TO THE EDITOR:
We’ve all heard about Karen Owen, the Duke PowerPoint scandal and the media storm that it’s spawned. But for all the frivolity involved, Ms. Owen has raised an important issue. How do we react?
She’s received overwhelming support from the female community, touted as a liberated woman, “sexually empowered,” the spokeswoman of a generation. She may be offered book deals, appearance fees, as if she somehow offers unique perspective into our world. What garbage.
When a drunk driver plows into a coffee shop, we don’t ask him (or her) for their unique, “empowered” perspective. We hand him (or her!) the bill. It’s understood that college life involves a certain risque aspect, but when we students fail to keep that under control, you bet we’re punished, and rightly. See there’s this adult thing called responsibility, and that involves keeping those unpleasant details in your head, not blurting them out to your entire office.
And this isn’t even considering the possibility that this was planned, that Ms. Owens hoped to touch off an otherwise ordinary academic career with some Chelsea-Handler-esque fame.
I, for one, hope Ms. Owens doesn’t see a dime of the money headed her way. I hope that the families of the Duke athletes whose reputations she’s ruined sue her for every cent and then some. This is no Chelsea Handler. This is a thoughtless, reckless child who drank too much and drove through a coffee shop.
Izzy Hell
Freshman
Business Administration
