Idealism Broken

A big thankyou to Troy Kirby of Eastern Washington University's student newspaper for having the courage and commitment to research and publish the story of our friend, April Strader. The Easterner Online - Before and after the trust was broken

When I met my wife, Andee, she was a very successful and proud sociology student and EWU. She wanted to fight the injustices of the world, and believed that her education would give her the knowledge and convictions necessary to fight the battle.

One of her professors was William 'Dan' Purdue. She was quite impressed with the lessons he taught about how power is abused, and how the people at the top often get away with all kinds of crimes and injustices.

She was absolutely devastated when she found out that Dr. Purdue had raped one of her friends. (allegedly) Everything that she had learned from him was cast in a totally different light. As the scandal rumbled on, she saw many of the professors that she knew and trusted being either totally indifferent to the situation or rallying around the alleged perpetrator.

Actions speak loader than textbooks. She felt like her professors taught an idealism, but when the issues Hit home, they did not live by the values they espoused. Andee quickly became totally disillusioned with sociology, EWU, and her degree.

To be fair, Andee was a friend and confidant of April's and knew the whole story, pretty much how it is published in the Easterner article. Many of the professors probably where not privy to the details, and only saw the potential damage that the scandal would bring upon the university and the department. They probably trusted their friend and co-worker much as Andee knew and trusted April.

April was a person with a very kind and idealistic heart. She had a passion for seeking and exposing the truth. She was an outstanding editor of "The Easterner" According to the testimony quoted in the article Perdue had been victimizing women since at least 1975 at EWU. Thank God, that April had the strength and courage to put an end to that.

It was very sad to watch her slip deeper and deeper into her illness. We lost track of her several times as she moved from home to home... We lost track of her for a final time about a year ago. Today, we ran into one of the sociology professors and heard that she passed away.

This article is a fine tribute to April. It exposes the truth that has been hidden for so long, and it raises awareness of the injustice that continues to this day. As a journalist and a sociologist, I think it would make her quite pleased.

It is so sad that she had to die before anyone would write it.