<p>Whether the issue is forcible sexual assults or rape by an acquaintance or stranger, the numbers at UVA are alarming, IMO.....</p>
<p>While Cville is a small city it does have a fairly large poor population for its size and that population is very close to campus and the Corners area off campus. There have been a fair number of assaults and robberies arising from this population against UVa students over the years.</p>
<p>If the problem is external then campus security should be able to address the issue. If it is internal, then there is a deeper issue. I can only surmise that alcohol would be a major factor in this problem. </p>
<p>Is there any type of alcohol awareness program at UVA. The school has long been noted for its active social scene. Im wondering if these rape figures are indicative of a line finally being crossed that the University needs to address.</p>
<p>I'm really surprised to read about how beautiful and safe Cville is... maybe only saw the bad parts or something ? but when I visited beautiful was probably one of the last words I would have used to describe that city. Agree with barrons.</p>
<p>When I visited last year the area concerned me a bit so I asked a grad student I talked to whether UVa/Cville was a safe place for a young woman and he said "yeah, it's pretty safe... well... I mean, there is a serial rapist around that hasn't been caught yet, but other than that it's not too bad..."</p>
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Is there any type of alcohol awareness program at UVA. The school has long been noted for its active social scene.
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I'm fairly certain that almost every university in the nation has alcohol</a> awareness programs and a peer</a> education network. In addition to the usual efforts, UVa takes part in social</a> norms marketing.</p>
<p>Charlottesville is a safe city, though gentrification has caused some problems here. The student neighborhood has grown a lot as developers come in and build apartment buildings where one or two modest houses used to be. I don't think Cville is the only city where this is happening. It was a major concern when I was in Boston as well.</p>
<p>By the way, the man some thought to be the serial rapist died</a> in November. He hasn't struck in the time I've been here, so I'm not sure what to believe.</p>
<p>Dean J, could you comment on the 20 year old rape case at UVA that was in the news yesterday? It involved a fraternity and a date rape drug. I wondered if there are new policies in place so that these cases are resolved in a more expeditious manner.</p>
<p>I posted a lot of information about the Beebe case on</a> this thread. Current students were quick to offer information, which I think is a good sign for how aware they are of what goes on here.</p>
<p>The</a> policies regarding sexual assualt at UVA are probably dramatically different now. The [url=<a href="http://womenscenter.virginia.edu/sdvs/%5DSexual">http://womenscenter.virginia.edu/sdvs/]Sexual</a> Assault and Demestic Violence Services site<a href="domestic%20violence%20is%20a%20little%20talked%20about%20issue%20on%20college%20campuses%20around%20the%20country">/url</a> is another place to look for information.</p>
<p>Upon reading the thread topic, my first response was, "Of course not. Always use sunscreen."</p>
<p>for what it's worth, my first -born daughter is about to graduate from UVA. it was not only her first choice, but it has lived up to ALL of its incredible reputation. as out of staters, and close to 7 hours away, NEVER did my husband nor I feel she wasn't safe. and she usually walked everywhere..from apartment to grounds, and back. the school is AWESOME, and there are very few that offer what UVA does ! (how can anyone compare it to penn state? ) rapes and drinking and all sorts of indiscretions happen everyday, on all college campuses. i think it's more to do with the student than the school.</p>
<p>also, and Dean J would know this, but i believe Charlottesville always comes in as "one of the best cities in America" in which to live every year!</p>
<p>Hey happy collegemom - no need to bash Penn State here. Yes, UVA is stronger but PSU has good programs too. It's a top 12 state school. My son is in the honors program there and loves it (yes, he wanted UVA OOS but was waitlisted, along with many other top students). If UVA students (and parents) are so full of themselves, perhaps it turned out for the best...</p>
<p>Wow, I wasn't aware that there were that many reported rapes on college campuses. 20 per year sounds high at a school the size of UVA, and perhaps I naively assumed students would be informed of those, but I guess I'm just not knowledgeable.</p>
<p>Is the rape situation trending upward or has it always been like this? Are there statistics that go back over say the last 10-15 yrs? This would give a better idea if this is a short term blip or something deeper.</p>
<p>Hey toneranger, there's no need to bash UVA students either. I'm sure happycollegemom didn't mean to bash Penn State, it's just that it has been one of the colleges continuously compared with UVA in this thread and she probably wanted to make a comparision the other way.</p>
<p>Do people really know the size of UVA? Although it is a small state school, it is still a state school nonetheless, meaning it is still pretty big. I just took a brief glance at the UVA site and didn't find the numbers, but I believe that each class, while successively a little bigger, has around 3000 students. That's 12,000 undergraduates, not including faculty, not including graduate students, and lastly not including the rest of the staff at the University. 20 cases of rape a year? While unfortunante, are quite good numbers.</p>
<p>And as previously mentioned, whether students report rapes is a heavily influential factor in these numbers. I feel UVA is very encouraging of rape victims to come forward and offers a lot of support. Everywhere I turn I'm inundated with posters, help hotlines, and people to turn to. And while I'm on a roll, I should address the issue of alcohol. As previously posted, we do have a lot of organizations that deal with alcohol. We also have a student group Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team, along with classes for those who alochol problems to take. </p>
<p>As a female student at UVA, I'm unhappy about the tone of what is being said about UVA safety and the students in this thread. I party, I walk everywhere as I have no car, but I've always been perfectly safe. My friends watch out for each other if random guys come up, I always see police cars patrolling the streets when I walk back at night or near a place that's known to be hosting a major party that night. </p>
<p>I feel this is a case where UVA's transparency about its numbers and active efforts to get students to report rape cases is a double edged sword, and so had to put my two cents in. I'd welcome any questions about campus life, but please, keep the schools and students bashing down, no one likes to see their school bashed. =)</p>
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Do people really know the size of UVA? (...) That's 12,000 undergraduates, not including faculty, not including graduate students, and lastly not including the rest of the staff at the University. 20 cases of rape a year? While unfortunante, are quite good numbers.
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</p>
<p>The US average is about .5 reported rapes per 1,000 population. With a probable campus community of about 20,000 (extrapolating from 12,000 undergrads), 20 per year is not "quite good." It's also not so bad, either, considering that we don't know how much of that difference can be attributed to higher reporting rates by victims, the prevalence of "sort-of date rapes" which were not forcible but weren't entirely consensual either, and the inclusion or exclusion of events that happened away from campus. The number might be worse than it looked since rape statistics also include sexual assault on minors from 12 to 17, which would be rare in a campus community. Statistics are slippery little eels...</p>
<p>Yes, C'ville is a safe town, but horrible things do happen.</p>
<p>I dont want to share too much of my personal story, but my niece who was a first-year grad student at UVa was murdered last fall while studying alone at an overlook on the Parkway. It was a random event, a sick individual on a spree that eventually took 6 lives.</p>
<p>I do not blame UVa and they were wonderful to our family.
Nor was the murderer from Virginia.</p>
<p>But we live in a day and age where no place is safe and rape is not just a statistic. No matter how safe a person feels, they need to take precautions, be aware and prepared and act wisely. At UVa, any college or any place. I would judge a college on what steps have they taken to educate students to dangers and what infrastructure they have to prevent attacks. And how they respond to victims following these terrible events.</p>
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I would judge a college on what steps have they taken to educate students to dangers and what infrastructure they have to prevent attacks. And how they respond to victims following these terrible events.
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<p>First of all, mcgilldad, my condolences for the horrible loss of your niece.</p>
<p>This thread is interesting, and rather timely, for me. You see, my daughter, has been accepted for admission by both Penn State and Ohio State. I think that they're both great schools with lots of academic resources and opportunities. However, PSU is in a rural setting and OSU is in the middle of a city. This difference was highlighted even further when I checked the campus crime statistics for both schools. Just as one example the figures for "Sex Offenses-Forcible"(on campus) for the years 2003-05: For Penn State Main Campus the figures are 9/8/9. For Ohio State Main Campus the figures are 9/18/29. There was an article recently in the OSU student newspaper recently about campus crime statistics being inaccurately reported (if anything, perhaps under-reported) up until 2005, which gives me further pause. Since my daughter is intelligent, but not necessarily the most street-savvy kid, this is a real concern. But anyway, we're going to be revisiting both schools within the next month, I was wondering how would we best assess the campus security at each school(particularly OSU). Would we just try to speak with the campus police...?(I know that seems obvious, but when I questioned the campus security at another school that we visited about a crime spike there, I felt like I wasn't getting straight answers from them) random students that we encounter...? I do read the student newspapers at both schools regularly, including the crime reports.</p>
<p>Great question. First, I would look around: Are there blue lights on campus? These are emergency phones. Does the school have an escort service for late night study sessions in the Library? Are entrances protected at dorms? Is the protection actually used by students? Are there notices up on dorm bulletin boards about security and safety? Do they warn students about date-rape? What is the general feel of campus and the town?</p>
<p>Speak to campus police, but dont ask them about campus rapes--you will get the canned answer. Ask them about support services for victims, ie. victims advocates, counseling, classroom support, etc. A little research with Google couldn't hurt either. Ask about arrests of non-students on campus. Ask about the disposition of cases where students have been charged or gone to trial.</p>
<p>Then, I would meet with women's groups on campus. They can give you a true picture of safety. I would also talk with GLBTQ groups to see about the level of harassment that is permitted on campus. Use University statistics at your own risk--for obvious reasons colleges have reason to underplay those stats. I am willing to bet they are all underreported--not including those assaults that never get reported.</p>
<p>mcgilldad:</p>
<p>First off, let me extend my condolences for the loss of your niece. What an awful story. Next, let me extend my admiration that this could have happened in your family and that you are still able to remain rational and recognize that a single incident is not the same as a norm.</p>
<p>mcgilldad, I'm so sorry about your niece. I remember the incident over in Waynesboro well, as I've hiked up on the Blue Ridge Parkway and had been at that overlook just a few weeks prior. We were all shocked and saddened when we heard the news.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, the police are bound to respond to reports of rape in a specific way. They don't run survivor support groups and the like. Those are most likely run by a school's counseling center and the sexual assault reponse team is usually part of student affairs.</p>