abCD Magazine Vol. 3, Issue 2

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CONTENTS G

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Words by Ella Fesler Illustrations and Design

by Ellery Huffman Page 22

Words by Maria Aguilar Prieto Illustrations and Design

by Lexie Gagnon Page 30

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Words by Mimi Lamarre Illustrations by Jasmine Wang Design by Kyndal Harrison Page 36

Words by Acacia McCabe Design by Kyndal Harrison Page 42

oing Global, Starting Local

Words by Vani Agarwal Illustrations by Melinda Wong Design by Lucy Gilbert Page 5

he student, social and self: Stressors on mental health at U.Va.

ersonal Stories of Love And Friendship During COVID-19

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he Legacy of Eugenics at U.Va.

Words by Jack Morgan Illustrations and Design

by Jaeger Lajewski Page 16

harlottesville affordable housing crisis: a long time coming

ommunity paves the way for diversity and equity at the University

FALL 2021 CONTRIBUTORS Editors: Vani Agarwal Kyndal Harrison Photos: Denise Brookman-Amissah Spreads and Graphics: Lexie Gagnon Lucy Gilbert Kyndal Harrison Jaeger Lajewski Writers: Vani Agarwal Ria Aguilar Ella Fesler Mimi Lamarre Acacia McCabe Jack Morgan

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LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Dear Readers,

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his section has seen many changes since its inception in 2017, and those changes have always been for the better. Over the course of the year, abCD Magazine has transitioned from a quarterly to a bi-annual publication. We felt this was necessary in order to tell stories that are deserving of investigation and research. abCD Magazine holds the profound belief that there cannot be progress towards a better tomorrow without acknowledgment of our collective past. We hope these stories inspire our readers to reflect on past injustices, misgivings and prejudices so that we all can move forward towards a safer and more equitable world. From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank our in-house staff for their tireless efforts, commitment and patience over this past semester. We would like to thank the Cavalier Daily Production Staff for their support and collaboration throughout this journey of publishing this issue. Lastly, we would like to thank our sources for allowing us to tell their stories.

Without them, we could never bring our readers these amazing stories. Thank you for your continued support of abCD Magazine. Happy reading.

Vani Agarwal & Kyndal Harrison

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Going Global, Starting Local Global service-oriented CIOs try to maximize impact while minimizing the harm they could do abroad Words by Vani Agarwal Illustrations by mELINDA wong Design by Lucy Gilbert

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he University has over 800 student organizations — students can choose to involve themselves in the arts, debate, advocacy, politics, sports, dance and far more.

A focus for many groups, however, is service.

Students volunteer their time to support local, national and even global causes. Despite these efforts, professors, fellow students and external communities voice ethical concerns with students volunteering outside the University community. In particular, issues with power dynamics and the long-term impacts of student volunteering have yet to be addressed at a large scale.

Going global United2Heal is a CIO that donates unused medical supplies to under-resourced health systems overseas. It’s president is Narjes Bencheikh, a public health graduate student. “[We donate things] from blankets to syringes to blood pressure cuffs and gauze … anything that can’t go bad,” Bencheikh said.

“We’ve worked with Haiti, Syria and refugee camps in Jordan.”

The group contacts local hospitals in Charlottesville — and more recently in Northern Virginia — to determine whether clinics have excess medical supplies. Members then collect those supplies alongside a sister chapter at Virginia Commonwealth University and ship them overseas to various clinics.

Another student group, Student Entrepreneurs for Economic Development, works with global clients long-term. SEED is affiliated with the McIntire School of Commerce and Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.

Enrique Unruh, SEED’s co-vice president of projects and third-year College student, is responsible for connecting students with clients in need of pro-bono consulting.

SEED offers consulting services which range from aiding in the design of products, writing grants, developing client websites and giv6

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ing financial management advice. The group’s partners include organizations like PureMadi — which created an inexpensive water filter for communities in South Africa — social-entrepreneurship ventures all around the world and local foundations in Charlottesville.

“We prioritize organizations that are more focused on impact rather than profit and provide them with assistance,” Unruh said.

While SEED members work with clients for months or even years at a time, students rarely travel to the areas they support.

Alternatively, Engineers Going Global develops technology for global use while encouraging students to actually travel abroad to build infrastructure and implement that technology.

“Our mission is to inspire students to be proactive and contextually aware engineers who empower and strengthen communities to achieve a higher standard of living,” said fourth-year Engineering student Kyle Limpic, EGG’s president.

One of EGG’s current projects is the Rapid Adaptive Needs Assessment kit — a project advised by their faculty sponsor Dr. Garrick Louis and Professor of Engineering Systems. It is a portable, lightweight water quality testing device that can assess whether water is safe for drinking. The ultimate goal is to deploy the kits after natural disasters when clean water is often inaccessible.

EGG is also working with the Charlottesville EcoVillage Sustainable Design Team to design sustainable housing materials and the Building Goodness Foundation to renovate homes, schools, clinics and community spaces in Posta Azul, Guatemala.

These are just a few examples of the many student-run CIOs which work globally. Others include Global Medical Brigades, Global Medical Mission Alliance, the Hera Initiative, the Blossom Together Association and more. There are also larger, national groups such as Alternative Spring Break and classes or study abroad opportunities that include a global volunteer

experience.

University students travel and work all over the world collecting donations, building infrastructure and volunteering, but what exactly is the impact of students’ work in these communities? And, even more importantly, is it beneficial?

History of Development Countless documentaries, books, podcasts and academic endeavors have tried to determine whether service work in global communities truly serves those whom it is meant to serve. The history of global development is complicated, and the ways in which it has evolved are complex.

Global Development Professor David Ed-

term used to describe when Western countries use economic policy and globalization to retain a colonial control of former colonies. Additionally, colonialism, and now, neocolonialism, has led to the spread of Western ideals and traditions and the devaluation of Eastern traditions and knowledge. Today, the development field continues to be ingrained in those same colonial mindsets.

“Development is framed as those in the West being the ultimate standard for what a good life is and what a developed society looks like and their noblesse oblige is to help poor countries get to the same place that they are,” Edmunds said. “The dominant development institutions, and I think that includes the Gates Foundation and the Clinton Foundation … they’re still steeped in that legacy of Western superiority

“WHAT EXACTLY ARE THE IMPACTS OF STUDENTS’ WORK IN THESE COMMUNITIES?” munds explained the development field is in many ways a response to decolonization after World War II. During the competitive Cold War environment, “governments in Western Europe and the United States are wondering how they’re going to maintain influence [once colonies] get their independence,” Edmunds said.

One way Western countries — often referred to as the Global North — sought to maintain control was through Structural Adjustment Programs. These loans, provided by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, came with policy caveats — for example, requiring that states cut back on public spending in health and education. At the same time, SAPs put the Global South — non-Western countries — in crippling debt that many countries are still working to pay off. These loans remain one of the primary reasons for enduring financial and developmental disparities between the Global North and the Global South.

SAPs are a form of neocolonialism — a

[and] American exceptionalism.”

The disparity of wealth and sovereignty between the Global North and the Global South has created power imbalances. Students must be aware of these disparities when working outside of the University community.

“Most students come into the University with the conventional service-learning model where [we feel that] we have knowledge and resources to go help poor people somewhere in the ways that we find easy and amenable,” said Edmunds. “Some of what we have to do at the University is to get students to question that [almost] missionary attitude towards engagements with the Global South.”

The exchange mindset Questioning the conventional service-learning model that Edmunds references is the first step in examining the work students do abroad and the relationships that facilitate their work.

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Professor Phoebe Crisman, director of the dents should not work outside of their comGlobal Studies program and professor of archi- munity—rather, she thinks students should be tecture and sustainability often facilitates this deeply reflective of their work. examination.

“Start by asking yourself why you’re there,” Crisman said. “What is your role in that place?

What do you bring to it [and] what do you hope “SOME OF WHAT WE HAVE TO DO to take from it? How is that exchange established?”

AT THE UNIVERSITY IS TO LET

STUDENTS TO QUESTION THAT In sickness and in health [ALMOST] MISSIONARY ATTITUDE TOWARDS ENGAGEMENTS WITH THE When thinking about the flaws of development, one of the most important considerations GLOBAL SOUTH.” — Prof. David Edmunds

“I don’t like [the] service paradigm, because it suggests that you’re just giving rather than also taking something,” Crisman said. “In any relationship, everyone is gaining something and giving something and feeling good about that exchange.”

This long and tumultuous history of globalism is missing that key paradigm of reciprocity, Crisman said.

“There are groups at U.Va. doing really important work that establish meaningful long-term relationships,” Crisman said. “So I don’t think we should discount the possibility of developing a good relationship.”

Students bring skills and labor into a community, but the community also gives students insight into a unique culture and lifestyle. That type of equal exchange of knowledge and ideas is very positive, Crisman said, but there is a major issue of power — a power imbalance means students are taking control of a project without making room for community guidance and leadership.

However, Crisman doesn’t think that power dynamics mean that stu8

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is whether the work being done is short-term or long-term. Short-term work can be invaluable — for example, donating food and giving vaccines saves lives. This kind of service work rarely results in permanent change to the systems responsible for depriving people of food and medicine.

Water inaccessibility in developing countries is an example of the failures of short-term development work. Non-governmental orga-

nizations install water pumps, train a group of people to use them and leave. After a few years, the pump almost always breaks down, but the non-governmental organization has already moved on and the pump remains a relic of a failed development project.

This cyclic failure is because NGOs don’t cooperate with the residents and governments of the areas they work in. They fail to be held accountable for the consequences of their actions. NGOs from the Western world act as saviors — they go into communities and think they can do better, but often leave those communities worse off.

Faulty water pumps are not isolated incidents by any means — there are stories of crumbling orphanages and untouched shoe donations.

“That’s often because there isn’t a long-term, capacity-building relationship,” Crisman said.

“It’s kind of a one-time ‘We’re gonna come in and give you this and then we’re gonna leave.’

The bi-annual student activities fair allows CIOs to advertise their work to prospect members.

Domenick Fini | The Cavalier Daily

But do students contribute to this? Are students helping in sickness, but never contributing to the reclamation of health?

Limipic is confident that Engineers Going Global has a positive impact on the communities they are working in.

“BENCHEIKH HERSELF HAS NEVER TRAVELED TO ANY OF THE CLINICS UNITED2HEAL DONATES TO AND MOST MEMBERS HAVE NEVER SPOKEN TO A REPRESENTATIVE FOR THOSE CLINICS.” “We strongly believe, as students that are a part of a service-oriented CIO at U.Va., that we have a responsibility to effectively put our technical skills, backgrounds, training and expertise to good use by finding innovative solutions to obvious problems,” Limpic said. “If [EGG] can positively impact some community in some way, regardless of the scale or future business opportunities, we have accomplished our mission.”

Additionally, EGG utilizes what they call an engineering perspective where engineers will identify an issue that needs to be solved, and then come up with a feasible and reasonable solution under the circumstances of the community they are working with. The engineering perspective requires that engineers take the lead — a position Crisman criticizes. A relationship in which students are taking lead is by definition a relationship that is not reciprocal.

While Limpic feels that EGG benefits communities to the best of its ability, Bencheikh recognized that United2Heal’s work only addresses a short-term need. “[The clinics] are able to get access to medical supplies that they may not readily have on hand,” Bencheikh said. “In the long term, the only downside is [that] we don’t want them to be dependent on our work since it’s not neces9

sarily sustainable, and it does fluctuate depending on whether clinics and hospitals are able to donate medical supplies.”

Despite filling a short-term need, United2Heal has maintained relationships with clinics since the group’s start six years ago. These partnerships are established via United2Heal’s national organization, while local chapters do local outreach and supply collection.

Bencheikh herself has never traveled to any of the clinics United2Heal donates to and most members have never spoken to a representative for those clinics. Still, the very fact that United2Heal has long-term relationships indicates a level of success, and according to Bencheikh, it’s because United2Heal really tries to listen to the needs of partner clinics.

“I know a lot of other organizations just go into a country, do what they think is right and

then leave,” Bencheikh said. “But we’re really trying to cater to [our clinic’s] needs, and let them lead the process.”

Likewise, SEED tries to support its clients.

“We do a good job of creating a balance,” Enrique Unruh said. “We really do our best to understand the spaces we’re taking up in a global setting ... prioritizing the client and the local [community].”

Still, Unruh expressed it is difficult to tell what impact development groups have on the communities that they are working in.

“I have a very, very high opinion of the groups [SEED] works with, and I think that they are legitimately attempting a positive change within the communities that they come from,” Unruh said. “But I will say that’s only in the short term. Long term, everything’s a little bit up for grabs. I don’t know what externalities

The pandemic has revealed health disparities both abroad and domestically.

Denise Brookman-Amissah | The Cavalier Daily 10

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are potentially being created.”

While he hopes SEED’s impact is good, neither Unruh nor anyone else in SEED can be sure whether their work will be good in the long run.

Nonetheless, uncertainty over the outcomes of work abroad does not necessarily mean it should stop.

“You have to start somewhere,” Crisman said. “ I think starting with the intention that it’s not a situation of dropping in for a few weeks and then never coming back again, but really starting to build those relationships. Actually, I would say building them prior [traveling].”

Reexamination and revision For Edmunds, the ideal initiative is one formed in response to a very specific request or need from a community that the University or its students already have connections to — even if it means the CIO might not last forever.

“The Type A personalities at U.Va. want to start their own thing, and it’s a really problematic part of this culture,” said Edmunds. “As a white cisgender man, our best position politically is often to follow and to listen. It is often to do what somebody else asks us to do and not to start our own thing.

None of the prior three CIOs were formed in response to a specific need, and they certainly are not thinking about dissolving any time soon.

Still, there are other changes Bencheikh wants to see from United2Heal.

“I think the biggest thing is trying to find a more sustainable way to have those clinics overseas have access to the supplies that they need,” Bencheikh said. “I think what we’ve seen throughout the pandemic is that [our work] is so dependent on the state of the United States, and that’s not necessarily fair. I also think we could always go for more partnerships.”

Changes recommended by Bencheikh primarily focused on improving the structure of

United2Heal and expanding its reach globally.

Bencheikh said she had never considered donating medical supplies domestically, but when asked, said she recognized the value in donating supplies from resource-rich to resource-poor areas within the U.S.

“[THE] POWER DYNAMIC HAS TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.” — Prof. Phoebe Crisman “This need has especially been seen throughout the pandemic when it came to PPE,” Bencheikh said. “So I think that [the pandemic] really highlighted that there could be a potential need here in America as well. So in the future, there might be a shift, but it’s never really been considered.”

United2Heal may not be considering local work at the moment, but both SEED and Engineers Going Global are either considering or have started working with local partners in Charlottesville in conjunction with their global partnerships. “[SEED] probably should begin to transition to working a little bit more locally,” Unruh said. “Being separate [from international clients] does change the dynamic a lot, especially considering that the communities we’re serving, we’ve never actually been to. There’s a couple of degrees of separation … [so] we’re never going to be able to provide the perfect assistance.”

Things to consider Still, Limpic feels that global experiences are beneficial, and that students should utilize their skills to help communities around the world.

“Leveraging the resources and education provided to students uniquely positions us to engage in community service both locally and 11

quires Crisman’s questions be asked time and time again as leadership changes and time goes on. It takes work to avoid disrespect, and Crisman believes consistent and regularly reinforced education is one way to do this work.

“I think any person entering another cultural space is not going to be perfectly aware of what they’re doing no matter how many conversations or lived The International Studies Office offers cultural awareness courses before studying or interning abroad. experiences they’ve Denise Brookman-Amissah | The Cavalier Daily had,” Unruh said. “So globally,” Limpic said. “EGG believes that stuI think it kind of comes dent engagement is the driving force in suc- down to maybe more acknowledging that, and cessful U.Va. sponsored service projects.” being able to like kind of practice a radical unCrisman agreed that there is value in global derstanding of solidarity.” experiences for both the visiting and receiving Unfortunately, it takes time to learn about parties. However, Crisman also said that the different cultural spaces and even more time to power dynamic must be taken into consider- develop an awareness of radical solidarity. Stuation when students are participating in global dents can educate themselves with academic engagement. classes, but these classes may not fit into stuCrisman noted students, especially those dents’ schedules and majors. from the U.S., must recognize they are in a po“[United2Heal] does attract a lot of like presition of privilege especially as they navigate med students that are majoring in biology or global engagement. chemistry that wouldn’t have access to global “[Students] are able to receive this kind of studies or public health courses necessarily,” higher education,” Crisman said. “They’re able Bencheikh said. somehow to financially allow themselves to Edmunds and Crisman both say that all travel to another country or another place. They CIO’s should consider the ethics of their work, may be receiving student aid or other ways to educate their members, and engage in critical allow that to happen, but, still, it’s very much a reflection. But none of these CIOs engage their privileged position.” membership in that educational work.

This privilege makes it easy to infantilize Educating students through CIOs is chalthe populations they are working with or disre- lenging, especially as leadership graduates. The gard the cultures and people they interact with current system requires older members to eduaccording to Crisman. cate their younger members and future leaderEnsuring that a CIO’s work is ethical re- ship. Edmunds noted that this system does not 12

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always work, though. CIOs can lose sight of their mission as leadership transitions, and faculty and community members need to step in to ensure that the relationship remains respectful and reciprocal.

That being said, Edmunds feels students are getting better at critiquing themselves and their peers.

“As I’ve been here students have gotten progressively better about questioning their motivations, thinking carefully about what they’re doing [and] trying to build more kind of respectful reciprocal meaningful relationships,” Edmunds said. “They just need to trust their instincts and follow through on those inclinations.”

Becheickh sees the need for membership education within United2Heal. “I think it would be a good idea to sort of have an introductory session talking about the impact and the spaces that we work in,” she said. “If you are doing work globally, there might be a requirement that your CIO has to do a training or seminar for all new members once a year.”

Bencheikh suggested these trainings could be facilitated by faculty and enforced via Student Council, but Crisman preferred a more grassroots approach to membership education.

“Ultimately, each CIO is somewhat different and their goals are different,” Crisman said.

Crisman recommended CIOs leverage faculty advisors to create a code of ethics and ed-

ucate members about the work they are doing and the communities they are entering.

Both Crisman and Edmunds said CIOs shouldn’t stop at University faculty for advising — rather, they should include community members for the areas they are serving and alumni in their advising groups.

Starting local Crisman and Edmunds offered an example of this type of long-term, responsive and deeply reflective work through a project completed via a seminar they co-instructed in the Architecture School and Global Studies Department. The students worked on designing a cultural center for the Dakota tribe in South Dakota.

The two professors partnered with a non-profit called Nisto Incorporated, which is directed by Dustina Gill from the Lake Travis reservation. Gill provided students with text about the history, culture and beliefs of the Dakota tribe, and facilitated conversations between the class and tribe members via Skype.

Students learned about the reservation, the history of the tribe’s displacement from Minnesota to South Dakota, issues of tribal sovereignty, and some of the powerful leadership and activism emerging from the community. Students Students must educate themselves about the areas and contexts they are entering.

Denise Brookman-Amissah | The Cavalier Daily

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Students worked closely with residents in the Lake Travis Reservation in the design of the cultural center.

Photo courtesy Dustina Gill

alert them to the issue of listening, they’re actually pretty good at it.”

Once this paradigm of listening first was established, the design process was very collaborative.

“We were trying to set up an exchange kind of relationship,” Crisman said. “Rather than designing the building before we arrived and saying, ‘okay, here, what do you think,’ we brought our drawings and model building materials with us. [We] worked together on collaborative design.”

Of course, students did not master the skill of following on day one.

“The architects and engineers were listening and listening to the proposals that the Dakota folks were making,” Edmunds said. “But the Dakota really wanted rounded shapes, and the architects kept resisting and resisting and resisting.”

After some reflection, the architects realized that the reason they did not want a rounded building was that all their designs and building materials were for a square building. However, once this subconscious feeling was verbalized,

spent a semester learning about the community and speaking with community members before traveling to South Dakota, where they were hosted by the tribe.

When they arrived, students spent the first few days learning from the tribe in-person.

“We gave them a cultural experience so they would understand first-hand what we were talking about,” said Gill. Students helped to scrape a buffalo hide, heard the Dakota’s creation stories from the elders, and visited Gill’s father in the Earth house. “It really helped them understand how to move forward on designing the building,” Gill said.”

This was a diverse group of students made up of engineers, Global Studies and Architecture students — and their diversity in training meant that for some the act of listening before solving wasn’t a refined skill.

“We had to do a lot of that labor undoing their architect [or] engineer instincts to define [the problem] on day one and solve it on day two,” Edmunds said.

“I will say they caught on pretty fast. I don’t want to throw shade Everyone had a seat at the table in the imagination at engineers and architects beand design of the cultural center. cause I actually think once you Photo courtesy Dustina Gill 14

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embraces the reciprocity mindset where all parties bring unique but valuable skills to the table to achieve one common goal.

It is easy to come into global development work with an “intentions are everything” mindset, but good intentions are no longer enough — beneficial development work requires humility, education and constant reflection. Many students and CIOs must take up this educational and accountability work, and it is clear that experts and leaders are ready to support this transition. It’s time to get started.

Photo courtesy Dustina Gill

the students were able to re-attempt the designs with rounded spaces.

“It’s a good example for me how… unconscious some of these prejudices that we hold are,” Edmunds said. “And how much time, work, communication and collaborative planning needs to go into these relationships so that we don’t simply reproduce traditional hierarchies.”

The design process took a year — far longer than a summer or a spring break. But it also ensured that students entered the space with gravity, and likewise treated their work with the respect it required. Additionally, the students respected the lived experiences of the people living within the tribe making efforts to learn from them and then later engaging them in the design process.

“It’s about being really open rather than imposing your will on others,” Crisman said. “[It] requires a different kind of mindset than we typically use, which is that somehow we’re expected to know the answers to everything.

This is a case where you actually don’t know, and the goal is not to know but to be open to possibilities and to learn from others.”

At no point are students ever “serving” the community. Gill’s work with the University

Students engaged in cultural exchange and learned from residents of the community.

Photo courtesy Dustina Gill 15

The legacy of eugenics at U.Va. A look into the University’s past and issues it raises today Words by Jack Morgan Illustrations and Design by Jaeger Lajewski

In a majority opinion written in 1927 for the Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote that “if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility,” it would be “better” if “society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind.”

This case ushered in a form of legal sterilization into the U.S. After the Supreme Court deemed the practice constitutional, over 30 states adopted laws allowing for the legal forced sterilization of individuals society deemed “unfit” to reproduce.

From 1924 to 1979, an estimated 8,000 people were sterilized in the Commonwealth of Virginia alone.

This infamous court case involved 17year old Carrie Buck, a Charlottesville local.

After Buck was assaulted and impregnated, the Supreme Court used the case as an opportunity to constitutionalize eugenic practices that were already occurring within Virginia.

Holmes’ majority opinion reflects white America’s push to uphold a racial hierarchy through sentiments of biological inferiority, which included a wide range of supposed deficiencies from “feeble-mindedness” to physical inferiority. The victims of the resulting sterilizations usually in- women accused of promiscuity. cluded impoverished communities, prisoners and Paul Lombardo, law professor at Georgia 16

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State University, went to the University’s School of Law, where he became increasingly interested in the University’s connection to the eugenics movement and Buck’s Supreme Court case.

While at the University, Lombardo investigated documents from lawyers representing the Virginia State

books on the topic of eugenics, eventually leading him to meet Buck herself.

“I drove out there right after Christmas and spent some time talking to her and one of her friends,” Lombardo said. “She was willing to say how she got involved in the case. She said that [her foster parent’s nephew] essentially assaulted her and [took] advantage of her.”

Carrie Buck passed away Jan. 28, 1983 — just three weeks after Lombardo met her.

Eugenics at U.Va. and in Charlottesville

Colony for the Epileptics and Feebleminded — a chief site for sterilizations at the time. This line of investigation led him to write several articles and

In many ways, Buck’s story embodies Charlottesville’s history of racism and eugenics. While the Buck v. Bell court case had national implications, Buck’s hometown was an epicenter of eugenic sentiments long before she was born.

Anthropology Prof. Getrude Fraser described how eugenic sentiments can be traced back to Thomas Jefferson, the University’s founder and the nation’s third president.

“Jefferson’s idea was that African Americans were an inferior race that could not have abstract thoughts … and that there were scientific reasons for structural inequities,” Fraser said.

Though more than 4,000 enslaved Black laborers lived, built and maintained the University, Jefferson also directly enslaved more than 600 individuals throughout the course of his life at his home of Monticello.

Eugenic sentiments can also be traced through to notable former University president Edwin Alderman, the namesake of Alderman Library. Alderman served as the first president of the Univer17

sity from 1905 until his death in 1931.

“Alderman began to recruit scientists from across the country, many of whom were practicing eugenics,” Fraser said. “He began to create a kind of University of Virginia as a hub for the best in science — the best in eugenic science.”

The University’s biology department originated within this context — its founder Ivey Lewis adhered to and taught eugenicist ideas. Research conducted by University faculty at the time supported disastrous national laws ranging from the Racial Integrity Act, which prohibited interracial marriage, and the Eugenical Sterilization Act, which followed the Buck v. Bell case. The work of eugenists at the University also provided the ideological groundwork for over 400,000 sterilizations performed in Germany under Nazi leadership.

Biology Prof. Keith Kozminski explained how eugenic sentiments were not simply confined to figures like Alderman or Lewis.

“In the first half of the 20th century, eugenics was a required course,” Kozminski said. “We did not leave U.Va. without taking mandatory returns, so this was not a few isolated faculty who happened to have a very distinct take on science. To do this was a really institutional endeavor.”

Kozminski said how researching the history of the University felt when he first received his teaching position.

“When I came to U.Va., no one gave me a tour of Grounds and said, ‘oh, here’s all the eugenics that’s happening.’” Kozminski said. “It’s not in the brochures.”

Likewise, the layout of the U.Va. Health was also created with “both genetic and economic models in place,” Fraser added.

“The African wards were actually the basement of what they used to 18

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Carrie Buck was from Charlottesville Lucy Gilbert | The Cavalier Daily

call the old hospital,” Fraser said.

Although it is no longer segregated, this section of the hospital was kept in horrid conditions for patients of color.

“In the community, [it] was known as a place that you went to die,” Fraser said.

Addressing the past As these echoes of the University’s past can be found anywhere one goes on Grounds, the question of how Charlottesville and the University should interact with its history moving forward is essential to navigate. Acknowledging its central role in the eugenics movement, the University’s biology department published a mission statement online in August 2020 that describes its goals of actively working against these sentiments.

“Being passively non-discriminatory cannot break down the systemic racism and inequities that exist in academia and society more broadly,” the

statement reads. certainly we can’t admire these people.”

The statement outlines the specific goals of the Lombardo discussed how carefully the task department going forward, which include efforts must be navigated. to increase members in the department from underrepresented groups, increase training for mem“IT WAS KNOWN AS A PLACE bers on concepts of race and the department’s hisTHAT YOU WENT TO DIE.” tory, and to overall design the space to be more inclusive.

For example, in 2016, Jordan Hall, named In light of the biology department’s role in eu- after eugenicist Harvey Jordan, was regenics, Kozminski believes that he and other pro- named to Pinn Hall. Dr. Vivian Pinn earned fessors need to be actively working against the his- her medical degree from the School of Medicine tory that the department has inherited. in 1967 as the only woman and only Black student “We have to talk about it,” Kozminski said. in her graduating class. She went on to champion “I’m really pleased to see more of my colleagues, women’s health initiatives. especially colleagues who are new to [the] Uni“I’m all in favor of naming things after people versity, taking note of this history and using it as a with great accomplishments, like Pinn, but I think teaching moment.” that when we make those changes in names the According to stuleast we should do dent activists, one for historical purposof the more visible es is to say why — ways the University why are we honoring can engage with its one person now?” past is by changing Lombardo said. the names of buildLombardo worings that memoriries that simply realize leaders of the naming without exeugenic movement. planation could lead Although some towards more of a buildings have al- Racism is visible throughout U.Va and Charlottesville including in the historical erasure design of the Downtown Mall. ready been renamed, rather than a reconDenise Brookman-Amissah | The Cavalier Daily many, such as the ciliation. aforementioned Alderman Library, remain un“​​I’m most concerned that they not miss the changed. opportunity to teach people why they’re making a “Some people say ‘well [remaining buildings] change,” Lombardo said. is just a gesture,’ but I think it has a huge weight,” Lombardo does not want the University to forFraser said. “In terms of kind of opening up our get its history. In 2002, 75 years after the Buck v. history, to sort of critical inquiry, and then saying Bell decision, then-governor Mark Warner issued if our buildings represent the people we admire ... an apology denouncing eugenics. Lombardo, who 19

was then atdrenched in the tending the language of obSchool of Law, jectivity and facts and a colleague — its conclusions took a copy of this quickly became resolution and posted it in viewed as the truest Venable, where Buck’s daughway of understanding ter went to school, to memorialize the anything it investigated. resolution.

However, Lombardo said, the “The last time I was there, study of science does not exist I saw that it had been taken in a vacuum — it is embeddown,” Lombardo said. ded in the greater sociologiIn dealing with all difficult cal and historical contexts of histories, there is tension beits time. Eugenics attempted tween the need to move forto propagate racist views by ward and the need to conserve using a scientific front to the collective memory about present them as facts. the reality of Charlottesville’s “Eugenics was a scientific past. veneer used to cover ancient prejudice,” LambarAs the community’s population grows and do said. changes, many University and Charlottesville resBy tapping into the sentiment that anything idents — especially white residents — might not conveyed as science fundamental truth, racist ideeven realise the true history of where they live. ologies were able to be viewed by many as fact, Additionally, there must justifying the prejudices be an active effort to conof society at the time.

“EUGENICS WAS A SCIENTIFIC tradict the sediments of “The problem is that VENEER USED TO COVER this history — the Uniwe cannot disentangle ANCIENT PREJUDICE.” versity owes it to victims what we call scientific and their families to teach, pursuits from power from remember, and redress this history. money, from social hierarchies and from all the rest of the ideas that float around in a society,” Scientific language Lombardo said. “If you have a bigoted social context, it’s not surprising with some of what you call The history of eugenics has complicated so- science that comes out of that [context] reflects ciety’s relationship with science. Kominiski said that bigotry.” that after the Enlightenment, there was a sentiment Kozminski discussed the tension between what that science was the best method for understanding is scientifically possible and the questions that the world. Science painted the world with images should be asked when advancing scientific knowl20

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edge. public discipline.”

“If we’re creating new organisms and coming Scientific jargon and excessively complicated up with new applications for biology, yes, we can concepts makes the general public feel removed run into the lab to do that,” Kozminski said. “But from those who are actually conducting research, we really have to stop and say, should we be do- allowing for scientific findings to be easily taken ing the act? And furthermore … we have a profes- out of context and interpreted inaccurately. By sional — and I would argue a moral responsibility forging a stronger relationship with the public, it — to take a step back and say, could this research would be easier for scientists to be trusted outright, have a dual use? Could it be used for something and with greater trust, it becomes more difficult to that is not good for society?” place scientific findings into a social context that Scientific advancement can spur progress, but warps findings to reproduce existing inequalities. it also presents a danger that new information can Kozminski, Fraser and Lombardo agreed that be taken and abused. Scientific facts are not put out moving forward, there must be an active effort to into a void — they are expressed to a very specific cultivate an understanding of what happened in social context full of people who have their own Charlottesville, at the University and in the U.S. beliefs and agendas, which risks scientific facts as as a whole as a result of the eugenics movement. being morphed to support their worldviews.

Likewise, the relationship between science and To better understand the implications of the public must be reworked as scientific language their work, or how their work could be misused, continues to be used to mask bigoted ideologies.

Kozminski said that fields of science need to ac- Without grappling with what has happened and tively interact with other disciplines like philoso- what could continue to happen, we fail to honor phy and sociology. the memories of those victim to this movement, “It’s not realistic to expect a scientist to be as and remain complicit in this history. well-versed in ethics and philosophy and sociology as their colleagues in those fields,” Kozminski said. “At the same time, they should be open to hear what people in these other disciplines are saying about their work when it’s taken outside the context of a web report.”

The relationship between science, those who conduct it and the general public also becomes increasingly important during Alderman Library’s namesake was a proponent of eugenics. the pandemic. Fraser said it has Christina Anton | The Cavalier Daily forced science to be “a kind of 21

The student, social and self: Stressors on mental health at U.Va. Exploring the social and institutional pressures on students’ mental wellbeing Words by Ella Fesler Illustrations and Design by Ellery Huffman

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hen do the issues that are solely considered mental health problems reveal larger, institutional problems at play? Some may argue that if everyone needs a therapist, larger social problems are accountable — not just mental health problems themselves.

With the recent opening of the new Student Health Center this fall, University-provided mental health resources and programming have been expanded to include three additional group therapy rooms, a dedicated art therapy space, and an area for “mind-body programming,” such as acupuncture and biofeedback. The University has also launched access to TimelyCare, a mental health support interface that provides all students with 12 free counseling visits with a licensed mental health provider, access to psychiatric care and access to TalkNow, an on-demand service which allows students to connect freely with health professionals at any time of day.

Despite these expansions, students continue to demand more mental health support. Young Democratic Socialists of America at U.Va. launched a campaign in September calling for the University to expand how long and easily students can access services without extensive waitlists or limited visiting periods to CAPS and the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center.

Third-year College student Aubrey said she feels as though mental health care at the University lacks personalization.

“It’s very mechanized,” Aubrey said.

Aubrey explained that when she was struggling and reached out for help, she felt as though Counseling and Psychological Services just wanted to get her through the system so they could check a box.

“If you’re struggling, they just want to offer you resources in the easiest way possible,” Aubrey explained.

Both students and the University recognize the importance of mental well-being, but the University’s ability to care for the mental health

of its students continues to be called into question. Why exactly do students need these services in the first place? What social and institutional stressors are placed on University students, and in what ways do these examples fail to encompass all of the potential causes and solutions to student mental health?

The University’s investment in student health has included an expansion of mental health services.

Ava Proehl | The Cavalier Daily

The “work hard, play hard” mentality Business Insider has named the University one of the smartest party schools and most intense colleges, meaning that the school maintains a strong “work hard, play hard” culture.

From Monday to Friday, students stress over exams, papers and classes, while on the weekend students enjoy themselves at parties and bars.

Aubrey described the typical, picture-perfect University student as someone who is on top of all their assignments, taking a heavy course load, and active in multiple clubs, all while having a thriving social life and positive attitude. Many University students share similar yet false conceptions about the “typical” University student.

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“Work hard” One big motivator for academic performance at the University is competitive application-based majors and clubs in which only a certain number of students are selected, such as students who apply to the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and McIntire School of Commerce. Majors like Global Public Health, Media Studies, Political and Social Thought and various distinguished majors programs also require U.Va. students are often expected to balance their applications, however. For all of these programs, academic and social life perfectly. applicants must submit essays, a transcript and Denise Brookman-Amissah | The Cavalier Daily a resume — the application for Batten also requires letters of recommendation. majors, access to more individualized attention Students also go through application pro- and additional resources like seminars. Some, cesses and interviews for popular clubs at the however, say that the number of applications University too. For exand interviews required ample, getting involved “BUT WHY EXACTLY DO STUDENTS for clubs, majors and with popular groups like research creates a toxic NEED THESE SERVICES IN the Honor Committee, environment of comTHE FIRST PLACE?” the University Judiciary petitiveness among Committee, the Jefferstudents.

Applicason Literary and Debating Society and the Uni- tion-based programs also limit accessibility for versity Guide Service requires an application or students that may not have the time or resources interview process — and sometimes, both. to apply to a major or club, in turn causing more Many groups argue that this application pro- stress and anxiety. cess fosters unique comAubrey talked about her own experiences of Partying culture takes munities, and for the appli- rejection during her time at the University. a toll on mental cation-based “When you don’t get into someand physical health. thing, you comEmily Horn & Proud Chandragholica | The Cavalier Daily

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pare yourself to other as possible, through a people and think, ‘is short application that there something wrong requires only about 700 with me?” Aubrey said. words of writing, and an Aubrey said she interview that takes only thinks competitiveness 15 minutes. stemming from ap“I [don’t] think the plying to majors and entire application proclubs is not often talked cess would take more about because it is just than two hours for both accepted as the norm. Moving forward, the student body must support one another written and interview,” “It’s just how things and leverage the resources that the University does have Connaughton said. available. are,” Aubrey said.

In addition, UJC Lucy Gilbert | The Cavalier Daily Stella Connaughdoes not look for parton, fourth-year Batticular “professional” ten student and senior counselor for UJC, said traits that might make the selection of students she thinks UJC’s application process creates a elitist. competitive culture that often leads to anxiety “Professionalism can be very subjective,” or stress for students undergoing the process. In Connaughton said. “We don’t necessarily look her own personal experience joining UJC, Con- for them having the right answer, we actually naughton said she found the process intimidat- look at multiple facets of a person and we can ing. identify if they have characteristics that would “I’m a first-generation, low-income college make them a good counselor.” student, so I definitely had to deal with a culture shock when I came here, “play hard” especially because we see that Each weekend, students can be found student self-governance is going out to parties and frequenting bars predominantly wealthy and on the Corner. While going out can be a white,” Connaughton said. way to release stress after a long week, Connaughton said she partying and drinking culthinks clubs like UJC can ture can also be a disbe elitist due to their aptraction from responsiplication-based nature. bilities such as school “There’s an interview and extracurriculars. process, and you have to wear Partying culture can a suit — some kids don’t have also take a toll on access to suits,” Connaughphysical health — ton said. “It’s also a big time and mental health by commitment.” extension.

Connaughton added “I understand that party that UJC does try its best culture helps a lot of people to make the application break out of their shell and process take up as little time 25

living and learning, but the nature of their jobs often makes them the most averse to mental health stressors.

“Resident staff are put in a position where we’re supposed to provide help and support for our residents, while at the same time supporting ourselves,” said Jayla Hart, fourthyear College student and co-chair of Housing and Residence Life.

Hart was a resident advisor during her second and third year, before becoming the U.Va. has a competitive academic and co-chair of the group earlier this year along with extracurricular environment. fellow fourth-year College student Mj Smith.

Denise Brookman-Amissah | The Cavalier Daily “Even though I knew that there were people that it can be a good distraction from how hard that I could talk to, I wasn’t always sure about the best [method] of communicating the troubles school actually is,” Aubrey explained.

Still, Aubrey expressed that sometimes, this that I was having, whether that was with my residents or just the school more broadly,” Hart said. culture can get overwhelming.

The pandemic in par“If you’re chronically ticular has placed stressusing drinking and par“THE UNIVERSITY’S EXTREME ors on resident staff, Hart tying to fix all of your AMOUNT OF APPLICATIONS FOR said. Last year, with strict problems, that’s where CLUBS, MAJORS, OR RESEARCH health and safety meathe intersection between school life and weekend CAN CREATE A TOXIC CULTURE sures in place, resident staff were expected to life can get dangerous,” OF COMPETITIVENESS enforce social distancing Aubrey said.

AMONG STUDENTS.” and masking rules more There is also a con— Opinion Columnist Nicole Chebili often than they were excern that students may pected to engage with rely on substances like alcohol or drugs to manage mental health issues their residents.

“It just felt like everything was happening at like anxiety or stress. However, the University has support networks and programs for these once in a lot of ways,” Hart said. “The Universistudents with substance-reliance problems. The ty was changing policy and not effectively comUniversity’s Gordie Center focuses on limiting municating those policy changes to resident staff the consequences of fraternity hazing while the in advance. We were expected to police our [resUniversity’s Hoos in Recovery program offers ident] areas in ways that we aren’t comfortable support for students in recovery or considering doing.” Hart emphasized that this caused a lot of mental pressure and worry for resident staff. recovery from substance abuse disorders.

Hart also explained the importance of setting boundaries in order to protect one’s own mental resident life health. She explained that students — particularThe Housing and Residence Life staff in- ly resident staff — need to set boundaries in orcludes 240 students who oversee on-Grounds der to care for themselves first so they are able to 26

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fulfill other responsibilities and care for others. definitely seeing a push to take our mental health According to Hart, HRL has been stressing the concerns more seriously, especially since my importance of self care and community care this first year in the program.” past year.

In addition, RAs have weekly check-ins with the building’s senior resident, which allows them “WE WERE EXPECTED TO POLICE OUR to touch base and talk about how they are feeling.

These check-ins also allow senior residents to [RESIDENT] AREAS IN WAYS THAT WE point their resident advisors to additional mental AREN’T COMFORTABLE DOING.” health resources, like scheduling an appointment with CAPS. — Jayla Hart, fourth-year College student and co-chair of Housing and Residence Life Despite an increase in attention to mental health, Hart mentioned that there remain prob“If you’re having a bad day, how do you lems to be addressed. communicate that to your residents?” Hart said.

“I think people are still struggling and I know “How do you tell your SR? How do you check especially coming into this semester, I struggled in with yourself and be honest about the fact that even before residents came with having all the it’s okay to admit that you’re overwhelmed?”

RAs back on Grounds and keeping them safe,” Fortunately, HRL has additional built-in men- Hart said. “There is so much work surrounding tal health resources for resident staff. mental health — now and in the future — that “We have a CAPS specialist, and we can re- still needs to be done. We have to keep growing serve time to go meet with her,” Hart explained. the ways in which we think about care at this uni“The University has also expanded telehealth versity, both within resident staff and just across counseling and psychiatry for us as well. We’re the community at large.”

Hart expressed excitement for the new Student Health building.

“Watching the expansion of mental health services really excites me because I think that there will be [a lot more] mental health support for all people, not just resident staff,” Hart said.

“I’m hopeful that we’ll see more creative ways of supporting people.”

Hart continued that this includes programming that includes a “wide variety of resources that students and faculty can do to take earnest care of themselves.”

Pressures of a predominantly white institution

Resident advisors must manage their residents and their own mental health.

Simran Arora | The Cavalier Daily

Students of color face a specific set of mental health challenges separate from their white classmates. The University is a predominantly white institution, meaning that white students 27

account for at least 50 percent of the population.

As such, it is important that predominantly The University undergraduate body as of 2019 white institutions like the University actively is 55 percent white, 16 percent Asian American, hire more people of color for their counseling 6.74 percent African American and 6.73 percent staff, Leath said.

Hispanic.

“Institutions need better representation of The impact of attending a PWI can have a marginalized groups at all levels (students, facmultitude of effects on the mental health of stu- ulty, and staff) such that being at the institution dents of color. Professor Noelle Hurd, a profes- is not such an isolating experience for marginalsor in the Psychology Department here at the ized students,” Professor Hurd wrote.

University studies experience of marginalized Leath also discussed the importance of cregroups at schools and universities. ating spaces specifically for students of color on “Students who belong to groups that are un- Grounds, as a lack of these spaces “reinforces derrepresented in higher education are more the notion that this campus is for everyone but likely to encounter discrimination and messages them.” These spaces can be occupied by other of exclusion at historically and predominantly students, but people just need to be “mindful of white colleges and universities,” she said in an how they occupy space,” Leath said. email to The Cavalier Daily.

“We often see that there can be less funding Hurd added that for Black student organizathese messages of tions or organizations for stu“MESSAGES OF EXCLUSION CAN exclusion can “cause dents of color,” Leath said.

CAUSE THEM TO EXPERIENCE them to experience “Universities will specificalstress and symptoms ly give money more often STRESS AND SYMPTOMS OF of anxiety and defor one off events, a one time ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION.” pression.” thing, but they don’t give — Prof.

Noelle Hurd Asst. Psychology money to start any kind of Prof. Seanna Leath legacy. We need more fundsaid there is a need for more resources to support ing for a pipeline program of some sort that will students of color, particularly Black students. continue for years down the line.”

Leath explained that these students often do seek In recognition of this failure, Student Council out mental health support at their universities, began offering diversity grants for Multicultural but often experience “longer wait times for them CIOs. to actually be seen by clinician, or [when] they Both professors emphasized the need to think were actually seen by a clinician, they felt like outside the box when it comes to mental health their counselor couldn’t understand the issues solutions. For everyone — students of color inthey were bringing to them, whether they were cluded — getting help does not necessarily mean race related or otherwise.” going to therapy. “We need to broaden our focus Leath said there is often a “cultural or racial on how we promote student wellness, beyond dissonance” for students of color seeking a coun- just sending students to CAPS or another counselor’s support. seling center,” Leath said. Both Leath and Hurd “If students feel a disconnect with who they pointed to more community centered support were talking to, they may decide not to go back and assistance. because they don’t think it will actually be helpLeath conducted a study at the start of the ful,” Leath said. pandemic, which highlighted how many stu28

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dents were coming together and connecting places where we need to improve, but there are with one another to bridge social isolation and resources available. There are people who genuimprove their own mental wellbeing. “Students inely want to help all of us.” were talking about all the ways they were connecting with their friends and family digitally, which they felt positive about,” Leath said. “Even though they did report increased stress and anxiety, they were also saying, ‘Oh, I’m seeking out support from my friends. We’re using Tik Tok and all these other digital platforms to talk to one another and stay connected.’” Leath added that the study’s participants were “thinking very intentionally” about improving their own mental health.

Both professors discussed the importance of peer-topeer support for students of color arriving on Grounds.

“Peer mentor programs are key in terms of understanding the campus,” Leath said. “It’s great to have that kind of insider knowledge. Being connected to other Black students early on is important for their transition.”

MOVING FORWARD The institutional and social influences on mental health at the University are diverse and wide-ranging, and therefore require problem-specific solutions as well. However, this does not mean that the University can’t pursue solutions to unhealthy culture and systems.

“I think if I can trust anything about this University, it is the fact that there is support for your mental health,” Hart said. “Sometimes students think the University is leaving them out to dry, and I want to stress that that isn’t entirely true. There definitely are 29

Charlottesville affordable housing crisis: A long time coming Charlottesville’s history shows the city didn’t become unaffordable overnight Words by Maria Aguilar Prieto Illustrations & Design

by Lexie Gagnon

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A

walk down West Main Street features a number of recent student housing developments including the Standard, the Flats and Lark on Main, while tree-lined streets like Rugby Road and Meadowbrook Road boast colonialstyle houses with historic character and sizable front lawns. This growing number of luxury residence options and single-family homes in Charlottesville juxtaposes a decline in affordable housing for low-income residents.

Attention to the housing crisis increased significantly following the “Unite the Right” rally in Aug. 2017, when the City was compelled to consider and analyze its racial past in a much more holistic manner. Housing inequality — as the City found via a housing needs assessment, and as activists had been saying for decades — was one of Charlottesville’s most salient problems.

“Charlottesville’s history with public housing, like most cities’, is tainted by its direct connection to urban renewal in the 1960s,” said Brandon Collins, Public Housing Association of Residents’ lead organizer in an interview with the C-VILLE Weekly in 2018.

PHAR has been one of the leading organizations advocating for low-income affordable housing in Charlottesville since its founding in 1998.

Carrie Klosko, senior attorney at the Legal Aid Justice Center, has represented hundreds of low-income tenants on eviction cases and found the struggle is not equally shared among all demographics.

Black residents are disproportionately being displaced from their neighborhoods, Klosko noted.

“When I do eviction cases, I would say … 60 to 70 percent of my clients are single mothers of color, specifically single Black mothers,” Klosko said.

A study done by the local organization

Charlottesville Low-Income Housing Coalition found that between 2000 and 2018, the average cost of rent in Charlottesville rose by 88 percent to $1,325 per month. Over the same period, the median income for white households increased by 103 percent — allowing these residents to keep in pace with higher costs of living.

“WHEN I DO EVICTION CASES, I WOULD SAY ... 60 TO 70 PERCENT OF MY CLIENTS ARE SINGLE MOTHERS OF COLOR, SPECIFICALLY SINGLE BLACK MOTHERS.” — Carrie Klosko, senior attorney at the Legal Aid Justice Center Meanwhile, the median household incomes for Black residents increased by only 17 percent.

Since 2000, almost one in four Black homeowners in Charlottesville have moved or lost their home.

The CLIHC estimates the average renter would need to make $24.27 an hour and work full-time year-round to afford a modest twobedroom apartment” in 2020. Currently, the average tenant makes $16.33 per hour.

The report finds it is not a coincidence that the housing crisis places an unequal burden on minorities — it is the result of structural racism ingrained in the city’s housing market.

A history of housing A

look at the city’s history over the last century helps explain how Charlottesville got to where it is today.

Charlottesville has a long history of segregation and racist zoning policies that span over a century, which resulted in laws that obstruct the development of affordable housing and perpetuate cycles of discrimination.

In 1912, Charlottesville City Council voted 31

in favor of housing segregation after passing an ordinance prohibiting the sale of a property in a predominantly white neighborhood to a Black person and vice versa. While explicit race-based zoning was deemed unconstitutional just five years later in the Supreme Court Case Buchanan v. Warley, city planners and private developers continued using indirect methods — including deeds and exclusionary zoning laws — to prevent minorities from living in predominantly white neighborhoods.

Asst. English Prof. Laura Goldblatt is commissioner of the Charlottesville Redevelopment Housing Authority and member of the CLIHC. Goldblatt conducted research on the local housing market and the University’s critical role in the recent skyrocketing of prices.

Goldblatt explained Charlottesville was kept segregated largely by use of racial covenants, which are clauses in individual property deeds forbidding the sale of a property to certain races.

“Unlike some cities that used redlining, Charlottesville was mostly segregated … by having clauses and housing deeds that said this [individual] house can only be sold to another w h i t e family,” Goldblatt said. “These are all

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neighborhoods that are white not by accident ... but by deliberate government policies working alongside the market to make sure they stayed white and wealthy and to keep [Black] people out.”

The ongoing Mapping Charlottesville project plots deeds in the city containing racist covenants and has found thousands spanning from the late 1800s to the 1940s.

Modern zoning and land use maps in Charlottesville still closely resemble those from the 1950s — a decade characterized by its sweeping urban renewal programs across the city that resulted in the razing or demolishing of historically Black neighborhoods.

Harland Bartholomew, the nation’s leading figure in city planning in the 1950s, was contracted to develop Charlottesville’s first comprehensive housing plan in 1956.

Bartholomew championed the growth of desirable neighborhoods that were strictly residential, filled with singlefamily homes and minimum lot-size requirements. He also argued for the removal of dilapidated buildings in deteriorating neighborhoods, which more often than not meant predominantly minority neighborhoods with row housing and multifamily rental units.

Bartholomew’s recommendations were published the following year and mapped desirable neighborhoods, those in need of rehabilitation and those in need of redevelopment. In 1959, the City’s Planning Commission announced it had accepted the report as the basis for its plan of “slum clearing.”

One of prominent victims of this urban renewal program was Vinegar Hill, a predominantly Black neighborhood that was razed and redeveloped in 1965. Vinegar Hill first became a thriving Black neighborhood near downtown Charlottesville during the segregation era. From the 1920s and until its destruction it served as the city’s principal residential area, business district and community hub for Black residents.

Harland Bartholomew drew a map distinguishing desirable neighborhoods and undesirable neighborhoods in need of redevelopment.

Courtesy Lyle Solla-Yates

Despite the vibrant, close-knit community, the area — and in particular, its rental units — lacked certain essential amenities like running water, indoor plumbing and electricity.

“It goes all the way back to when Charlottesville started being developed as a city, because at that time, neighborhoods had to petition the city to get basic services like water and electricity, and those petitions were approved in white neighborhoods and not in black ones,” Goldblatt said.

When the urban renewal policies of the 1950s and 1960s rolled in, the absence of these basic services offered the city an excuse to mark the neighborhood as “substandard.” A referendum was held and citizens voted to redevelop Vinegar Hill by a margin of just 36 votes.

“This was a strategy to prevent Black people from gaining wealth by making them live in areas that were deemed as less desirable … to put them in places where you could make a case for blight and then get rid of them when you decided the land was more valuable,” Goldblatt said.

When Vinegar Hill was demolished, Black families and businesses were displaced, and many lost their sense of community.

The Fair Housing Act was signed into

federal law in 1968 and banned any type of housing discrimination. However, the CRHA continued giving white applicants preferential access to public housing, insisting that this policy made sense since the city was predominantly white. It wasn’t until 1989 when the Federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled public housing could not racially discriminate in United States v. Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

Housing, the University and plans to move forward

Charlottesville’s record of forced segregation continues to be reflected in the ongoing displacement and housing disparities in the city. Between 2000 and 2018, the rate of Black homeownership declined by 24 percent. Today, 50 percent of white households in Charlottesville own a home as compared to 24 percent of Black households.

While overt racial discrimination in housing was outlawed in 1968, subtle classbased discrimination that restricts the upward mobility of low-income residents remains.

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Minimum square footage requirements, expensive building codes and other costly stipulations confine working-class families to areas in which property values do not increase at the same rate as those in affluent, historically white neighborhoods.

Because systemic inequalities have resulted in minorities being more likely to have lower incomes than white individuals — Black workers, for example, have incomes that are on average 30 percent lower than their white counterparts — these class-based practices end up contributing to the same patterns of segregation that, despite no longer being blatantly implemented, still have an impact on today’s housing situation.

“THIS WAS A STRATEGY TO PREVENT BLACK PEOPLE FROM GAINING WEALTH BY MAKING THEM LIVE IN AREAS THAT WERE DEEMED AS LESS DESIRABLE...”

— Prof. Laura Goldblatt As central Virginia’s largest employer, the University has historically played a significant role in Charlottesville’s history.

In 1965, the University’s student population stood at 7,249. The following decade saw the start of full co-education and the enrollment of baby boomers, and by 1975, the student population had doubled to 15,179.

Goldblatt explains the University’s growth during this period had an impact on the city’s Black community, which saw itself displaced to accommodate the University’s increasing demands for space.

Through the 1970s, the historically Black neighborhood of Gospel Hill was razed to build the University’s Health System facilities.

“Over the past several decades, we have seen [U.Va.] become a multi-versity, so it isn’t 34

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PUTTING IT INTO NUMBERS

92%

The percentage increase in average rent between 2000 and 2019.

105% The percentage increase in median household income for white families.

43%

The percentage increase in median household income for Black households.

Source: Charlottesville Low-Income Housing Coalition report

just the college, it’s all the various schools, it’s the medical school, it’s the hospital and its recreational facilities,” Goldblatt said.

“When you decide to expand like that, there’s a

footprint that goes along with it [and it] has had consequences for the residents of Charlottesville.”

As the student population continued to increase, so did the need for housing. Few new on-Grounds housing units were built, leaving a large percentage of students with no option but to turn to the private housing market.

The University’s reliance on the private sector has translated into the development of luxury apartment complexes geared towards meeting student demands. Coupled with the high demand for apartments and houses near Grounds, these new lavish housing units have resulted in soaring rents for communities adjacent to the University.

“In Charlottesville, there are lots of working class neighborhoods that immediately surround the University [many of which] have long been Black working-class neighborhoods,” Goldblatt said. “And as housing prices specifically in these neighborhoods have gone up, we are seeing longtime residents being pushed out.”

Right before the pandemic, University President Jim Ryan announced a plan to use University-owned land to support the development of 1,000 to 1,500 affordable housing units in Albemarle County. The project is part of the University’s 2030 Plan, which aims to make the University the best public university in the U.S. by 2030. Another one of Ryan’s goals includes eventually providing

Access to low-income or affordable housing is limited in Charlottesville.

Lucy Gilbert | The Cavalier Daily

enough housing for second-year students.

The University’s work has not significantly advanced as a result of the pandemic. Despite its strides forward, Goldblatt explained the role the University has played in the housing crisis is one that cannot be minimized or disregarded.

“We have to remember that the University of Virginia hasn’t just been a bystander in all of this, it’s a really active part of this community,” Goldblatt said. “A more honest assessment of what’s going on in Charlottesville has to take the University into account because there’s no way to be thinking about housing without considering what’s going on with the University.”

“WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA HASN’T JUST BEEN A BYSTANDER IN ALL OF THIS, IT’S A REALLY ACTIVE PART OF THIS COMMUNITY.” — Prof. Laura Goldblatt City Council presented its Comprehensive Affordable Housing Plan in February, which aims to address the ongoing crisis and highlight ways in which the city can act to ameliorate the situation. Recommendations include allocating $10 million per year over the next 10 years to invest in housing affordability, providing affordable homeowner subsidies, regional collaboration, increased support of tenants’ rights and the implementation of a racial equity lens to evaluate new policies. One of the key steps of the Affordable Housing Plan is the revision of the Future Land Use Map. The new map labels areas previously designated for single-family homes as general residential and medium intensity lots. This gives developers opportunities to build duplexes and triplexes which is expected to increase housing affordability generally.

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Personal Stories of

Love And

Friendship During COVID Three unique stories about navigating relationships during COVID Words by Mimi Lamarre Illustrations by Jasmine Wang Design by Kyndal Harrison

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Jeanie, Harry and I This story is from my first-person perspective, detailing the foundation of a close friend and I’s friendship, and the foundations of her relationship with her boyfriend. The common denominator: COVID-19 and quarantine.

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t isn’t often that a friendship begins because someone gives you COVID. It also isn’t often that a romantic relationship begins during quarantine.

I’m standing in the corner of the patio of my home — a beat-up former fraternity house on Grady Avenue. My good friend, Jeanie Hamilton, a third-year in the College, and her boyfriend, are taking pictures on my patio, preparing to go to her sorority formal. The pair are both slight in build and blonde. As I watch, they lean into one another — comfortable.

I first became close with Jeanie in the fall of 2020, when we were sequestered into a life of solitude in our apartment building during our second year.

At the beginning of the year her boyfriend, Harry, visited from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill — where COVID was beginning to run rampant due to the large number of students returning to campus. Unwillingly, Harry passed COVID to Jeanie — who then proceeded to pass it to me.

Luckily, none of us got too sick — and the spread of the disease remained fairly contained to our apartment. After testing positive,

I literally moved into Jeanie and her roommates’ apartment — sleeping on an air mattress in their living room for ten days as we all quarantined together. We watched movies, drank wine, and even had poker nights. I was struck by how close the three of them were, how willing they were to share in one another’s successes (and failures — too).

It was only a few months before that Jeanie and Harry had begun their relationship.

In high school, Harry was her sister, M a r r i s a’s , best friend.

The idea of dating, according to Jeanie, never even crossed their minds. She had a boyfriend, he had a girlfriend, and they remained friendly as Harry went on to become a distinguished Moorehead-Cain scholar a t UNC. Jeanie thoroughly enjoyed her first six months at U.Va — making a good group of friends, joining a sorority, starting her track to become a Computer Science and Sociology major. She could often be found loping across Grounds alongside her roommate.

Then, the age-old tale of being sent home to quarantine. During a Spring Break trip to the Bahamas, Jeanie received the ominous email from President Jim Ryan: she had to go home.

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Returning to Atlanta, she sequestered into her together. They talked about everything from home with her two parents, her sister, and (her what they wanted to do with their lives to what favorite family member) their dog, Cody. their relationship with their parents was. She Harry, on the other hand, has no siblings: even recalled to me that they even laughed and was forced to quarantine alone with his about the fact that he was much nicer to her parents (and I thought I had it bad during quar- than she was to him. antine).

They began dating shortly thereafter and The Hamiltons allowed only two non-fam- Jeanie noted to me recently that she thinks that, ily visitors to come into their home: Marissa’s “Our budding relationship is just one example boyfriend, Zack, and Harry. In a TikTok that of — I’m sure — many types of relationships went viral, Jeanie showed Zack’s reaction to that strengthened through these tough times.” finally being allowed back into their home afAccording to Jeanie, “COVID is the only ter a long period of isolation. (Jeanie readily reason we could do long distance that early in admits that this TikTok was staged — Zack a relationship.” The online format of Zoom alhad been allowed in lowed the pair to travel their home for some “ONE NIGHT, JEANIE AND HARRY frequently during their time). taking ENDED UP STAYING UP UNTIL FIVE relationship, So, Jeanie and classes in Chapel Hill IN THE MORNING, TALKING ON THE Harry were — quite and Charlottesville. The COUCH TOGETHER.” literally — the only lack of social gatherings people outside of their allowed them to have own families whom they talked to for nearly more flexible weekend plans. three months. They had a lot of family game Clearly, however, their desire to stop the nights, played an exorbitant amount of pick- spread of COVID did not work as well as they leball, and would cook dinner together as a might have hoped. Despite my original hesigroup. To me, Jeanie noted that, “COVID of tance towards Jeanie, I came to love her kind course has been a hideously detrimental pan- friendship, her snarky comments and her abildemic that has ruined the lives of so many ity to always tell you when you’re wrong. families. But the world has been able to find I can see the strength of her and Harry’s little positives within their COVID experienc- relationship in the way in which they rarely, es as a way of coping and forgetting.” if ever fight. Their attraction to one another Once the pandemic re- is simple — built on the strength of having strictions were lifted a known each other for almost their entire lives. bit, the pair of four So, I stand in the corner of the patio, watch— Jeanie, Ma- ing as the pair lean into one another. I never rissa, Zack, and thought a friendship would begin by someone Harry — went to giving me an infectious disease — but it did. the beach. One Jeainie probably never thought that her relanight, Jeanie and tionship would begin because she got sent Harry ended up home due to a pandemic. staying up until five in the morning, talking on the couch 38

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Not The Greatest Love Story High school love isn’t always forever love — and, sometimes, it’s time to move on.

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here’s a song which John said always his harsh glances. reminded him of their love story: “The Their relationship remained strong until Greatest Love Story” by LANCO. they broke up when they went to college.

It was their time to experience the world “They said I was nothing but a troublemaker separately. John’s love for her, however, renever up to no good mained strong — and they visited one anYou were the perfect all American girl other at their respective schools throughout wouldn’t touch me even if you could.” their first year.

She and John grew up together in North “We didn’t know any better Carolina, going to a large high school in the Didn’t have a clue about life city center of Charlotte. Their relationship But I was what you wanted you were what I was typical of a high school relationship needed from a movie — forbidden, involving the arAnd we could meet in between.” chetypal bad boy.

Her parents clearly disapproved. Her faIn the spring of her first year, her roomther, a successful businessman, made his mate introduced her to a new boyfriend — opinion known in his silent demeanor and someone who provided her with a sense of safety and comfort that he had not. Her parents even approved of the new boyfriend.

When they broke up in the fall of her second year, John came to visit Charlottesville.

It was weird for her to see someone who seemed so distant from her current life in her apartment, on Grounds, interacting with her friends. It felt like bringing a ghost back from the past. John’s deep Southern accent and tendency to lay on the couch at all hours of the day seemed out of place, no longer fitting in the life which she had made for herself.

Now, she’s in a new relationship — with someone who combines the passion of her first relationship and the safety of her second. Still, John often sends her texts and messages, telling her that he loves her. But she knows that their love story isn’t the one from the song.

I love you I love you I love you I love you please

I love you

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The Game of Love in the Time of COVID-19 This serendipitous tale details how Amara and Steven met via a quest-based computer game, during quarantine. *Names have been changed per the request of the individuals of the story.

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hen many of her friends returned to U.Va. during the fall of 2020, Amara, a second year in the College at the time, remained at home in Portland, Oregon, in order to keep her friends and family safe. She began playing “Among Us, among other virtual games, with her friends.

Among Us features ten players, all of whom must attempt to keep a ship from going down.

The trick: there is at least one imposter, who tries to kill everyone on board. The game, like many other virtual platforms, soared in popularity during COVID. She happened to meet her boyfriend, Steven, through the game. Amara was invited to play with her high school friend alongside his college friends, all of whom went to

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Georgia Tech. It just so happened that Steven was the one who assassinated Amara during that particular game session.

They started virtually chatting while playing the games, facetiming and talking on the phone. Through their long conversations, Amara developed feelings for Steven — admiring his intelligence, his witty sense of humor, and their easy conversation. After talking for a few weeks, Amara confessed to Steven that she liked him. Much to her disappointment, he replied that he didn’t feel the same — he valued their friendship more than the prospect of a romantic relationship.

The rejection didn’t stop their friendship.

They continued talking for nearly a month — speaking at length, often long into the night. After spending more time with Amara, Steven went on to confess that he returned her affections.

The pair began going on virtual dates. Amara found the dates to be fun and exciting, as she found it particularly endearing that the both of them were actively setting aside time to spend time with one another.

She says that they, “made her really happy and gave her something to look forward to in the monotony of quarantine.” One particular date featured slideshows in which they presented their family histories, their close friendships, and their lives at school. They brainstormed the ideas for the dates on their own and suggested them to one another.

The pair discovered mutual love and interests. Amara loves piano — and Steven

from their friends in order to be able to travel back and forth to see one another. The experience was clearly difficult, especially considering the fact that the majority of her friends and roommates were back on Grounds in the Fall. When she finally came back for the Spring semester, Amara isolated from her friends in order to ensure the safety of Amara’s friends. Steven travelled from Northern Virginia to Charlottesville to see Amara frequently — although this meant that they had to take special care in quarantining and social distancing practices.

Their relationship clearly required sacrifice. It all started with Among Us, a simple game— but COVID necessitated their distance, their travel, and their isolation. Yet, they found a solace in one another which led has been trying to learn it for sometime. them away from loneliness. They won the They also both love art, and began drawing game in a way that neither of them anticiwith one another. Sharing “the nerdy side of pated. things,” was also important to Amara — she loves Harry Potter and crosswords, he likes origami.

While Amara returned to school in the spring of 2021, Steven remained at home in

“THE REJECTION DIDN’T STOP THEIR FRIENDSHIP.” Virginia, doing school remotely. They entered into a relationship only after meeting one another when Amara returned to Virginia.

Amara isolated themselves

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Community paves the way FOR

diversity

and equity at the

University Student and community voices showcase the need for increased diversity and bolstered support for statistically underrepresented groups on Grounds Words by Acacia McCabe Design by Kyndal Harrison

Riley Walsh | The Cavalier Daily 42

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s a Primarily White Institution, the ing the University throughout this time period University has had a student popula- are few and far between. tion that consists of over 50% White Seen as momentous admission decisions at students since the very first days of its found- the time, this handful of historically underreping in 1819 — which welcomed White num- resented students did not immediately usher in a bers well over the 50% base. Although a lot has diverse University nor community demographchanged since then, including the gradual and ic. Furthermore, the treatment of these few mioftentimes contested admittance of historical- nority students proves that “community” and ly underrepresented students into the school’s “inclusion” were not terms that might encapsumany programs, this fact remains the same. late their time spent studying at the school.

Keeping these statistics in mind, the imporIn a 2017 interview with Virginia Magazine, tance of diversity should be pushed to the fore- Wesley Harris, a Black Engineering student front of discussion amongst admission leaders, who graduated in 1964, recounted how hosadministrators, professors and students alike. tile the environment was during his time at the It is integral that our community learns how to University, despite supposed federal changes and finds a passion to further increase and wel- to collegiate school systems at this time, which come diversity into our community. Diversity ultimately promoted the idea of “separate but and equity are ongoing topics that are about equal.” When Harris was a student, the only more than just rising restaurant who would percentages.

They offer him service on the “DIVERSITY AND EQUITY ARE are more so about the Corner was the UniversiONGOING TOPICS THAT ARE feeling of community ty Cafeteria. and inclusion that all By the year 1991, the ABOUT MORE THAN JUST students hope to find University had enrolled RISING PERCENTAGES.” on Grounds as well as 1,366 Black students, the establishment of 914 Asian students, 143 support systems for all students — especially Hispanic students and just 16 Native American those who might not have received any in the students in its undergraduate programs for the past. fall. In 2001 — exactly one decade later — the University enrolled 1,368 Asian students, 1,168 A brief history of integration at U.Va. Black students, 324 Hispanic students and 48 Native American students comparatively.

It wasn’t until 1889 and 1897 that records of These numbers from 1991 and 2001 show an the first Japanese student and the first Chinese overall rise in diversity at the University since international student respectively emerged at the early days of its founding — however, there the University. Following these admissions, it is a noticeable drop in Black student enrollment took decades for the University’s graduate pro- within the same 10 year time period. Compared grams to begin to enroll a few Black students to the staggering 8,489 and 8,860 white stueach year after a Black Law student, Gregory dents enrolled in 1991 and 1992, respectively, Swanson, gained enrollment in 1950. Two oth- the aforementioned numbers of statistically uner Black students were enrolled later that same derrepresented students are almost negligible year following Swanson’s admission. with totals of 2,439 and 2,908 minority stuOther examples of racial minorities attend- dents from the aforementioned categories mak43

ing up a mere 22 percent and 25 percent of the total combined Black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American and white students.

The University has continued to expand on its mission to welcome more diverse perspectives by welcoming its most diverse class this fall. The question remains, however, whether rising numbers are enough to prove true diversity and inclusion without the additional presence of supportive programs, systems and communities. “Diversity” might seem to be just a few numbers in a demographic study, but it ultimately requires much more than admissions numbers to students from underrepresented backgrounds.

Diversity on Grounds

Riley Walsh | The Cavalier Daily 44

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Despite this gradual rise in demographic numbers over time, the image of diversity from the point of view of students on Grounds can look different based on what organizations and communities they find themselves becoming involved with during their undergraduate years.

For third-year Engineering student Sarah Bhargava, volunteering for a cultural-based program this fall opened her eyes to what the true range of diversity could look like at the University. Bhargava notes that she notices a clear difference between the diverse makeup of the event and what she sees as an everyday student studying and hopping from class to class.

“I was involved in setting up for Culture Fest,” Bhargava said. “[In] that moment, I thought that U.Va. was very diverse, but definitely like on the day to day as you walk around grounds and see people it’s not as diverse, as perhaps, I think relatively compared to other schools.”

Other students, such as Natalie Cordero, fourth-year College student and Latinx Student Center intern, and Rafael Escotto, fourthyear College student and Multicultural Student

Riley Walsh | The Cavalier Daily

Center intern, shared Bhargava’s belief that the University could be more diverse.

They also note the possible toll that a lack of diversity can have on students.

“It wasn’t until coming to U.Va that I noticed that when there isn’t that much diversity, there isn’t that much that exposure to other cultures,” Escotto said. “I wasn’t looking at organizations or programs like the Multicultural Student Center. But I think that’s also just one of the consequences when you have such a large school that isn’t too diverse. Sometimes it can be slipped out of your consciousness.”

This point brings to light that oftentimes, at large institutions, resources for minority students can easily get swept under the rug. The perspectives granted by these students prove that diversity is oftentimes more than a number compiled each semester — it is what we see, what is offered by school programs as a symbol of community and acceptance and what we see or feel on a day to day basis.

Even in regards to these oftentimes concealing statistics that suggest a steady growth of diversity over time, enrollment within specific racial groups doesn’t always reflect the general diversification of the community as a whole. In particular, both Native American students and

Black students have seen demographic changes at the University that do not mirror the overall trend.

In fall 2020, just 15 American Indian or Alaskan Native students were enrolled on Grounds as undergraduates. Although there are new and different categories for race-identification as a result of the 2009 IPEDS change in definition of race and ethnicity, compared to the overall increase in student acceptances, the overall percentage of Native American students within the undergraduate student body remains lower than in 1991 at just 0.08 percent. There has also been a 1.65 percent decrease in undergraduate students who identify as Black at the University since 2009.

Alternatively, since 2009 to 2020, the percentage of Asian American, Hispanic American, and multi-racial undergraduate students on Grounds has increased by 4.98 percent, 2.13 percent and 4.36 percent, respectively. In addition, there has been a decrease in White undergraduate students at the University from 60.64 percent to 55.67 percent.

Some of these decreases could be explained by an increase in students who identify as Multi-racial.

However, as Teresa Pollock — a Monacan 45

Nation citizen who sits on numerous committees about the inclusion of Virginia indigenous tribal nations within educational and community settings — noted, if there are no support systems in place to aid historically underrepresented groups at the University, fewer admitted students will choose to enroll. This is another possible explanation to the decrease in Native American and Black students throughout this time period who have more often than not been unsupported by the University.

Even if the University does offer admission to a large percentage of students who are considered to be a minority, when support systems are not readily available to them, enrollment will not feel like an attainable option. Support systems can include any institution that provides students with a network of peers, professors or others who all have a united goal of helping these students grow and find comfort.

The absence of these aforementioned programs can heavily affect the makeup of the student body in a given year.

The importance of community It’s evident that a lack of systems in place to support historically underrepresented students at the University, can ultimately have disadvantageous effects to these students’ learning and health.

Although there is a consensus that there is more the University could do to foster diversity and equity among its student body, many students agree that they have still been able to find a good community on Grounds. For some it took time to find this community, while others joined, in their very first semester, an organization that quickly felt like a safe place.

“I remember going into the Multicultural Student Center for the first time when it was in the basement,” Cordero said. “I started bawling my eyes out because it was like the first 46

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time I met someone that kind of knew where I was coming from. And… I think I was like two weeks in and from there on I found my community.”

“IT’S EVIDENT THAT A LACK OF SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO SUPPORT HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY, CAN ULTIMATELY HAVE DISADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS TO THESE STUDENTS’ LEARNING AND HEALTH.” Both Bhargava and Escotto were also able to find communities within the organizations that they joined. They have both benefited from finding a place of comfort and understanding within the University’s many programs.

Escotto in particular, who is also a member of the Afro Latino Student Organization on Grounds, notes how it took him years to find his friend group and community within the organizations he is now a part of.

“I found a great community in U.Va.,” Escotto said. “It took me about two years … But I think this third year, even with COVID I found I could make my place in U.Va. start to feel a lot more comfortable now that I was in these orgs. And getting that exposure that I was so used to [where I grew up].”

Although thankful to have found a community and support system here at the University, Escotto’s story reminds us that although these safe spaces are always available to us, it ultimately falls on students themselves to find and utilize these resources individually. For Escotto it took half of his undergraduate years to find these communities on Grounds, but for many others it may take longer or even entirely evade a student’s knowledge until after their gradua-

tion has passed.

Although the University has made significant strides towards their ongoing goal of diversification and acceptance as highlighted by these examples, support systems and communities must not be just put into place for historically underrepresented students. They must also be publicly promoted and encouraged to ensure long term and lasting change, as well as accessibility.

Progress and steps forward Over the last twenty years, the University has begun to take on more expansive initiatives towards the goal of fostering a welcoming and diverse environment on Grounds. Not only have they sought measures to aid students of color, but they have also taken action to help many other historically underrepresented groups on Grounds as well. This includes the opening of the LGBTQ+ Center two decades ago in 2001.

Riley Walsh | The Cavalier Daily

Another integral step in regards to racial diversity was the opening of the Multicultural Student Center in 2016. The goal of this center is to support racial minorities within the student body of the University. The idea for the MSC was initiated by a student group called the Multicultural Student Center Initiative, who formed in fall 2014.

The space was previously located in the basement of Newcomb Hall, but its headquarters were completely redesigned and moved to a much more spacious location on the second floor. This new space in Newcomb Hall would not exist today without the group’s intense advocacy, research and focused assessment of student needs that went into their official proposal.

The MSC has since expanded its facilities to include both a Latinx Student Center and an Interfaith Student Center which are located in Newcomb Hall. Both of these spaces opened their doors to students in February 2020 — prior to the start of the pandemic and rapid transition to remote learning. While the LSC’s main goal is to support Latinx students and culture within the University community, the IFSC’s aim is to create a space in which students of every faith and background can practice their spirituality in a safe and learning-based environment.

Cordero traced the LSC’s opening back to her very first year on Grounds as a part of the Latinx Leadership Institute.

“The center for sure was an effort of our community for a very long time,” Cordero said.

“My group presented on the need for this space, and kind of after two years being able to see that come into fruition…I feel like there’s still a lot of work to do.”

Students aren’t the only ones involved with a push for inclusivity at our University and the term community can oftentimes be about more than just a tangible space.

In reflecting on her recent meeting with President Ryan in which he met with the chiefs 47

Riley Walsh | The Cavalier Daily

of the Virginia tribal nations, Pollock brings up another important aspect of how the University community or participants in any education system can grow as learners and community members by understanding history through the lens of those whose voices are often kept silenced.

It is important, Pollock said, to challenge misteachings that are ingrained in our current school curriculum for the sake of truly understanding the people around us and the land we are on. Learning these truthful lessons will help the University and many other institutions learn how to best support those who are often under-supported or underrepresented in both an educational and community setting. However, in order to continue spreading the truth, these people need the same opportunities and support as any other student at the University during their time spent on Grounds.

“It is gonna take time to change the infrastructure of how we teach and what we teach,” Pollock said. “You need to have people who have an education background, you know, teachers or administrators… [and] again, if you 48

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don’t have Native students who are in the pipeline to go to college, you don’t have the Native people to help facilitate these programs.”

Looking ahead, students identify a number of things the University could expand upon to continue diversifying the community. Members of cultural organizations, interns at the MSC and other advocates in the community all see room for growth within the University’s ever present mission of diversity and equity.

“One of the things we’re working on and have been working on in Asian Student Union is getting us a room,” Bhargava said. “Similar to the MSC but something for Asian Americans in particular.”

These efforts — put into place by the ASU and fifteen other organizations who determinedly signed on in strong support of this goal — have been rewarded with a promise from Interim Dean of Students Julie Caruccio that a process for their request will be implemented by the end of the semester. This process will help these students gain the necessary space to build the center.

For the rapidly growing cultural organiza-

tions on Grounds, having a specific and safe space for each individual community is important. Not only would it give each club a more personal gathering space for general meetings, but it would also extend the idea of comfort and community past just these meetings and disperse it throughout day to day life. Problems such as lack of space often emerge in these efforts, but it does not diminish their importance nor cancel the possibility of their emergence.

Although there is evidently no shortage of student and community advocacy for spaces and other programs around Grounds that can support and represent minority students, it is an effort that should be actively pushed for and recognized by the University at an administra-

tive level as well. It is inarguably rewarding to see students fight for what they believe is needed, and eventually win. However, the basic need for comfort and community at a PWI should not be something that needs a constant push from the student body in order to be granted allowance.

This concept of making active efforts will continue the progress that has been made this far and ensure that the University sets the tone for future expectations from its students and staff in regards to equity and inclusion. Since diversity has been and will continue to be a systemic issue, efforts to better equify the University community will be a continuing and necessary endeavor long into the future.

Riley Walsh | The Cavalier Daily 49

THE CAVALIER DAILY Managing Board

Junior Board

Editor-In-Chief Jenn Brice Managing Editor Eva Surovell Executive Editor Zack Pasciak Operations Manager Ankit Agrawal Chief Financial Officer Katrina Yankovich

Assistant Managing Editors Isabel Barney Pauline Povitsky (SA) Hanna Preston (SA) Grace Eberhardt (SA) Lana Kweon (SA) Morgan Kemp (SA) Nicole Freeman

Website www.cavalierdaily.com

Instagram @abcdmag @cavalierdaily

Production Editors Ethan Fingerhut Noah Holloway Flora Kim Graphics Editors Anisha Houssain Martha Wilding Photography Editors Khuyen Dinh Ariana Gueranmayeh (SA) Tapley Borucke (SA) Ava Proehl (SA) Sophie Roehse Social Media Managers Isabel Carino Begum Genc

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