University Student Council passed resolutions in support of an extension of the spring semester’s credit/no credit grading policy and “U.Va. RA’s” and their demands in a Tuesday night general body meeting.
Resolution FR 20-10 in support of a credit/no credit grading policy passed with 19 representatives voting in favor of the resolution and one abstention. The bill “calls on the Office of the Provost to extend the Spring’s CR/GC/NC policy to the Fall 2020 semester.”
During the meeting, third-year College student Ryan Alcorn, the Council’s chair pro tempore, said the resolution recognizes students with Wi-Fi insecurity, on-Grounds students moving into dorms amid ongoing classes and precedent for the grading policy. Notably, Stanford University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have adopted such grading policies.
“This resolution recognizes the fact that the problems we have been facing due to COVID have not changed.” Alcorn said. “For a lot of folks it’s actually gotten worse.”
When asked if University administration had considered adopting the spring semester’s credit/no credit grading policy for the fall semester, deputy University spokesperson Wes Hester said that the University “has returned to its traditional letter grading system for the 2020–21 academic year.”
“The credit/no credit grading rubric was instituted for spring 2020 due to the unusual circumstances and potential hardship caused by the unexpected and rapid move to online instruction mid-semester,” Hester said.
Representatives also voted to pass FR 20-11 in support of “U.Va. RAs’” demands — an anonymous group of resident advisors at the University who released a set of 10 demands calling for adequate compensation, meal plans, personal protective equipment and housing stability among other demands amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Third-year College student Abel Liu, the Council’s Chair of the Representative Body, noted that the group is joining RAs from colleges across the country — including Cornell University and the University of Utah — in calling on their schools for greater protection.
The fact that RAs may not speak to the press per HRL policy makes the issue more pressing for the Council, Liu added.
“It’s especially important to stand in support of these RAs because they cannot speak out themselves as individuals,” Liu said. “They are our constituents.”
The bill passed with 18 votes in favor and two abstentions.
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