Sponsors:
Davis Taliaferro, Ella Sher, Jack Giese, Asian Student Union (ASU), Minority Rights Coalition (MRC), Native American Student Union (NASU), Political Latinxs United for Movement and Action in Society (PLUMAS), Queer Student Union (QSU), UVa Dissenters
Proposed Explanation:
This referendum seeks to uphold the initiative of student self-governance by calling on the University administration to center student voices and perspectives through reinstating and protecting student-led and written historical tours of the University. This referendum affirms the student body’s support for public history by condemning the University’s recent actions regarding public history and calling for more transparency from the administration.
Proposed Language:
WHEREAS: The University of Virginia, in its Statements on Free Expression and Free Inquiry, established free speech as “among the most powerful tools by which wrongs are righted and institutions are improved or abolished.” Further, the University establishes that “Principles of free inquiry extend to robust discussion and critical examination of the past;” AND,
WHEREAS: The University Guide Service has been delegated by the University in their Delegated Functions Agreement to “provide historical and admission tours” and to “educate prospective students, families, and tourists on the tour guide’s authentic student experience and the University’s history.” Furthermore, the University “delegates these functions with the intent of fostering student self- governance and promoting a sense of unity and cohesion among students;” AND,
WHEREAS: The Office of the Provost abruptly suspended student-led historical tours of the Academical Village until at least Fall 2025, without further information of when or how tours will return, nor without thorough communication with the University Guide Service chairs. This has left a general body of over 100 individuals unclear about the future of tour-giving and their role as tour guides; AND,
WHEREAS: Following the Unite the Right White Supremacist Rally that occurred on University grounds in August of 2017, President Teresa Sullivan launched her President’s Commission on Slavery and the University which sought to create a meaningful dialogue about slavery at UVA in the wake of white supremacist and racial violence. The Commission advocated for “reinscribing this previously hidden history back onto the built landscape, making it visible in multiple formats (signage, interpretive panels, maps, tours, digital media, print, classes).” By effectively limiting UGS tours on grounds, UVA works against the goals of this commission and the progress it hoped to inspire; AND,
WHEREAS: Student activism at the University of Virginia has historically been a driving force in bringing UVA closer to full acknowledgment and discussion of its complex past. The Memorial to Enslaved Laborers which honors the lives of over 4000 enslaved people who labored at the University of Virginia from 1817 to 1865 was designed to address previously ignored history, as well as represent a space for healing, learning, and action. This pivotal feature of UVA’s grounds is the culmination of students’ ideas and voices, particularly as the idea for such a memorial originated from the UVA student group Memorial for Enslaved Laborers (MEL), established in 2009; AND,
WHEREAS: UVA is a UNESCO World Heritage site currently offering no in-person tours of the Rotunda or Academical Village. UNESCO, as part of its mission, aims to “encourage international cooperation in the conservation of our world's cultural and natural heritage.” By lacking avenues for tourists and students to engage with the rich past of the Academical Village, The University of Virginia fails to further this mission; AND,
WHEREAS Any institution, such as the University of Virginia, no matter how evolved, will inevitably be biased in its own favor when crafting historical tours. Instead, community-based groups, including but not limited to the University Guide Service, serve as an effective means to crafting democratic public history and truthful storytelling of the past; THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED That the student body explicitly condemns the University administration’s recent actions towards the University Guide Service as directly opposed to the student body’s core values, which prioritize active discussion of the University’s past. In particular, the student body cares deeply about the histories of marginalized and underrepresented communities, including but not limited to the history of enslavement and enslaved people, as well as the University’s role in the eugenics movement, and sees the University’s actions as limiting the accessibility of that information ; AND BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED That the student body calls for the University administration to recognize autonomous, student-led historical tours as an essential mechanism in preserving and spreading the full history of the University; AND BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED The student body calls for the University Guide Service to continue in its mission of sharing an honest and complete account of the University’s history, and calls for student-led organizations to support the University Guide Service’s endeavors wherever possible; AND BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED That the student body calls for the administration to amend itself to open and honest communication with the University Guide Service along with the general student body about its decisions regarding public history; and that the administration should act particularly diligently in sharing changes in policy and their causes; AND BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED That the student body calls for the immediate reinstatement of the University Guide Service as the primary provider of historical tours on behalf of the University, and for the written protection of these student-led in-person tours by the University administration; it calls for the University to continue funding and publicizing of the University Guide Service, giving members full autonomy overtheir tours and their organization; AND BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED That a copy of this resolution be sent to
The Board of Visitors
James E. Ryan, President of the University of Virginia
Ian Baucom, Executive Vice President and Provost
Brie Gertler, Incoming Interim Executive Vice President and Provost
Kenyon Bonner, Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer
Cedric Rucker, Dean of Students
