In response to the recent assaults on University students, community activists, church members and University administrators gathered at the Mount Zion Baptist Church last night to discuss race relations and the lack of interaction between the University and Charlottesville at large.
Last night's meeting was one in a series of meetings that began three weeks ago when Rev. AlvinEdwards invited church members and parents of the high school assailants to come together to discuss their reactions to the assaults.
The first of the assaults that the groups are confronting took place last September and the latest occurred Jan. 25. The victims all are white or Asian. The 10 high school students arrested are black, nine of whom are minors.
The meeting marks the first time the three committees that Edwards created - the youth in the community, race in the community and Charlottesville youth defense support - came together. Each announced its preliminary ideas to address race relations in Charlottesville.
Each committee had been discussing its reaction to the assaults in meetings this past week.
Ron Wiley, chair of the Charlottesville youth defense support committee, said that its goals are to keep information about the high school assailants and their victims confidential, and to provide qualified attorneys for the students, in preparation for the upcoming trial April 16.
According to Commonwealth Attorney David Chapman, charges against the nine students include malicious wounding, robbery as well as assault and battery.
"We are still determining who is criminally involved and what additional charges, if any, should be brought against them," he said.
The charged high school students now are being held at an Alternate Education center indefinitely.
The students should be allowed to return to their classes at Charlottesville High School as soon as possible, Wiley said.
Counseling has been provided for all the students involved, and Wiley's committee is interested in "initiating lines of communication with the victims themselves," he added.
Katrina Thraves, co-facilitator of the youth in the community committee, cited the lack of interaction between races and social classes, and the prohibitive cost of cultural programs as key problems.
The committee feels "there is nothing to do in this town," she said.
The group also emphasized that social events like church functions, hip-hop gospel events and open basketball could be opportunities to expose all students to different cultures and social environments.
"If that many of us can come together to hit the same nail on the same head, you know we're going in the right direction and coming together," she added.
Many in the community assume the University "has this 'stay away from the townies' attitude," said Robert Jordan, co-facilitator of the youth in community committee.
The community's perception of the University often is negative.
"People assume that U.Va. is a wealthy money maker that looks down upon everyone else," Jordan said.
The race in community group, chaired by Edwards, reported that there are concerns about racial profiling, and disparate achievement scores between whites and minorities.
The group also is worried about University intrusion into Charlottesville neighborhoods.
Gail Wiley, the volunteer media coordinator, said the committees' primary goal is to facilitate communications between the University and the community.
The meetings have been effective in alleviating the community shock about the attacks, she said.
"The high school kids who did the assaults are not the kind of kids you'd expect to be involved in this," Wiley said. "They are solid, middle-class, church-going kids in two parent homes."
University students already are trying to get involved.
"A lot of people in the town feel negatively toward U.Va., that it is expanding and taking up space, but that it is not welcoming," said third-year College student Davin Rosbourough, who has been attending meetings for the youth committee.
Solutions to University and community relations are being discussed.
"We need to build relationships to fight these negative perceptions, because some of the stereotypes against us are true," he added.
Patricia Lampkin, interim vice president for student affairs, also hopes the University will work to fight its negative perceptions.
"Students here care about the community, but their first job is to be students," she said. "The community may perceive that differently, but we can't ignore that perception."
The meeting was an opportunity for the administration to voice its commitment to discussion of this issue.
"The University wants to be full partners in helping to make sense of all this," Lampkin said.
"We want to bring our resources to the table, and hold up our end of being part of the community," she added.
The next meeting will take place at Mount Zion Baptist Church on March 17 at 6 p.m.
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