YOUNIS: University networks protect rapists

This issue extends beyond the fact that a woman was purportedly brutally attacked. It is bigger than the monsters simply writing an essay as a punishment.

Arrest and charges

It highlights a broader, nationwide issue — elite institutions have no hesitation in protecting young men, especially those within fraternities, athletic programs or other high-profile campus communities, when it comes to instances of sexual and behavioral allegations.

Both the young men and campus establishment are connected to alumni networks, donors and institutional prestige.

Too often, protecting the institution becomes fundamentally intertwined with protecting young men from consequences.

Fraternities, in particular, occupy an influential position in university social life and alumni networks that can protect members from repercussions — especially since their networks include some of the country's most powerful men, such as Warren Buffett, Carl E.

Stewart and Chuck Robb. That does not mean every alumnus intervenes on behalf of an accused student, nor does fraternity membership itself establish guilt.

But it does mean that universities are often responding to allegations within networks that extend far beyond the students directly involved.

Charges and court proceedings

Thus, when allegations threaten those networks, universities face a choice between confronting those charged in the allegations or minimizing the damage to the university’s reputation.