VV - I think you might be giving me too much credit here. Unfortunately I don't know any of these kids personally and I don't feel qualified to answer a lot of those questions aside from my own personal opinions. To give you some perspective on where I'm coming from, I received three degrees from IU (undergrad, masters, PhD) so I have lived in Bloomington and have been immersed in the university culture for a large chunk of my adult life, and still live here. I taught at IU for four years and I feel very comfortable saying that I know the "type" of kids we're talking about here. I am around college students nearly every day of my life and when you're surrounded by different types of students, you pick up on a lot of their individual AND group behaviors/characteristics. I've had students in classes who were very similar to these groups in terms of their demographics, so sometimes I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of their actions and the reasons behind their actions (and I refer to these as "groups" because I don't think we can lump every single POI and peripheral person in this case into one group - there are some distinct social groups here and some just happen to have overlaps).
Aside from where I'm coming from personally, I have posted a lot on here today because I feel that a lot of the posts seem to be jumping to conclusions about the relationships between all of these students, specifically between JW and ZO/AB, as well as the whole Indy 500 thing assuming that all of these kids were there together. It seems like these things are being stated as facts, when really we do not know if JW has any sort of friendship/association with ZO/AB, and we really do not know if anyone besides CR and HT hung out with LS at the 500. I just wanted to point those things out so that everyone is a little more careful about not stating these things as facts, and instead saying something like, "Let's assume JW is friends with ZO/AB..." and then stating their theory. I think perpetuating rumors/assumptions as facts might lead us further away from the goal - finding out what happened to Lauren.
I guess because I know the campus and community pretty well, I know that you can live right next to someone and barely even know them. I can think of at least three different apartments I lived in during college where I had neighbors but couldn't even tell you their names. Living next to each other does not equal being friends. Also, Person A can have mutual friends with Person B, but Person A and Person B still don't know each other at all. Heck, you can be in the same fraternity or sorority with someone and barely know their last name (errr...sometimes even first name, sorry to say!). IU is a huge university with tens of thousands of students. I guess I am trying to caution everyone against 1) assuming certain people in this case are close to each other and then 2) suddenly stating those assumed relationships as though they are facts. The only relationships I think we really know in this case are as follows:
LS-HT = roommates
LS-JW = girlfriend/boyfriend
LS-CR = friends
LS-MB = at least acquaintances since she talked to him at his apt.
LS-DR = friends
LS-JR = friends
HT-JW = clearly know each other since she is in his FB pics and he went to her classroom to get her keys to LS's apt.
HT-JR = at least acquaintances since she said she partied at his place in the past, talked to him after LS's disappearance
HT-DR = she wished him happy birthday on his Facebook page
HT-CR = she said they hung out at Indy 500
HT-LS-CR = hung out at Indy 500
ZO-AB = roommates
CR-MB = roommates
CR-MB-JR = live in same townhome complex
DR-JR = at least acquaintances if DR's phone number was in JW's phone
As far as I know, those are the only associations we can definitely state as facts. If I missed any, please feel free to help me out and add them. It's late, that's a lot of acronyms, and I'm ready to go to sleep!
With that being said, here are VV's questions and any answers I can provide...a lot of this is just my opinion:
1) Please describe what the range substances and activities would be involved in "Partying" typically at 5 North and Smallwood, or the building where ZO/AB lived which is in between, correct?
Yes, ZO/AB live at 10th & College apartments, which are between Smallwood and 5 North.
I have no firsthand knowledge of what these kids did when they partied. The rumors on campus specific to this case are the same things you've heard here - cocaine, Xanax. Again, those are the rumors I've heard. I do not know any of that to be fact.
2) Do you know know for a fact that any of these people; CR/MB/JR/JW/ZO/AB/HT/LS used any substance other than Alcohol? If so, is it common knowledge who usually supplies?
I do not know any of that for a fact. Again, all rumors point to ZO being a dealer, but as far as I know, no one has been able to confirm it.
I've also heard that JR and DR are dealers and got into trouble in their dorm freshman year for dealing cocaine and heroine - this info came to me privately from someone who was involved in that situation.
3) Why do you think CR was attacked and why do you think that?
My personal theory is that it was drug-related. Why do I think that? Rumors from students. That's all I have. I haven't heard any rumors that it was a fight over LS. My guess is as good as yours here. To further explain my hunch, I think that if LS followed CR out of the building after that fight, she was concerned about him and upset that he was punched - basically she was 'on his side' for whatever the fight was about, or she felt sorry for him and she was showing concern. If the fight was about her because all these guys had crushes on her, I think she would've gotten frustrated and just headed to her apartment at that point. OR if it was about her because these guys were friends with JW (as some have speculated), I doubt she would leave with the guy who got punched by her boyfriend's friends. It just doesn't seem to me like that fight was about LS. I think she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That is just my opinion.
4) Why do you think those (apparently ZO/AB) who attacked CR were able to do so with apparent impunity?
Probably because fights like this happen all the time between students. It's not a big deal for LE if a kid gets punched. I don't get the sense that security at Smallwood is always monitoring every single thing that happens in that complex. It just seems like a guy getting punched is pretty small potatoes. Get the two parties away from each other and security's job is done. No need to call the police or try to somehow punish them.
5) Why is it that LS seemed to only be partying with guys? What is your take on that?
My personal take on this, as a female who has hung out with "just guys" and no girls on several occasions, especially in college, is that sometimes it is fun to hang out with just guys when there are no other girls around. Guys might not understand this as well as girls, but I don't think anyone should read too much into this. If the guys were up for partying and her roommate was staying in, why wouldn't she just go out and have a fun night with the guys? No other girls around means she would be the center of attention (and what girl doesn't enjoy that from time to time?) and guys are usually just more chill than girls. I could go into more depth on that statement, but I think you probably know what I mean. Sometimes girls are so high maintenance that they actually get on their girl friends' nerves - trust me, it can be very nice to just be around guys who are a little more relaxed.
6) If you have knowledge of any or all of these people, who do you think there should be more focus on?
I have no knowledge other than the facts that have been stated in the case and the rumors/speculation/theories I've heard.
Sorry to write such a long post! I think I'm done for the night.
