UVA President Suspends Greek Life Organizations After Revelation of Campus Rape Culture

[niyad]

UVA President Suspends Greek Life Organizations After Revelation of Campus Rape Culture




University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan announced on Saturday that all fraternities and sororities will be suspended until January 9 in the wake of several allegations of rape at the university. The decision closely follows the release of a Rolling Stone article detailing a pattern of rape and sexual assault occurring at UVA fraternities, which has caused student and faculty protests and sparked national outrage.


In a letter to the UVA community President Sullivan writes that the many rape allegations described in Rolling Stone are “appalling and have caused all of us to reexamine our responsibility to this community.” Sullivan has called on the Charlottesville Police Department to investigate one case in particular, occurring in 2012 and the main subject of the Rolling Stone article.

Sullivan wrote that the UVA Inter-Fraternity Council announced a voluntary suspension of all social activity for the weekend, but that “our challenges will extend beyond this weekend,” and she therefore is suspending all Greek life social activity until January 9, the start of the new semester. Tommy Reid, president of the Inter-Fraternity Council, says the fraternities will be using the time to reach out to sexual violence prevention groups such as One in Four and Green Dot. Sullivan says she will use the intervening time to assemble groups of students, faculty, and other related parties to discuss steps for preventing rape and sexual assault. She also encouraged members of the UVA community to review and respond to the university’s Student Sexual Misconduct Policy, which is open for public comment.

Since the Rolling Stone published its investigation, UVA has faced pressure from alumni and the general public to respond to the allegations and make changes to keep students safe from sexual assault on campus. On Saturday night several hundred students participated in a faculty-led protest, which took place on the campus’ Rugby Road and ended in front of the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi, the site of the alleged rape detailed in the Stone article. The rally, titled “Take Back the Party: End Rape Now!” was part of a series of responses to the prevalence and tacit acceptance of sexual assault on the UVA campus.

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http://feminist.org/blog/index.php/2014/11/24/uva-president-suspends-greek-life-organizations-after-revelation-of-campus-rape-culture/

[Stargazer09]

1. Unfortunately

I suspect that there will be a lot of angry students trying to find ways to harass the rape victim who came forward, because it's "all her fault" the events were cancelled. Protests in front of the fraternity are easy to put together, but the underlying culture of blaming the victim is probably still alive and well.

I certainly hope the guy who led that poor girl into that horrific situation is starting to feel at least a little nervous, now that there's a good possibility the police might get involved.

[niyad]

2. you know that it isn't just about this one crime, yes? it is about the whole culture that has

existed at that school for many, many years.

[Stargazer09]

3. Oh, I'm well aware of that

The students aren't likely to care about anything other than the fact that Rolling Stone covered their school and got them in trouble.

They will blame the girl for talking to RS. They will making a big show of trying to "improve."

And next year, that frat will rape another girl.