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The Rice Thresher
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by Olivia Allison Thresher editorial staff An e-mail accusing a male Rice student of raping a female student was sent Monday to over 100 students. Jones College sophomore Katie Cox wrote and signed an e-mail saying that, a few days after she met the male student, her friends told her he had raped another student. However, the alleged victim, who was unnamed in the e-mail, had not reported the incident. Cox's e-mail included information about the male student, including his name, his major and his residence. The e-mail warned, "Don't let yourself or your best girl friends be the next victims!" Cox sent the e-mail to about 100 people, about half of whom are Rice students. The remaining recipients had addresses at other universities or with Internet mail accounts such as Hotmail. The e-mail told recipients to "spread the word if you like" and was subsequently forwarded to others. Cox wrote a second e-mail later Monday stating that she did not have any proof to support her accusation. "Because I do not have any concrete evidence personally, only verbal recollections of myself and others," she wrote. That e-mail was also forwarded widely. Cox also said in the second e-mail that she wanted people to draw their own conclusions from the information. "I, myself, cannot pass definitive judgement," she wrote. "My intent was to caution you because you are my friends. It is up to you to pass your own judgement." Cox also said if the student was not guilty, she did not want his reputation to be damaged. "I do not intend to ruin the reputation of someone if he really is not guilty," the e-mail stated. The male student responded Wednesday to the accusation with a written statement (See Statement at right), in which he said the incident did not occur and that he was disgusted and disappointed by the accusations in the e-mail. The Thresher has chosen not to disclose the student's name because the accusation has not been proven. "I feel like my name will be associated with an incident that never occurred for the rest of my time at Rice," he wrote. "Not only has the incident been proven to have never occurred, but also there was not even an accusation of such an incident." He said both he and the girl whom Cox had been told was the victim of the rape were upset by the e-mail. "Both the girl and I involved were appalled to find out that someone was insinuating a rumor of rape based entirely on hearsay," he wrote. "Before anyone even tried to find out the truth, the rumor spread across campus, hurting not only myself but also other friends." Despite several attempts to contact Cox, she declined to comment.
statement from accused male student The following is a written statement prepared by the male student accused in a mass e-mail of raping a female student. He spoke to the Thresher on the condition of anonymity. The student maintains his innocence regarding the allegations made in the e-mail. I am a new student at Rice and my first major experience here has been one of disgust and disappointment. I feel like my name will be associated with an incident that never occurred for the rest of my time at Rice. Not only has the incident been proven to have never occurred, but also there was not even an accusation of such an incident. Both the girl and I involved were appalled to find out that someone was insinuating a rumor of rape based entirely on hearsay. Before anyone even tried to find out the truth, the rumor spread across campus, hurting not only myself, but also other friends. Rape is a serious matter, and a rumor of rape only trivializes the issue and real victims. I have close friends who have actually experienced the horrors of rape and I truly hope that no one on this campus experiences such an ordeal. I also hope that no one has to go through what I have gone through because rumors can destroy a student on this campus. In the future, when you hear of a potential incident, please handle it appropriately: respect the privacy of others and talk to an authority who knows how to help.
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