Members of the new Student Council administration took their oaths of office and members of the former administration stepped out of their roles at a transition ceremony in Garden IX Sunday afternoon. Third-year College student Abel Liu was sworn in as Student Council president while third-year College student Ceci Cain and second-year College student Ryan Cieslukowski were sworn in as vice president for administration and vice-president for organizations, respectively. Third-year College student Ryan Alcorn also stepped into his role as chief of cabinet.
Ellen Yates, Student Council president and fourth-year College student; Darynha Gnep, VPA and fourth-year Education student; Shefalika Prasad, VPO and fourth-year College student; Noah Strike, director of university relations and third-year College student; Diana Gaiter, director of outreach and fourth-year Batten student; and John Krause-Steinrauf, chief of cabinet and third-year College student, all said their goodbyes.
Yates thanked the members of her administration, welcomed the incoming executive board team and reflected on her term as Student Council president.
“I am incredibly grateful to be in this position,” Yates said. “When I first started in Student Council my first semester I had no idea I would end up having the privilege to serve in this position.”
Liu, Cain and Cieslukowski ran on a joint ticket centered around ushering in a “new era of student governance” through equity, empowerment and renewal. While Cain and Cieslukowski ran unopposed, Liu garnered over 80 percent of the vote in the student body election in March. Liu’s serves as the first Chinese American Student Council president at the University and the first openly transgender student government president who was “out” at the time of his election at a major American university.
Yates swore in Liu during Sunday’s ceremony, who in turn swore in Cieslukowski and Cain. In his speech, Liu promised to be a “president for all students,” regardless of political affiliation or background.
“Regardless of your vision, I believe sincerely that the greatest measure of love for a place is your dedication towards its improvement,” Liu said. “I hope to build a new unity and solidarity, one rooted firmly in the philosophy of Charlottesville organizers, that there will be no unity without justice.”
Liu said that the goal of his administration is to build trust, understanding and good faith across divisions within the University community. One specific goal of Liu’s is to “renew the promise of Student Council” through broad coalitions and conversations within the University community.
“We are at a pivotal moment of reform which will dictate the direction of not just Student Council but the University,” Liu said. “Together, we really will build a new era of Student Council, and I am so excited for the change that is to come.”
As VPO, Cieslukowski will be responsible for Student Council’s oversight of CIOs as well as the distribution of student activity fee funds and other Student Council resources to CIOs. In his speech, Cieslukowski acknowledged the hard work of his predecessor, Prasad, and spoke to the nature of student self-governance at the University.
“We’ve often criticized student self-governance on the basis that Student Council lacks direct power over many University policies and that, to some extent, ‘student self-governance’ is really just a tool to extract free administrative labor from the University’s students,” Cieslukowski said. “While I stand by these statements, I do not believe that Student Council or the organizations branch is by any means powerless.”
Cieslukowski pointed out that the organizations branch controls funding for CIOs, many of which do significant social and advocacy work on Grounds and beyond. Through the new Student Council Support and Access Services Branch — a new branch of Student Council that will expand resources such as funding for outpatient psychological services, U.Va. Mutual Aid and affordable transportation during breaks — Cieslukowski said he plans to use excess funds to help students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As vice president for administration, Cain will oversee Student Council’s management and operations, including its finances, property, information technology, communications and publicity. In her speech, Cain spoke to the power of the New Era of Student Government Campaign started by Liu.
Cain said that she in no way expected to become vice president for administration — in fact, she was planning on taking a step back from all extracurriculars to focus on school until Liu reached out about his plan for the next year, which she was inspired by.
“I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself,” Cain said.
Cain thanked her predecessor, Gnep, and said that she is looking forward to learning throughout the year. Through serving as the chair of Student Council’s financial accessibility committee over the past year, Cain said that she has learned a lot about leadership, delegation and managing projects that she plans to bring into her role as vice president for administration.
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