Top administrators at the University of Virginia apologized to student victims of sexual assault during a public meeting held on Tuesday in response to the publication of a magazine article about an alleged, calculated gang rape at a campus fraternity house, which has shattered the southern university’s genteel image.
“I’d like to say to [the victim] and her parents I am sorry, and to all survivors of sexual assault, I am sorry,” George Martin, the board’s rector, said during the meeting. “As we said last week, this type of conduct will not be tolerated at the University of Virginia. The status quo is not acceptable. Like all of you gathered here today, I am appalled.”
Last week, Rolling Stone published an expose about an alleged gang rape of a first-year student by members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity in an upstairs room of their campus house in 2012. The article also details the administration’s failures, at several turns, to respond to the alleged incident. The article, published last week, amid nationally scrutiny and a federal crackdown on the way colleges and universities handle sexual assault on campus.
Also on Tuesday, Virginia’s attorney general announced that he had appointed an independent investigator to examine the 2012 gang rape allegation, and to assess how the university handles campus sexual violence.
“The University of Virginia community and all Virginians have been stunned by the horrific story Rolling Stone brought to light, as well as the apparent inadequacy of the University’s response to this and other past reports of sexual violence,” Virginia attorney general Mark Herring said in a statement.
In light of the magazine report, a student-run news outlet, WUVA, published an extended interview with an associate dean who admits that in the past several years not one student has been expelled for sexual assault – even when the assailant confesses to the assault.
At the special public meeting of the UVA board of visitors, which approves the university’s budget and policies, members unanimously approved a zero-tolerance policy for sexual assault. The members and student leaders hailed the vote as an important first step, and a show of commitment amid criticism that the university mishandles sexual assault claims, especially those involving Greek organizations.
Inside the packed meeting, members of the public held signs, one of which read “End Greek system, end entitlement, end patriarchy, end rape culture”, while snapping their fingers in support of certain remarks.
At the meeting, student leaders, faculty and law enforcement representatives discussed possible approaches to dealing with campus rape. Speaking before the board, Charlottesville police chief, Tim Longo, pledged to investigate the alleged rape “to its fullest” and implored witnesses to come forward with information.
“There were bystanders,” he said. “There were people in that room who saw and heard what has been called shocking and horrifying and gut-wrenching and sickening and every other descriptor in between. And I hope that those bystanders have the moral courage ... to come forward and help us with the investigation.”
So far, the only arrests made have been against protesters who reportedly refused to leave the Phi Kappa Psi portico on Saturday.
Over the weekend, the university’s president, Teresa Sullivan, suspended all Greek activities until 9 January. In a statement, Sullivan called on students to contribute to a revised student sexual misconduct policy. The Phi Kappa Psi surrendered its agreement with the university and has suspended its campus house.
Inter-Fraternity Council president, Tommy Reid has said he supports the president’s decision, adding that the temporary suspension will give the Greek community “time to develop”. But he implied that shutting down the system entirely, as was discussed at the meeting, was not a long-term solution and vowed an internal response.
“I deeply believe that sexual violence is a cultural problem in fraternities that necessitates deep attitudinal shifts that cannot be achieved by a single a policy or a short-term sweep, but rather by consistent, long-term attention to this issue,” Reid said on Tuesday.
