This year, the Student Bar Association (SBA) is running contested elections for the President, Vice President, and 3L/2L Senator positions. Each of the candidates’ arguments for 2L Senator are featured below, and voting will be open from Wednesday, March 17 until Friday, March 19. We encourage you to learn more about the debate and the candidates, as well as exercise your right to vote for your upcoming SBA representatives!
These statements are presented unedited so that you may consider the candidates based on their own work.
Cassie Stanton Cox
Hello, I’m Cassie, and I’m running for 2L Senator because I genuinely enjoy speaking to and spending time with our class. As a 1L Senator, I was vocal in SBA meetings to get extended library hours and breaks for the sake of 1L sanity. I will continue advocating for our class by fighting for more support for public interest students and hosting 2L town halls.
I have a background in event planning, so I’m excited to help plan Barristers and Bar Review. My main priority will be unifying events for 2Ls. I hope to help host a Welcome Back event and events in Spies. Whether you elect me or not, I plan to be the first one in the door to gatherings like these so I can meet more of you. I hope you choose me to represent you as a 2L Senator as we seek unity in our class!
Cassie Stanton ‘23
Clint Roscoe
I’m running for 2L Senator because I want to bring our class closer together. I ran for and was elected to a 1L Senator position because I expressed a desire to engage directly with the 2L and 3L class about what the law school is like during “normal” times. I wanted to hear about the regular, day-to-day social operations of the law school, in the hopes that we might be able to return to that when the pandemic was nearing its end.
Pandemic precautions like social distancing and masking are as important as ever, but I remain confident that these requirements will not outlast our time here at UVA. Extracurricular events, student atmosphere, and (to borrow our school’s favorite phrase) a collegial environment, are part of the reason I chose UVA, and I’m guessing they’re a big reason that you’re here as well.
Clint Roscoe ‘23
Holly Bard
1L has posed unique challenges for us all—journal tryouts and internship hunting on top of regular classwork is stressful enough without the social isolation that a pandemic requires. My platform, Here & Beyond, is uniquely tailored to these challenges.
The first phase, Here, focuses on utilizing our budget to provide the types of wellness resources we need through the rest of a challenging Spring semester. For example, as an elected representative on First Year Council, I’m spearheading an initiative to get free Headspace memberships for our entire class.
The next phase, Beyond, is about making up for lost time. Many of us were attracted to UVA Law by its reputation as “the fun T14.” Once social distancing restrictions are relaxed in the Fall semester, I want to program as many social events as possible so we can see the fun side of UVA Law for ourselves.
Holly Bard ‘23
John Brown
Look, I’ve never been involved in student government. In college I didn’t think any group of students could accomplish anything important for a student body of over twenty thousand. But the smaller size of the law school makes me believe that the SBA can actually markedly improve the experience of everyone at the law school. I hope to be able to help the school bounce back from this Zoom filled year in my role as a senator and see what the limits of what the SBA can accomplish are!
Jack Brown ‘23
Juhi Desai
I think my platform can be boiled down to one word - community. I’m interested in being an SBA senator because I care about the law school community and I’m interested in helping serve it. I consider myself an ally and an advocate and I think I’d do a good job as senator of listening to our peers, really hearing what they need to feel supported and safe and then making those things happen. I love planning events which would be great for the programming portion of SBA and I also love talking to people which would be great for the advocacy side of SBA. I just want everyone in law school to be vibing and feel comfortable and supported here and I hope to help with that as a senator.
Juhi Desai ‘23
Mita Ramani
Hi, UVA Law! My name is Mita Ramani, and I am running for 2L Senator. Over the past year, I have had the honor of serving as your 1L Senator. Our class has faced unprecedented challenges. Yet, we have persevered, and our success during 1L is a testament to our resilience. As your 2L Senator, I hope to plan events that give our class the chance to foster deeper connections, explore the Charlottesville community, and frankly just have more fun (Bar Review and Barristers anyone?!). I also hope to work closely with the Diversity Committee and new Assistant Diversity Dean to push forward new initiatives to make UVA Law a more inclusive and equitable community. I deeply appreciate how working in SBA has given me the opportunity to voice student’s concerns to the administration and SBA at large, and I hope to continue this work next year.
Mita Ramani ‘23
Riley Segars
My name is Riley Segars, and I am running for 2L Senator. During my first term, I carved for myself a position where I was able to raise many concerns from students that the law school often overlooked. For example, I helped make sure that the bookstore accommodated overseas and remote students by advocating for extending the deadline for when books had to be returned after first semester. Going into 2L, I plan to keep this mentality of looking out for all the people of the Class of 2023. SBA is meant to advocate for the needs of every student, including those who, like me, have no idea what the heck is going on and are just faking it until they make it. As such, I will continue to advocate for flexibility and adaptability, especially given the uncertainty of how the law school will be next year.
Riley Segars ‘23
Trevor Floyd
None of us got the UVA experience we expected this year. That means we have to go double next year, for everyone in our class and especially for the people who will be showing up to Charlottesville for the first time as 2Ls. Keggers in Spies? Yes. Softball? Yes. Admitted Stu – er, Matriculated Students Weekend? Yes! Your great idea? Sure, we’ll do that too! We can make this whatever we want it to be, so why hold back?
Rebuilding the UVA Law community – in fact, making it better – has to happen fast and it has to include everyone. In my previous life, I produced theatre, which means I am used to working with a diverse team of people, making money go far, and successfully pulling off the impossible. So if building an even better UVA Law seems impossible, then I’m your guy.
Trevor Floyd ‘23