I want to have a complete story so I can say, "Here is your best spin."
July 29, 2015 7:26 AM Subscribe
Hanna Stotland is an admissions consultant with an unusual clientele: She helps students who are punished for sexual misconduct land safely at other universities. Business is booming. (SLBuzzfeed)
Stotland may be the only admissions consultant in the country who actively seeks out clients who have been disciplined for sexual misconduct, according to prominent lawyers and advocates for accused students. In the midst of a national movement that has put pressure on universities to adjudicate sexual misconduct cases more quickly and crack down harder on perpetrators, it’s a lucrative business to be spearheading.
...
Stotland said she never asks whether her clients are guilty of a crime or not — it’s like being a criminal defense attorney, she said — but, even if they are, it’s not clear to her that “banning them from getting an education makes the community safer,” she said.
“God forbid, if one of my clients committed rape, who needs a liberal arts education more than that person?”
Stotland may be the only admissions consultant in the country who actively seeks out clients who have been disciplined for sexual misconduct, according to prominent lawyers and advocates for accused students. In the midst of a national movement that has put pressure on universities to adjudicate sexual misconduct cases more quickly and crack down harder on perpetrators, it’s a lucrative business to be spearheading.
...
Stotland said she never asks whether her clients are guilty of a crime or not — it’s like being a criminal defense attorney, she said — but, even if they are, it’s not clear to her that “banning them from getting an education makes the community safer,” she said.
“God forbid, if one of my clients committed rape, who needs a liberal arts education more than that person?”
This post was deleted for the following reason: Ugh, I get the sorta man-bites-dog nature of the profile but as a starting point for a discussion of a really difficult topic this is in practice likely to function less as a discussion of the profile itself than as yet another argument about the underlying and much more complicated question of sexual assault adjudication and educational opportunities with the profile itself as a rocky touchstone. -- cortex
Yeah, I totally agree with that. This paragraph struck me as well:
"The problem is that no one knows where these students should go next. That’s where Stotland comes in."
I mean, I agree that not knowing where people with histories of rape/sexual assault should go next is a problem, and it's a problem with which we have to deal as a society (look at all the issues with sex offender registries &c.). I also don't think that "next" has to be an elite four-year institution or that she's morally obligated to provide this service to rich people in the way she kind of implies.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:39 AM on July 29, 2015
"The problem is that no one knows where these students should go next. That’s where Stotland comes in."
I mean, I agree that not knowing where people with histories of rape/sexual assault should go next is a problem, and it's a problem with which we have to deal as a society (look at all the issues with sex offender registries &c.). I also don't think that "next" has to be an elite four-year institution or that she's morally obligated to provide this service to rich people in the way she kind of implies.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:39 AM on July 29, 2015
it’s not clear to her that “banning them from getting an education makes the community safer,” she said.
A rapist that hasn't been rehabilitated is a rapist that continues to be a danger to the community.
I also find her line of reasoning disingenuous because of who she selects as clients: privileged young men and their affluent families who can throw money at the situation (and her) to ensure that their little rape problem doesn't hinder their fast-tracked careers. She makes it clear in the article that she doesn't take lower-income students as charity cases. So in application, the poorer students accused of rape/student rapists should just sod off to community college and take what they can get, then?
This is exactly what formal rape apologism looks like.
posted by Ashen at 7:40 AM on July 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
A rapist that hasn't been rehabilitated is a rapist that continues to be a danger to the community.
I also find her line of reasoning disingenuous because of who she selects as clients: privileged young men and their affluent families who can throw money at the situation (and her) to ensure that their little rape problem doesn't hinder their fast-tracked careers. She makes it clear in the article that she doesn't take lower-income students as charity cases. So in application, the poorer students accused of rape/student rapists should just sod off to community college and take what they can get, then?
This is exactly what formal rape apologism looks like.
posted by Ashen at 7:40 AM on July 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
What is the public benefit of banning sexual misconductors from getting an education?
posted by brokkr at 7:40 AM on July 29, 2015
posted by brokkr at 7:40 AM on July 29, 2015
“God forbid, if one of my clients committed rape, who needs a liberal arts education more than that person?”
Uh, the survivor of the rape? Just spitballing' here....
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 7:41 AM on July 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
Uh, the survivor of the rape? Just spitballing' here....
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 7:41 AM on July 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
can we not do a single link buzzfeed rape apology classism thread? surely there are better ways to discuss any of the issues on display.
posted by nadawi at 7:42 AM on July 29, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by nadawi at 7:42 AM on July 29, 2015 [5 favorites]
(Stotland said she’d love to counsel sexual assault survivors, too, but said none have sought her services so far.)I CAN'T IMAGINE WHY.
posted by maryr at 7:44 AM on July 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
I mean, ugh, gross, this whole thing is really squicky. Talking about how she helped kids in tough situations like those with eating disorders and that transitioned pretty naturally into giving people expelled for sexual assault expensive help so they could get into a good college? Ew ew ew.
What is the public benefit of banning sexual misconductors from getting an education?
No one has said this. She reassures people they won't have to go to community college as if that would end their lives. No one has suggested we "ban" anything, just offered opinions on whether this is a good thing she is doing.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:45 AM on July 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
What is the public benefit of banning sexual misconductors from getting an education?
No one has said this. She reassures people they won't have to go to community college as if that would end their lives. No one has suggested we "ban" anything, just offered opinions on whether this is a good thing she is doing.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:45 AM on July 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
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posted by Etrigan at 7:36 AM on July 29, 2015