IMAGINE a group of 17 adults, most of whom are at least as old as our parents, and many of whom live great distances from Charlottesville. These appointed individuals are responsible for the long-range planning of the University, including decisions that greatly affect the student body, ranging from the use of race as a factor in the admissions process and the future of the honor system to renovations at Scott Stadium. This organization is the Board of Visitors, and of its members, only the student representative does not have a vote.
This is quite unfortunate. The person who is most in touch with the students has no official mechanism to ensure that his opinions are taken seriously by the other Board members. He can talk all he wants, but there is no guarantee that full members of the Board will listen or care. Giving the student representative a vote would make him equal to the other 16 members and give them a reason to consider his view before making decisions.
It would also give University students a greater incentive to contact the student representative when the Board is considering issues that directly affect them. Currently, students who want their opinions to be known to the Board have little reason to consult with the student member, as he has no voting mechanism to relay their views. In the absence of voting rights, he is left unaccountable to the students he is supposed to represent.
A voting student member also would not endanger the integrity of the Board by making it a politicized organization, as some critics are quick to contend. Anyone worried about politicization needs to examine the current composition of the other members, who are appointed by the Governor of Virginia. Not only are these individuals often selected largely on the basis of their political influence, but they must also have views that are in alignment with those of the Governor.
A voting student would represent special interests just as these other 16 members do already. The only difference would be that the student member's special-interest group would be the 18,000 students of the University, not the political whims of one governor.
Additionally, the student is the only member who is supposed to explicitly represent a constituency, regardless of his voting status. In theory, the student member already attempts to convey the views of the students, introducing a special-interest element to the Board even in the absence of a vote. Giving this representative full voting rights simply would help to ensure that the ideas of these constituents are understood fully and appreciated by the other 16 members.
Allowing the student to have a vote is not a novel idea. According to the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, the governing boards of 28.6 percent of public, four-year, single-campus institutions of higher learning and 25.2 percent of public, multi-campus institutions have student members with voting powers.
The system of public universities in California is among those which give voting rights to the student member of the board. Clearly, other public schools, including our peer institutions in California, have recognized and responded to the need for true student representation on their boards. The voting rights show that the academic mind of the student is respected and put on par with other decision-makers. Unfortunately, the lack of a vote for the student member at the University indicates that the Board is unwilling to put that same level of trust and respect in the student, even though this individual is hand-picked by the Board itself through an application process every year.
The University would not exist without the students. All 18,000 of us make the University an exciting place to live and learn. However, we still are represented on the Board only by one nonvoting student member.
The time has come for a change. The student member is capable of professionalism and deserves to be placed on equal footing with the other 16 full members. This move would help to ensure better student representation at the most powerful organizational level of the University. In the tradition of student self-governance, now is the time for the Board to show confidence in its one student member by awarding him a vote.
(Nicholas Jabbour is a Student Council representative from the College of Arts and Sciences.)
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