[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Personal Identity ] [ Mind and Body ] [ Epistemology ] [ Readings ]

THE DISCIPLINARY BOARD

Ellen James lingered over her dinner, wishing it didn't have to end.  In one hour she and the rest of the Disciplinary Board would have to decide which story to believe: Dan Cally’s account of an ill-advised but consensual sexual encounter, or Juanita Taylor’s accusation of date rape.  Both choices seemed to create as many problems as they solved.

             The Disciplinary Board was composed of 9 people; three students, three faculty members, and three staff persons.  Only the most serious disciplinary cases at Carlsberg College were heard by the Board, and even then only after all other methods of dispute resolution had been exhausted.  Ellen was a senior, serving out the last semester of a two-year term. She had heard difficult cases before, but none like this one.

             Dan Cally (a Caucasian junior) and Juanita Taylor (an Hispanic female) had met early in the fall semester.  They immediately became good friends, and usually spoke with each other every day.  Dan made it known early on that he wanted a more intimate relationship, but Juanita told him she was committed to her boyfriend Edgar back home.  She used to tell Dan that “If I’d met you before Edgar, who knows what might have happened?  But I didn't, so let's not play 'What if?', okay?”  In the middle of the spring semester (after a particularly nasty fight over the phone with Edgar), Juanita and three of her friends attended a party off-campus.  Feeling both angry and upset, Juanita got very drunk.  Her friends took her home at about 1:30am, and testified that “she could barely stand up, and slurred everything she said.  Everyone at the party mentioned how obviously wasted she was.”  At about 2:15am, Juanita called Dan and told him how upset she was about Edgar.  Dan (who had also been drinking that night) asked Juanita if she wanted him to come over.  She said yes.

             Here their respective stories diverged.  Both agreed that when Dan arrived, he sat down on the bed and gently stroked Juanita’s cheek as she tearfully recounted her phone conversation with Edgar.  Juanita then claimed that the next thing she remembered was awakening to find Dan on top of her, engaging in sexual intercourse.  Her shock at Dan’s actions, (combined with her own level of intoxication) made the whole situation “seem unreal” according to Juanita.  “For awhile,” she said, “I couldn’t tell if I was having a nightmare or not.  I couldn’t believe Dan would do this to me.”  For several stunned moments she neither resisted nor encouraged Dan.  When she finally realized what was happening, she told Dan “This isn’t right.  This isn’t right.  You have to stop.”   Dan stopped, and began apologizing to a now sobbing Juanita.  Juanita couldn’t remember when Dan left.

             Dan claimed that after sitting on the bed, he lay down next to Juanita and began kissing her.  He maintained that his continually escalating sexual advances were met by “groans” that he believed signified Juanita’s sexual gratification.  The moment Juanita told him to stop,  he did,  and apologized for misinterpreting her responses.  He left as soon as she calmed down and went to sleep.

             Upon further questioning from the Board, Dan admitted that while he knew Juanita was drunk and upset, he believed she still knew what was happening.  Juanita said that despite her inability to remember precisely what led up to Dan’s advances, “there’s absolutely no way I encouraged Dan.  He’s known since the first day we met about my commitment to Edgar, and he knew I wanted to be faithful.  He knew I was drunk, and he’s always known that I only wanted to be friends.  He took advantage of me, pure and simple.”

             Ellen had heard several stories about Dan Cally; he had a reputation for sexually pressuring younger women, though he’d never been accused of something this serious. James Toomey, (the moderator of the Board) had explicitly reminded everyone that Board policy forbade anyone from basing their decision on “rumor, innuendo, or anything other than the facts of this particular case.”  Given how small Carlsberg College was, rumors had already started swirling about the case itself.  Some suggested that Dan’s status as a star athlete would protect him; others claimed that the administration (sensitive to criticisms of poor recruitment of minority students) would “make an example” of Dan rather than risk alienating minority applicants.  These and other comments particularly irked Ellen, who had worked long and hard to improve the Board’s image as a fair and impartial body.

             After hearing all the testimony, the Board agreed to reconvene after dinner to begin deliberations.  As the hearing adjourned, Amber Eldridge (one of the Board’s faculty members) pulled Ellen aside.  “I think you should know, Ellen, that Juanita has only reluctantly come forward.  Diane Wilson (Carlsberg's Director of Counseling Services) told me that Juanita opened up to her about a week after this incident, and asked Diane what she should do.  Diane said it that while it was up to Juanita to press charges, Diane was convinced that this was an 'open-and-shut case.  If this isn’t date rape, I don’t know what is.'” Amber also quoted Diane as saying “If the Board doesn’t find this guy guilty, I’ll never encourage anyone to file charges again.  Any process that would clear someone as guilty as Dan Cally isn’t a fair process.”

             Walking back to the hearing room, Ellen’s heart was heavy.  However she and the other members of the Board decided, she could never reveal their deliberations to her fellow students – all the Board members were bound by strict legal safeguards protecting the privacy of the parties involved.  The rumors would continue no matter how the Board decided.  As the door closed behind her, Ellen wondered how (and if) justice could be served in a case like this.

Assignment: