Student Council released their 2020-2021 fall semester report, which explains their accomplishments throughout the semester as well as their future plans on Feb. 18. The report offers a detailed overview of the Student Council’s workover the last few months. Highlights of the report come from three groups within Student Council — the Presidential Cabinet, the Administration Branch and the Organizations Branch.
Much of Student Council’s recent work has been centered around supporting the community through the unique difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ellen Yates, president of Student Council and fourth-year College student, noted that the report was part of an effort to be more transparent about Student Council’s work. Yates’ note was followed by a letter from John Krause-Steinrauf, chief of cabinet and third-year College student, who wrote about the adjustments Student Council has made in order to meet the needs of the community during this time, such as adapting previously in-person projects to COVID-19-safe formats.
“The goal of this administration has always been to emphasize advocacy and equity, and though we have often had to adapt our plans in light of COVID-19, it is my hope that our work reflects these aims,” Yates said.
Policy initiatives and advocacy
The Presidential Cabinet of Student Council reported accomplishments and its future goals in several different areas within the University including, but not limited to, academic affairs, diversity engagement, financial accessibility and sustainability.
The report outlines several accomplishments in these areas that took place during the fall semester.
In terms of academic affairs, Student Council helped facilitate a virtual Academic Resource Fair on Sept. 12 in conjunction with the Georges Student Center, providing students with information and access to nearly 20 resources including Counseling and Psychological Services, the library, the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Dean’s Scholarship. Student Council hopes to further assist students moving forward by creating an i-Clicker dropbox where students can contactlessly donate their iClickers for other students to use, along with numerous other policies and initiatives.
Student Council also advocated for gender inclusive housing options and worked with administrators to implement some of the recommended changes in language and presentation, which are currently reflected on the housing website. Through the inclusive, or open housing option, students can request to live with roommates regardless of their gender or sex identity. The council also secured diversity grants, which will now allow for a summer cycle for Black contracted independent organizations and a spring cycle for multicultural CIOs to support programming in addition to the regularly scheduled application cycles for all CIOs in the fall and spring.
In support of low-income and first-generation students, the Council published a guide by and for FGLI students so that they can better navigate their experiences at the University. Additionally, Student Council met monthly with representatives from the FGLI Coalition, which works to bring together FGLI leaders from across the University, to give feedback on projects each organization is working on. Student Council aims to continue supporting FGLI students and plans to advocate for lower cost of attendance to the University. During the 2020-2021 academic year, undergraduate tuition for in-state students in the College was $14,188, while tuition for out-of-state students was $48,036.
In the fall, Student Council hosted a Sustainability for Whom Event through which participants explored issues of white fragility, anti-racism and justice. They plan to continue supporting sustainability efforts at the University and in the Charlottesville community through food justice initiatives and by displaying art to raise awareness about the climate crisis and Earth Day, which falls on April 22.
The Administration Branch of Student Council similarly worked in a variety of areas within University life to create positive change for the community. Darynha Gnep, vice president for administration and fourth-year Education student, noted the resilience and hard work of the Administration Branch.
“The Administration Branch would not be where it is at without the drive, leadership, dedication,
and humility that all of our members possess,” Gnep said in the report. “We would not be where we are today without this amazing team’s working to continuously refine the Council’s internal infrastructure and external relationships.”
The Administration Branch worked to improve alumni relations, used data science to analyze the possibility of a tuition freeze, successfully navigated two new financial reimbursement systems and conducted successful fall 2020 membership recruitment for the Council, among many other things. The 2020-21 Student Council Representative Body was the first “majority-minority” body in the organization’s history, meaning that more than 50 percent of its members were from historically underrepresented groups, Abel told The Cavalier Daily.
Future goals for the end of the term for the Administration Branch include furthering the University’s connection with alumni, adding closed captions to all meetings to make them more accessible and strengthening its connection with the greater University community.
The Organizations Branch of Student Council worked to update the student activities fee to include funding for shipments to CIOs and for personal equipment such as masks for club sports team members. Due to the pandemic and limited in-person CIO events, many organizations requested a much smaller amount of SAF funding this year, and the Council plans to explore options for the remaining unused funding moving forward.
The Organizations Branch also conducted its first virtual activities fair from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1 and saw no significant decrease in attendance at the event. The branch also approved the recognition of over 45 new CIOs.
The representative body formed in the fall semester brought the total pieces of legislation passed in the 2020 calendar year to 80 pieces, 38 of which were passed in the fall.
As outlined in a tweet from Student Council, one significant policy included making improvements to equity and grading by successfully lobbying for a credit/general credit/no credit grading option for all undergraduates during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Student Council also created a mutual aid network in the spring to distribute resources to students in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its creation last spring, U.Va. Mutual Aid has distributed over $51,000. After raising $5,000 in funding, the network then distributes resources to those who have requested it.
In addition, the Council worked to create a formal liaison committee within the University’s Equity Center, which meets weekly to address student concerns about the University’s reopening during a pandemic. Student Council also created a coalition of stakeholders — including members of undocUVA, Housing and Residence Life and the Student Police Accountability Board, among others — that is working to create a “CAHOOTS” program with the University Police Department that will remove police from non-violence crises and instead send a medic and crisis worker to the scene. A pilot program is expected to launch by fall 2021.
Lastly, the Student Council advocated for international students by speaking with several groups on Grounds to voice their concerns regarding a proposal from the Department of Homeland Security in late-September, which meant to shorten the duration of stay for international students to just two or four years total.
A detailed explanation of these significant policies, along with others as outlined above can be found in the fall report.
Constitutional amendments
Additionally, Student Council introduced and passed several changes to its constitution this semester for the first time since 2008.
Student Council has transferred the oversight of services — including the University Mutual Aid, the community food pantry, Student Legal Services and more — from the vice president for administration to the president. According to chair of the representative body and third-year College student Abel Liu the VPA’s job is “notoriously difficult” because it is expansive and mission-critical — thus, transferring oversight will make the VPA’s work more manageable and effective.
“This change empowers the vice president for administration to pursue administrative policy changes with additional time and focus,” Liu said in an email to The Cavalier Daily. “By consolidating a presently disparate set of services, we will be able to streamline their operations, funding and expansion to better serve marginalized students at the University.”
The vice president for administration will still maintain responsibility for overseeing Student Council’s finances, property, information technology, communications and publicity.
Additionally, Student Council created two representative positions for international students — one undergraduate position and one graduate position.
In an email statement to The Cavalier Daily, Adrian Mamaril, Student Council representative and second-year College student, said he hopes the change will provide international students with better representation in Student Council.
“I aimed to push for a more proactive representative body that gets ahead of the problems that U.Va. students currently face,” Mamaril said. “Creating this permanent position to work on new proposals and giving a perpetual voice that will work with various offices that deal with international students and scholars can only help make a more diverse and more inclusive University community.”
Mamaril also emphasized the importance of listening to international students during the COVID-19 pandemic, as travel restrictions have made it difficult for international students to return to school.
“Flexible learning problems and difficulties with regards to work authorization that arose due to COVID-19 and a restrictive Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration have highlighted the need to advocate for the rights of these students, especially as many continue to persist in learning outside of the United States during the pandemic,” Mamaril said.
Student Council updated its previous non-discrimination agreement in order to reflect the University’s Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights new non-discrimination agreement.
In Student Council’s constitution, the preamble now defines the term “student government” as a “collective agency.” The added phrase emphasizes the organization’s goals, which include “realizing the necessity for student self-governance, understanding the importance of articulating the views of the student body and desiring to further the welfare of students.”
Student Council also standardized representative titles to match those used in practice and replaces gendered pronouns with gender-neutral pronouns. For example, the title “Director of Finance” will now replace “Chief Financial Officer” in the constitution, as representatives use this title more frequently in practice.
Student Council also modified several of its rules to expand eligibility. Students in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies and full-time students who are not living on Grounds at the University are now able to vote or run for office.
Liu hopes these new changes in eligibility will create a more inclusive environment for students facing extraordinary circumstances.
“The … change ensures that students who attend the University virtually due to COVID-19, or future pandemics and/or natural disasters, may still participate in elections and student government,” Liu said.
Finally, the Constitution lists three new impeachable offenses — inciting violence, threatening violence and violating the Council’s Code of Ethics.
The new impeachable offenses were implemented in response to issues representatives have recently faced. A number of representatives received threats of violence because of their work in Student Council last semester after a video of one of its November meetings went viral on social media. In addition, a Student Council meeting in February was Zoom-bombed by several unauthorized and non-University affiliated individuals.
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