FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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The University of Virginia Student Council

May 31, 2020

Student Council, as a representative of all students at the University of Virginia, stands in solidarity with the Black community at UVA, and demands justice for the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and all other Black and Brown individuals who have died at the hands of the police. We strongly condemn these acts of racism and injustice that have plagued this country and that still continue today. We recognize that these are not new incidents and that those Black and Brown lives we have named are part of a long list of social injustices throughout history. Black, Brown and Indigenous members of our communities have been active targets of police brutality for too long. These injustices demand allyship, action, and immense compassion from all of us, especially those of us who hold privilege. We affirm our responsibility as a predominantly white and wealthy organization, today and every day, to recognize our privileges, be active participants in the dismantling of oppressive systems, work to be a better ally to marginalized members of our community, and to ensure that their safety and empowerment is a priority.

In addition, we call on members of the community to commit themselves to using their position and privilege to take action by educating themselves on the racism people of color face every day and the reality of police brutality and violent inequities of the criminal justice system. We additionally ask members of the community to donate or volunteer with local social justice and anti-racist organizations as they are able. These are just a few of the corrective steps we can take that are necessary to cultivating an anti-racist culture not only on Grounds, but in our own lives. 

Student Council will be taking immediate action to ensure that Black, Brown, and Indigenous members of the University community will be better protected from racism and biased and brutal policing. These are the steps we will be taking, and we welcome all members of the community to join us as active participants in this effort:

  • We will work with multicultural, diverse student organizations to continue to improve Student Council’s recruitment and outreach efforts to ensure that Student Council is a diverse organization that can better serve and represent all students at the University
  • We will demand a statement from the University Police Department that guarantees a zero-tolerance policy for any stop-and-frisk activities
  • We will work with the University Police Department to ensure that all officers undergo an extensive implicit bias training program and an evidence-based de-escalation training program, and that every officer and police vehicle is equipped with a camera
  • We will distribute know-your-rights guides, modeled after those created by Charlottesville City’s Office of Human Rights, to all students
  • We will lobby for the re-allocation of funding from the University Police Department to non-police emergency resources*
  • We will lobby for increased training and education for members of Housing and Residence Life about how to handle potential police presence in residence halls and keep residents safe
  • The executive board will be donating a portion of our non-SAF funding to the Albemarle-Charlottesville Chapter of the NAACP

*Note: This action item was added on June 4th, 2020 after additional research by the executive team. 

We recognize and acknowledge that these steps are only the first in what must be an ongoing effort to fulfill our organization’s responsibility to be an anti-racist ally, and we plan on continuing to work on these efforts and support the work of others on these issues in the coming year.

We must not let these murders and the anger and passion we feel in this moment die out. Injustice will continue to exist even when it is not headline news every morning; it is our responsibility to continue to be outraged at the daily injustices people of color face, and to be active allies in the fight for justice. Student Council is committing itself to this fight.

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In solidarity,

University of Virginia Student Council