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“I will do what it takes”: On Charlie Rogers and Activism Gone Awry

A SYTYCB entry

On July 18, Charlie Rogers, a former University of Nebraska women’s basketball player, posted the following update on her Facebook profile:

So maybe I am too idealistic, but I believe way deep inside me that we can make things better for everyone. I will be a catalyst. I will do what it takes. I will. Watch me.

This Tuesday, it came to light that what Rogers meant by “do[ing] what it takes” involved staging a homophobic hate crime against herself.

Four days after Rogers’ now-notorious Facebook post, she was allegedly attacked in her home by three unidentified men. She reported to police that the men “bound her wrists and ankles with zip ties and proceeded to carve anti-gay language onto her abdomen” and that they spray-painted slurs in her basement and tried to burn down her home. In the initial weeks following the incident, Rogers received an outpouring of support from Lincoln’s LGBT community, and over 500 people attended a vigil in her honor.

But this week, Rogers was arrested and charged for falsely reporting the incident. Forensic evidence disputes her claims — under investigation, her wounds show no sign of struggle. Additionally, her testimony is inconsistent and lacks sensory and personal descriptions. Local LGBT organizations are now backing the charges against Rogers and confirming the reports against her. (For detailed information on these recent developments,

Sight, sound, and a push for feminist film education

A SYTYCB entry

I’ve seen Citizen Kane twice. Both screenings were in classroom settings, and both screenings began with the instructor explaining that the film is considered by many to be the greatest of all time. No doubt, Kane’s status of greatness is owed in part to the British Film Institute’s Sight & Sound list. Every decade since 1952, Sight & Sound Magazine (published by BFI) has polled film critics from around the world about what they consider to be the greatest films of all time. The polls result in a list; the 2012 list, released last week, ranks the top 250 films nominated by 846 critics. And for the first time in 50 ...

A SYTYCB entry

I’ve seen Citizen Kane twice. Both screenings were in classroom settings, and both screenings began with the instructor explaining that the film is considered by many to be the greatest of all ...