Not so black and white

Someone had been using the cardboard packaging from a box of Lifestyles condoms as an ashtray. The draft from an open window caused it to fall off the table and land next to my foot. Unsure what to do, my friend and I just exchanged looks.

It was the first time we had been in this particular frat house during daylight hours and without the usual "ambience" lighting and beer goggles the whole place seemed a little shabby and creepy. The fact that we were there to observe a training session by Students Together Against Acquaintance Rape only added to our unease.

The living room was filling up fast, so an older brother barked an order and two pledges scurried out and brought more chairs. With that, the event started: introductions and an icebreaker game, followed by the legal definitions of sexual assault and rape. There was a long discussion on the importance of communication between partners and the obtaining of mutual verbal consent.

After awhile, one of the guys, looking slightly annoyed, raised his hand and asked, "What if you're both drunk? How can you then be held accountable for your actions?"

The lead presenter thought for a moment and said, "Well, it's like when a drunk driver hits and kills someone. We hold the driver accountable."

The brother quickly and somewhat angrily responded that since both people were drunk it'd be more like two drunk drivers crashing into one another. The STAAR people weren't really able to answer him and went back to the next item on their agenda. From my corner of the room, I noticed a lot of the brothers giving the guy nods of approval.

When it comes to rape cases, the perception that the justice system is stacked against men is pretty ingrained. On this very page, rape is discussed on a semi-annual basis, usually during or after "Take Back the Night" occurs. The responses to and discussions about these columns often mention that very scenario: a guy is as intoxicated as the girl, if not more so, and afterwards he's automatically guilty of rape. No doubt about it.

I had even accepted this as a matter of fact, and automatically assumed the law books contained something to this effect.

Earlier this semester, I decided to look into this very issue, so I headed to Biddle Law Library to confirm what I already knew would be there in black and white. The librarian helped me find the pertinent volume of the Pennsylvania Annotated Statutes in the stacks. To my surprise, what I found was... nothing.

Part four of section A of 18 Pa.C.S.A. ‹¨« 3121, is about as close as it gets:

"A person commits a felony of the first degree when the person engages in sexual intercourse with a complainant ... where the person has substantially impaired the complainant's power to appraise or control his or her conduct by administering or employing, without the knowledge of the complainant, drugs, intoxicants or other means for the purpose of preventing resistance."

That's it. That's really the only mention of intoxicants anywhere in the Pennsylvania statutes on rape -- the law against roofie-ing someone.

All this came back to me when I heard about the acquittal of the two former La Salle basketball players on Friday. They had been accused of raping a basketball camp counselor last summer. The three were at a party and all had been drinking.

This case proved the common knowledge to be incorrect. But while that may not always be the case, it proves just how complex issues such as rape can be.

After thinking about it for awhile, I realized that everyone, myself included, had been missing the point all along. The important thing, what should be taken away from the STAAR training, is what I mentioned earlier: partners communicating and getting in the habit of obtaining consent. People are always going to engage in high-risk behavior and STAAR is aware of that. But if people are truly intoxicated and attempt to actually communicate and fail, there's a good chance they'll realize that maybe they've had a little bit too much. That's what matters.

Amara Rockar is a junior political science major from St. Louis. Out of Range appears on Tuesdays.

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