Universities should take responsibility
The University of Virginia has absolved itself from responsibility in campus assaults that take place in the Greek housing system, according to an article in the Huffington Post.
The article also stated that the University received a letter from the federal government reprimanding it for its decisions.
The University of Virginia claimed the contents of the letter were inaccurate and the letter was then hidden and has just been discovered a few weeks ago by news the Washington Post.
We the Threefold Advocate believe that the University of Virginia should not have hidden the letter they received. Instead the University of Virginia should have put the letter out in the open and then discussed potential factual errors in the open.
Campus assault is a huge problem that needs to be openly discussed. One in five women have been sexually assaulted, also a study in 2015 found that 23 percent of women have unwanted sexual contact while in college, according to CNN.
Colleges need to be transparent when discussing the decisions they have made regarding campus assault. They also need to take responsibility for what is happening on their campuses and with their students.
Some say that they are not responsible because the assaults are technically occurring on property owned by the Greek system off school grounds. However, the University of Virginia is still responsible for the Greek system. They decide which Greek systems are allowed on campus and which are not. They also have the power to close Greek chapters on campus.
All of this shows that the University is responsible for Greek housing, since it is under University approval. Therefore, they are responsible for the actions of their students and maintaining safety and discipline of these crimes.
Because of the prevalence of the issue and the responsibility the University has in all facets, We the Threefold insist the University of Virginia apologize, fully explain the contents of the letter and change their policy on the reporting of sexual assault with the Greek system.