Student Council passes budget amendment
By Eileen Powell | December 11, 2021The total fall 2021 budget is $141,115, with $129,190 coming from student activities fees.
The total fall 2021 budget is $141,115, with $129,190 coming from student activities fees.
DivestUVA organized the rally as the December 1 deadline requested in an online petition by the organization eclipsed.
With only 14 members in attendance, the committee did not meet quorum, which requires 19 present members of 28 total.
The program aims to curb financial challenges posed by the University’s requirement that all students not enrolled in health insurance pay for the University's Aetna Student Plan, which cost $3,148 this year.
The proposed tuition increase will be open for public comment during a public forum Dec. 2 and the Board of Visitors will vote on the proposal Dec. 10.
The grants would be available for undergraduate Pell Grant recipients — students whose expected family contribution to college tuition falls below $5,846 — and out-of-state undergraduate students who are eligible for Medicaid in their home states.
At the Oct. 24 meeting, 20 members were in attendance out of a total of 28, but Andy Chambers, Chair of the Committee and fourth-year College student, was ineligible to vote because of his position as Chair. The proposal needed 19 votes in favor and received only 14.
The representative body passed a bill amending the organization’s code of ethics to grant Student Council the regulatory power to temporarily dismiss members who have been accused of violating the University Judiciary Committee’s 12 Standards of Conduct or the Honor Code.
While the proposal did not pass Sunday, there is still opportunity for discussion in the coming weeks. One possibility is for another vote to take place with more members in attendance.
UNOC is a community-based crisis response program that will remove the University Police Department from nonviolent mental health crises involving students.
Student Council will sponsor free Uber and Lyft rides to local early voting sites.
David Yang, fourth-year College student and director of the Internal Student Affairs agency, said the agency would like to increase their winter International Student Activity fund to support international students' wellbeing during winter break.
In response to a question from Johnson about how OAS has impacted members’ time at the University, many students reflected that the organization has provided mentorship, community and a sense of home.
Following the committee finalizing a constitutional proposal, the student body will vote on the proposal in the spring.
Student Council has access to a surplus of funds as a result of low utilization of Student Activities Fee funding by CIOs during the pandemic.
The meeting — which took place Sunday at 7 p.m. in the trial room of Newcomb Hall — allowed for representatives to gauge their fellow members’ thoughts on the usefulness of the informed retraction.
Disorientation was created as a juxtaposition to new student orientation and recognizes and educates students on the history of racism and inequality at the University.
The plan that was approved by the committee would maintain the current single-sanction system in place. However, it would eliminate expulsion as a sanction and would replace it with a two-semester leave of absence.
Elliott encouraged students, workers and community members “serious about dismantling racial capitalism” to read abolitionist works and join organizations like YDSA.
Chambers said he feels these modifications will address problems the student body has with the current system.