THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 14, 1996 TAG: 9604140058
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SEXUAL ASSAULT RAPE DATE RAPE SEX CRIMES LENGTH: Long : 12
Katie Koestner, the former student at the College of William and Mary who gained national exposure five years ago with her account of date rape, is returning to campus Friday to lead a ``Take Back the Night'' march.
But some students don't want her to return.
The executive council of the student government voted 7-0, with one abstention, against funding her appearance with student activity fees. The Feminist Student Organization, a campus women's group organizing the rally, raised $900 independently to bring her to the college.
The event has reignited the debate over Koestner: Is she a victim who has fought back to help countless other women avoid - or overcome - sexual assault? Or an opportunist trying to make money - even from her alma mater - off a questionable story?
Pepin Tuma, a sophomore from Great Falls, Va., who is president of the Student Assembly, said, ``We didn't think it was in the best interest of students to reopen old wounds. . . .
``Obviously, it's a very important issue, and it's one that everyone needs to be extremely concerned about, but we didn't think that Katie was the right person to spread the message. Her presence would cloud the issue.''
But Lise Adams, co-coordinator of the women's group, said Koestner is the ideal choice to speak about the issue at William and Mary.
``There are very few sexual assault victims who have the courage, as Katie does, to come forward and speak out about her experience,'' said Adams, a sophomore from McLean. ``Here we have a woman who travels around and sets up sexual assault prevention policies at colleges, and the fact that the incident did happen on this campus simply makes her example more poignant.
``Frankly, I can't think of a more appropriate speaker than Katie Koestner for an event such as this.''
In a way, Adams said, the student government's refusal to fund the speech points out the need for events to raise consciousness about date rape.
``I think there is still some ignorance about the issue,'' she said, ``and a desire - rather than to openly face it and talk about it - to hide behind side issues.''
KOESTNER GREW UP outside Harrisburg, Pa., and enrolled at William and Mary in the fall of 1990. That semester, she said she was emotionally pressured to have sex with a male student.
In the spring of 1991, Koestner gained nationwide attention, recounting the incident and the college's handling of her case. She appeared on such shows as ``Larry King Live'' and on the cover of Time magazine.
She could not be reached last week for comment. In a previous interview with The Virginian-Pilot, she recounted the experience - a long night that stretched into morning, with the male friend relentlessly demanding sex and Koestner crouching against a wall in fear. ``He never said, `I'm going to kill you if you don't have sex with me, but I was afraid he was going to be violent,' '' she said. That morning, she relented.
But the man's friends said she willingly consented to the sexual encounter and was seen visiting him a few times afterward. Koestner said, ``Of course I wanted to talk to him. I couldn't understand why he did what he did. I thought maybe this was a misunderstanding.''
The man was found guilty of sexual assault in a campus hearing; he was allowed to stay at school, but was prohibited from visiting fraternity houses or dorms other than his own.
He later left campus; Koestner said he was expelled, but university administrators have not confirmed that.
Tuma, who recently became student government president, said: ``There are those who think, quite simply, that she hasn't told the truth. If what she says is true and she casts William and Mary in a bad light, then she's justified. But if what she says is absolute falsehood, then she's slandering our school.''
Koestner transferred to Cornell University in 1991 but returned to William and Mary the next year. Once more, controversy enveloped her when students learned that Home Box Office was planning a dramatization of the experience and that Koestner was a paid consultant.
More than 1,200 signed a petition opposing the show, saying it would be ``one-sided,'' without the man's point of view.
``I get so furious at this campus,'' she said in an interview at the time. ``It's almost like they don't want to know the truth.''
She graduated in 1994 and has since been a lecturer on sexual assault. Adams declined to say where Koestner was based, but said she was affiliated with an organization called Campus Outreach Services.
KOESTNER, WHO USUALLY CHARGES $1,000 for an appearance, asked for $900 to speak at William and Mary, Adams said. The women's group asked the student government to chip in $300. The student leaders refused but said they would allot $200 if another speaker were chosen for the rally. This time, the women's group refused.
``The fact she was charging money is an example of why people don't want her to come,'' Tuma said.
``She's turning this from a service into a profit-making enterprise.''
The financial question has irritated other students, too. Heidi Pierce, a senior from Fairfax, said: ``It's kind of contradictory; it's turning something tragic into a business.''
But Adams responded: ``I think it's sad that they're trying to make the issue about her fee and not about what her work is trying to do. The focus of this is sexual assault prevention, not what Katie does with her money.
``We have speakers who come here weekly, and their fees are not examined to the extent that Katie Koestner's were.''
The march will start at the Sunken Gardens at the college at 7 p.m. Friday and will conclude with Koestner's speech at the gardens, Adams said. The public is invited.
Tuma said he would like to attend the rally, but cannot because it coincides with the King and Queen's Ball, one of the biggest dances on campus. The ball is scheduled to run from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Tuma said he hoped the program would help raise awareness about sexual assault. But he predicted, ``Instead of getting people together on campus, I think her presence will drive it apart.''
W. Samuel Sadler, vice president for student affairs, said the administration has not been involved. But he said he supported the event.
``Anything that makes people think about the issue is important and helpful,'' Sadler said. ``The real challenge is whether or not the issue is the person who is giving the speech or whether the issue is the question of violence. I hope it's the latter.'' MEMO: Campus correspondent Jonathan Hunley contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: Friday's scheduled rally at W&M has reignited the debate over
Katie Koestner: Is she a sexual assault victim trying to help
others, or an opportunist trying to make money from a questionable
story?
by CNB