Rolling Stone article on sexual assault at UVa

<p>The author of the Rolling Stone article was interviewed on PBS Newshour tonight.
<a href=“Article on brutal sexual assault provokes investigation at the University of Virginia | PBS NewsHour”>http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/article-brutal-sexual-assault-provokes-investigation-university-virginia/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Rape at UVA: Readers Say Jackie Wasn’t Alone
Rolling Stone’s investigation into sexual assault on the University of Virginia campus elicits intense personal stories
Read more: <a href=“Rape at UVA: Readers Say Jackie Wasn’t Alone – Rolling Stone”>Rape at UVA: Readers Say Jackie Wasn’t Alone – Rolling Stone; </p>

<p>A 2004 article, much the same as the Rolling Stone article; nothing has changed:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.readthehook.com/95992/cover-how-uva-turns-its-back-rape”>http://www.readthehook.com/95992/cover-how-uva-turns-its-back-rape&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Well, hopefully something will change now, since this Rolling Stone Article has thrust them into the national spotlight and not in a good way! I wonder what the impact of all of this will be on applications for 2015, alumni contributions, etc. </p>

<p>And, while it won’t fix the problem, at least this is a start:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2014/11/president-sullivan-suspends-fraternities-responds-to-university-community”>President Sullivan suspends fraternity organizations, social activities until Jan. 9 - The Cavalier Daily - University of Virginia's Student Newspaper;

<p>(President Sullivan suspends fraternities until Jan 9)</p>

<p>Not that this isn’t a good start but really–suspending fraternity activities just before thanksgiving and through a period that involves finals and winter break seems like a very minor slap on the wrist. And what did the university do after the last publicized case…nothing?</p>

<p>Whole-heartedly agree and many of the alum I know are doing what you mention- no more annual giving and none of our children will attend. Disgusted.</p>

<p>To other parents and students who want to rethink their application to UVA this fall. This is from the Dean’s Admission blog: "to withdraw your application to UVa. To withdraw, just email <a href=“mailto:uvaapplicationinfo@virginia.edu”>uvaapplicationinfo@virginia.edu</a> with your name, high school, date of birth, and tell us that you want to withdraw your application. "</p>

<p>UVA needs to know the culture they endorse and encourage is not acceptable. </p>

<p>Whether “Jackie” was drunk or not, does not enter into the atrocity of it all. What those rapists in the Steubenville horror did to a drunk girl was not diminished at all by the fact that the victim was intoxicated. More the shame, for those to take advantage of someone not in the frame of mind to consent, not that anyone sane would agree to a gang rape. That’s why I wish that Jackie had called the police immediately. I don’t understand why the friends were so unsupportive and downright opposed to a report. Immediate exam of the victim, DNA testing, and there is a good chance the perps would have been in trouble and in such a case, a conviction would have been likely. To try to sell the story that the victim agreed to be gang raped would have had trouble holding up in court. </p>

<p>Hopefully, the story gives these scenarios attention that forces colleges, students, really everyone to react differently. One would think that after movies like “The Accused”, the whole attention the Steubenville case got, would have made everyone more proactive about reporting these things. Clearly not Jackie’s “friends”. I am truly appalled at their reactions, and can’t figure that one out. It’s not as though they would have been center stage in any testimony in such a case, as they only had hearsay info and could only attest to Jackie’s absence in the party. How anyone could have said to keep a gang rape quiet is beyond me. </p>

<p>Am I the only one who finds it sad that this is national news yet there’s not a PEEP about the two suicides this year?</p>

<p>I’ve brought up the fact that Hannah Graham, was highly intoxicated when she went wandering on her own in wee hours right into the clutches of a serial rapist and killer. That is not to blame her. I don’t. But those students who gave her alcohol and whatever, knowing she was just 18, letting one of their own just go off in that condition at night in a skimpy, sparkly top, not send out some alarm when texts from her showed her to be lost, was terrible, IMO and that neglect was a major contributor to her death. She was drunk, so were her peers. This is what can happen when judgment is so impaired–Hannah was a straight A student, and a responsible young woman, it appears, most of the time. Not as though this was her type of thing, going off in the night. </p>

<p>Alcohol doesn’t excuse the behaviour of those men who allegedly raped Jackie either. That the one young man who recognized her seemed to be hesitant, to me shows, he certainly knew this was unacceptable, especially when faced with someone he knew. But peer pressure, and this shows up in gangs all of the time egged him on and he felt he had to defile her too. That a :brotherhood" could wield that sort of power is frightening, and yet is seen over and over again. This is an issue with frats and sororities. Many who would not do things will do so, with the pressure of the gang, and that’s really what these things are, gangs. </p>

<p>As a father of a daughter, this was a very powerful, sad, disturbing article on how a school is covering up its crimes.
( And yes, I am sure other schools are guilty of this too, but the article was on UVA).</p>

<p>If a woman was murdered, if the school found a dead body…
would they hesitate to report it to the police?</p>

<p>When this young woman reported to the school what had happened,
the administrator should have said, </p>

<p>“I am sorry, but I need to call the police now. A crime may have been committed.
And my second phone call is to your parents, you need them now.”</p>

<p>Instead a girl is thrown through a glass table, gang raped, and beaten,
and expected to figure it out herself what to do.
How in the world can she be EXPECTED TO THINK CLEARLY?
That’s why you always call the police.</p>

<p>Last question, the suspension of all frats is over winter break, how is that a punishment?
No one is at the school.</p>

<p>Charles</p>

<p>To Susanbpr, </p>

<p>You state, </p>

<p>" I would encourage any parent of a student applying to college to investigate those institutions that their child is seriously considering and look into statistics on sexual assault, suicide, etc. "</p>

<p>That’s the big problem! UVA is not reporting the rapes. One UVA woman said her rape was reported in a different category. Parents looking into stats are not getting the full story here.</p>

<p>It should be pretty easy to figure out who all the male rec center lifeguards were during 2012. Also pretty easy to have the police interview every single guy who was a member of this frat. And for the school to remind them that lying is an honors offense. And to get at least one of these guys (especially the two bystanders) to flip in order to get a reduced sentence. A conviction is really the only appropriate response and outcome to this.</p>

<p>I hope the victim will be able to make that happen.</p>

<p>One thing that comes to my mind is that by not going to the hospital and not reporting the rape to the police - Jacke did nothing to protect the next girl from being lured upstairs. I can understand her not thinking clearly after the attack - but the actions of her supposed friends at the time and the Dean defy basic human decency. Pressing charges in criminal court - not a university’s self-serving internal process - is the only way to change this tragedy.</p>

<p>Info</p>

<p>Scisguru, those thugs could have been admitted to any number of schools. That the issue is on UVA’s head right now makes it up to them to move, but don’t think an instant that the same could not have happened at PSU, for example. If Jonri’s numbers are only half correct, or a quarter, there are those who are serial rapists everywhere. It’s not like they are all at UVA.</p>

<p>I agree fully that anyone who hears of a crime committed who is a university official had the obligation to call LE What if JAckie had described the vandalism of university prooperty? Or mass cheating on an exam? You had better believe that there would have been a storm of investigation and university charges levied. But a mere gang rape? Nothing. I don’t think the University could legally call the parents, but I do think ALL colleges should implement a waiver process for the students so that info like that can be imparted with revocations immediately reported, and it should be part of the admissions process. Not mandatory to waive, but parents get that right in front of their faces, instead of having to hunt down the process. It was NOT up to those university officials anyways in deciding whether the case was prosecutable by LE. For all they knew, local LE could have been looking for gang rapers and other things that might have fit from Jackie’s story. </p>

<p>Given the way “Jackie” described the aftermath with her friends on the night of the alleged incident does anyone here thing she would have even gone to the Dean if University policy was to immediately report the incident to authorities? I don’t think so, her friends would have then encouraged her to be totally quiet about everything. She never would have spoken at all to the Dean. In the article she speaks highly of the dean as does Emily. They describe her as a great support person. If Universities do what everyone is demanding you then take away that safe go to “adult” for these college women. </p>

<p>I too wish that every rapist got punished, and will be punished, however the mental health of the victims is the MOST important outcome and that is why step one is for them to have that safe reporting avenue where they are still in the driver seat. I too wish Jackie went to the police immediately but she chose not to, I would think mostly because of the reaction she got from her friends immediately following the incident more than anything that transpired when speaking with the Dean.</p>

<p>I hope that in the aftermath of this story, that the alleged perpetrators of this crime get identified but also that there is a better system of education for all young people across the country. I hope that mandatory education programs are instituted to show people like Jackie’s friends that it is NOT okay and that they would NOT lose social standing by reporting incidents and supporting their friends/victims.</p>

<p>This link is an interview with the associate dean (Nicole Eramo) who handles sexual assaults. She tries to explain why liars/cheaters/thiefs get expelled, but rapists don’t. <a href=“Page Not Found”>http://vimeo.com/user20932862/review/112529177/b57f3948c3&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Wow… that Dean is completely tone deaf and full of CYA rhetoric even before the RS article.</p>

<p>Yeah. After seeing that I think the Rolling Stone reporter went far too easy on her.</p>

<p>Sorry but gang rape is not simply “sexual misconduct.” And she didn’t even flinch when she mentioned that she had had THIRTY EIGHT cases brought to her last year. </p>