Kudos to Abby Honold ("When a rapist went free," Oct. 23) for demonstrating tremendous courage. Because of her perseverance, a serial campus rapist is behind bars. According to the article, 1,000 sex assaults had been reported to the Aurora Center, and the total number of rapists who had been prosecuted was zero. Honold is a strong woman who made it abundantly clear she would not tolerate abuse. She stood up for herself. She stood up for justice. She stood up for us all.
Tracy Uttley, Mahtomedi
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I'm so angry after reading the story about Honold that I'm writing this letter. I have a daughter who is a sophomore at North Dakota State University, and, as a dad, I easily imagined Abby as my daughter. I can't express in words how my heart goes out to her and her courage to fight back. I am very sorry this happened to her. The creep who raped her gives every man I know a bad name. Real men do not rape women, and they certainly do not treat women as objects. That is so important I'm going to say it again: Real men do not rape women, and they certainly do not treat women as objects. Guys like this rapist never learned that. I have ongoing conversations with my daughter at NDSU about ways for her to minimize her vulnerability. I really wish that colleges (and society at large, for that matter) had a way to identify and weed out predators in the college application process.
Bob Doyle, Savage
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How is it that the roommates of rapist Daniel Drill-Mellum were not charged with witness-tampering, evidence-tampering, or aiding and abetting in connection with the rape of a young woman at the University of Minnesota? I think there should be consequences for this kind of behavior. This man was a predator. They helped him prey on his victim.
Belinda Flanagan, Bloomington
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After reading the article, I asked these questions:
Why isn't the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity closed? Why is the U, with its inherent conflict of interest, involved in rape cases at all? Why weren't the two frat boys who tried to cover up the rape charged with obstruction of justice? Why have I been paying so much tuition for my daughters to attend a university that allows rape with impunity? And how safe are they there now?