Yeardley Love’s May 2010 death at the hands of her ex-boyfriend has led to new policies, laws and attitudes.
But it’s up for debate whether those measures will make much of a dent in changing the drinking culture brought to the forefront at last month’s trial of former University of Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely V, convicted of second-degree murder for killing Love.
The Chevy Chase resident’s arrest prompted changes: Virginians can now get protective orders against a boyfriend or girlfriend and U.Va. began requiring students to report arrests, like Huguely’s past run-ins with law enforcement for public intoxication and alcohol possession. The killing also spurred universities and prep schools to try to better address issues like dating violence and substance abuse with students.
| Dating abuse can happen anywhere |
| Organizations who work to curb domestic violence say Love’s death has made one thing clear: There is no typical victim or perpetrator. The Fairfax County-based group Dating Abuse Stops Here has discussed the Huguely case during presentations at area high schools to show that abuse can happen to anyone, said Wendy Claunch, the vice president. Huguely and Love, she said, were both athletes at a top university, attractive and well-off. “On paper, George Huguely was the perfect boyfriend,” Clauch said. |
Still, experts say there’s much to do in curbing binge drinking.
“We’re not going to educate and persuade individual students not to drink to excess,” said David Jernigan, a public health professor at Johns Hopkins University. “If that were going to work, this problem would have gone away 20 years ago.”
Excessive drinking at colleges — and the violence that can go along with it — is hard to address because binge drinking is so prevalent and students don’t believe they’ll suffer any serious consequences, said Mike Gimbel, a Maryland substance-abuse education consultant.
“There’s going to be more Yeardley Loves,” Gimbel said. He said schools need more effective alcohol-education programs that also involve parents and to create environments that discourage binge drinking.
For friends of Love and Huguely, there were clear signs problems existed. In the months before Love’s death, Huguely had choked Love and sent her an email that said “I should have killed you,” and Love had whacked Huguely with her purse, according to testimony from the couple’s friends at Huguely’s trial. Huguely — who was drinking heavily the day Love was killed — had written her a note apologizing for the choking incident that said, “Alcohol is ruining my life.”
Since Love’s death, there’s been an uptick in universities addressing “bystander intervention,” said Alison Kiss, executive director of Security on Campus, a nonprofit that advocates for college safety measures.
A U.Va. coalition began training student organizations about stepping in when they see situations like dating abuse.
Adults often don’t know the extent of a student’s problems, so it’s important for peers to learn how to intervene, said Stephen Wallace, a senior adviser on policy, research and education for the organization Students Against Destructive Decisions.
“That’s where we have our best shot at preventing a catastrophic situation from occurring,” Wallace said.
Hugugely’s teammates testified that they had planned to talk to him about his drinking, but were waiting until after their final game and celebratory activities.
“The game was more important, the partying was more important,” Gimbel said.
