The item sheds light on the reason for the sudden resignation of the UVA president noted in an earlier "straw" post:
From NBC News: [Follow up on July 4th "straw" post] - University of Virginia President James Ryan resigned last month amid a Justice Department investigation into allegations the school failed to wipe out its diversity programs. But a letter the agency sent U.Va., released last week as part of a public records request, reveals another reason the Justice Department targeted the university. In it, the department zeroed in on allegations that a fourth-year Jewish student had endured antisemitic bullying and that U.Va. had mishandled the case...
According to court documents, the housemates had been arguing over parties the Jewish student hosted. One of the roommates, Robert Romer, is alleged to have posted antisemitic memes in a group chat for the residents over several days in mid-October, including a photo of Hasidic Jewish men under the heading “Battle of $18.20.” On Oct. 21, Romer texted the house, “I am going to attempt to free Palestine. Anyone is welcome to join in on the beating,” which the Jewish student interpreted as a threat against him, according to court records. Two days later, the student alleged, Romer tried to force his way into his room.
Early Oct. 31, he later testified in court, the Jewish student entered his room and found Romer holding a gun. He said that he touched it to see that it was real and repeatedly asked whether it was loaded but that Romer wouldn’t say. After he alerted other housemates, he said, some began passing the gun around, while others were “freaking out,” before eventually someone hid it. “I’m very scared at this point,” he said in court. “Especially because someone who had sent messages that I interpreted as antisemitic and I interpreted as pointed towards me, had previously threatened to fight me, didn’t apologize for it, and then was waiting for me in my room holding a gun at midnight — that was something that was incredibly scary.” He reported the incident to the university and law enforcement the next day, then moved out of the house and arranged to study abroad for the spring semester. “I was afraid to stay at U.Va.,” he testified...
According to court documents, the housemates had been arguing over parties the Jewish student hosted. One of the roommates, Robert Romer, is alleged to have posted antisemitic memes in a group chat for the residents over several days in mid-October, including a photo of Hasidic Jewish men under the heading “Battle of $18.20.” On Oct. 21, Romer texted the house, “I am going to attempt to free Palestine. Anyone is welcome to join in on the beating,” which the Jewish student interpreted as a threat against him, according to court records. Two days later, the student alleged, Romer tried to force his way into his room.
Early Oct. 31, he later testified in court, the Jewish student entered his room and found Romer holding a gun. He said that he touched it to see that it was real and repeatedly asked whether it was loaded but that Romer wouldn’t say. After he alerted other housemates, he said, some began passing the gun around, while others were “freaking out,” before eventually someone hid it. “I’m very scared at this point,” he said in court. “Especially because someone who had sent messages that I interpreted as antisemitic and I interpreted as pointed towards me, had previously threatened to fight me, didn’t apologize for it, and then was waiting for me in my room holding a gun at midnight — that was something that was incredibly scary.”
He reported the incident to the university and law enforcement the next day, then moved out of the house and arranged to study abroad for the spring semester. “I was afraid to stay at U.Va.,” he testified. Romer was arrested Nov. 1 and hit with four charges, including brandishing a weapon and hate crime assault, according to his defense attorney, Graven Craig. He was suspended but allowed to return to school in January after he completed a student-run university judicial process, Craig said, while an investigation led by the administration continues...
Full story at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna217292.
From Forbes: The University of Virginia Faculty Senate has voted that it has no confidence in the school’s Board of Visitors. The resolution of no-confidence in the Board passed 46 to 6, with eight senators abstaining. The vote occurred on Friday, July 11, the same day that UVA President Jim Ryan officially stepped down from his post and released a video of farewell and gratitude to the campus community. Ryan had been a popular and effective president for the university, but he had been under intense pressure from the Trump administration to resign in part because of his leadership on behalf of the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which the administration had claimed violated federal civil-rights law.
Ryan, who had served since 2018 as the university’s ninth president, said he was resigning “with a very heavy heart.”
...The Senate resolution cited several justifications for the no-confidence vote, including at attempt by the Department of Justice to improperly influence the governance of the University and the power of the university president to control the administrative direction of the institution; violations of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Faculty Senate of the University of Virginia; and the Board’s failure to inform or consult with the Senate over demands made upon the University by representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice...
Full story at https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2025/07/13/university-of-virginia-faculty-vote-no-confidence-in-governing-board/.
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