Student leaders respond to Juicy Campus

By Generra Peck, Matt Whittaker, Elizabeth Barry, David McCormick, Lisa Sinkovitz and Connor Close

Student Leadership Representatives

We are writing to address JuicyCampus.com and its consequence to our campus community. First, we wish to express our collective disapproval and disappointment with JuicyCampus. As leaders of student government and the Greek community we want to encourage the UR student body to act with respect for others. The University of Richmond student is held to a high standard of integrity and trust and because of this standard we each must act in ways that respect our neighbor, our classmate, our professor and ourselves. We have an opportunity to reject the negativity this site has put on our campus community and move forward.

As representatives of the student body, we've taken measures to ensure that the safety and integrity of our university remain strong. We've heard from some members of the university community requesting that JuicyCampus.com be blocked from our on-campus network. While we agree that a site so hateful in purpose should not exist on our campus we must recognize the implications of our actions in our greater effort to improve our campus community. After much research and conference with our student government colleagues from Colby to Pepperdine to Vanderbilt, we've come to realize that a simple "block" on the site doesn't create the change we need. One student government president explained that Juicy Campus is an opportunity for a "change of culture" rather than a "change of policy." In addition, we MUST remember the internet world we live in. If we block JuicyCampus.com then we will have version 2, 3 and 4...Instead, we have an opportunity to reject a culture of rumor and act in ways that we can be proud.

As college students, we have a relationship with technology that not many understand. We've grown up with technology as a part of our lives, and because of that, we oftentimes forget the person sitting at the other end of our wireless connection. As men and women of the University of Richmond, this is a chance to take ownership of our thoughts and our words. Writing without consequence is not honorable and we cannot continue to support the behavior we all denounce.

Thank you to those students who have expressed concern with this site. Please continue to contact us with your concerns as we move forward.

With respect for one another,

Generra Peck, WCGA President

Matt Whittaker, RCSGA President

Elizabeth Barry, Panhellenic President

David McCormick, IFC President

Lisa Sinkovitz, JSGA President

Connor Close, RSB SGA President