Presidents of the five largest minority advocacy student groups on Grounds have formed a coalition to strengthen their lobbying power and support a joint agenda.
The group, referred to as the Coalition, began as an informal partnership of the five groups last fall. The Coalition includes the leaders of the Asian Student Union, Black Student Alliance, Latino Student Union, National Organization for Women and the Queer Student Union.
Fourth-year College student Ryan McCarthy, Coalition chairman and former president of the Asian Student Union, said the Coalition was formed to strengthen the voice of the minority community on issues the five groups once confronted separately.
"We saw commonalties in the adversity we faced," McCarthy said.
Calling the group "a great foundation," BSA President Tyler Scriven said while each group is "very particular," it is encouraging that the group can "act as a unified body" on behalf of minorities.
The Coalition, which began meeting informally last fall and now meets bi-weekly in its new office in Newcomb Hall, is calling for major adjustments to the University environment in order to make the Grounds more welcoming to minorities.
One of the specific goals of the Coalition is to ensure that the new student center that may replace Newcomb Hall includes a multicultural center.
McCarthy said the center would offer counseling services for minority students and other programs open to all interested students.
LSU President Daniel Garcia said the center would be a place for cultural clubs to publicize their events and make information available to the University community.
In addition to the non-Western perspectives course requirement for College undergraduates, the Coalition is calling for a "diversity requirement."
Classes that would fulfill the requirement would focus on minority experiences in the United States.
"Students would have to take an African-American Studies class or an Asian-American Studies class," McCarthy said.
McCarthy also has worked in the past to garner support for an Asian-American Studies major at the University.
"A lot of higher ranked schools have [these departments] like Harvard, Berkeley and NYU," he added.
Garcia said his organization has been working tirelessly for a similar Latino American Studies department for several years.
He said he is hopeful that more progress will be made this year because "the process is moving much faster."
While the lack of minority and female faculty is another concern of the Coalition, McCarthy acknowledges the untimely nature of demanding new hires.
"We recognize the hiring freeze," he said. "But, we're presenting the view that students want more minority and female faculty."
Scriven also acknowledged "the bad situation because of budget cuts," but said the University could find more talented minorities here in Charlottesville.
"We have a large pool of black Ph.D. students here at Virginia, but they don't stay," Scriven said. He added that the University "should take care of their own."
The Coalition also endorses candidates for Student Council and the Honor Committee, including sometimes offering financial support to candidates.
McCarthy said the Coalition doesn't simply favor minority candidates but supports students who are "looking out for the minority perspective."
Garcia also said it is important that the candidates' views match the organization's goals.
In addition to its financial resources, the Coalition also draws on its combined membership of "a couple thousand members" for voting support for its favored candidates, McCarthy said.
The presidents also encourage their members to participate in other group's events.
"If you went to any of the NOW events for Love Your Body Week, you would have seen a broad spectrum of students" from groups represented by the Coalition, McCarthy said.
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