LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor:

I was disheartened by a passage in your analysis of sexual assault at Pitt, in… Dear Editor:

I was disheartened by a passage in your analysis of sexual assault at Pitt, in which Marlo Svidron states that “[t]he only person who’s going to stop a rape is the rapist.” I appreciate that it is Ms. Svidron’s job to help rape victims cope with psychological trauma, but I hope that this message of helpless fatalism is not what she ultimately communicates.

The world is full of predators with no regard for mercy or decency. The attitude that citizens are powerless to thwart the will of criminals, and have no business trying, is exactly what gives animals like rapists, muggers and abusers their power to victimize the innocent. The causal agent of a crime is of course the criminal, and no circumstance, not even the reckless partying that must regrettably be mentioned throughout the article, can mitigate his culpability. But a mere lack of moral culpability is cold comfort to a victim of rape, and ultimately, however unpleasant it may be, everyone IS responsible for his or her safety.

Victor Bilan, student