Toccara Nelson '19
(she/her/hers)
SBA Secretary
Hello!
Welcome to the new monthly SBA article. We’ve decided to do something a little bit different this year. Instead of using this article to conduct a general discussion of what’s going on at the SBA, we want to use this forum to address student concerns shared in our suggestion box. The box is located in Scott Commons right next to one of the student mailrooms. Students can provide their concerns or suggestions anonymously or share their identity if interested in a direct follow-up response from the SBA.
We encourage students to share their suggestions or concerns through our suggestion box initiative. Members of our student community have amazing ideas and significant concerns about improving the law school’s programming, culture of diversity and inclusion, professional resources, and more. We hope to implement these student ideas at a higher rate through this initiative in order to improve UVA Law’s environment for students.
The SBA hopes that our Unity Social on Thursday, October 26 will be a start in facilitating a better atmosphere of learning for students. The SBA’s socials generally have a goal of bringing students together; however, this Thursday’s social has a special emphasis on promoting unity and supporting marginalized students at the law school. The goal is for all members of our community to come together in the spirit of openness and change, and to take responsibility for the environment on our campus.
While the SBA hopes the social will open doors for students of all backgrounds to engage with each other, we recognize that this event can only be a starting point for ongoing change. The SBA recognizes that this event cannot stand alone in promoting inclusion and hopes to continue implementing programming in the future to foster a positive environment. Furthermore, the SBA would like to recognize that there has been an undue burden placed on marginalized members of our community to make their own space at UVA Law. We want to encourage students of all backgrounds to take responsibility for promoting an inclusive environment in our community by attending the programming that is provided by the huge variety of diverse student groups at UVa Law. We hope that the Unity Social can be but one step in this ongoing effort.
The SBA is committing itself to increasing programming that supports marginalized students and to creating an environment in which all students feel comfortable and empowered at UVa Law. The SBA would also like to encourage all members of our community to step up and combat prejudice and bias at the law school and beyond. The SBA plans to organize meetings with student representatives from all organizations during the spring semester to promote a better environment for diverse students within UVa Law. Again, these initiatives are just starting points in improving our campus community so that all students, not just those who are from non-marginalized communities, are placed in the best position to succeed at UVa Law. We encourage students to offer feedback and suggestions regarding how SBA can further promote inclusion at our school.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns about our future initiatives through our suggestion box, or email sbasecretary@virginia.edu or sbapresident@virginia.edu. Thank you!
---
tmn2aa@virginia.edu