The Rev. Jesse Jackson's admission that he has fathered a child out of wedlock drew various reactions from University of Memphis students and faculty Thursday.
Jackson, 59, admitted late Wednesday in a written statement he participated in an affair with 39-year-old author Karin Stanford, former director of his Rainbow Coalition Office. Jackson also stated he fathered Stanford's 20-month old daughter.
"I am father to a daughter who was born outside of my marriage," Jackson said in a press release on his Rainbow Coalition website. "As her mother does, I love this child very much and have assumed responsibility for her emotional and financial support since she was born. This is no time for evasions, denials or alibis. I fully accept responsibility and I am truly sorry for my actions."
Jackson, who publicly criticized President Clinton for his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, said he would withdraw from public life for an indefinite amount of time to be with his family.
"Hypocrite," U of M foreign language major Jody Riser said. "He shouldn't have criticized others."
"I don't know what to say," said Jennifer Moore, also a U of M student. "I am very disappointed, but why do we always seem to hold our politicians to a different level than our own neighbors? If he was just a common person, this would not be news."
The revelation of Jackson's affair came a day before the New York Post, in conjunction with the National Enquirer, was to run a story about the affair.
"Are we to be surprised?" asked Bela Bollobas, holder of the Chair of Excellence in Mathematical Sciences. "No."
Ironically, Jackson was born out of wedlock himself.
"I was born of these circumstances and I know the importance of growing up in a nurturing, supportive and protected environment," he said, "so I am determined to give my daughter and her mother the privacy they both deserve. No doubt, many close friends and supporters will be disappointed in me. I ask for their forgiveness, understanding and prayers."
Jackson joins a long list of Clinton detractors who criticized the President publicly about his affair with Lewinsky, only to be caught up in controversy later themselves.
This list includes: former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), former Speaker designate Bob Livingston (R-La.), Representative Bob Barr (R-Ga.), former Representative Helen Chenoweth (R-Idaho) and House Impeachment Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.).
