Student Council heard from Sly Mata, director of diversity education, at their General Body meeting Tuesday, where he spoke about the importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives and the challenges associated with them. Student Council also passed a bill to amend the annual budget to allocate more funds for Airbus, and Law Rep. Kasey Michaud provided updates on the fundraising campaign to support Student Council’s operations.
Prior to working at the University, Mata worked at Ohio University as Assistant Director of Diversity and Inclusion. Mata also said he is the grandchild of migrant farmers, and that this background furthered his interest in DEI.
Mata emphasized the importance of DEI in higher education, stating that college involves much more than just a financial investment. Mata said that students' time at the university should be a positive, foundational experience, not something they regret.
"There is no reason a person should graduate from a university [and] ever say ‘I regret going there’, or…‘God, I wish I would have done something else.’ Because it's more than just your choice. It is your time,” Mata said. “It is four years of your life you can never get back. And if done properly, [university] should be … foundation building."
According to Mata, incorporating all three elements of DEI — Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — is crucial to achieving a sense of belonging at universities. He stated that if any of those elements are missing, people may not feel seen, heard or part of the community.
“The worst thing that somebody can feel on this campus is [that] they're hurting and nobody hears their cry for help,” Mata said.
Mata said that some people associate DEI with being "anti-white" or the same as “critical race theory” — a framework that examines how systemic racism is embedded in laws, policies and institutions. Mata emphasized that the world is diverse, and he challenged what he said he saw as narrow characterizations of DEI efforts.
In closing, Mata urged students to "change the world through [their] poetry and passion" by becoming active voices in the community and challenging pre-existing notions in various spaces.
Following his speech, representatives and attendees posed questions to Mata about the challenges facing DEI initiatives in universities. Second-year College Rep. Brian Ng asked how Mata plans to advocate for his DEI values amid an unstable national political climate. Mata responded by emphasizing the importance of direct engagement with DEI initiatives, rather than relying on preconceived notions.
“For those that challenge DEI, I welcome them to come and take one of my classes,” Mata said. “I welcome them to come and really experience it for the first time."
On the topic of belonging and its effects on mental health — especially during stressful times — Mata emphasized the importance of acknowledging and validating those feelings. He encourages students to be honest with themselves and seek support. As an advocate for mental health, Mata stressed the need for open and ongoing conversations around these issues.
“While I was [at Cornell University], I buried 8 people,” Mata said. “Five of those were students that would still be here if they were able to build spaces of open communication where they were able to talk about … their queerness … the challenges they were facing, coming from a migrant family, their socioeconomic status. We have to really give people both the ability to communicate [with] proper tools, but also that space to communicate.”
Following the conversation with Mata, Student Council entered their legislative session. During this time, Michaud introduced a bill encouraging students to donate food to local pantries by offering reductions in parking fees as an incentive, a proposition which was on theme with Student Council’s recent emphasis on food insecurity.
Second-year College Rep. Ian Travis said that while he supports the bill’s intent, it could potentially strain Student Council’s relationship with the University Transit Service.
Fourth-year College Rep. Jason Almas voiced concerns that the proposal would allow students to pay parking fines with canned food donations, creating an unfair advantage. He said that students who have the means to purchase canned goods could simply use that money to pay the fine directly, rather than donating the food.
Michaud responded by explaining that the bill offers students an alternative way to offset some of their parking fees, particularly during times of financial difficulty. He added that the initiative also supports local food pantries.
Darden Rep. Ellie Marsh suggested modifying the legislation so that the initiative would only occur on certain days each year, which she said would help Parking and Transportation plan accordingly for when parking tickets could be exchanged for canned goods.
Valentina Mendoza Gonzalez, Student Council president and fourth-year College student, expressed her support for the bill and said this would be a great initiative for the cabinet, which oversees Student Council’s long-term projects. She emphasized that community action often requires incentives and praised this proposal as an excellent way to encourage participation. The bill passed with 25 representatives in favor and two opposed.
Mendoza Gonzalez also provided updates on Student Council's fundraising campaign, which is designed to move Student Council away from relying on the Student Activities Fee — the $58 mandatory charge students pay as part of their tuition — for funding. She said that with assistance from Student Council’s data science team, a report on SAS was developed to analyze its usage and student demands. She also announced that Student Council will soon be filming a promotional video for the campaign.
Brookelyn Mitchell, vice president of administration and fourth-year College student, introduced a bill to amend the annual budget to account for higher demand for services like Airbus. The proposal includes a $4,000 increase in SAF funds and also includes a roughly $3,000 increase in University allocations.
Student Council also approved several new Contracted Independent Organizations during the meeting. Ryan Bowers, vice president of organizations and fourth-year Commerce student, said some of the CIOs approved this week include The Grass Volleyball Club at U.Va., Mentoring Girls in Computing and Founders at U.Va., among others.
Student Council will not meet next week due to Thanksgiving Break. The last general body meeting for the semester will take place Dec. 3.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article identified College Rep. Jason Almas as a second-year instead of a fourth-year. This article has been updated to reflect this change.
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