<p>Thanks for sharing that ^^^^. </p>
<p>My heart aches for her family to not have enjoyed this moment of seeing Yeardley graduate, which they had been looking forward to (not to mention everything else).</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I agree. That poor mom and remaining sibling. Their hearts will be broken forever. </p>
<p>I hope George is given the harshest sentence ever.</p>
<p>Any news on his situation?</p>
<p>Well I did read that UVA men’s lacrosse will meet Duke in the final four. The women’s team did not advance</p>
<p>[Liz</a> Seccuro: A History of Violence: Not Huguely, But the University of Virginia](<a href=“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost”>A History of Violence: Not Huguely, But the University of Virginia | HuffPost College)</p>
<p>^ Wow. That is a chilling read. I want so bad to believe that Yeardley’s awful murder will prove to be the catalyst for drastic changes to be made at UVA with regard to violence against women. But after reading this article, I am still very concerned. Are the new President, the Dean of Students and other administrators going to be committed to changing the culture there? Or is it going to be “sshhh…ed” away? Time will tell…and people will be watching much more closely now that is for sure. </p>
<p>Quite interesting that George Huguely is being represented by the same defense lawyers as Beebe was. He got off with six months for ruining Liz Seccuro’s life.</p>
<p>KandKsmom - I don’t know if I would say he ruined her life. Traumatized her at the time? Yes. Her life is definitely changed and in many ways, not for the better. But it seems as if she has taken her experience and made good things come out of it. I sense from reading this article that she has become very empowered, and I don’t think of that as a ruined life.</p>
<p>How could the dude get six months? SIX MONTHS? I mean, obviously the jury (or the judge if it was a plea bargain) agreed he raped a woman, or he would have gotten no sentence at all. How could six months possibly be an adequate sentence?</p>
<p>yes isn’t it chilling. I agree Teriwitt with your description, traumatized, but not a ruined life. I also wondered about the six months and find it disturbing that Huguely is using the same attorneys.</p>
<p>What is even more chilling to me are some of the comments on this story that appeared in The Hook about the rape. To read that someone thinks she was “asking for it” by going to a party on campus is sickening. </p>
<p>[Beebe</a> gets 18 months in 1984 battery | The Hook News Blog](<a href=“http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2007/03/15/beebe-gets-18-months-in-1984-battery/]Beebe”>http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2007/03/15/beebe-gets-18-months-in-1984-battery/)</p>
<p>Yes, thankfully she was able to in many ways courageously move past this awful incident, but her quotes from the article:</p>
<p>"I did not, but my life was diminished. I felt that I did not matter. "</p>
<p>and </p>
<p>“I would posit that rape or murder most certainly falls under stealing – of a life, of one’s dignity, of the promise of a life well-lived.”</p>
<p>as well as the fact that she went after this guy twenty years later certainly speak for the magnitude of what it did to her life. At least she lived- Yeardley wasn’t as lucky.</p>
<p>Lindz126 and KandsKmom. Is there an issue you have with UVa that causes you do bring up such old news ? The death of Yeardley is terrible enough.</p>
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</p>
<p>Gotta say, this will not be old news for many years to come. Based on the article linked above, and the history of UVA not taking appropriate steps to minimize such criminal behavior, it will be a story for a long time to come. You do not change this kind of culture overnight. If I was a parent whose kid was thinking about UVA, I’d want to know every detail of proactive steps the university is taking to empower its students. And sometimes that information comes from boards, such as this.</p>
<p>teriwtt, I totally agree that colleges, including UVa, need to deal with these kinds of issues. This is nothing new and unfortunatetly, has been going on for a long time, in many places between men and women. From state schools up to the Ivy League! To think that UVa is unique with these kinds of issues is just not correct. We all need to send our sons and daughters off to school with messages of respect for each other.</p>
<p>sevmom - if you read the article linked above, it seems as if UVA has not learned from previous experience. Is this unique? No… but many, many other colleges have taken proactive steps that UVA has not, despite warning signals that they are desperately needed. </p>
<p>I know what both my daughters had to go through as incoming freshman at their respective schools in orientation and online education, and UVA has nothing like this.</p>
<p>I am curious, teriwtt- what were your daughters required to complete?</p>
<p>The articles I’ve seen (which may be biased, so if anyone has better info post it) say that rape is not considered an honor offense at UVa, and students who have been determined to have raped or sexually assaulted other students are permitted to stay at UVa. Right now, not ten or twenty years ago. I guess I just have a different view of honor than UVa does. I don’t understand an “honor code” that throws out plagiarizers but lets rapists sit in the same classrooms as their victims.</p>
<p>sabaray - I do know that they were required to attend orientation (not so at UVA) and several sessions at orientation over a couple of days dealt with many of the issues that have come up in this thread… date rape/drug abuse/alcohol abuse/how to report student on student crime/mental health issues, etc. D1 had to actually complete an online course prior to registering for classes about alcohol abuse, with an emphasis on binge drinking. They were also each given a supply of free condoms with instructions on where to obtain more, if they needed them (in D1’s dorm, each floor elected a condom king and condom queen, who all the residents on that floor knew had extra supplies - my daughter was elected queen!). I also know at D2’s school, they make quite an effort to educate them on diversity issues during orientation. While there is not a lot of racial diversity, there are a good number of GLBT students. </p>
<p>I agree with ya Cardinal Fang… how can overlooking a rapist not be in contradiction with an honor code? And yes, I’ve seen the same articles; the honor code just has to deal with cheaters and plagiarizers. What kind of lesson are these students being taught?</p>
<p>It seems to me that every time a college is criticized on these boards, students at that college, their parents and alumni all start posting to protect the reputation of the college and invariably suggest that there is an “agenda” involved. Each and every time, someone says that the problem exists at other colleges to exactly the same extent. </p>
<p>That’s nonsense. There isn’t exactly the same amount of binge drinking on every college campus (with the exceptions of BYU and the service academies.) There isn’t the same amount of drug use at every college. Athletes aren’t given the same special privileges and protections at every college. And, yes, Virginia, “domestic” violence in romantic relationships doesn’t occur at the same rate and isn’t treated the same way at every college. </p>
<p>People who point these things out are not trying to “bash” colleges. They are either trying to get colleges to fix things and/or trying to find out what really goes on at a particular college while their own kids are choosing colleges. </p>
<p>IMO, the reports suggest that UVa does have a greater problem with domestic violence than most colleges. I doubt it ranks #1 on the list, but it’s got a problem. I think it was People magazine which has a quote from the mother of another female lacrosse player. When asked why the students didn’t report the way Huguely was treating Love, she said that part of it was that it wasn’t an unusual sitiuation. At least one of the other female lacrosse players was involved in a similar situation. And a female player from the class of2008 wrote a letter to the editor of one of the DC papers saying that she was raped by an athlete and that during her time at college, only one rapist was dismissed–and he went on to a different college. </p>
<p>I also admit that I found it positively mind-boggling that Virginia has such stringent standards for getting a protective order. I know it might not have worked, but it should at least have been an option. It is in 42 states. That doesn’t make Virginia “unique,” but it certainly makes it unusual in and of itself.</p>
<p>I also am very surprised about the way the records have been sealed. There may be a good reason for it–but it’s unusual. </p>
<p>UVa is a fine insitutution in many ways. But if it’s got a problem with domestic violence–I note that of the 18 reported sexual assaults at UVa in 2008, 15 were committed in residence halls–it should deal with it. If my D were heading to UVa, I’d talk about more than “respect.”</p>
<p>Thanks, teriwtt. I was a little perplexed at your statement that UVA offered nothing similar to what your daughters experienced in terms of education and orientation when I reflected on my daughter’s experience last year during two orientation sessions. I know she attended sessions that dealt with the topics of: </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>She also completed an online alcohol education course. I wasn’t aware that orientation was optional and in fact, several sessions immediately prior to the start of classes were mandatory for all first years and I believe those were specific to topics of alcohol and sex. </p>
<p>During the first orientation period when she registered for courses, H & I attended a session conducted by Dean Groves. He addressed many of the topics of concern to many parents- alcohol, sex and parental notification and the same information was provided to students. I don’t know if D was provided with condoms- if she was she didn’t mention it to us.</p>
<p>Jonri, thank you for you rational perspective on this issue. As the mother of a daughter, also an athlete, who is seriously considering UVA, I am indeed very concerned with how the school handles these situations. My family has visited UVA on several occasions and loved it more each time. And I have the utmost respect for the school, for many reasons. But this issue, and the pattern that the school has shown with regards to how it deals with these issues, is causing grave concern. I know that domestic violence, and violence of all types, occur on college campuses. But the fact that it exists elsewhere is no excuse for not taking swift and appropriate action when it does occur. I hope and pray that Yeardley’s death will be a catalyst for change at UVA and all colleges in this country, so that no other family has to suffer the immeasurable pain of losing a child like this.</p>