Charlottesville Residents,
University of Virginia President James Ryan,
University of Virginia Members of the Board of Visitors,
University of Virginia Administrators, Faculty and Staff,
University of Virginia Alumni and Student Body,
In light of the one-year anniversary of the alt-right’s domestic terrorist attack, the NAACP at UVa would like to voice its concerns about events from the past few days at the University, particularly in regards to student safety and well-being.
On his first day upon taking office, President Ryan affirmed and hailed the hiring of Marc Short as the “right call“, an appointment that resulted in TWO university professor stepping down from their positions at the Miller Center for Public Affairs. He says in a quote from the Washington Post: “I have found, in my own academic life in particular, but also in my personal life, that I’ve often learned the most from people with whom I strongly disagree.“ This sentiment is troubling in this context as it conveys legitimacy and a member of Trump’s administration, one that, needless to say, has enabled the actions of white supremacist last year.
Also equally troubling is the assignment of multitudes of state police to live in student quarters without advanced notice. The official email stating that this was going to occur happened at almost 9:30 PM on August 8th, many hours after students had noticed the increased police presence and the officers moving in. We understand the need for safety within the coming days but doing so without community input and without allowing students to make other arrangements if necessary is unacceptable. Students of various races, legal statuses and experiences with law enforcement – including those that were present and harmed during the events of last summer- are still on grounds: control cannot be at the expense of students’ mental health.
The administration cannot state that they want to work with and protect students of color at UVa while simultaneously taking actions that actively harm them. We urge the administration to acknowledge that the militarization of grounds make students feel unsafe. There must be steps taken to ensure that they did not unduly target students. We hope that, through increased and improve communication between students and University administration, we as a community can take proactive measures in transparently addressing issues and events concerning the student population. In this way, we can ensure that marginalized communities feel secure enough to be involved in any decisions that concern them.
Our main priority is to foster an inclusive safety, the sort that does not cater to or tolerate this sort of hatred, bigotry, and violence is Paul’s to buy white supremacy.
We urge safety in the coming days, and always.
Yours in resistance,
Montae Taylor
President, NAACP at UVa
Virginia State Conference of the NAACP
National Youth & College Division of the NAACP
The undersigned fully support and empathize the sentiment addressed in this letter.
Signed: DREAMers On Grounds, United For Undergraduate Socioeconomic Diversity, Black Student Alliance At UVa, Minority Rights Coalition At UVa, Latinx Student Alliance at UVa, Middle Eastern Leadership Council, Native American Student Union at UVa, Muslim Student Association at UVa, Kentucky State Youth and College Division of the NAACP, Virginia State Chapter of the NAACP, Binghamton University Chapter of the NAACP, Grand Rapids NAACP Youth Council, the State University of New York at Albany Chapter of the NAACP, the Syracuse University Chapter of NAACP, the Mississippi State Conference Youth and College Division of the NAACP, the Quinnipiac University Chapter of the NAACP, NAACP at Brooklyn College Chapter, Johnson C. Smith University Chapter.