Three University students responsible for the graffiti on Beta Bridge, reported to Charlottesville and University Police Aug. 29, issued a letter of apology a day after the FBI determined the incident was not racially motivated.
The letter, delivered late Friday afternoon to University President John T. Casteen, III and Patricia Lampkin, Vice President for Student Affairs, characterized the incident as a misinterpreted stunt.
"The graffiti was originally intended to be an artistic expression, and at no time was hate or racism even mentioned in its conception," the students wrote.
The students, whose names were withheld by University administrators, also apologized for exacerbating racial tension at the University.
"This letter is first and foremost an apology," the letter read. "An apology for marring a treasured tradition, bringing more racial tension to the already saturated atmosphere, and for the trouble we have caused our cherished University of Virginia."
The bridge, a popular advertising spot, was vandalized two weeks ago while announcements from African-American organizations Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and Brothers United Celebrating Knowledge and Success were displayed on the bridge.
The students painted, "we'll be back," as well as "GSociety," "GWizard" and "G-Bug" along with a woman in a spread eagle pose and a pair of breasts.
At Casteen's request, the FBI investigated the graffiti and found no racial implications.
Some students remain skeptical about the FBI's conclusions.
"What was painted on the B.U.C.K.S. side of the bridge with the black face crying white tears -- it's really hard for a person to say that's not racially motivated," Black Student Alliance President Aaron Blake said.
Blake suggested that some of the evidence had been destroyed by the time the FBI and other authorities reviewed it. She said she is skeptical of the vandals' claim that the incident was not racially motivated.
Keith Combs, fraternity polemarch at Kappa Alpha Psi, one of the groups affected by the vandalism said he still believes his group was the victim of a racial slur.
"These are two historically black organizations," Combs said. "You haven't heard of other groups who painted and had it defaced."
The University police department, which initially conducted the investigation, said the graffiti has now been filed as a crime report. Charges have not been filed and there has been no indication they will be.
"I'm not going to second guess the FBI," University Police Capt. Michael Coleman said. "The FBI runs their own investigations."
While the FBI was investigating, the University's Alumni Association offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for this and other recently reported racially motivated incidents.
"We don't know whether it could be established that a crime per se has been committed," said Alumni Association president Jack Syer. "We understand that this is a different threshold to get over in this kind of incident. In the event that it were to be established that a crime [had been] committed, we wanted to [encourage] people to come forward."
Though this incident was deemed to not be racially motivated, improving race relations is still a focus of the administration.
"That's an ongoing discussion that we're having every day," University spokesperson Carol Wood said. "Everyone has worked together and will continue to work together as we go forward."
The police have told students they will continue to investigate potentially racially motivated incidents aggressively.
"One of the detectives at the University Police called me personally," said Student Council President Jequeatta Upton, who was among the students who initially reported the graffiti.
"In the future if there is another incident, they'll make sure it's their first priority again," Upton said.
While African-American Affairs Dean M. Rick Turner said he was pleased with the decision to bring in the FBI, he does not know what to make of the current situation.
"I really want to believe the FBI and these young men because the community wants the truth and needs to repair itself," Turner said. "But I'm highly questioning everything at this time because of unprecedented racial terrorism acts"
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