Katie Baker was recently hit in the face so hard, she relates that the doctor in the emergency room said that if the fractured bones in her face had been hit with any more force, they would have entered her brain and killed her. The perpetrator of this violent act needs to receive some sort of punishment, but thus far, potentially due to the unwillingness of those present to come forward, he has remained anonymous.
Following the publication of a news report about the incident ("Girl says she was punched at frat," Jan. 23), many have felt the need to comment on The Chronicle's website in defense of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Alarmingly, some have tried to justify the actions of the person who hit Baker.
Among the comments posted: "It seems to me that this girl obviously did something to anger this man," "I do however believe that Katie Baker was drunker than she claimed to be and is clearing (sic) lying when stating she did not provoke the man," and "The girl was absolutely hammered, staggering around and being belligerent. Not only was she blurting out racial slurs, but (she) continued to make extremely racist comments as we held her head above the toilet while she puked."
The reaction to this incident is disconcerting for a number of reasons. To begin with, the conclusion that The Chronicle is biased against Greek Row or the "pikes" truly has no merit. This story had nothing to do with the fraternity -- other than the fact that the incident happened at its house.
Perhaps the fraternity's role has become more relevant now, though. It's troubling that its members have shown more concern for the image of their organization than they have for helping a fellow human being who was wronged -- and Baker was wronged.
Analyzing whether or not Baker brought injury on herself is absolutely missing the point. There is no excuse for violence, ever. Moreover, there is absolutely never an excuse for a man to hit a woman. What Baker might have said, or whatever state she might have been in, has little relevance.
It is important to remember that there are likely people who know the man who hit Baker. If the party was, as the "pikes" reported, unregistered -- which means that the event was unadvertised -- and there was a relatively low number of people in attendance, it would follow that someone would have had to know or notice the suspect before he punched a woman in front of a group of people.
If people know the real details of that night and have been silent, they should rethink what they're trying to protect. No cause is more valuable than the basic human right to safety.
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