Diverging Stories of a Rhodes Candidacy [TW: discussion of sexual abuse]
9:25 pm - 01/27/2012
Diverging Stories of a Rhodes Candidacy
It may have been the sharpest day of extremes in the young life of Patrick J. Witt, star student and athlete at Yale University.
On Oct. 31, 2011, Witt learned he had been selected as a finalist for a Rhodes scholarship, a prestigious award given for achievements in academics, athletics and personal character. That same day, Witt, the quarterback on the school’s football team, received an e-mail message from the Yale professor in charge of the university committee that handles allegations of sexual misconduct.
“This meeting should have priority over other commitments you may have at that time,” read the e-mail from the professor, Michael Della Rocca.
Witt, by his own account, met the next day with Della Rocca and W. Marichal Gentry, Yale’s dean of student affairs. A female student on campus had accused him of sexual assault. At the meeting’s end, Witt was told to stay away from his accuser. No other action was taken.
The complaint and its outcome remained secret, with no word sent to officials with the Rhodes scholarship trust. And Witt went on to be the often glowing subject of news media coverage, held up as an exemplar of brains, brawn and character, a young man torn between attending a required final Rhodes interview on Nov. 19 and taking part in the football team’s season highlight, the game against Harvard the same day.
But in early November, the Rhodes Trust informed Yale administrators that it had learned of the allegation against Witt, according to people with knowledge of the episode who were granted anonymity to discuss confidential matters. Rhodes officials informed Yale that Witt’s candidacy had been suspended, and Yale would have to decide whether to re-endorse Witt if it wanted his candidacy to remain viable, the people said.
On Nov. 13, Yale and Witt announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy and that he would play against Harvard. There was no mention that any concerns had been raised by the Rhodes officials.
Witt, who provided his version of events through his agent Friday, denied that he ever had been told his candidacy had been suspended. And he insisted he made his decision to play the annual game against Harvard, rather than pursue the scholarship, before the Rhodes Trust ever knew of the allegation.
A statement released by the sports management firm representing Witt, while acknowledging a sexual assault allegation had been made against the quarterback, noted that the university’s inquiry “yielded no disciplinary measures, formal reports or referrals to higher authorities.”
Mark F. Magazu, II, Witt’s agent, said Friday that Witt and the female student had a casual relationship, and that any contact between them was purely consensual.
The fact that no formal investigation of the allegation was done and no finding of guilt or innocence rendered was dictated by the fact that Witt’s accuser had chosen to pursue what Yale calls an informal complaint process. Under that process, no independent investigators are appointed and both parties understand that the resolution of the allegation will not be part of the accused’s formal record.
Magazu, in an interview Friday, insisted that Witt’s Rhodes candidacy “was never suspended.”
“The only thing out of the ordinary is Rhodes saying, ‘Let’s have Yale re-refer him,’ ” said Magazu, president of Atlas Strategies, a communications and management firm. There was no indication, he said, that without a second endorsement, Witt could not proceed to the final interview.
Those with knowledge of the action taken by the Rhodes Trust said otherwise. They said Witt’s candidacy was set aside pending a re-endorsement by Yale — otherwise, they say, there was no point in asking for it — and that Witt was told that explicitly.
Yale officials have declined to discuss the matter, leaving it unclear whether the administrators involved in handling the Rhodes candidacy knew of the allegation before it was reported to the Rhodes Trust. What is clear is that no one at Yale formally notified Rhodes, nor did Witt.
source has the rest of the article.
It may have been the sharpest day of extremes in the young life of Patrick J. Witt, star student and athlete at Yale University.
On Oct. 31, 2011, Witt learned he had been selected as a finalist for a Rhodes scholarship, a prestigious award given for achievements in academics, athletics and personal character. That same day, Witt, the quarterback on the school’s football team, received an e-mail message from the Yale professor in charge of the university committee that handles allegations of sexual misconduct.
“This meeting should have priority over other commitments you may have at that time,” read the e-mail from the professor, Michael Della Rocca.
Witt, by his own account, met the next day with Della Rocca and W. Marichal Gentry, Yale’s dean of student affairs. A female student on campus had accused him of sexual assault. At the meeting’s end, Witt was told to stay away from his accuser. No other action was taken.
The complaint and its outcome remained secret, with no word sent to officials with the Rhodes scholarship trust. And Witt went on to be the often glowing subject of news media coverage, held up as an exemplar of brains, brawn and character, a young man torn between attending a required final Rhodes interview on Nov. 19 and taking part in the football team’s season highlight, the game against Harvard the same day.
But in early November, the Rhodes Trust informed Yale administrators that it had learned of the allegation against Witt, according to people with knowledge of the episode who were granted anonymity to discuss confidential matters. Rhodes officials informed Yale that Witt’s candidacy had been suspended, and Yale would have to decide whether to re-endorse Witt if it wanted his candidacy to remain viable, the people said.
On Nov. 13, Yale and Witt announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy and that he would play against Harvard. There was no mention that any concerns had been raised by the Rhodes officials.
Witt, who provided his version of events through his agent Friday, denied that he ever had been told his candidacy had been suspended. And he insisted he made his decision to play the annual game against Harvard, rather than pursue the scholarship, before the Rhodes Trust ever knew of the allegation.
A statement released by the sports management firm representing Witt, while acknowledging a sexual assault allegation had been made against the quarterback, noted that the university’s inquiry “yielded no disciplinary measures, formal reports or referrals to higher authorities.”
Mark F. Magazu, II, Witt’s agent, said Friday that Witt and the female student had a casual relationship, and that any contact between them was purely consensual.
The fact that no formal investigation of the allegation was done and no finding of guilt or innocence rendered was dictated by the fact that Witt’s accuser had chosen to pursue what Yale calls an informal complaint process. Under that process, no independent investigators are appointed and both parties understand that the resolution of the allegation will not be part of the accused’s formal record.
Magazu, in an interview Friday, insisted that Witt’s Rhodes candidacy “was never suspended.”
“The only thing out of the ordinary is Rhodes saying, ‘Let’s have Yale re-refer him,’ ” said Magazu, president of Atlas Strategies, a communications and management firm. There was no indication, he said, that without a second endorsement, Witt could not proceed to the final interview.
Those with knowledge of the action taken by the Rhodes Trust said otherwise. They said Witt’s candidacy was set aside pending a re-endorsement by Yale — otherwise, they say, there was no point in asking for it — and that Witt was told that explicitly.
Yale officials have declined to discuss the matter, leaving it unclear whether the administrators involved in handling the Rhodes candidacy knew of the allegation before it was reported to the Rhodes Trust. What is clear is that no one at Yale formally notified Rhodes, nor did Witt.
source has the rest of the article.
So that's why I don't believe that he just did it of his own accord and it had nothing to do with the accusations.
"For more than a century, Rhodes scholars have left Oxford with virtually any job available to them. For much of this time, they have overwhelmingly chosen paths in scholarship, teaching, writing, medicine, scientific research, law, the military and public service. They have reached the highest levels in virtually all fields."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co
Yale football players don't tend to go on to the NFL, and even for Ivy League graduates money for graduate school is hard to come by unless one intends on a PhD. That's why I'm saying from my perspective, I'm having a hard time seeing why anyone would turn the opportunity down. I understand the nostalgia factor - especially against their biggest rival Harvard. But at the same time, Yale certainly isn't like Michigan or Ohio. Given that it's the last game of the year, I'm sure that many a player has had to miss it to interview for Rhodes.
#sarcasm
#almamaterfeelings
But I've read several stories about Yale turning the other way after someone (sometimes faculty) had been accused of sexual assault or misconduct.
A woman's person and her safety is not < a football game.