<p>The fraternity has “voluntarily suspended” chapter activities. Check the Cav Daily for their letter. </p>
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<p>I think we all get that this isn’t UVa’s problem alone. But let’s also not pretend that the problem happens equally at every college in the country. It doesn’t. There are cultural factors that make conditions more “ripe” for this kind of thing on some campuses than others. There are colleges that are not so dominated by a fraternity system whose traditions includes singing songs like “Rugby Road.”</p>
<p>Is UVa going to take this opportunity to lead on the issue of sexual assault? We’ll see. Meanwhile, I don’t see anything wrong with parents having second thoughts about sending their kids there. </p>
<p>My son is currently a second year student at UVA. He is a hard-working student who spends most of his time studying, attending as many UVA sporting events as he can, and casually hanging out with his friends. He is not in a fraternity, he has never heard of the Rugby Road “fight” song (neither has any of his friends) and he is crushed that all UVA students are being depicted in that way. My son (and the majority of all the other UVA students) are hard-working, well respected and amazing kids. My son would do anything to help another person, and especially to make sure they are safe. To those that are refusing to send their children to UVa now due to the “culture”, please know that the one-sided sensationalized view of the typical UVA male student portrayed in the article does not make up the whole school. </p>
<p>We are both heartbroken by the RS story, and for those that were hurt over the years. We both agree that what was described in the article is horrific, and I do believe it happened. But, I am so sad that the RS article turned this into a UVA culture problem and not a “could be any university” problem - and how can we solve this as a nation working together. This could have been such a positive article to wake up the country to the problem of college rape and the lack of support for those raped. For those of you that no longer want to send your child to UVA, I hope you share this article with them, and then tell them that this can happen anywhere, not just at UVA. They need to be aware of this issue wherever they go and I hope your children stay safe.</p>
<p>I can’t comment on the administration concerns with this story as none of us were invovled to know what really happened, didn’t happen or should have happened. But, I can say that from the first parent meeting I attend two years ago, there was an emphasis on keeping the students safe, on preventing sexual misconduct and how we and our students can become involved in this endeavor. I have seen multple emails, tweets, and information on clubs, talks, and other activites geared towards preventing just these type of crimes over the last few years. The article made it seem like UVA Admin want nothing to do with the problem, keep it hush hush and brushed any concerns under the carpet. This is so different from what I’ve seen first hand over the last few years. Were there mistakes in how certain cases were handled? I’m sure there were. And if so, we need to learn from them. I am certainly not writing this to defend UVA and how they handle sexual misconduct cases - I don’t know enough about it and I do think that there is lots of room for improvement. I am however writing this to defend the students, who have been portrayed in an unfair and sensationalized way. If anyone truly thinks this is strictly a UVA problem, just do a little investigating on the Internet and you will quickly that is not the case.</p>
<p>My oldest son was a student at Penn State during the Joe Paterno/Sandusky scandal. It was a very difficult time for the students, as they had to deal with generalizations, put-downs, jokes and intense media scrutiny. The students didn’t do anything wrong, yet they were being depicted as football crazed, Koolaid drinking, cult fans who were only there for Joe Paterno and the team. The truth was so opposite, but that didn’t matter to many. But, the students rallied and became a voice to the issue of child sexual abuse. They raised money, they supported charities and they held vigils to raise awareness. It was an amazing time for the students to learn how to rise from adversity, and to work together to right a wrong (even though they weren’t the cause of the wrong) and how to stay strong while the rest of the nation were bashing them all over social media and the news. I am hoping that the same will happen at UVA, and some good can come out of this sad article. There are so many amazing students in Charlottesville, and I have no doubt they will pull together. But please keep in mind the impact that your words have on the current students. UVA is full of amazing students - and they are our chlidren.</p>
<p>I agree with FCCDAD. Just as honor codes are enforced at school, so it should be if a student has been violated. If certain crimes come to a student’s attention, they should be reported to the university, which should then take action. I wonder if those “friends” of Jackie have anything to say about all of this. Do they uphold her story, that she said she was gangraped at that party and told her not to report it when they could have called 911, a rape exam been done and with multiple DNA samples, a reasonably strong case could have been made against those rapists. A strong fisted, immediate response would have broken up that frat house and practices, without any doubt. At this point in time, what can be done? The accused have legal rights too. </p>
<p>Ljrfrm, I agree with you too. I do not believe for a moment that UVA is the epitome of this sort of thing. It is however telling how big of a problem this is when a top school has these issues, and how they are being treated. There was a huge scandal last year or so regarding rape and harassment on part of Notre Dame football players that should have been made public, as it is news, and also because the school should be making moves to reduce the chances of such things happening again. </p>
<p>@ljrfrm- well said. I too have a child at UVA and as a PSU grad I put up with the Sandusky comments as well. I find the comments from people condemning all Greek Life sickening. Even those who are spewing vitriol at current Phi Psi members are appalling. Yes, I believe the Greek culture is partly to blame for the problem, as is the administration because of the handling of the claims.</p>
<p>I am sick over the entire episode, and for the poor victims, but there are too many people who are at the extremes here. UVA isn’t Utopia, and not everyone who attends UVA or belongs to a frat or srat deserves to be strung up. </p>
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<p>Certainly not trying to make light of the issue at UVa - but pretending that it’s a significantly larger issue at UVa than other colleges is misleading, and feeding into knee-jerk reactionism makes no logical sense. Check out the Clery report for any college you wish - you’ll see that UVa is not an extreme example. Vanderbilt (as just one example) with a student body of half the size of UVa’s had more incidences of sexual assault in 2013 while Cornell, of similar size, had about half. And Stanford, at UVa’s size and one of the country’s elite universities, had almost double the amount of sexual assaults as UVa. It is in fact a serious issue that needs to be dealt with nationwide and UVa is unfortunately more of a typical example than an exception.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the focus with Rugby Road is all about (in the article and here in comments). Yes, it’s an old “traditional” fraternity song with some bawdy lyrics. But, those lyrics aren’t half as provocative as what these young adults are listening to in contemporary music, so it’s really not some pied-piper’s theme that is driving student culture.</p>
<p>The Clery Report only shows reported crimes - I think one of the points that the RS article made was that the girl was discouraged from reporting the crime by her peers. How many other crimes against women are not reported? That is one place to start the discussion. Another is for the University to strictly monitor frats for underage drinking - drunk teenagers do not make the wisest decisions. How many facebook pictures have you seen with students holding red cups - they aren’t drinking sweet tea! I realize that rape is a national issue but now that the UVA story has been told it is important for them to lead the reform. I hope they accept the challenge.</p>
<p>Sexual assault doesn’t affect just ciswomen-- it affects queer people too. There is actually quite an unhealthy predatory culture in Charlottesville (and in NYC, but townies in college towns affect disproportionately with respect to the population rate) and it’s not just against ciswomen.</p>
<p>To all the UVa parents on this thread: NO ONE is saying every single student is part of the atrocious behavior that seems to be happening at your kids’ school. No one is saying all male students are rapists or all female students are constantly at risk as they go about their days on campus. UVa is a great school academically and it is reassuring to hear that your students are having positive experiences there.</p>
<p>Having said that, please take off the blinders and stop saying “but other colleges have problems too!” or “there are worse lyrics in mainstream music!” Two (or more) wrongs don’t make a right. need2learn is correct: the Clery Report only shows reported crimes. If my kid were at UVa right now I’d be demanding that the school take action. THAT’S how the university will ensure that its overall excellent reputation is not further damaged by these events.</p>
<p>The same entitled Psi Phi attitude from 30 years ago - nothing has changed. They should be kicked off campus forever. And the smug George Hughley V’s look alikes that that run amok should also be kicked out! What a disgrace! Where are the liberals when you need them! No where when UVA reputation is at stake.</p>
<p>The email from the President was beyond weak…words can’t describe the lack of leadership. Is she afraid Phi Psi donors will dry up?</p>
<p>Money=Power</p>
<p>uh…right…get rid of Phi Psi…then warn the others…u r next</p>
<p><<having said="" that,="" please="" take="" off="" the="" blinders="" and="" stop="" saying="" “but=”" other="" colleges="" have="" problems="" too!"="">></having></p>
<p>Blinders? The people who believe this is predominantly a UVA problem are the ones that have blinders on. That said, I am all for UVA fixing their shortcomings, and if I can somehow be a part of it at a parent level, I would certainly do that. </p>
<p>NO ONE is saying it is “predominantly a UVa problem.” But right now, it IS a problem at UVa and one that is getting national attention.</p>
<p>I’ve talked to a frat member and I do feel sorry for the respectful members of the frat who are now being vilified even though they have done nothing wrong. Their house was vandalized today. They are baffled and sickened that something like this could occur at their house. He told me they have a policy of not letting overly drunk girls or guys in because they know it’s a liability. Their risk management chair sends out emails detailing this before every party. Should a girl become overly intoxicated, they call a cab or contact her friends. They even got the support of some female friends of theirs who know that the majority of them are respectful young men. The perpetrators are sick, twisted individuals. Making sweeping generalizations about the content of their characters or about UVA’s culture doesn’t help in the debate.</p>
<p>My son is a brother at a different UVa fraternity. They appointed him as the risk manager because they said he was the most sober one at parties. (At least that is what he told me.) </p>
<p>The story is sooo bad, sooo evil, and so criminal it’s hard to believe. Guillaume, now is a good time for the honest respectful frat members of character to step forward. If this is true I’m sure several of them know what happened and this is their chance to shine. I suspect everyone will play the quiet game and lawyer up for a 4 year delay process. </p>
<p>Yes, if some guys would man up it would be great. Not holding up hope for that though.:</p>
<p>Here in VA this is big news. The Governor directed the Attorney General to launch an investigation and, according to the Cavalier Daily:</p>
<p>“Independent counsel selected by Att. General at request of Rector Martin was member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity in 1980s at U. Illinois.”</p>
<p>I sense a whitewash coming.</p>