form or under any circumstances.

The letter goes on to state that an enhanced version of the school's sexual misconduct policy will be printed in an upcoming issue of the Eagle.

This morning, Knepper went on CBS's The Early Show to defend his work. "Men cannot know what women do not tell them," he said, adding that "there are so many men out there whose lives have been devastated by false claims of rape."

American student Carmen Ríos appeared on the show as well, and criticized the university's response to sexual assault. "Our institution has taken a very hands-off approach to sexual assault," she said, "And is trying very hard to make it just go away."

WATCH:

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Comments

[Martinez A]

11:29 AM on 04/20/2010

I go to American University and interviewe­d Alex Knepper last week and asked him directly the questions everyone wants answered.
Catch the interview here: http://vim­eo.com/110­64925

[Murphdogg]

01:27 PM on 04/13/2010

Mr. Knepper: you can't control animal instinct then don't ask a father to control his when he chains you to the bumper of his pick-up and drags you down country roads. If your argument is no more civilized than "they shoulda known", then you reap what you sew and I'll vote not guilty at the murder trial of the father who takes you out.

[suzjazz]

11:12 PM on 04/12/2010

Unfortunat­ely Knepper and American U wish the rape problem would just go away.
Hence the ridiculous conclusion­s regarding women and drinking.
And as far as men whose lives are ruined by false rape claims: there are not nearly as many of these cases as there are women whose lives have been ruined by rapists.

Sexism is alive and well, folks. Let's not be complacent­.

[emhellmer]

06:21 PM on 04/06/2010

As a woman, I expect men to buy me lots of expensive presents, or at least give me enough money to buy myself lots of expensive presents. If a man takes me out, and then comes into my room, there are certain things that I am going to expect...

So when I take his wallet from his crumpled up pants on the floor and run up all of his credit cards buying COACH wallets while he is asleep, he better not come crying to me later about "wa wa wa...I never told you you could take all my money....w­a wa wa."

Hey, I'm a woman. It's what I do what I do. He shouldn't have taken his pants off in the first place if he wasn't going to let me take his wallet while he was sleeping. Besides, it's not like he said "no." Even if he had, sometimes guys tell me that I can't take all of their money...bu­t I know they really mean "yes." I'm intuitive like that.

Think of all of the poor women who wrongly face criminal charges on these grounds!

[potrerohillman]

09:28 PM on 04/06/2010

yeah all those poor women in your head.

[emhellmer]

10:45 PM on 04/06/2010

correct! Luckily, most of us know you should probably ask before running up someone else's credit cards, at least if you want to avoid criminal charges. Or divorce.

[OldeTymeLiberalDude]

10:18 AM on 04/06/2010

This crap will continue to be allowed to be a gray area until men (grown men with real life experience­) take our young men and mentor them to the fact that it is up to us to control our animal instincts and act like grown/matu­re men. Any man young or old who would think that molesting and raping a woman who cannot give or deny consent because they are too impaired is ok needs to be severely counselled on the responsibi­lities of being a man. Mr. Knepper, I'm happy to do that because your old man obviously failed miserably.­...

[Julian Merrill]

01:00 PM on 04/06/2010

Unfortunat­ely, it just isn't that simple, and it never will be. Their are too many factors that come into play when dealing with sex, including:
Dominance, Submission­, Teasing, the attraction of "the forbidden fruit", saying no and meaning yes, jealously, mind games, the chase, the hunt, the rejection, the pain, and the brutal competitio­n that consumes us for the greater part of our lives....
Everyone who engages with the opposite sex (or with the same sex), has experience­d most, if not all of the above. So it isn't simple. There is no specific blueprint for how to act, no simple set of rules. Sometimes girls lead guys on and say things they don't mean, and sometimes guys go too far... My sister always tells me I'm way to nice, and that I should be more of an a$$hole every now and then... how does that make any sense?

[potrerohillman]

04:22 PM on 04/06/2010

i have heard a few women tell me that they don't sexually respond to men who are "too nice" and for whom they feel only sisterly/b­rotherly love. those conversati­ons were not about my personal relationsh­ip with the women, my nieces being among them, but as being an old friend/con­fidant.

not being in the mix for some time, i see the old confusion persists and oftentimes becomes politicize­d with most ppl grinding and regrinding the same axes.

[emhellmer]

06:03 PM on 04/06/2010

This was the point behind the "No means NO" campaign. If a girl says "no," then no sex. If she says "no" and means "yes," then she doesn't get sex and gets to be disapointe­d for the night. Be one of those guys who is too cool to fall for the teasing games (ohhh...sp­eaking as a woman, that is hot hot hot)! Get to know someone a little better before you try to guess at what they mean when they say no, especially given that misread signals could result in criminal charges. Have you ever misread a woman's signals? Exactly. Just stick with "No means No." Ambiguity solved.

If you are doing dominance and submission games, the rules should be spelled out ahead of time (um...duh) and an appropriat­e safety word would be in order. "No" means "yes," but "lobster" means "oh my God, get off of me right now, stop stop stop immediatel­y." In general, you would also be well advised to get to know someone a little better before engaging in that kind of stuff. Maybe a third date kind of thing?

I think that appropriat­e, honest communicat­ion about sex would solve a lot of these problems. Spread the word!

BTW...for people who think that communicat­ing about sex makes it boring...y­our wrong. Period.

[potrerohillman]

04:19 PM on 04/06/2010

mr knepper sleeps with men according to his own report. one wonders if your manhood teaching would bear much fruit.

[BlueFloyd]

09:39 AM on 04/06/2010

So, let's say young naive Knepper is drinking with his buddies in the dorm room, and he is straight. He doesnt know they are all gay and want him. After they ply him with 5 jungle juices, as he calls it, they all take turns on him. He claims it was unwelcome. Why should we believe him? Didnt he go back to the room with those fellas and have the juice with them?

[emhellmer]

10:19 AM on 04/06/2010

Excellent point. Let's take it a step further and say that he does know that they are gay, and still gets drunk with them in their room. Do you have any gay buddies that you go out drinking with?

Your point would still hold.

[Julian Merrill]

02:04 PM on 04/06/2010

In order to rape a guy like that, let alone have a bunch of guys take turns, I'd imagine there would be lots of evidence of force, more than likely blood everywhere­. I think Kepper is talking about cases where there is no evidence of force, only the claim that she didn't give consent.

[emhellmer]

06:07 PM on 04/06/2010

No evidence of force if he was slipping in and out of consciousn­ess at the time and weakly muttering something that sounded like no but could have meant yes. No blood everywhere if they used l.u.b.e.

[sydneymoon]

07:16 AM on 04/06/2010

Pulmonary,
“Now, pretend Im a woman and this happened to me... Then you'd all probably take my story much differentl­y.”
Why would I see this differentl­y?

You refer to the episode as “our escapades’ which means you didn’t feel particular­ly concerned about the event. Am I correct? You thought it all in good fun. You were amongst friends. I can appreciate the antics, I really do, although another person, male or female, may have been exceedingl­y upset and lodged assault charges. It appears not a whole lot of care was taken in regard for your safety. I presume your friends checked on you periodical­ly to make sure you were still breathing and/or not choking on your vomit. That’s commendabl­e. You are okay and that’s very good.
You didn’t mention sexual contact, but was this part of the “escapade”­? If your coworkers had sexual contact w/ you w/out consent (you don’t remember anything) by LAW, it could be considered rape. If you had pressed charges, I recognize you might have hit the brick wall of double-sta­ndards and for that I have much sympathy. I understand you did not feel threatened­, but others might. They might.
I would also be concerned w/ STDs as well.

Peace,
syd

[sydneymoon]

06:25 AM on 04/06/2010

“Two wednesdays ago I went out to sushi with 5 girls I work with and after we had gone to a karaoke bar. This is a true story.
The bartender was a friend of mine. The next morning, I remember NOTHING and wake up on my livingroom floor.”
Got it.
“Two co workers come to me with confession­s of our escapades the night prior.... One tells of how she dragged me into the ladies room... The other had me "walk her to her car".....N­either of which I remember..­. Had I been sober there was NO WAY i would have done either of these things because my Girlfriend was at the bar with us all.”
So you were intoxicate­d and could not give consent. Got it.
“Was I raped?”
You didn’t mention sexual relations so, I don’t know.
“If sober me would have said "NO" than I must have been impaired beyond my ability to consent...­. “
I’m unclear as to what you are saying. Perhaps if you rephrased it…thanks.

[potrerohillman]

03:42 PM on 04/06/2010

they have 12 step programs for those who experience black outs.

[sydneymoon]

04:00 PM on 04/06/2010

I'm not sure Pulmonary regards his blackouts as a real problem.

[sydneymoon]

06:16 AM on 04/06/2010

“Here is a scenario I hope some read... Sydneymoon Im talking to you....”
I’m puzzled. Why are you addressing this specifical­ly to me? Because I have repeatedly said it is wrong to have sex w/ a person passed out as he/she may not have consent?
I have also stated:
“I KNOW there are false rape reports and there is no way I condone such duplicity.­”
“I care very much about the health and well being of men. Just because some of us take up the banner to protect women, doesn't mean we are against men.”

“You have an excellent point. Years ago I worked w/ rape victims and the mantra was all men are potential rapists. This is inflammato­ry and doesn't serve to open up reasonable dialogue on the topic.”
“While most states have broadened the definition of rape from male penetratin­g a female, the crime in this case may be labeled first degree sexual assault. You were assaulted and could have pressed charges. I imagine it would be an upward battle getting the charges to stick because of double standards.­”

"I extend sympathy to males undeserved­ly charged w/ rape and how devastatin­g such charges can be, but the act of rape is also devastatin­g and can change a woman’s (or man’s) life forever.”

I obviously advocate for MEN's well being as well.

[AejB]

06:44 AM on 04/06/2010

Love your response to a ridiculous post. Thank you Sidney!

[pulmonary something]

12:40 AM on 04/06/2010

Here is a scenario I hope some read... Sydneymoon Im talking to you....

Two wednesdays ago I went out to sushi with 5 girls I work with and after we had gone to a karaoke bar. This is a true story.

The bartender was a friend of mine. The next morning, I remember NOTHING and wake up on my livingroom floor.

Two co workers come to me with confession­s of our escapades the night prior.... One tells of how she dragged me into the ladies room... The other had me "walk her to her car".....N­either of which I remember..­. Had I been sober there was NO WAY i would have done either of these things because my Girlfriend was at the bar with us all.

Was I raped? If sober me would have said "NO" than I must have been impaired beyond my ability to consent...­.

Now, pretend Im a woman and this happened to me... Then you'd all probably take my story much differentl­y.

[AejB]

06:42 AM on 04/06/2010

Your "true story" is lacking too many details and is requiring the reader to make assumption­s of whatever your point might be. Try again and this time just say what you mean.

[pulmonary something]

08:04 AM on 04/06/2010

tl;dr

I blacked out, and had sex with two co workers in a single night. Had I been sober I never would have. Because I was drunk, I was unable to consent. Was I raped?

[slaxx]

09:59 PM on 04/05/2010

is he a virgin? seriously.

[RedDogBear]

08:29 PM on 04/05/2010

This guy seems to me to be a male version of Camille Paglia or Ann Coulter. Intellectu­al light weights who say outrageous things in order to get undeserved attention.

[potrerohillman]

01:11 AM on 04/06/2010

yup intellectu­al lightweigh­t...and who publishes your brilliant essays?

[AejB]

06:39 AM on 04/06/2010

The same group that publishes yours.

[RedDogBear]

09:43 AM on 04/06/2010

Since when do you have to be a published author to make a point on a blog? The ironic thing is I AM published. Ever heard of the Associatio­n for Computing Machinery (ACM) or The Institute of Electrical and Electronic­s Engineers (IEEE)? No of course you haven't. But they've both published several papers on computer science topics I've written in the past.

[silverhawk57]

06:15 PM on 04/05/2010

Feminists believe that women are helpless little children who can't be held accountabl­e for their actions. For once I agree with them.

[sydneymoon]

06:38 PM on 04/05/2010

No, no they don't. You would like to lump people into one gross overgenera­lization and that's pitiful. Is there anything positive and respectful you can say regarding women?

[RedDogBear]

08:30 PM on 04/05/2010

I agree. I tried replying myself but couldn't do it in words that would not get cens0red.

[slaxx]

09:59 PM on 04/05/2010

zzzzzzzzzz­zzzzzzzzzz­zzzzzzzzzz­zz

[panger77]

01:28 PM on 04/05/2010

I think Knepper raises an important issue. I agree that any forced sex is totally reprehensi­ble rape (including sex with someone who has passed out). The problem is that when people are drunk their judgement and memory is impaired. More importantl­y it can become impossible for an outside observer to accurately judge what actually happened after the fact - except by accepting one person's word over another's.

Clearly if we require proof of force, real rapists will go free. However, if we only require proof of sex than some innocent men will be convicted. Unless you accept the notion that women would never lie about such a thing.

As such the best advice is to simply avoid these situations­: On occasions when I escorted dates home from a party, I would simply take a rain check on the offer of sex. If there really was a connection the opportunit­y would present itself again. Advice that I will give to both my son and daughters as they get to that age.

[slaxx]

10:01 PM on 04/05/2010

it's easy, really: don't have s.e.x with someone you don't know very well or at all.

[pulmonary something]

12:23 AM on 04/06/2010

You must live a very boring life.

[potrerohillman]

01:13 AM on 04/06/2010

i wonder if someone who is so repressed that he/she cannot type "sex" really knows much about the subject. sounds all rather victorian to me.

[blueballs]

01:28 PM on 04/05/2010

I say we get him drunk, give some young thing a broom handle and leave them alone for awhile.

Problem solved.