To the editor:

Recently a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity has been accused of sexual assault. The allegations are under investigation, and we all await the outcome. I would like to remind our community and the “hundreds of protesters” that have assembled outside of the residence of this individual, that we have something in this country called due process. In 2006 members of the Duke lacrosse team were falsely accused of rape. A few years later, Rolling Stone magazine falsely reported a gang rape taking place at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at the University of Virginia. Both incidents were later discovered to be demonstrably false!

 I am not making a defense for the accused as to whether the incident occurred. I am making a defense for our most basic rights, guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. We do not mete out justice at the whims of a mob. The judicial system of our country must be allowed to proceed as designed. Until an investigation is completed, and a decision is rendered, the protesters need to go home. There is nothing to protest, yet!

Scott Burkhart,

Lawrence