I think it is entirely understandable that a parent would be reluctant to send their child to a university where that school's ability and willingness to protect your child has been reasonably placed into question. Likewise, I think it is both understandable and appropriate for an organization or business to suspend ties until this mess is settled.
What surprises me though, is the continued discussion by some about what exactly Karen (and her son) did, said, felt, should have done, etc... as if any of us have any idea of what ACTUALLY transpired. All you have is a Plaintiff's complaint... those are the words crafted by a high-profile attorney to make (and win) a high-profile case. All of the stories to date have ZERO independent testimony from anyone involved, but rather are constructed from the same 34 page complaint that was attached to the original local story. If we DIDN'T feel outrage then I guess the attorney did not do his job properly.
In my non-softball life I have seen multiple physician careers, and businesses shut down by public opinion regarding a front page accusation. When occasionally the facts do not pan out in trial (and this does happen), the back page retraction gets little press. I have literally seen families live's destroyed like this. This same rush to judgement is what has brought us stories like the Duke Lacrosse incident, the more recent Georgia Tech wrongful accusations, and other fun current events like Ferguson.
It's one thing to come on here and say well if my son raped someone I would.... , but that's not what happened. What would you do if someone ACCUSED your son of rape and he denied it to you. That's what matters... and right now that's all that matters if you want to comment on Karen as an individual. Anything else that you think you know about this case is presented to you by the Plaintiff's Attorney EXACTLY as he wants you to hear it.
So yes, I too had a discussion with my DD last night about whether or not her school has protocol in place for these situations (surprisingly the answer was not good!). But, we also talked a little a little bit about the presumption of innocence until proven guilty and the dangers of rushing to judgement. For the few on here who keep crossing the line I realize you have every right to do it. But, God forbid the day where you or a family member is accused of something and we all sit on here and judge you from nothing but the Plaintiff's complaint.
