Since founding Whole Woman’s Health in Austin, Texas, in 2003, Amy Hagstrom Miller has expanded the practice to nine clinics in five states. Photo by Amy Jackson Smith.
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, access to abortion has changed dramatically across the United States. And while access to reproductive health care is still protected in Virginia, the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision has impacted Charlottesville abortion providers.
As the last state in the South without a pending post-Roe restriction on abortion access, Virginia has quickly become a safe haven for those living in surrounding states. At Whole Woman’s Health of Charlottesville, this has led to a spike in out-of-state patients.
“Virginia has really played a role in the post-Roe America, where we are seeing people coming from states where abortion is banned,” says WWH founder and CEO Amy Hagstrom Miller. “Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia are all our borderland states where abortion has been banned this year, and those folks are coming into Virginia for care, and they should have access to mifepristone if that’s what they choose.” Hagstrom Miller, an advocate for reproductive rights across the country for many years, has continued her work vigorously since the Dobbs decision.
While anti-abortion groups celebrated the overturn of Roe, they continue to push for further limitations on reproductive rights. At the center of these efforts has been mifepristone, the drug most commonly used for medication abortion in the U.S.
Earlier this year, the legality of mifepristone was challenged by a Texas ruling—Alliance Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA—which sought to overturn the FDA’s decades-old approval of the drug. Although the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the mifepristone ban, the case has been sent back to the notoriously conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Speaking about the challenge to mifepristone, Hagstrom Miller says, “It’s just nonsense, it’s just crazy. They’re not following medical science and it’s really unprecedented for somebody to try to call into question a drug that’s been approved by the FDA for 23 years.” She continued, “What we’re dealing with here is politics, it’s nothing about science or medicine, and I think it was chosen on purpose to be in that district court in Texas because they were hand-picking Judge Kaczmarek, who is a Trump-appointed judge who’s very publicly and well known to be anti-abortion.”
Mifepristone is a vital part of how WWH provides care to its patients, and Hagstrom Miller says the Charlottesville clinic will continue providing medication abortion as long as possible. “Medication abortion is far and away the most common method that most people choose when they face the decision to terminate a pregnancy,” says Hagstrom Miller. “If for some reason mifepristone is limited, we will continue to offer abortions with medication.”
In order to protect access to mifepristone, Hagstrom Miller and WWH have launched their own suit suing the FDA. At press time, the suit is still ongoing.
For now, Hagstrom Miller is continuing to fight for reproductive rights by recruiting additional providers to the Charlottesville clinic and stressing the importance of Virginia’s upcoming legislative elections. Given Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s support of abortion restrictions, Hagstrom Miller says, “We need to be sure that we don’t lose the Democratic majority in the Senate so that we can stop the kind of extremism that he’s been talking about.”
Two-time academic all-American and four-time ITA all-American, UVA’s Natasha Subhash started playing tennis when she was 4. Image courtesy UVA Athletics Communications.
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association has honored University of Virginia tennis player Natasha Subhash with the national Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship Award.
“It was definitely such a huge honor,” says Subhash about receiving the award. “Arthur Ashe is someone that I grew up looking up to and was extremely inspired by. He’s such a big role model for a lot of young tennis players, so being compared to him was incredible.”
The award honors collegiate tennis players at the regional and national levels who demonstrate “outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements,” in the spirit of tennis legend Arthur Ashe Jr.
A two-time academic all-American and a four-time ITA all-American, Subhash has excelled both athletically and academically during her time at UVA. She played for Virginia four years as an undergrad, and will play a fifth season while she works toward a master’s degree in accounting.
“I definitely just want to make the most of it, train as hard as possible, and meet all of our goals for the team,” says Subhash. “I know we have team goals of winning conference championships and the NCAA tournament as well. I think … [achieving] our full potential as a team in my last year would be amazing.”
During her time with the team, Subhash has gained experience both on and off the court. “I was fortunate enough to be co-captain the last two years,” she says. “I think just being in that role, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to lead.”
Subhash has played tennis since the age of 4, and attended Pass Academy, a tennis preparatory school, prior to arriving at UVA. During her time at PA, she trained under founder Bob Pass, and cites her coach as a major source of inspiration. “Unfortunately, he passed away last summer. I think it would have been really awesome for him to see me get this award this year,” she says. “He inspired me a lot to … be the person I am today.”
While in high school, Subhash made her competitive debut as a singles and doubles player, winning four titles before starting college.
She considered turning pro after college, but Subhash has decided not to play competitively when she finishes her master’s degree. “I still want to make the absolute most of my tennis while at UVA, so that hasn’t changed my drive while I’m in school,” she says. “I want to fully succeed in [tennis] while I’m here, but I think I’ll probably stop when I graduate and just focus on my career after that.”
“I’ll probably take a break for a little bit. I have some minor injuries that need some rest to fully heal,” says Subhash. “Eventually, I’ll definitely come back to it and play for fun, or play with my friends. I don’t think it’ll ever be completely out of my life because it’s been the biggest part of my life since I can remember.”
ABC Pride by Louie Stowell and Elly Barnes was released in 2022, and is illustrated by
Amy Phelps. Image courtesy Penguin Random House.
Controversy exploded in Charlottesville when a video of students at Johnson Elementary School was posted by local radio host Rob Schilling. The video shows fourth graders reading ABC Pride, a children’s book about Pride month, at a school-wide morning meeting.
Schilling posted the video on his website and played a portion of the audio on his WINA radio show. Under the headline “De-based: Charlottesville schools defend pre-k to 4th-grade grooming assembly,” Schilling linked to a YouTube video of the fourth graders reading the book. The video has since been made private, and Schilling has taken down the post.
Before “The Schilling Show” took down the content, the video was picked up by multiple right-wing media outlets, including Fox “Primetime” with Jesse Watters. The Fox host used a clip of the video to open a longer segment of his show, “We All Have a Breaking Point,” and talked about the Johnson Elementary meeting for several minutes.
“Nine-year-olds shouldn’t know what ‘non-binary’ means,” said Watters. “I don’t know what that means.”
Schilling and Watters’ comments are the latest in a broader conservative criticism of LGBTQ content in schools.
While several conservative pundits—including Watters—have labeled the book “perverted,” ABC Pride is a book written for children 3 years and older, and never mentions sex.
According to Charlottesville City Schools, the video was taken and posted without permission. In a statement released to the public, the school system said, “Each month, grade-level teachers coordinate the morning program, sometimes working with their students. For the June meeting, fourth-grade students took the lead to coordinate the program. As one part of the summer celebration, they decided to read an alphabet book about LGBTQ acceptance, which included words like ‘belonging,’ ‘gender,’ and ‘kindness.’”
For many Charlottesville parents, the video was alarming not because of its content, but because of the unauthorized publication of media featuring students.
In a Twitter post @SexonBekah alerted local parents to the video, tweeting, “Cvillle Parents! If your child has just finished 4th grade at Johnson, you might want to make sure your child’s image is not included on the video making the rounds on right wing social media. Tell the school system you did not give authorization for this release.” CCS responded, tweeting that it “did not authorize the release of this video to media,” and was “reaching out to impacted families.”
“It’s disgraceful that an adult chose to weaponize that compassion just to make a political point,” says Charlottesville parent and elementary school music teacher Michael Salvatierra. “Whether or not it was legal to film, this person who took the video still put students in danger, and broke trust with other families and the school. I hope that the person will step forward and take responsibility for the harm that they have caused. All media outlets that amplified the video also acted irresponsibly and should be held accountable. The video absolutely needs to be taken down.”
While the continued circulation of the video is concerning to Salvatierra, the meeting itself highlights students’ positivity.
“As a parent and as a teacher, I have seen firsthand that when students of any age are known and loved just as they are, they are more ready to learn,” says Salvatierra. “When we listen to them and give them space and language to talk about who they are and how they experience the world, that security allows them to thrive in school in ways they never did before. Even more importantly, they become kinder, more empathetic people. Isn’t that what we all want for our kids?”
Salvatierra adds that some children who identify with the LGBTQ community aren’t always supported by families and caregivers at home. “School may be the only place where they can be honest and not feel alone in their struggles,” he says, “so I’m glad that teachers are working to see this happen at Johnson and throughout the division.”
Although Schilling has since taken down all posts related to Johnson Elementary School on his website, links remain on his social media accounts. The radio host returned to air on June 19, and interviewed Republican House of Delegates candidate Steve Harvey.
Trainer Adam Goerge (pictured with his wife, Nicole, at their Elevate Training Studio) says a video inspired him to compete in the Trans Am Bike Race. Photo by Amy and Jackson Smith.
Personal trainer Adam Goerge is taking his love for cycling to the next level by racing across the country in the Trans Am Bike Race.
Spanning from coast to coast, the trail is approximately 4,200 miles long and follows the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail. Owner (with his wife, Nicole) of Charlottesville’s Elevate Training Studio, Goerge says cycling is a major part of his life, but preparing for the cross-country journey is still a massive undertaking.
“I’ve done various distance things like Iron Man … marathons, etc.,” he says. “I saw a video, Inspired to Ride, about the TransAmerica Bike Race from 2014, and thought it looked cool, and figured, ‘You know, okay, why not? Let’s see what I can make happen.’”
To prepare for the race, Goerge did “long rides on the weekends, anywhere from 100 to 280 miles, 400-mile weekends on the bike. And then during the week doing various speed workouts … trying to ride at least five or six days a week if not more.”
Since January 1, 2023, Goerge has put more than 5,000 miles on his bike.
On top of physical preparations, he surveyed the course for hotels, convenience stores, and water refilling spots. During the race, which started June 4, the clock does not stop, so participants must carefully budget their time between riding, resting, and refueling. Planning for food and rest stops is particularly important for Goerge because he plans to eat 8,000 to 10,000 calories a day.
While Goerge says he will “sleep on the side of the road” if need be, researching the course ahead of time gave him a better idea of where he could rest. Goerge plans to sleep only three or four hours each night, so he can maximize his time on the bike.
“I’ll be … trying to ride 17 to 18 hours a day for as many days as it takes to get across the country,” he says. “Under 20 days is the plan to get this done. The current record right now is 16 days and nine hours. I’d like to see how close I can get to that.”
Since kicking off in Astoria, Oregon, Goerge and his fellow participants have been pedaling their way across the country. With the race running through Charlottesville, the trainer will be zooming by around Father’s Day, but plans to keep pushing on to the finish line in Yorktown, Virginia.
While Goerge was somewhere in the Rocky Mountains at press time, he’s already anticipating reuniting with his family at the finish line. “I’m very appreciative of all the support I’ve gotten from my wife, from my friends, as I’m training for this thing,” he says. “I hope that I can get it done quickly and get back to see everybody here soon.”
The TransAmerica Bicycle Trail closely follows the route of the 1976 Bikecentennial event, which commemorated the 200th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence. While the Bikecentennial was not a race, cyclist Nathan Jones created the Trans Am Bike Race in 2014 using the pathway. The race has been held every year since its founding except for 2020, and has expanded beyond traditional bikes into other modes of transportation, including velomobiles.
Virginia Senate and House candidates debated a variety of issues during a May 31 forum at CitySpace. Photo by Eze Amos.
Candidates for the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates convened for a forum on May 31, three weeks ahead of the primary elections.
Hosted by the Charlottesville Public Housing Association of Residents, the People’s Coalition, and the Legal Aid Justice Center, the event gave candidates for state Senate District 11 and House District 54 an opportunity to discuss housing and criminal justice issues in Virginia.
In the Senate race, Democratic incumbent Creigh Deeds is facing a primary challenge from Delegate Sally Hudson. While Deeds has been involved in local politics for more than three decades, Hudson also has a strong electoral record in Charlottesville, winning her initial primary handily in 2019, and being reelected in 2021 with 78.5 percent of the vote.
The other candidate in the Senate race is Republican Philip Hamilton, who ran against Hudson in 2021. Since Hamilton is running unopposed for the Republican nomination, he will face off against either Deeds or Hudson for the seat in November.
At the forum, Deeds and Hudson spoke about their legislative records and progressive stances, while Hamilton called for major changes to the legislature and the implementation of conservative policies.
On the topic of affordable housing and the role of taxes as a source of funding, Hudson focused on Gov. Glenn Youngkin as a barrier to major tax reforms that would protect lower-income households without giving unneeded tax cuts to higher-income households. Discussing the proposal of major tax cuts, Deeds expressed his deep frustration with the idea, arguing that the current surplus is a product of underfunding in key programs like school construction: “There is red in my ears, this is a fiscally irresponsible proposal.”
Responding to the same question, Hamilton blamed current issues with housing on the federal government and widespread inflation, but did mention that housing could be funded with money from the privatization of ABC stores and the legalization of marijuana.
On the House side, Democrats Bellamy Brown, Katrina Callsen, and Dave Norris are vying for Hudson’s soon-to-be vacated seat. All three are major players in Charlottesville politics, and drew upon their experience in their pitches to candidates.
Norris has been involved with local politics the longest, previously serving as Charlottesville’s mayor and a city councilor, and is active with several local nonprofits. As the founding executive director of PACEM, Norris is passionate about affordable housing. At the forum, he argued that over incarceration must be addressed as part of the housing crisis, with funding shifted toward housing.
Charlottesville native Brown previously served as chair of the Police Civilian Oversight Board and as the city’s minority business commissioner. When asked about his time with the PCOB, Brown emphasized that his work with the board, and the creation of a new ordinance under his leadership, protects Charlottesville residents. He also spoke about how the legacy of slavery and discrimination continues to impact people of color through incarceration.
Coming to the area to attend UVA, Callsen quickly became involved in local politics, and currently serves as Charlottesville’s deputy city attorney and as the chair of the Albemarle County School Board. Arriving at the forum late in a graduation robe, Callsen quickly engaged the audience by sharing how attacks on education and women’s rights drew her to run for office, and spoke about the “need for strong, compassionate people in Richmond.” When asked what her top priorities would be, Callsen spoke about the urgent problem of mass incarceration in the state.
While many of the candidates’ priorities and responses overlapped, the forum highlighted the potential solutions and need for action on housing and criminal justice. The city has been grappling with the rising cost of housing and the ensuing housing crisis for years, but it remains an ongoing problem. Similarly, police reform has been a longtime priority in Charlottesville, but there is more work to be done.
For those still undecided about who to cast their ballot for in the June 20 primary, a recording of the forum in its entirety can be found on the Legal Aid Justice Center Facebook page.
With control of the state legislature up in the air, Gov. Glenn Youngkin says he’s focused on Virginia, and will not run for president in 2024. Supplied photo.
Since his successful gubernatorial campaign, political commentators have speculated about Gov. Glenn Youngkin running for president. While Youngkin has repeatedly said he will not campaign for the 2024 Republican nomination, a recent ad by the Spirit of Virginia PAC and reported meetings with potential donors has raised questions about whether the governor is truly out of the race.
Posted by Youngkin on Twitter on May 18, the ad opens with him saying “it’s pretty overwhelming to contemplate the future of America,” and calling on the legacy of Ronald Reagan. The video has many of the classic markers of a presidential campaign, including a call to action against the current administration. Youngkin does not mention Virginia in the ad specifically, instead he speaks to Americans more broadly. However, the governor has insisted for months that he is focused on Virginia and this year’s state legislature elections.
“I’m not expecting him to jump in,” says J. Miles Coleman from the UVA Center for Politics. “You don’t just get into a presidential race willy-nilly if you’re a serious candidate.” Coleman points out that Youngkin would be at a serious disadvantage if he entered the race late, but would have difficulty entering sooner due to the upcoming Virginia legislative elections.
Unless there is a major shakeup with current frontrunners—former president Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—Coleman thinks Youngkin will probably stay out of the 2024 race. But there are definite benefits to Youngkin’s mixed messaging.
“By not totally shutting down whether [he is] in or not, [Youngkin is] giving himself some mechanism to stay in the headlines,” says Coleman. Staying in the news gives him the opportunity to increase his national name recognition and better position himself for future races. “2028 seems like it is a long time away, but in politics … there is always another election.”
Additionally, Youngkin’s current messaging prepares him for a last-minute entrance into the race if it later becomes viable. “He’s Republicans’ roundly palatable guy, there is something for every faction to like,” says Coleman about reports that supporters are encouraging Youngkin to enter the Republican presidential primary.
While Youngkin is not a primary candidate, his impact on the field and Republican messaging has been massive. The Virginia governor’s campaign on parental rights and critical race theory has been mirrored by many of the current candidates. Most notably, DeSantis hired several key figures from Youngkin’s campaign for his own presidential run.
Here in Charlottesville, Youngkin’s platform can be most directly witnessed through his appointments to the UVA Board of Visitors. By appointing figures like Bert Ellis, the governor is undermining the viability of progressive policies, including diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Prior to joining the BOV, Ellis was a staunch critic of it and its support of DEI initiatives at UVA, saying that the school is “already diverse.”
“If I were Youngkin … I would focus like hell on my legislative elections,” Coleman says. “If he goes the 2028 route, he better hope that … whoever the Republican nominee is loses to Biden. If he has to wait eight years, he’s really irrelevant.”
Inez Gonzalez emphasizes the importance of community feedback
in police reform. Image courtesy of City of Charlottesville.
As the Executive Director of the Police Civilian Oversight Board, Inez M. Gonzalez is working to improve policing and police-civilian relations in Charlottesville.
Since its conception following the deadly 2017 Unite the Right Rally, the PCOB—formerly known as the Police Civilian Review Board—has been a source of contention. While many believe in the board’s goal of “[providing] objective and independent civilian-led oversight of the Charlottesville Police Department,” the PCOB has been criticized for its failure to enact real change.
Stepping into her new role, Gonzalez has a multitude of ideas for improving the efficacy of the PCOB. Despite her title, she is not a part of the board itself, but rather is employed by the city to serve as a leader and supporter for the group. The job is unique because she cannot direct the actions of the board beyond recommendations, but is beholden to its orders.
One of Gonzalez’s first recommendations came earlier this month, when she suggested the PCOB change elements of its meeting to increase engagement. “I’d like for us to make an effort individually to try to get people to come, to get them to participate,” she says. “I don’t know how it was in the beginning, but right now it seems like participation is dwindling. And that’s what I don’t want.”
Although she is new to Charlottesville, Gonzalez has an extensive background in police internal affairs and a passion for reform that has prepared her for the executive director role. She has 28 years of law enforcement experience, during which she held several jobs, including commander in Newark, New Jersey’s internal affairs office and regulatory enforcement inspector for the Pennsylvania state department. “Police reform is something that’s near and dear to my heart,” Gonzalez says. “I love policing, so I want to do something to make sure that we can make it better, and so that there can be a bridge built between the police and the community.”
“I’d like … to see [the PCOB] make improvements that make sense, that are beneficial to the community,” she says. “But I’d also like to see more of a training and educational component, so that the community understands why the police do what they do, what the policies are, and how everything works. So when something does go wrong, they know exactly how to address it.”
Gonzalez’s active approach to reform and relationship building is a welcome change of pace for the PCOB, which was without an executive director for more than seven months following Hansel Aguilar’s resignation. Aguilar stepped down after only a year, and was criticized for the slow movement of the board and the handling of its first case last fall.
Learning from her predecessor, Gonzalez is making an effort to engage the Charlottesville community in the PCOB. “I’m not strictly going to focus on doing investigations, I actually want to do community outreach to bring the people in to get them to understand the process,” she says.
In addition to community outreach and education, Gonzalez is conducting a thorough review of Charlottesville police policies. “I’d like to make sure that we review all of the policies and procedures that Chief Kochis will eventually update to make sure that they’re in compliance, not only with state law, but that they make sense in terms of what our mission is to the community,” she says.
According to Gonzalez, Kochis has been extremely amenable to her requests, and that has helped with the review process. The evidence of the department’s cooperation is apparent on the conference room table in Gonzalez’s office, which is strewn with CPD internal affairs documents in locked cases and policy printouts. While she has not yet met University of Virginia police chief Tim Longo or Albemarle County police chief Sean Reeves, Gonzalez hopes to continue building strong relationships with local law enforcement leaders.
Reflecting on her first few weeks on the job, Gonzalez is optimistic about the future of policing in Charlottesville. However, she also emphasizes the need for continued community feedback.
“One of the biggest messages I want to send is for people not to be afraid that if they do have a negative interaction with the police, to please let us know and make a complaint,” she says. “But in the same vein … if you had a good interaction with a police officer, by all means also let us know in the portal and give a compliment … it’s not just about when police officers do a bad job, it’s when they do a good job as well.”
The Mountain Valley Pipeline will cost approximately $6.6 billion according to developers. Photo by Mountain Valley Watch.
The United States Forest Service has approved passage of the Mountain Valley Pipeline through Jefferson National Forest.
First proposed in 2014, the 304-mile pipeline spans from West Virginia into Virginia, with a possible 75-mile Southgate Extension into North Carolina. While proponents of the MVP argue that the natural gas pipeline is a “critical infrastructure project,” many environmental groups and communities along its pathway oppose the project. Since the MVP’s proposal alongside other projects, including the canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline, there has been lengthy debate over the construction, pathway, and necessity of the pipeline.
Although the MVP would not cut through Charlottesville, its impacts are potentially far-reaching. Several local climate protection groups have been fighting the pipeline’s completion, including environmental advocacy organization Appalachian Voices.
“When the project was originally analyzed, in terms of market need, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission—which is the federal agency that certifies gas pipelines—said it was justified because there was shipping contracts for the pipeline’s capacity,” says Appalachian Voices Virginia Field Coordinator Jessica Sims. “But the issue with that is that four of the five companies that MVP had contracted were shippers or corporate affiliates of the pipeline-sponsoring companies. So, they were essentially selling it to themselves, [which is] problematic.”
Beyond the shady approval process, Sims highlighted the MVP’s impact on communities and landscapes along its pathway.
“Depending on the circumstances of the location, its steepness, or its proximity to water resources, you’re running the risk of sedimentation from the construction efforts exiting the construction site and impacting what’s around it,” says Sims. “And so that’s what we’ve seen … with Mountain Valley Pipeline running through such steep slopes and through the mountains of Virginia into West Virginia, that the sedimentation issues have been horrific and have impacted water resources in both states.”
With the Biden administration’s approval of the Amendment to Forest Plan for Jefferson National Forest and right-of-way under the Mineral Leasing Act, the MVP is much closer to obtaining the authorizations it needs to be fully operational by the end of this summer. As of May 23, the MVP and proposed Southgate Extension still have to obtain permits from the Army Corps of Engineers, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
While those in favor of the pipeline’s construction view it as a vital energy resource, Sims argues there are cleaner alternatives that can be pursued. “We have the tools, we have the vision, we have the future already happening here in Virginia in terms of clean energy development,” she says. “It’s an opportunity for Virginia to truly invest in that transition, and to make sure that it is a just transition that has that type of energy available for everyone, and does not leave behind workers that have previously been in the fossil fuel industry, especially in the coal regions of Virginia.”
Despite the MVP’s recent wave of success in obtaining authorizations, Sims remains optimistic about blocking the pipeline’s completion. “I maintain that it will be stopped. We see at this moment, they’re missing both a federal and a state permit,” she says. “Those fighting Mountain Valley Pipeline are not going to stop fighting.”
The last four years have been anything but conventional for the University of Virginia’s Class of 2023. Ahead of Final Exercises, I spoke to my peers about their unique time at UVA.
During spring break of our first year, we encountered our first major challenge with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. That time was marked by incredible instability and uncertainty for the entire world, and the experiences of the Class of 2023 reflect that.
“I think … every person our year can probably remember getting the email from President Ryan, telling us not to return after spring break our first year, and … realizing that the pandemic was going to affect our college experience pretty significantly,” says Eva Surovell.
Surovell, the former editor-in-chief of The Cavalier Daily, says the isolation of the pandemic is what drove her to get heavily involved with the paper. “When we … were told not to come back, I sort of felt like I was grasping at straws, trying to figure out how to stay connected to UVA even if I wasn’t … physically there,” she says. “And so for me, that meant throwing myself into the paper … [the paper] felt like my one connection to the university community.”
Other students encountered more logistical problems during the early stages of the pandemic. Honor Committee Chair Gabrielle Bray recalled, “I didn’t have … my textbooks or anything like that because I did not come home with them for spring break. So I remember trying to … figure out how I was gonna get those, and how I was gonna finish this semester, because I’m an out-of-state student.”
Gabriella Bray. Supplied photo.
It took months for Bray and other students to get access to their dorms, but the brief return to Grounds was bittersweet. “After we … packed up the dorm room and all that, we just went over to the Lawn … I [didn’t] know when I [would] see this again,” says Bray. She took in the Lawn with her father, “trying to … hold on to the good memories because we did not know what was going to happen.”
Although students did return to Grounds in the fall of 2020, the semester was anything but normal. A majority of classes remained online, and a number of strict gathering and testing policies were enforced to prevent the virus from spreading.
While all students were required to follow UVA COVID-19 safety procedures, resident advisors had the uniquely difficult task of enforcing policies in dorms.
“When I signed up to be an RA, the promise was like, ‘You’re gonna make a staff of eight to 14 best friends, you’re gonna get to meet 280 incredible people across the program. You’re gonna have awesome residents and you’re gonna be able to be like their older sibling and their best friend and help them through so much,’’’ says Holly Sims, who was a RA during the 2020-2021 school year. “The reality of it was that we were essentially cops in dorms, that we were the first line of enforcement for a lot of potentially life-saving policies. So we all felt that weight, and all felt that it was important. It was so hard to actually do that job well.”
Holly Sims. Supplied photo.
Despite her difficult experience as a RA, Sims remains passionate about housing at UVA as the co-chair of the Resident Staff Program and vice president for administration of Student Council.
Although difficult to enforce, the policies that university officials and RAs like Sims maintained were crucial in protecting at-risk members of the UVA community.
“Yeah, COVID sucked,” says rower Frederick Scotti, who has autoimmune disorders that can flare up when he gets sick. “It was really scary actually, because … I had no idea how I’d react to [COVID],” says Scotti. “But in another way, it was … kind of nice because it was this newfound … culture where everyone’s really cautious … so I can almost … feel more safe going out, because I knew people were all freaked out about getting sick, and it made me feel like people actually cared about not spreading disease around.”
Frederick Scotti. Supplied photo.
Beyond academics and health, the pandemic also impacted students mentally and socially. “Second year is kind of … the most formative year for making friends and … getting familiar with your community, and a lot of that time was spent over Zoom and breakout rooms,” says civil engineering major Sin Lin. “So I could definitely see how that … set us back a little bit—us as in me and … my class.”
The isolation of the pandemic impacted transfer students particularly hard. For women’s basketball player London Clarkson, coming to UVA during COVID both isolated her from her classmates and brought her closer to her team. “I wish I would have had … the opportunity to stay in dorms—like mandatory freshman year stay in dorms with all the other freshmen—because … I didn’t make as many friends and have … that sense of community that people have after staying in the dorms,” she says.
London Clarkson. Supplied photo.
However, not all UVA students were virtual during the height of the pandemic. Nursing students resumed in-person learning in the fall of 2020. “There were a bunch of restrictions and we knew that it was going to be tough, but just being able to … see people again after however many months that it had been,” says Ainslie Whitmarsh.
Throughout the 2020-2021 school year, a number of landmark events beyond the pandemic impacted the class of 2023. Between spitting in test tubes in university garages, quarantines, and exams, my class witnessed major political events like the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. In the same year, the COVID-19 vaccine was developed and rolled out nationally, allowing UVA to slowly return to predominantly in-person instruction.
The pandemic was a major part of the Class of 2023’s time at UVA, but the transition back to in-person learning had an equally large impact.
For transfer student Quana Dennis, coming to UVA in 2021 was a major change of pace. “I didn’t know what to expect because the classes at Piedmont … were online, but when I transferred … everything was in person … it was … slowly gradually getting back into the normalcy of life,” he says. “I was just really interested in seeing what everybody looked like rather than a masked face and just like seeing people, their smiles, and their personalities come out behind the mask.”
Quana Dennis. Supplied photo.
Even for students who attended UVA prior to the pandemic, coming back to the classroom and the end of masking requirements was jarring. “Being in the classroom again … it was great to see people again, like I didn’t realize how much I missed the sort of in-person interaction with my professors and … fellow students,” says Surovell. “But I remember for me the most shocking … transition was when we weren’t required to wear a mask anymore and I … felt like I saw people’s faces for the first time.”
For many, returning to in-person learning was also an opportunity to strengthen connections with classmates. “I’m just thankful that after the pandemic was over, we got back with being in person, we were able to … see each other and get to know each other to kind of make up for that lost time,” says Lin. Surovell also emphasized the impact of coming back to the classroom, saying, “I think I … appreciated the moments I had with my friends a lot more than I would have if … we had not been online for so long.”
After returning to near-normalcy during the 2021-2022 school year, the Class of 2023 was excited to begin fourth year. Despite the ominous placement of a noose on the Homer statue, the fall 2022 semester continued. But the normalcy was fully stripped away on November 13, when UVA students D’Sean Perry, Devin Chandler, and Lavel Davis Jr. were killed.
Sin Lin. Supplied photo.
“When the shooting happened, that was just a really hard moment. I knew some of the guys and so did my boyfriend. He was really, really close with D’Sean,” says Clarkson. As a member of the women’s basketball team and Black Student-Athletes Offering Service and Support, Clarkson was particularly impacted by the tragedy. “Us girls, like as a team, we had to go play, we had … a preseason game against Loyola. … We were losing by so much and we actually came back and … won, and it was just so emotional, and honestly, so sad. … None of us even wanted to play.”
As a class leader, Sims was heavily involved in the university response to the deaths of Perry, Chandler, and Davis. “Around two o’clock on November 14th, a lot of student leaders met together … to talk about what we wanted to do in terms of a vigil or a memorial, and then we had an hour and a half conversation where we just banged it out, cried a little bit, and then all immediately got to work trying to make that happen.”
“[I] was really, really impressed by how thoughtful everyone was being about what to do, and about how to execute on something like this,” Sims adds. “That was so unprecedented here, and that administration let students take the reins. … It was a big emotional labor to do that, but I think because it was by us, it meant more to us.”
Ainslie Whitmarsh. Supplied photo.
“It impacted me in a way, just made me think of sports and my life differently. How thankful we were to … play and just live another day, honestly, that’s been the most impactful thing that’s happened to me this far,” Clarkson says. “Even if … you didn’t know them, like their presence and just knowing who they are … says a lot about how … important they were to our community and athletics.”
While the class of 2023 is still mourning the loss of our peers, we are preparing for what’s next. Despite a tumultuous four years, our time at UVA is also marked by incredible achievements and memories. From updating the Honor Constitution to publishing scientific papers to attending graduate school in Charlottesville and beyond, the future of this year’s class is bright.
Resilience Education boasts a 7 percent recidivism rate among incarcerated students that have completed the program. The 2023 class will be the first to graduate since 2019. Supplied photo.
On May 10, the first class of students since 2019 will graduate from the Resilience Education program at Fluvanna Women’s Correctional Center. The graduation also marks the first time program participants will receive UVA course credit for their studies.
Resilience Education is a business education program designed to provide inmates with the tools they need to succeed post-release. With more than 650,000 people released from American prisons every year, Resilience Education aims to combat the primary drivers of recidivism—unemployment and social ties—through its classes taught by MBA students. While the program was started at Darden more than a decade ago, it has changed immensely since its conception with an entrepreneurship-focused curriculum.
Although entrepreneurship is still a major part of the Resilience Education curriculum, the courses have shifted to better meet the needs of its participants. “We started to realize that it wasn’t just going and getting a job … or starting a business,” says co-founder and Executive Director Tierney Fairchild. “A lot of people are incarcerated because of financial challenges, [because] of poverty.” As a result, financial capability and business foundation courses have been incorporated to prepare students for life after incarceration.
“It’s taught me to never let your past define your future,” says Resilience Education graduate Cereatha Howard. Howard has stayed involved with the program since her own release from FWCC in 2014, and is now a mentor for other formerly incarcerated people. “When you get out … you don’t know where to go … or where to start. And having people like us … [that have been] home and doing well … I tend to know how to help people look for resources.”
To help navigate life after incarceration, the Resilience Education program has expanded its network of post-release support through its Resilient Professional Community. While the network is currently in beta, the RPC provides a professional support network for Resilience Education graduates and other formerly incarcerated individuals.
“We actually can reconnect with them, and help them build a connection, both with each other and with trusted allies that want to support them in their journey to … flourishing in their communities,” says Fairchild about the RPC.
For graduates and volunteer teachers alike, both the Resilience Education program and the RPC network have been impactful. “Resilience Education is actually one of the reasons I chose Darden as a business school,” says Jackie Temkin, who volunteered regularly with the program during her time at Darden, and is now a mentor in the RPC network.
“[Resilience Education] has completely changed the way I think about … hiring. I think employers have a lot of trouble finding and retaining employees, but a lot of the time … it’s because they just have a really bad hiring process,” Temkin says. As the owner of Afton Design Co.—a local graphic design studio—Temkin has adopted a hiring process where she seeks to “eliminate unnecessary barriers … and requirements” that are often present in the recruitment process.
While Resilience Education had to pause a significant portion of its program during the pandemic, it is once again up and thriving. Both the Wharton School and Columbia Business School now partner with the program, expanding its impact significantly.
Beyond anecdotal success, Resilience Education has data that shows the positive impact of its program. Upwards of 1,000 incarcerated graduates have completed the program, which boasts a 7 percent recidivism rate. Compared to a national rate of 68 percent of releasees being rearrested within three years, this number is exceptionally low.
Fairchild attributes much of the program’s success to its community-driven approach. “This professional community is a place, it’s by and for our individuals. We have a community advisory board which started out as our design team, these are all formerly incarcerated graduates … they know what they need,” she says.
Looking to the future of Resilience Education and its professional network, Fairchild says, “We believe that what [we are] going to be doing is taking this more nationally.”
For now, Resilience Education is thriving locally. Twenty-seven students will be honored during the Fluvanna Women’s Correctional Center graduation ceremony, and preparing to enter the next stage of their post-release planning.
