They’re not athletes or celebrities, but Ankesh Madan, Stephen Gray, Tyler Confrey-Maloney and Tasso von Windheim have gotten a lot of press lately — all because of some nail polish. The four N.C. State University students are working on a special kind of polish that can detect the presence of date-rape drugs.
They’re not athletes or celebrities, but Ankesh Madan, Stephen Gray, Tyler Confrey-Maloney and Tasso von Windheim have gotten a lot of press lately — all because of some nail polish. The four N.C. State University students are working on a special kind of polish that can detect the presence of date-rape drugs.
The young men are also taking their share of fire, accused by some anti-rape forces of playing into the “blame the victim” mentality. In no way does the concept for “Undercover Colors” ignore or downplay the root problem: men who commit rape. What it might do, if it is successful, is help a woman defend herself if someone slips something into her drink.
How well this tool could prevent the small percentage of attacks that involve a date-rape drug is difficult to say. Equally speculative is whether it will be marketable. Other people have yet to market related or similar ideas, and this is still in the development stages.
Taking steps to prevent becoming a rape victim is not the same as assuming responsibility for criminals’ behavior — no more than is being aware of surroundings and keeping the key-fob “panic” button handy when walking to one’s car in a dark parking lot.
Women’s advocates have a point about the social stigma surrounding rape that lingers even in this supposedly enlightened era. Even as awareness, anti-violence campaigns and more attention to teaching boys and young men to respect women and the word “no,” we still hear terms such as “legitimate rape” and “she asked for it.”
If she wouldn’t have dressed so provocatively, if she hadn’t gone to that party, if she hadn’t flirted, or had too much to drink … none of this would have happened, the thought process goes. In other words, it’s “her” fault for leading on men who apparently are so inherently lacking in self-control that they can’t contain the desire to overpower another person and commit a violent, traumatic crime.
We all know where the true fault lies in that equation.
If anything, the four materials and science engineering students should be commended for their caring enough to want to help protect women from becoming victims, as well as their know-how and creativity.
Gov. Pat McCrory and other state leaders have emphasized the need for North Carolina’s excellent university system to better prepare students for the labor market by arming them with practical skills that enable them to make a living in their chosen field.
These guys are an example of that concept at work. They’re smart. They’re entrepreneurs. They’ve even attracted the attention of a prospective investor. North Carolina should be proud of them, and that they are products of a public university system that is preparing many students to dream, and to do.
FROM THE JACKSONVILLE DAILY NEWS