After months of silence, Rolling Stone writer Sabrina Rubin Erdely finally breaks her silence over her discredited article with an apology.
Erdely’s report A Rape on Campus appeared in the Rolling Stone and was about a woman’s alleged brutal sexual assault on the University of Virginia campus. According to the author, a woman identified only as “Jackie” claims she was repeatedly assaulted when she went to a party hosted by the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
The story spread quickly on the campus and around the US, prompting protests about the way the college allegedly botched the handling of Jackie’s claims. It also set off intense discussions on sexual violence on campuses and forced the university to suspend all social functions.
“She trusted you to do the right thing.” Photo from the UVA protest via Ryan M White/@DailyProgress pic.twitter.com/kWcpy86XoX
— Sabrina Rubin Erdely (@SabrinaRErdely) November 23, 2014
However, Erdely’s work was quickly discredited by journalists who saw certain discrepancies and mistakes in the report and prompted Rolling Stone to request for an investigation.
Sabrina Rubin Erdely, author of Rolling Stone’s rape story, apologizes for reporting mistakes http://t.co/HcpTVSoCIt pic.twitter.com/9qyvbWWFsU
— CNNMoney (@CNNMoney) April 6, 2015
A three-person team from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism conducted the investigation and concluded that the story is a “journalistic failure that was avoidable,” citing Erdely and her editor’s failure to corroborate Jackie’s claims as a prime example.
Rolling Stone has already retracted the story and will publish Columbia University’s analysis as a way of explaining to its readers how the story came about. The magazine’s Managing Editor Will Dana and Erdely have also issued apologies in conjunction with the report.
Erdely described reading the Columbia report as “a brutal and humbling experience.”
“I want to offer my deepest apologies: to Rolling Stone’s readers, to my Rolling Stone editors and colleagues, to the U.V.A. community, and to any victims of sexual assault who may feel fearful as a result of my article,” she added.
While Erdely sounds properly contrite in her statement, the author didn’t include the Phi Psi fraternity in her apology, an action that has some sectors understandably angry.
“It’s completely tarnished our reputation,” Phi Psi U-VA chapter president Stephen Scipione claims. He added that the fraternity is now looking into what legal options are available to them.
My hope is that fraternities at UVA & elsewhere will embrace this as an opportunity to be leaders in turning the tide against rape.
— Sabrina Rubin Erdely (@SabrinaRErdely) November 23, 2014
