March 3, 2003 -- Groups around the University continue to express sympathy, support and shock in the wake of a racially motivated assault reported by a U.Va. student early Wednesday morning.

Students and faculty at the School of Law formed a Committee for Progress on Race to decry the reported attack on Daisy Lundy, a second-year student running for Student Council president.

"This gut-wrenching event is as shocking as it is eye-opening," said Michael Signer, a second-year law student and coordinator of the committee.

Lundy, of African-American and Korean heritage, reported being attacked in Poe Alley, just west of the Lawn, shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday when she went to her car to get a cellular phone. She told University Police that the assailant used a racial epithet related to the election as he slammed her head against the car’s steering wheel. She also injured her knee and ankle in the incident.

The Committee for Progress on Race collected $750 toward a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the attacker. The University administration earlier had offered a $1,000 reward, and Wednesday night the Walter N. Ridley Scholarship Fund added $1,000, bringing the total among University groups to $2,750. The Ridley fund provides scholarships for African-American students at U.Va.

On Friday, a Washington-based policy research organization, the Council on African American Affairs, also offered $20,000 toward the arrest and conviction of the assailant. The reward money is being coordinated through Crimestoppers, (434) 977-4000.

A faculty group, the Chairs and Center Directors of Arts & Sciences, on Friday issued a statement of support and sympathy for Lundy.

"The assault utterly violates our sense of decency, and is an affront to the dignity of each and every member of our community," the group said.

H. Eugene Lockhart, president of the Alumni Association Board of Managers, also issued a statement. "It is a small comfort to know that Ms. Lundy’s physical injuries were minor and I wish her a speedy recovery. I fear that the injuries to the University community and to our efforts to build a stronger and more inclusive climate here will be much slower to heal."
The statements, as well as those made Wednesday by U.Va. President John T. Casteen III and Vice President of Student Affairs Patricia Lampkin, are posted on the University’s "Voices of Diversity" Web site at http://www.virginia.edu/uvadiversity/.

Lundy described her attacker as a heavy-set white male wearing light-colored pants, a dark coat and dark hat. The assault has been classified as a hate crime by University Police, which is being assisted by the FBI.

University Police spokeswoman Melissa Fielding said that typically the FBI is alerted in cases such as this, and other police agencies may also be of help.

"The city and county investigators work closely with our investigators," Fielding said. "If they come across any information about this case, they are likely to forward it to us."