Memorials mean nothing when change is not being actively and appropriately sought out. Empty gestures mean nothing in a country built on the backs of others.
We should expect the students, staff and faculty leaders of FCA to give everyone the respect they deserve.
At the core of both the Trump administration and Jim Ryan’s administration is the claim that reopening the economy or school is “worth it” despite the expectation that people will die and get sick.
The University must act with brevity in unrolling new lanes of communication between Student Health’s Psychological Services and students.
Moving forward, we must hold the Board to this higher standard of committing to and fulfilling the values of accessibility and diversity on Grounds.
By consigning the fall semester to failure, these prophets of doom have failed to realize the impact of their statements on the wider student body.
The University administration’s negligence is directly putting student workers’ lives at risk by actively ignoring the demands of residence staff, and not providing adequate protective gear, food allowances or financial security. A safe reopening cannot exist if the lives of countless student workers are being ignored.
Black people may no longer be slaves in America in the most literal sense, but we remain slaves to the racist systems the country has in place — including policing.
Exemptions for certain gathering restrictions place undue strain on Charlottesville, and undermine the responsibility that places of worship have to their community.
It’s ridiculous and completely unacceptable that the University would begin allowing students to move back to Charlottesville — even if they live off-Grounds — without having clear and effective protocols at Student Health to give information to students who test positive or who may have been exposed.
As we reckon with controversial and racist figures, we cannot ignore either the good or the bad parts of their history.
Maybe the University can acknowledge Jefferson on Grounds without glorifying him, but statues made to glorify Jefferson perpetuate a false history.
The University has a moral obligation to do everything in its power to keep these outbreaks from spreading to the greater Charlottesville community.
When it comes to health, the University has proven it is disgracefully incompetent.
Many universities with similar plans and initiatives have proven to be woefully unprepared for containing the dissemination of COVID-19.
Many student fees were already superfluous entering the new year, they now gain a newly resounding reminder of the University’s disregard for student interests.
We are still in the midst of a global pandemic, and there is no denying that this will have an effect on the academic performance and lives of students at the University.
Throughout American history, it has always been Black individuals fighting against the systems of oppression put into place by the white population — it is way past time for white Americans to join the fight.
Loving America is a question of caring about how our nation lives up to its ideals — something which is most apparent in how it treats its citizens.
With just under three weeks before classes start, the University must come to terms with the reality of the pandemic — it is either safe to proceed with a socially-distanced reopening or it is not.
