… she can expect some backlash.
[University of Virginia president Teresa] Sullivan’s absence has not gone unnoticed, said Katherine Schieffelin, whose daughter attends UVa.
“She should be naming the time and date to join her at the Mall to stand in solidarity for the safety of women,” Schieffelin said. “She should be encouraging all who love UVa to join her with candles and flashlights and provide a voice to those students who feel betrayed by this administration.”
When Sullivan was ousted from her post by a faction of the Board of Visitors in 2012, she enjoyed the full-throated support of protesters who demanded and helped secure her reinstatement, Schieffelin said.
“Many people fought hard with similar gestures to keep her in office and instead of releasing this whitewashed statement she should be showing outrage and passion and fire,” she said. “She should be leading.”
Sullivan asked Charlottesville police to investigate and issued a statement Wednesday before leaving the country, assuring the UVa community the school “takes seriously the issue of sexual misconduct.”
The statement was lambasted on the university’s Facebook page by hundreds of students and alumni who said Sullivan did not go far enough.