Demand acceptable housing from UVA

Housing and Residence Life, University of Virginia

When students arrived on Grounds this semester, they found dorms equipped with cameras that record travel to and from the bathroom, mold that made them sick, and a system of labor exploitation that demanded resident advisors go above and beyond for their residents to prevent and respond to the spread of COVID-19.


Students are, quite literally, sick. UVA blamed students for the spread of mold in dorms and has been slow to respond to reports of outbreaks. VP Robyn Hadley has acknowledged that students are concerned about their privacy in dorms following the installation of security cameras, but refuses to authorize their removal. It's time that we fight back against UVA's predatory practices and organize for better housing on Grounds.

YDSA at UVA is running a grassroots, tenant-focused campaign to respond to these issues. We're asking for your signature to affirm that our demands are widely felt, and require URGENT action from the University. If you're able, contribute to our mutual aid GoFundMe here: https://gofund.me/811d41dc

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YDSA UVA

To: Housing and Residence Life, University of Virginia
From: [Your Name]

To President Ryan, VP Hadley, and UVA HRL--

UVA's Housing and Residence Life department has failed its students. We are demanding that you take immediate action to fix the inadequacies of student housing that pose health risks, create financial barriers, and exploit the labor of Resident Advisors.

Two of your students were hospitalized with health complications from mold. As you are aware, some students have disabilities that are triggered and made worse by mold. Refusing to revamp the HVAC system to remove the source of this toxic substance is a violation of the ADA.

Our demands require your immediate attention and urgent action. It is no longer acceptable to give statements like those published in the recent Cavalier Daily article that blame students for a structural issue.

UVA must take key measures to protect student health, privacy, and wellness, and ensure accessibility:

1. Remove the mold.

UVA must provide industrial dehumidifiers and air purifiers to dorms and academic buildings with reported mold outbreaks, and make plans to overhaul outdated HVAC systems that harbor mold. Demand compensation for hospitalized students and the bills their families have incurred as a result of the university’s mishandling of the situation.

2. Pay RAs Stipends.

UVA must follow the lead of its sister campus, UVA-Wise, in compensating Resident Advisors for the critical labor they provide for the University and its residents by offering a $400/week stipend as well as free housing and a unlimited–not partial– meal plan. Stipends must be paid as a wage from the Rector & University Board of Visitors, and not subtracted from financial aid packages.

3. Remove Cameras.

Cameras installed in the hallways of first-year dorms must be removed by Dec. 1st, as students in hall-style housing travel between their bathroom and their shower on camera. The university is responsible for notifying its tenants in advance of any future increases in surveillance in and around dorm buildings.

4. Provide Free Laundry.

Laundry should be free for all students as our sister campus, UVA Wise, as well as VCU, offer free laundry for all students. Access to laundry services is a necessity, this cost should be covered by the University, and not be absorbed into the student activities fee or any other means of increased housing costs.

These are commonsense demands. It is embarrassing that UVA is outpaced by peer universities in areas of financial accessibility when UVA has a multi-billion dollar endowment. Do better, UVA.

Signed,

The Affiliated Students and CIOs at the University of Virginia.