FREDERICKSBURG, Va. ― A feminist group on the campus of the University of Mary Washington accuses the school of failing to act on sexual and violent cyberthreats made against its members, according to a complaint filed Thursday.
Feminists United said members received hundreds of anonymous, profane messages and death threats for their public opposition to Greek life and in speaking out against an offensive chant by the rugby team.
The group filed its complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, saying the state university failed to protect the women from “a sexually hostile school environment.”
In a statement, Mary Washington denied the allegations.
“To the university’s knowledge, no known reports of direct threats of violence and/or sexual assault have gone unheeded,” the statement said.
Feminists United were working on the complaint before the April 17 slaying of board member Grace Rebecca Mann, 20, of McLean, Virginia. Her roommate, Steven Vander Briel, has been charged with first-degree murder and abduction.
Police have not revealed a possible motive. Mann was strangled.
