FSU doth protest too much

Tonight CNN will air The Hunting Ground much to the dismay of current and former folks connected to FSU. Dismay that includes the threat of legal action.

Former quarterback Jameis Winston has, through his lawyer, threatened to sue for libel. Winston is still embroiled in legal action. Erica Kinsman, who is part of the documentary about campus sexual assault, has accused Winston of rape and is suing him. Despite Kinsman reporting her rape immediately (she did not know her attacker was Winston when it happened), FSU dragged its heels investigating even when she told administrators months later who it was when she recognized him on the first day of spring classes and was able to put a name to the face.

Due to the significant bumbling of the case and the leaking of information, criminal charges were never filed. An equally problematic student judicial hearing found Winston not responsible. An investigation into FSU's handling of sexual assault is ongoing.

Kinsman talks about her experience as do the other women featured in the documentary. After being run out of FSU because of the backlash against her from football fans, it was Kinsman's first public experience. As I said above, she has since filed civil charges against Winston who is countersuing her.

FSU's president John Thrasher has come out and said CNN is being irresponsible by airing the documentary. He is comparing the documentary to the now discredited story in Rolling Stone about a rape at University of Virginia saying it does not live up to journalistic standards. The comparison is bordering on hyperbolic. These women all came forward to talk on film about their experiences at schools all over the country. The documentary highlights the cultures at colleges that have resulted in the epidemic that is campus sexual assault. And it reports, using these women's stories, on how their institutions did not address what happened to them. The film also includes interviews with employees in student life and campus police. Filmmakers contend they make space for administrators from FSU to comment on film, but Thrasher denies that assertion. 

Thrasher is bandwagoning with professors at Harvard Law who also are contesting the presentation of the story of a former law student who was assaulted and saying the documentary contains inaccuracies and inconsistencies. I was not a fact checker for the film, so I cannot speak to those accusations. But I am pretty surprised that administrators and professors from schools that have ongoing and very public problems with race and gender are throwing stones at this film rather than addressing the many issues on their respective campuses. Right now it looks like they are too preoccupied with a PR campaign.

Also, this movie is--relatively speaking--old. It debuted at Sundance last year and was released in theatres shortly thereafter. I saw it in April at my local theatre. Where was the outcry then? CNN is getting heat for airing the movie but I did not see much protest when it came out last spring. (There was some protest at FSU among the devout fan base and calls that Kinsman is a liar.)

There are, last I saw, 177 open investigations at the Office of Civil Rights that will examine the practices and policies surrounding campus sexual assault at just under 150 colleges and universities (some schools have multiple complaints pending). That fact is not in dispute. It is not an exaggeration to call this problem an epidemic. All those open cases as well as the ones that have been closed, have stories attached to them. We have heard of some of the more visible ones--the stories of protest, of mattress-carrying, of activism--there are so many more. More than this documentary can hold--more than any documentary can hold.