I am glad to see that Pres Casteen addressed the topic of sexual
assault in his State of the University address on Tuesday. Although
he says " small number", the fact he has finally publicly
acknowledged the issue is a positive indicator that he is
listening. I have submitted 3 separate requests during the past
year for him to review the way the university police handled my
daughter's case; he has yet to provide me the courtesy of a reply or
confirm that a review is in progress. Since he states that
arrests have been "far and few between", he must be aware of the
results (lack of results) resulting from his police department.
UVa president
notes violence
Casteen says hard work lies ahead for
university
By Braxton Williams, Daily Progress staff writer
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
The University
of Virginia continues to enjoy academic excellence and other
successes, but an apparent increase in physical attacks on students
and other problems indicate there are issues to be addressed,
President John T. Casteen III said Tuesday.
Additionally,
much hard work lies in the months ahead, now that the General
Assembly has passed legislation to grant universities more autonomy
and as UVa embarks on a six-year business plan that is part of that
bill, Casteen said at his annual State of the University address.
At the
beginning of his speech, he cited statistics from a national survey
to show that most university students thrive and are challenged
academically, are experiencing increased diversity and are generally
satisfied, among other positive trends. Students gave lower marks
for their experience with active and collaborative learning, which
Casteen attributed to the university’s emphasis on “superb
lecturers.”
Students continue
to perform favorably in comparison with their counterparts at other
major research universities, he said.
“The core
observation … is that [UVa offers] a superb student community,”
Casteen said. “We have, on the other hand, had issues that involved
difficulties.”
Those include
racial harassment, persistent reports of student-on-student
violence, armed robberies near campus, an increase in physical
attacks on students and
a small number
of reported sexual assaults that nevertheless “remains a fundamental
concern,” especially given that arrests following those assaults
have been “few and far between,” he said.
But
Casteen noted the university’s strengthening last week of its
procedures for handling sexual assaults.
He also praised the Charlottesville Police Department for its
collaborative efforts with university police. [more]
