OCR::/Vol_093/WLURG39_RTP_19940330/WLURG39_RTP_19940330_001.2.txt SPECIAL REPORT Clhe iting-tum Iflhi WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY LEXINGTON, VA. MARCH 30, 1994 °Woman reports rape By Francesca Kefalas Phi Executive Editor A 21-year-old woman reported she was raped in Graham-Lees Dor- mitory Friday, police said. Sgt. E.W. Straub of the Lexing- ,ton Police and Director of Washing- ton and Lee Security Michael Young have said the investigation is focus- ing on a suspect who is not a student at W&L. “The focus is on one suspect at rthis time,” Young said. “The focus is leading us to a non—student." Dean ofStudents David Howison saidthe suspect was visitingthe cam- pus and staying in the dorms over the weekend. Young said he could not ‘confirm whether the suspect was a prospective or the friend ofa student. Young said the woman was in the dorms selling magazine subscrip- tions.The woman told police she was invited into a room by the man who "raped her. Police said they received a call reporting the rape from the Univer- sity Center March 25 at 5:48 p.m. The woman told police two women, identified as W&L students, helped the woman and called the police, Young said. The police came to the Univer- sity Center to question the woman, Young said. & “When she was picked up at the ' [University] center she was very shaken up,” Young said. Young said after a police officer comforted the woman she was taken to Graham-Lees to try to identify the room in which she was attacked. Young met police and the woman about 6 p.m., he said. Security and the police have been working together on the case since then, Young said. After looking inside Graham- Lees the woman was taken to his office and then to Stonewall Jackson Hospital, Young said. After being treated at the hospital, the woman was taken back to the dormitory. “We were looking basically for the crime scene,” Young said. Young said the investigation be- gan broadly, looking throughout most of Graham-Lees. The woman gave a detailed description ofthe area ofthe dorm and the room she was assaulted in, he said. “We were able to determine where she had been and where she hadn’t been,” Young said. The investigation resumed on Sunday, Young said, and focused on the first floor of Graham-Lees. He said 15 to 20 rooms were examined. “The investigation took all week- end,” Young said. Young said security and police think they have identified the crime scene and have confiscated some items that might serve as evidence. He said Straub has talked with sev- eral students about the incident, but both police and security are focusing on a non-student suspect. The woman gave a detailed de- scription of the man she said attacked her, Young said. He said police have not released the description of the suspect because they do not want to jeopardize the investigation. The suspect is no longer in the state, Young said, which complicates the investigation. The suspect had not been notified of the investigation as ofTuesday at 4 p.m., Young said. He said security and the police will have to rely on help from police in other states. Straub said the woman, who is not a Lexington resident, is no longer in Lexington but is pursuing the case. “She wishes to press charges as soon as we arrest whoever is respon- sible,” Straub said. Straub said the woman examined photos in an attempt to identify the suspect. Young said the woman’s description of her attacker has been important in identifying the suspect. Young and Straub both said they do not know how long it will take them to get more information. Young said anyone who has information about the assault should call secu- rity at 463-8427 or the police at 463-2112. “Our main focus is to make sure [the woman] is taken care of and we find this individual as soon as we can,” Young said. Editors Note.‘ The current policy of The Ring-tum Phi when reporting rape cases is to withold the names of both the accuser and the accused until after the trial. If the accused is found guilty the name will then be published. In the above case neither name has been released by the police or security. The Phi '5 policy is subject to change under each indi- vidual editorial board. OCR::/Vol_093/WLURG39_RTP_19940330/WLURG39_RTP_19940330_002.2.txt The Ring-tum Phi, March 30, 1994 WBRC changes appr By THOMAS HEsPos Phi News Editor The Executive Com- mittee finished its first trip through the White Book Review Committees sug- gested changes to the White Book on Monday. Some amendments were agreed upon and passed in two successive meetings — these amend- mentsareofficially ratified and will be added to next year’s version ofthe White Book. Others must be ap- proved at the EC’s next meeting after the spring break on Monday,April 18. Major changes to the White Book include: °Changes to Paragraph 0 of the Procedure for an Executive Committee Hearing that allow for an accused student to discuss an honor situation with family members or others who can offer support. Changes to Paragraph F of the Procedure for a Student Body Hearing that increases the number of guilty votes needed to con- vict a student in an open trial from eight to nine. ‘Changes to Paragraph D of the Procedure for an Executive Committee Hearing that allow the ac- cused to request disclosure of the investigative team’s report, so the accused can enter closed trial with a better idea of why a par- ticular witness has been called by the EC. ‘ WBRC Chairman Ames Hutton said the changes to Paragraph 0 will allow the EC to use discretion in punishing the accused for breaches of confidentiality. He said the accused should be given the right to discuss an honor matter with people who could offer advice or emo- tional support, such as an adviser or a parent. “The accused could possibly be scared by talk- ing to parents,” said Hutton. EC President Bob Tompkins said the amend- ment would, at the same time, allow for the punish- mentofanyoneinvolvedin an honor trial who breaks confidentiality in away that harms the accuser, accused or witnesses. “There’s a lot of con- cern on the part of some- body who turns something in that his name is not dragged through the mud.” said Tompkins. The amendment to Paragraph 0 was ap- proved 13-0 after three votes and minorchangesto the language. The EC approved unanimously an amend- ment that makes it tougher for juries to convict an ac- cused student in an open trial. The number of guilty votes required for convic- tion was raised to nine from eight. Hutton said the amend- ment would not change the application of the honor system drastically. “There were concerns that ‘why was it not unani- mous?’” Hutton said. Several EC members agreed that conviction in an open trial should not re- quirea unanimous vote. EC Law Rep. James Rambeau saidthe change to the num- berofguilty votes required “would be beneficial to the system as a whole.” The EC also approved a suggested change to the rules for disclo- sure in a closed hearing. WBRC member Mike Stakes said the p r o p o s e d change would allow the inves- tigators and ad- vocates in- volved in an open trial to clear away ex- traneous infor- mation. Such inforrnation,ac- cording to Stakes, slows down hearing proceedings. Hutton agreed. “There is a lot of extra- neous information that the advocates try to get out,” Hutton said. The new amendment allows the accused to re- quest the report of the in- vestigators which ex- plains why individual wit- nesses are being called to the hearing. In this way, the advocates representing the accused can avoid irrel- evant lines of questioning and save time by “narrow- ing issues ahead of time," said Stakes. The EC approved this amendment 11-2. The EC also voted to l . ’ oved _;g_ “There’s a lot of concern on the part of somebody who turns some- thing in thathis name is not d r a g g e d through the m ud, ” Tompkins. change the process of! amending the White Book by requiring a “quorum q present” at two meetings at ; least a week apart, rather . than a vote ofthe “full com- ‘ mittee” to make changes to’_ the honor system. This also met with u n a n i m o u s approval. S€l'1l0f.' EC Rep. lock pro- posed an amendment tonumberthe, pages of the White Book in order to make refer- ences to the White B0019 easier. The motion was approved unanimously. The EC finalized alfi said stylistic and ~ grammar changes to the White Book that were tentatively approved in previous meetings. Tompkins said the EC Kenney Bul- . l‘ l . 11 will take up the controver- I sial issue of the composi- tion of the investigative team on April 18, its first- meeting after the under» graduate Spring break. Hutton said he also plan’ to submit a report anc present “‘mt*.-Wliite Book" concerns to the EC at some point during Spring; Term. The concerns deg, ._ with honor syste rn issu“ that are not codified in ' White Book, Hutton saiii