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 President and Vice President 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.
Candidates for President
Chance Maginness
Hello friends! For the many of you that know me, you know how much I love this school and (too probably too great a degree) SBA as well. For those of you who I have yet to meet, allow me to say a few words about why I’m running for President.
If you elect me to be your President, I promise that I will spend every day bringing back what we’ve lost due to the pandemic. I will work tirelessly to revive our community and make it stronger than ever. And I have a few ideas how:
I’ll revive and expand SBA keg socials.
I’ll start a lunch program to encourage more students to stay in the law school.
I’ll start a party pass program to increase social events outside of school.
I’ll work with NGSL to make sure this year’s 1Ls can experience Dandelion and softball.
I’ll bring about better inclusivity trainings for students and faculty.
I’ll centralize the way SBA works so that more students have better access to us and the administration.
And hopefully I can also start a fiction section in the library.
(And a school drag show, if I can swing it.)
I genuinely love this school. I love the people that I’ve met. I love the faculty. I love the arguments and the ideas and the banter and the jokes that we all share. I’ve also loved being in SBA. I have cherished the opportunity to work on behalf of my fellow students over the past two years, and I am proud of the work that I have accomplished through my tenure as SBA Treasurer and through the Governance Reform Report. I have devoted every day of my time here to making this school a more welcoming and fun place for everyone. It is because of that devotion to you all that I’m running for President. I’m not doing this for fun, or to make a point, or because I need the job. I’m doing it simply because I love this school and I care about making sure that you all love it as much as I do.
As such, and really regardless of the outcome, it is my only hope that I can spend my last year here as I have spent my first two - serving all of you.
Chance Maginness ‘22
Katherine O’Neal
I’m Katherine O’Neal and I am running for SBA President. I have served in several different roles in SBA, and my passion for service and my time as a member of SBA has allowed me to advocate for mental health, programming, and wellness initiatives. I sincerely hope that I can continue to be a zealous advocate for all students of UVA Law as President.
While UVA effectively serves many students, a large portion of our student body is underserved and under supported. Collective action is important, and I believe that SBA can do much more with our power and position at the school to fight for equity. I would ensure that SBA serves to amplify and support the initiatives of our affinity groups and use our power to press the administration to make greater changes. My first step would be investigating the gaps in support for diverse students. After soliciting student feedback early in my term, I will move towards creating school-wide programs and push to accelerate current initiatives, such as expanding student and faculty bias training. I will continue to advocate for transparency and accountability from the administration regarding diversity and inclusion efforts.
My second focus is community. At UVA we pride ourselves on the strength of our relationships, but COVID has tested our resolve. I will ensure that finances are not a barrier to participation in events while also planning more frequent school-wide activities to foster cross-class community. One idea I have is a carnival at The Park with food trucks, beverages, and music for the whole community. I would also plan events just for current 1Ls so they get the chance to meet each other and form relationships. Some other ideas I have are a welcome back bar crawl and a Halloween party.
Access, accountability, and transparency between SBA and those that we represent are vital to our mission. Under my administration the executive board would host a bi-annual town hall so the entire student body has ample opportunity to voice opinions and hold exec accountable. I would also push for SBA to be more involved with Main Grounds in order to ensure that our needs are advocated for. COVID has shown us that Main Grounds decision-making has an impact on our lives, and it is important to be represented in those conversations.
Katherine O’Neal ‘22
Niko Orfanedes
It goes without saying that we, as a student body, are at a crossroads. The pandemic continues to take a toll on our mental and physical health. Our viewpoints on critical issues are increasingly at odds. A number of students feel isolated and disconnected from the law school administration – and, in many cases, their fellow classmates. Meanwhile, Reddit posts and GroupMe discussions have highlighted our dire, longstanding need to curate a drastically more diverse and inclusive student body and faculty.
Too often when faced with these challenges, we, the student body, elect to debate for the sake of debating (we are future lawyers, after all). Words alone, however, are not the way forward. Our current state of affairs calls for strong, decisive, and robust action – and that’s where my running mate, Caroline, and I come in.
Together, we are going to ENGAGE with the difficult issues facing our students, EMPOWER the voices of our fellow classmates, and ENRICH your experience as members of the UVA Law community.
With respect to my qualifications, I have been involved in student government throughout my academic career. Prior to law school, I served as Vice President of my high school student body and was an active member of the student government-affiliated leadership community at the University of South Carolina. Currently, I serve as co-chair of the SBA’s Community Engagement Committee, a committee of service-oriented law students dedicated to serving those in need within the UVA, Charlottesville, and Albemarle communities. I am also actively involved with a number of other student organizations on-grounds, and I recently co-captained Team UVA in an extramural, professional basketball arbitration competition.
Additionally – and perhaps most importantly – I have significant, real-world experience as a leader and an advocate. As a college freshman, I successfully lobbied for a more lucrative sales commission for all minimum-wage employees of a multi-state corporation. More recently, while working post-grad as a marketing strategist at a corporate resort, I advocated for improved working conditions and compensation benefits for front-of-house employees, and, in recognition of my leadership, I was honored as the resort’s first-ever employee-of-the-year in its twenty-five years of operation.
At the end of the day, I am not a politician. Rather, I am a man of action. As your President, I will listen to, advocate for, and collaborate with you each and every day. Together, we can accomplish something truly special.
Niko Orfanedes ‘22 (right)
Candidates for Vice President
The following statements from the Vice Presidential Candidates are unedited, so that you may consider the candidates based on their own work.
Elizabeth Kruse
I am running for Vice President because I want to give back to the upcoming 3L class and the law school as a whole. As Vice President, my primary duties would be planning graduation and other celebratory events for the 3L class. My great hope is that increased vaccination will allow these celebrations to take place in person, however as VP I will do my best to bring together the class in the safest and most respectful form available. As a member of the Executive Board, I promise to be a fierce advocate for the student body, ensuring that the Student Bar Association is receptive to student concerns and transparent in our decision-making. I will promote equity and inclusivity in all of our policies and goals, and strive to face difficult problems head-on.
I believe I am qualified to serve in this position because of my long-standing commitment to this school and its betterment. As a 1L Senator I worked hard to bond our class and advocate for our interests on SBA. As the Vice Chair of Transparency for the SBA Governance Committee, I led a team of students in developing policy recommendations to give students greater access to decision-making and important information affecting their time at the law school. As Student Council Representative, I have worked to pass legislation that creates positive change for the entire university and protects student interests during this difficult time. As a Double Hoo, I have spent the past six years in Charlottesville, and have loved calling UVA home. Because I love UVA so much, I can see its flaws clearly, and I am not afraid to advocate for change for the better. I want this place to be the best it can be, and I hope I have the opportunity to work toward that goal as Vice President.
Elizabeth Kruse ‘22
Caroline Spadaro
Today, our community is facing incredible challenges, from the toll of the pandemic on mental health, interpersonal connections, and our law school experience, to students feeling as though their voices are not heard or respected. We are at a critical crossroads and it is the essential role of SBA to pull a seat up to the table for every student organization and every individual to be sure their voices are represented and acted upon.
Should we be elected to serve you, my running mate, Niko, and I will work tirelessly with SBA and the administration to build a community in which each student sees a reflection of the inclusivity, collegiality, and values that brought us to call this school home. Together, we will ENGAGE with the difficult issues facing our students, EMPOWER the voices of our fellow students, and ENRICH your experience as members of the UVA Law community.
Having served as a 2L Senator and a First-Year Council representative, I have seen the triumphs and adversity our peers have faced and am well prepared to work with my fellow executive board members, senators, and student organizations to zealously advocate for this community’s best interests.
As Panhellenic President at the University of South Carolina, I led a community of over 4,200 women, facilitating philanthropic efforts and community-wide educational, social, and professional programming, maintaining a high standard of engagement from all member organizations. The skills built in managing the roles of my executive board members would translate incredibly well into building cohesive and productive teams to ensure that each SBA committee is operating individually and collectively to their highest service of the student body. I also helped to plan the inaugural “Cockstock” Concert at the University of South Carolina, bringing a free Rae Sremmurd performance to campus, which was an incredible success and learning experience in large-scale event organization. As a student member of the University President’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee at South Carolina, I have worked with university administrators, professors, and my peers to face issues in creating a community in which people of different backgrounds and beliefs work together to create a collaborative and welcoming environment for all
Should I be elected to serve as your Vice President, I look forward to working with an equally passionate team to take decisive action on behalf of our students from day one.
Caroline Spadaro ‘22