UVA Student Government Hides Access to Videos After Conservatives Criticize Legislation
“Recordings will be available internally to Council members on an as-needed basis, and are not to be duplicated, edited, or distributed”
Young America’s Foundation used some video of the student government to expose a horrible plan to punish professors for comments found to be offensive. Now the videos are restricted.
The College Fix reports:
UVA student government restricts access to recordings after conservatives used footage to criticize legislation
The student government at the University of Virginia recently decided to hide public access to its video recordings after Young America’s Foundation used footage from a meeting to create a video critical of several members.
The foundation had flagged a student government meeting in November during which its members voted to support the creation of a “strike system” for professors accused of making comments deemed “offensive.”
“For the foreseeable future, and out of caution for the safety and well-being of student council members, general body recordings are temporarily unavailable to the public,” the student council wrote on its website in all-caps.
“Recordings will be available internally to Council members on an as-needed basis, and are not to be duplicated, edited, or distributed,” a November 25 news release said.
The decision came after Young America’s Foundation posted video of the November student council meeting during which members debated and passed a resolution supporting the implementation of a “strike system” for professors accused of offensive or “racist” statements.
Spencer Brown, a spokesperson for YAF, pushed back against the concealment of videos and the student council accusations.
“YAF will continue to cover the UVA Student Council’s attempts to intimidate conservative representatives and push illiberal policies—things the Council have attempted to conceal but YAF has been able to expose thanks to bold students who use YAF’s Campus Bias Tip Line,” Brown said via email to The College Fix.
WATCH: YAF obtained footage from a UVA student government meeting where members attack their fellow representative—who is also a YAF activist—for advocating due process in opposition to a resolution instituting a "strike" policy for professors who "offend." pic.twitter.com/R0ZoiFg06c
— YAF (@yaf) November 19, 2020
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Comments
Sounds like the Open Records laws would apply since the Student Government is taxpayer funded.
Bury the little p*ks with FOIA demands.
So they’re going to try to justify their lack of transparency and hide their Star Chamber proceedings behind the shield of “…caution for the safety and well-being of student council members…” Seems to me that if they acknowledge that the video recordings would reveal activities that are so controversial that the members might be at risk, students, faculty and the public at large have a legitimate interest in seeing what’s going on in these secret meetings/hearings.