IN THIS ISSUE Four from Caltech Elected to National Academy Of
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The California Tech Volume CXViii number 25 Pasadena, California [email protected] may 4, 2015 Four from Caltech Six lanes one way, one the other: elected to National The reality of the two-way street ANDRE COMELLA reading the Jezebel article about common, but also totally out of Academy of Sciences Contributing Writer this case, which includes the line. Consent is a thing that needs JESSICA STOLLER-CONRAD Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Facebook conversations complete to happen every time people have Caltech Media Relations Farm Research Campus; Robert Last week, Brad Chattergoon with annotations from Sulkowicz sex. Consent in the past does not Schoelkopf (PhD ‘95), the Stirling published an article about rape herself. The annotations highlight guarantee, or even imply, consent This article was originally Professor of Applied Physics and and gender discrimination. He a lot more of the subtlety and in the future. Just because they published online at caltech.edu. Physics at Yale; and William Ward specifically focused on the case explain behavior that would seem had previously had consensual One Caltech professor and (PhD ‘73), an institute scientist in of Emma Sulkowicz of Columbia strange to many. sex does not mean that it was three Caltech alumni have been the Department of Space Studies at University. I encourage you to read In fact, one of the largest impossible for Nungesser to have elected to the prestigious National the Southwest Research Institute. his article for context, but here, problems that stand in the way raped Sulkowicz. While it is true Academy of Sciences (NAS). The The National Academy of I want to focus on the broader of rape reports and convictions is that false rape reports happen, to announcement was made Tuesday, Sciences is a private organization of issues Brad’s article touches on. a flawed idea of how rape victims assume that every case is just a April 28, in Washington D.C. scientists and engineers dedicated Before going further, I would like should behave. Rape is inherently petty women pitching up a storm The Caltech faculty member to the furtherance of science and to say that this article will discuss a very traumatic experience, and as goes beyond sexist. elected to the Academy is Marianne its use for the general welfare. a great deal about rape and sexual such, often elicits strong responses But perhaps we should consider Bronner, Albert Billings Ruddock It was established in 1863 by a assault. For some, such things can from the victims. But here’s the where these viewpoints come from, Professor of Biology and Executive congressional act of incorporation be difficult or triggering. Be aware, thing: you cannot predict how a and why it seems so many rape Officer for Neurobiology. Bronner signed by Abraham Lincoln that this could get uncomfortable. victim will respond. Some are able allegations turn out to be false. is a developmental biologist whose calls on the academy to act as Before we get started, I would to compartmentalize and move on Beyond the fact that many victims studies focus on the cellular and an official adviser to the federal like to set the tone of this piece. It after some time, others respond retract their allegations when the molecular events underlying the government, upon request, in any chiefly discusses rape and sexual with extreme fear and anxiety, process turns out to be a second formation, lineage, and migration matter of science or technology. assault in its most commonly and still others respond in totally nightmare, there’s also incentive of neural crest cells—early cells in A full list of new members is discussed form: a man raping a different ways. Many victims react for the media to present dubious vertebrate embryos that eventually available on the academy website woman. Male, transgender, and as Sulkowicz did, by trying to cases. I encourage you all to read give rise to a diverse range of at: http://www.nasonline.org/ gender-nonconforming people are pretend everything is normal in the article called “The Toxoplasma cell types, from neurons to facial news-and-multimedia/news/ also far too often the victims of hopes that one day the pretending of Rage,” which goes much more skeleton cells. In 2013, she was april-28-2015-NAS-Election.html sexual assault, and they deserve far will make it true. The fact that into this, but in short, the most awarded the Conklin more attention than the next-to- her accusation came months profitable articles are the ones that Award from the Society for nothing they get. This is a reaction later is also not unusual; rape is people will argue over. Clear-cut Developmental Biology, piece, however, so I will be focusing considered among the most under- cases don’t drum up controversy and she currently serves on the scenario discussed by Brad reported crimes. Many victims are and can’t be milked for weeks, so as the editor in chief of in his article. unwilling to publicly make such an the media tends to report cases Developmental Biology, First, let’s look at Brad’s bold accusation, particularly because of where facts are muddier and there’s the society’s official statement, “There’s no way Paul how difficult proving rape is and plenty of room to argue. There are, journal. She is a fellow of Nungesser raped Emma Sulkowicz.” how society treats alleged rape of course, many situations where the American Academy of This comes after he discusses the victims. When reports do happen, the facts are clear-cut, and people Arts and Sciences (2009) Facebook conversations between they are often much later — after still argue against calling the crime and presently serves on the Sulkowicz and Nungesser. They the victim has had time to process, rape, and this is where victim scientific advisory board of do seem confusingly friendly, or perhaps, like in Sulkowicz’s blaming comes in. the Sontag Foundation. even after the alleged rape, but case, because they have found out See, Brad puts forward an idea Bronner joins 75 current it’s quite naive to think that their assailant had assaulted other that’s fairly popular among so- Caltech faculty and three every rape victim immediately people. called “men’s rights activists,” the trustees as members of the responds with fear, revulsion, and Brad portrays Sulkowicz as a idea that when it comes to rape, NAS. Also included in this avoidance. Sulkowicz’s response jealous woman crying rape after the men are the persecuted party. He year’s new members are is actually fairly common; she man she was sleeping with called claims that men are the real victims three Caltech alumni: Eric Along with three Caltech alumni, current wanted to discuss the incident things off and began sleeping with because, as a society, we label men Betzig (BS ‘83), a Nobel Caltech Professor Marianne Bronner was with Nungesser, but she also other people. The idea that rape as rapists and hold on to that laureate and group leader elected to the National Academy of Sciences. wanted things to be normal. For victims are really just jealous or in physics at the Howard Photo Courtesy of Lance Hayashida/Caltech those interested, I recommend vindictive women is unfortunately Continued on page 3 Student examines societal trends regarding investigation of rape cases ADAM JERMYN the resulting investigations. Even if they lost their scholarships.” That falsely accused, for instance), this along with the actual practice of Contributing Writer these data were available, however, reasoning seems bizarre to me: suggests that at least in the realm victim blaming, is so prevalent there is an even greater problem: the decision to acquit or convict of athletics, the current system that many jurisdictions in the U.S. In a recent article in The many cases are never reported, in a legal case should be based discriminates against the (mostly have adopted special laws (known California Tech, Brad Chattergoon in no small part due to hostile purely on the facts of the case, female) victims, not the (mostly as Rape Shield Laws) to prevent its made a bold claim: “As a society, environments. not on whether the defendant has male) accused. most egregious forms in court. we discriminate against men as College football is a good arena “suffered enough.” Of course, this More broadly, the reasons that None of this evidence rapists. We are ready to launch an for understanding this problem. is just one case, so we should look women do not report sexual assault suggests that there is systematic attack against anyone who has a This area has been a perennial further and see what the data says. cases are well-documented. In a discrimination against men in finger pointed at them.” This claim problem for sexual harassment Fortunately, the high-profile National Institute of Justice study, sexual assault cases. Of course struck me as strange and counter reporting and enforcement, from nature of these and other cases the three most commonly cited there have been cases of wrongful to what I have seen, so I decided to the Notre Dame case of 1976, means that statistics have actually were lack of trust in the justice accusation and wrongful legal/ investigate. where a witness was told by been kept. The Benedict/Crosset system, fear of not being believed disciplinary action, but these would Useful hard data on this university administrators “to shut study found that male college and fear of being accused of playing appear to be the exception, rather question is difficult to find. The up and mind my own business” to athletes accused of sexual assault a role in the assault.