In the ongoing effort to catch the suspect in last month's assault on Student Council President Elect Daisy Lundy, University Police officers are conducting a collaborative investigation with the aid of FBI officials and monetary rewards amounting to $22,000.
"The investigation is very aggressive and clearly has the support of the University," University spokesperson Carol Wood said. "There's a strong commitment to seeing this person apprehended."
Following the Feb. 26 attack, the FBI joined the investigation after deciding that the incident falls under national civil rights jurisdiction.
"Based on the information, we believe the facts give us predication to initiate a federal investigation," said Lawrence Barry, chief division counsel of the FBI field office in Richmond.
Title 18, section 245 of U.S. code prohibits intimidation, injury or interference with participants in federally protected activities on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin.
"In this particular case, one of the federally protected activities is attendance at a public university," Barry said.
Lundy said she was in questioning nearly all day Monday with an FBI special agent and a University Police sergeant.
"They are definitely dedicated to solving this case," Lundy said. "They can't tell me where things are, because, if and when the perpetrator is found, this has to go to trial."
Barry stressed the difference between a civil rights violation and a "hate crime," which refers to the 1990 Hate Crimes Statistics Act requiring the FBI to report crimes that qualify as biased.
"There's always an underlying state or local crime involved," Barry said, identifying the element of physical assault in this case. "Civil rights violations don't happen in the abstract."
University Police declined to comment on the case due to its status as an ongoing investigation.
After the attack, the University promptly offered a reward of $1,000 to anyone who contributed information concerning the case, which was later doubled by the Walter N. Ridley Scholarship Fund.
"I think it hurt everyone to know that someone could be physically harmed for trying to be a pioneer," said Kelli Palmer, a doctoral intern for the scholarship fund. "Everyone wanted to know what could be done and what the response could be."
The $1,000 was donated by a private individual to be presented on behalf of the Ridley Fund, a nonprofit organization within the University Alumni Association that provides scholarships to African-American students.
"Even if the person isn't caught, it's a symbolic show of support," Palmer said.
University Police Crimestoppers are authorized to dispense the $2,000 to any informants who are able to give tips anonymously over phone.
In addition, the Council on African American Affairs, located in Washington, D.C., has announced that that it will offer a separate $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.
In a written statement, Lundy emphasized that the incident is part of a larger pattern.
"The events that transpired are not simply about Daisy Lundy nor are they merely about Student Council," she said. "These events are part of a larger problem of exclusion that has plagued our University for far too long."
Lundy said she is grateful for the community's support.
"I am extremely thankful for the generous donations that have created an incentive for quickly bringing this case to a close," she said. "I have faith that, in our community of trust, someone will come forward to preserve the ideals that we hold dear as U.Va. students."
In his public statement, University President John T. Casteen III encouraged students to do just that.
Casteen said the attack on Lundy and the preceding phone threats challenge personal freedom as well as the institution of the honor system.
"If you know who made the threats, who carried out the assault, I urge you to give this information to the proper authorities now," Casteen said.
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