The rape allegations against Bill Cosby that have been all over the news and social media recently have divided St. Augustine’s University students. Dozens of women have come forward saying that Cosby – a TV star who has always been an icon and role model – drugged and raped them.
The allegations go back as long as 30 years.
“It was shocking and disappointing,” Howard Walker stated. “It makes me look at him differently. It helps you not to put people on a pedestal because people make mistakes.
”But Phylicia Davis had a different point of view. “They’re trying to find a negative in a person that is so positive,” she said. This is a ‘get money’ scam for these women. I refuse to believe that Bill raped these women.”
Some have not made up their minds whether they believe the charges.
“Bill was a family guy,” Gabrielle Fisher said. “My generation would look at him and see him as a loving father and grandfather. And now for people to try to take that away from him, and portray him as a rapist is shocking because why wasn’t this brought to people’s attentions now? Why would you wait a whole decade? Don’t wait until people look up to him and he becomes an icon to say something.”
For Robert Gray, the allegations are damaging no matter how they turn out.
“I was surprised to hear something like this from such a prominent public figure in the Black community,” he said. “Although the allegations are upsetting, I’ll refrain from making any statement in regards to Mr. Cosby’s moral character due to the relationship between black men and the media in this country.”
— Alexandria McLendon
