Katharine Janes ‘21
SBA President
Hi all,
It has been quite the month to be a student at UVA Law. When this piece is published, it will have been exactly four weeks since classes went from in-person to online. Since that time, we started taking courses on entirely new platforms; rallied as a student body in support of grading policy changes, against academic policy injustice, and in favor of contract worker wellbeing; and we’ve found new and creative ways to remain engaged with one another. I have been so proud to be a part of the community we occupy and, as SBA President, I am working tirelessly to ensure student voices are heard as decisions are made throughout this time. I wanted to take this chance to outline how SBA has been—and will continue to be—advocating on your behalf.
The transition to online learning has brought to light many structural problems of concern to students, and SBA has heard student feedback loud and clear. In response, SBA plans to undertake a thorough review of the policies and procedures that impact students at UVA Law.
In line with recent conversations with students and SBA, and following the recent charge by Dean Goluboff in the Law Weekly to “[gather] student views to make recommendations to the curriculum and academic review committees,” we plan to form an ad hoc committee that will investigate three key areas of governance at the Law School: academic policies, transparency in decision making, and student representation within the shared governance structure. This working group—comprised of both SBA and non-SBA members—will serve as a conduit for student feedback on these focus areas, and it will work with stakeholders throughout the school to propose effective solutions to the problems that have been brought to light. It will complete this mission with an eye towards increasing transparency, fostering better communication between students and the administration, advocating for marginalized and underrepresented students, and increasing the power of the student voice in decision-making. A comprehensive report will be produced by the end of the summer, to be presented to Deans Goluboff and Kendrick for review and implementation. This project will be seeking student leadership and participation, and more details about the initiative and how to be involved will be coming to your inboxes soon, so please keep an eye out!
SBA committees have also been hard at work to keep students connected with one another during our time apart. SBA Health and Wellness (H&W), led by Page Garbee ’21 and Chance McCraw ’21, recently initiated the Unsung Hero award to draw attention to acts of compassion and thoughtfulness completed by UVA Law students, faculty, and staff. Our first winners—Will Kelly ’21, Jana Ruthberg ’21, and Cat Guerrier ’21—are wonderful models of what UVA collegiality means in practice. H&W’s Care Package Swap and Quarantine Buddy programs have been wonderful community-building additions, and personally, I have loved their weekly recipe suggestions.
SBA Programming (headed by Taz Jones ’20 and Read Mills ’20) recently unveiled the Lawhoos Eat Local initiative, which aims to support local businesses across the country while giving away eighty free meals a week to students. Finally, Programming’s Card and Letter Writing Campaign aims to send love to the contract staff members of the UVA Law family. I have seen firsthand how difficult it is to coordinate and launch events and activities from afar, so to these committees and all members of SBA, thank you for your time, effort, and service over these past few weeks.
As a final, more personal note, I would just like to thank all UVA Law students for your outreach and involvement over these past four weeks. I, like you, have oscillated between feelings of connectivity and isolation, joy and distress, while we have been apart. These circumstances are not easy for anyone to navigate, but through it all, we have rallied around the mission of keeping students' best interest at heart. If you want to be a part of our structural reform efforts, our programming initiatives, or have ideas you would like to see implemented—please email, text, or call me. I love talking through ideas of how SBA can best serve students, and I look forward to working with you. I hope to see you in-person soon, but until then, I will be sending positive vibes to wherever you may be.
All the best,
Katharine
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kmj4vg@virginia.edu