Stop blaming assault victims

It is disgusting that The GW Hatchet sees fit not only to publish a rape apologist, but to allow him to defend himself. It is a disservice to the University and your readers to print this tripe. In Clayton McCleskey’s column, “A call to stand up and take responsibility” (Oct. 6, p. 6), he states that “victims are not always without responsibility.” No. Assault victims are never, never, never responsible for their assault.

Congratulations, McCleskey and editors. You’ve just told one-sixth of the female population of GW that they asked for it.

Kate Doyle, Senior

UPD does not need guns

I completely disagree with Justin Bevers’ previous letter to the editor stating that University Police Department officers should be armed (“Former officer: UPD should be armed,” Oct. 9, p. 4).

The mantra of “better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it” is true, but UPD hardly receives the appropriate training to merit them having the option to use deadly force.

As an officer that has been involved in an on-duty shooting, I can attest that you need to know more than how to shoot. According to The Hatchet, UPD currently only receives seven weeks of training (“Many colleges arm police forces,” Oct. 9, p. 1), which tells you that the University itself only believes that UPD officers should only be handling minor issues.

I went through a 26-week academy plus an additional 12 weeks of field training, and even I didn’t necessarily feel that ready or comfortable enough to pull the trigger right away. I was deemed justified in my shooting, and I still went through two years of civil litigation claiming a wrongful death. The University opens itself to major liability if they decide to arm the UPD. With all of the policing agencies available to the D.C. area, I hardly think response times to a critical incident would be a serious issue.

Unless the University decides to send their officers through MPD’s academy, they are not ready to hand them the ability to take someone’s life.

Investigator Rick Gendreau, Alumnus