RICHMOND, Va. -- It is a question now being asked by students and alumni of the University of Virginia. How much damage did the article "A Rape of Campus" by Rolling Stone Magazine cause the storied university?
"Something that could have really been positive and really represented victims have set us back again," said Mary Hunter, a UVa. graduate
A Review of the article by Columbia University's School of Journalism called the original story "a story of journalistic failure that was avoidable."
Before Sunday's retraction by the magazine, the article detailed a culture of coverup at the institution, where gang style rapes can seemingly go unpunished.
When U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said it was "tough to estimate" just how much damage the report did to the university. However, Kaine did attribute the university's first drop in applicants in nearly 12 years to the press surrounding the story.
Education experts tell CBS 6 that lower application rates will impact everything from the university's bottom-line to tuition rates, which are set to increase next year more than four percent.
"An article like Rolling Stone happening right when it did in November, right when students are applying probably had a huge impact on that," Kaine said.
Phi Kappa Psi, the fraternity accused of the gang-style rape, announced Monday it plans on suing the publication.
"Clearly our fraternity and its members have been defamed, but more importantly we fear this entire episode may prompt some victims to remain in the shadows," the fraternity said in a statement.
Rolling Stone announced the author of the original article, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, would not be fired as a result of the errors.
