It’s all quiet on the Richmond front. Over one month after student leaders at universities across Virginia requested a meeting with Gov. Youngkin, the Governor’s administration has still left no word on whether this meeting would be considered. The request from students came amid major changes to DEI programs and support systems at Virginia universities. Through this request to meet, student leaders entreated the Governor to hear student experiences that arose because of his changes. The silence from the Governor in response is resounding — not only does it elicit concerns about whether his care for his student constituents is sincere, but it also propounds a sense that Youngkin is content to live in ignorant bliss when remolding state universities. For the sake of students — and the Governor — his state administration should rethink its stance on this meeting and its approach to interacting with students more broadly.
The request from students did not arise in a vacuum. Gov. Youngkin has, in recent months, requested reviews of the DEI course syllabi at the Virginia Commonwealth University and George Mason University. This encroachment by our state leader onto principally educational concepts promoted concerns for the effects Youngkin could have on safe spaces and academic support for students. The Governor has also, throughout his term, reshaped the Boards of Visitors at universities across the state with conservative majorities that intend to make profound changes to university programs, particularly DEI programs and safe spaces. With such great change comes unsurprisingly grand concern from students on the ramifications for the institutions they learn at and grow in. Thus, the request from student body presidents at ten state universities, including our university, to meet with the Governor to directly voice their worries about changes to DEI programs.
Gov. Youngkin ought to heed their request, if only for his own benefit. Having made education a hallmark of his road to election and having instituted these significant changes to our universities during his term, it is exceedingly clear that education is a priority for the Governor. Indeed, Youngkin has met with almost all college and university presidents to discuss free speech on campuses. But meeting solely with administrative leaders and not student representatives to hear about issues pertaining to the student environment is both ill-advised and ignorant. As the ones who viscerally experience this ecosystem, it is obvious that our student experiences would be instructive.
The informative costs of not meeting with student representatives and learning about our experiences before now is evident. For example, the Editorial Board of this newspaper and others have written about the importance of safe spaces and attacks on them — it is a testament to the Governor’s deaf ears regarding these concerns that the recent letter from student leaders repeated this worry. If the Governor were to meet with student representatives, such concerns would at the very least be heard by state administration — and at most, alleviated. In doing so, the actions the Governor takes towards our universities would be better informed and potentially more considerate of student experiences.
Governor Youngkin would not be the only beneficiary of a meeting with student leaders — as the letter notes, students directly feel the consequences of actions that Gov. Youngkin takes at universities. As one of the many important stakeholders at institutions of higher education, students have a strong interest in the decisions Youngkin makes. Meeting with the administrative stakeholder, university leadership, but not internal stakeholders, students, is not only detrimental to Youngkin’s understanding of university issues but deleterious to students themselves and their university experience.
Beyond merely our stakeholder right as students, a display by Gov. Youngkin of receptiveness to student concerns would also improve the sense of representation students hold towards their political leaders. More than half of young people believe their vote matters “only a little” or “not at all” — a consequence in part of the continuous deprioritization of this voter bloc by political leaders. Arguably, the fact that students do not feel heard by their political leaders is part of the reason they have called for expropriating responsibilities from politicians in some of these fields, like appointing Board of Visitors members. Meeting with student leaders would demonstrate a recognition of their value and voice as stakeholders at universities. It would also affirm the importance of students in our representative political system more broadly, thus causing students to adjust their attitudes towards political leaders positively.
The request by student leaders to meet with Gov. Youngkin is not a novel concept — our state leader already meets with several other stakeholders affected by his actions, from law enforcement to local business leaders and university presidents. What makes this notable is the neglect to similarly consider the experiences of students, consequently disenfranchising students of our stakeholder position. Meeting with student leaders now will be a benefit to both sides — Youngkin will gain greater understanding regarding the experiences of educational stakeholders, and students will gain true recognition for their stakeholder position and greater confidence in the political process. As a further benefit, if the mission of universities is truly to build future citizen leaders, as they so often proclaim, then what better way than to involve them more actively in the leadership process? All that is needed, Gov. Youngkin, is for you to meet our outstretched hand.
Wylie Brunman is a senior associate opinion editor who writes about politics for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the author alone.
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