Universities respond to Cuccinelli letter

Catherine MacDonald

Managing Editor

VCU

Richmond

Total undergrads: 23,149

Graduate enrollment: 9,287

91 percent in-state students

Existing policy: “no person, either singly or in concert with others, shall willfully discriminate against another person on a basis not reasonably related to the educational or job functions involved on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, religion, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, and age.”

Students react through social media: A Facebook group with about 530 members states, “At VCU, we learn from one another in an environment where we can share our life experiences openly. We believe Ken Cuccinelli’s actions threaten the education of not just gay and lesbian students, but all students.”

Students are holding a VCU Anti-Discrimination Rally at the Compass Point Wednesday from 12 to 1 p.m. The event on Facebook lists more than 400 attendants.

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg

Total undergrads: 23,558

Graduate enrollment: 7,312

73 percent in-state students

In the news: Karen DePauw, the vice president and dean for graduate education, told Metro Weekly, “We send the wrong message about our commitment to diversity and inclusion by removing sexual orientation.”

A university spokesman told The Associated Press the school’s policy banning discrimination based on sexual orientation remains in effect. Any change would have to be approved by the school’s Board of Visitors, he said.

Students react through social media: A Facebook group with more than 530 members states, “Remember – STUDENTS pay Virginia Tech’s tuition, FACULTY provide Virginia Tech’s services. The university will listen to US. That is why we have to come together as one voice to make sure that our Board of Visitors publicly resists this malicious attack on civil liberties.”

University of Virginia

Charlottesville

Total undergrads: 15,464

Graduate enrollment: 8,798

72 percent in-state students

Existing policy: The university “administers its programs, procedures and practices without regard to age, color, disability, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation or veteran status.”

Students react through social media: UVA’s Queer and Allied Activism is launching a social media campaign.

Old Dominion University

Norfolk

Total undergrads: 18,253

Graduate enrollment: 5,760

92 percent in-state students

In the news: Carl Pucci, the former president of the student body at Old Dominion University, told the Virginian-Pilot he thinks Cuccinelli’s letter is likely to stir a strong response on campuses. “It’s going to be a mess. There’s no doubt about that,” he said. “Our generation is really open-minded. The concept of discrimination, we’re just not interested in that … I think you’re going to see the whole gamut, from angry letters to protests.”

The College of William & Mary

Williamsburg

Total undergrads: 5,836

Graduate enrollment: 2,038

65 percent in-state students

Existing policy: None will face discrimination in “regard to race, sex/gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, political belief, disability, Vietnam veteran status, age, and all other categories protected by the Commonwealth and by federal law.”

According to the college’s student newspaper, the Flat Hat, the school’s statement of rights and responsibilities now includes a more comprehensive definition of gender identity and expression in order to provide the same protection to transsexual, transgendered and gender-neutral faculty and students.

Students react through social media: About 500 Facebook users are listed as attending an event organized by Students for a Phone Bank against Cuccinelli’s Discrimination, held Monday from 1 to 4 p.m.

A Facebook group with about 700 members states, “We as the student body must stand together and send a message that Cuccinelli is on the wrong side of history. We will not let this happen. William and Mary is not his campus, it’s ours.”

University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg

Total undergrads: 4,397

Graduate enrollment: 983

80 percent in-state students

Students react through social media: A Facebook group with more than 500 members states, “This is anti-gay rhetoric at its finest, and we as a student body must stand as one and refuse Cuccinelli’s ‘advice,’ both for the integrity of our institutions, and for the rights of our fellow students, (faculty) and staff.”

George Mason University

Fairfax

Total undergrads: 19,702

Graduate enrollment: 12,365

79 percent in-state students

Students react through social media: Students created a Facebook group, which has about 40 members and states its purpose as “a group to organize for equality at Mason and against Cuccinelli’s bigotry.”

Information provided by collegeboard.com.