Student Council representatives approved the creation of a new CIO, DREAMers on Grounds, in a 7-0-3 vote Tuesday night.
The bill previously failed to pass in a representative meeting last Tuesday, at which six representatives voted to approve the organization and six abstained. The bill’s failure, followed by a celebratory Facebook post by Law School Representative Erich Reimer, sparked both a petition by the DREAMers and support from their allies.
Vice President of Operations MacKenzie Hodgson, a third-year Engineering student, recommended the bill be passed.
The three representatives who abstained from the vote were Reimer, second-year Engineering student John Polzer and Representative Body Chair Brett Curtis, a second-year College student, who said he is required to abstain in all votes which are not tied.
Second-year College student Jacqueline Cortes, a member of DREAMers on Grounds, presented before the representative body at the meeting.
Cortes said the DREAMers seek to be a resource for undocumented students at the University.
“We want them to feel okay, that the University of Virginia is a place that is welcoming to everyone,” Cortes said.
Cortes also said the DREAMers’ two main goals are to educate the University community about the challenges undocumented students face and to advocate for legislation that supports them.
“We’re not endorsing any party, obviously, but we do want to give students the opportunity to continue with their education,” Cortes said.
Approximately 50 onlookers attended the meeting, including DREAMers themselves and their allies. Though all Student Council meetings are public, few individuals outside the organization have attended them this semester.
While Student Council and the DREAMers held a joint meeting earlier this week to discuss the demands made in the petition and resolved to work together in the future, the DREAMers remained firm in their demand that Reimer be removed as Student Council representative.
“We felt it was a lack of professionalism, mixing [Reimer’s] personal political position, which is respected, with a position that is supposed to represent, again, the value the University takes pride on which is to not discriminate,” Cortes said. “This issue goes beyond simple terminology, it’s the lack of professionalism and moral conduct.”
Following Cortes’ presentation, Curtis read a statement stating he and College representatives first-year Alexander Cintron, second-year Bryanna Miller and second-year Clara Carlson jointly prepared. The statement expressed their support of the DREAMers, called Reimer’s statement insensitive, derogatory and hurtful and said it did not speak for the entire representative body.
“We are working internally, first of all, on accountability and transparency. That has to be, absolutely, the number one priority,” Curtis said when asked about what action Student Council plans to take in addressing the concerns of the petition.
Other issues addressed during the meeting included approving another new CIO, HOPE on Grounds, which seeks to support those who have faced unintended pregnancies and sexual violence. The group was not initially approved due to concerns the group may be explicitly anti-abortion, Carlson said, but those concerns were addressed by fourth-year College student Erin Edwards, a founding member of the group.
Edwards said the group does not have stance on abortion either way and uses the Pregnancy Center of Central Virginia as a resource, which is a Christian organization that does not conduct or refer abortions. However, they have information about abortions and provide post-abortion counseling.
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