There are few details about this newest case. A statement sent to students on Thursday said police were notified by the Dean of Students “about a sexual assault incident reported to have occurred on January 30, 2015, in a residence hall on-Grounds.” The notice said police were notified on February 5, six days after the incident.
Before the uproar over the Rolling Stone story, UVA policy allowed student victims to decide whether or not police were contacted after a sexual assault. Since then, the university mandated a “zero-tolerance” policy, which has yet to be defined; it’s unclear if the alleged victim in the latest assault participated in reporting it to police. University officials would not comment on those questions.
This all comes as the university is trying to move forward from the fallout of the Rolling Stone piece. The story of Jackie has been questioned and has prompted several investigations — a police investigation, an internal review at UVA, and a Columbia Journalism Review of Rolling Stone’s reporting process.
A lot is still unknown. Here’s what we do and don’t know:
1. Is the Rolling Stone story about Jackie fake?
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Most students got back from winter break and returned to normal life at school.
Behind the scenes, leaders are working on new ways to tackle binge drinking and general campus safety. The university just adopted an ambassador program which provides sober escorts over the age of 21 for any student who needs help getting home.
The “zero tolerance policy” pledged after the Rolling Stone story has yet to be defined, and some advocates are worried that it will have a chilling effect on reporting of sexual assault.
Ross said he’s been working with state legislators who have proposed mandatory reporting, to make sure that any new proposals also don’t discourage women from coming forward.
