LETTER: In defense of Bert Ellis, Governor Youngkin Board of Visitors appointee
I am writing to express my outrage concerning the University’s Student Council Executive Board statement demanding the immediate resignation of newly appointed Board of Visitors member Bert Ellis. There are many slanderous and inaccurate accusations throughout the statement, but I will cite what I perceive as the most egregious — “From the bondage and abuse experienced by enslaved people, to the violent occupation by Nazis and KKK members, to Bert Ellis — the Lawn is no stranger to racist violence under the guise of “Jeffersonian ideals” in order to maintain power for the white elite. This event reveals the hypocrisy, and thus false pretense, by which Ellis selectively leverages free speech discourse to advance his own political agenda against students.”