Verbs for When It Is Too Much

Things at UVA are a lot right now. Thursday evening, news broke that the Department of Justice was pressuring our President to resign over his reluctance to dismantle programs and fire staff related to DEI. Less than 24 hours later, the NY Times reported that President Ryan had resigned as a condition for resolving an ongoing lawsuit with the Department of Justice. The local community only heard from President Ryan after the fact, and our Board of Visitors took days to communicate with the community about interim leadership. It’s clear from the ongoing situations at Columbia and Harvard that President Ryan’s resignation is unlikely to resolve the situation. More is coming.

I’m finding it hard to do much of anything, work related or otherwise. It feels like I have to attend to the crisis but also as though there’s not an awful lot that one can do. Here are some verbs for the present moment that I’m trying to keep in mind. They might be useful for someone else as well.

• Remember - We’ve been here before. At a rally on Friday, one speaker noted that it was almost thirteen years to the day since the last time that our Board of Visitors attempted to oust President Sullivan. The community successfully organized in response, and Sullivan was eventually reinstated. This situation is different, but there are still lessons to be learned.
• Listen - Social media is full of opinions. Find the local voices who speak truth in the moment and listen to them first. I recommend Molly Conger, who goes by @socialistdogmom on Bluesky and X. UVA’s Student Council had a good response out of the gate as well. The UVA student newspaper is also on the beat.
• Learn - It is easy to feel powerless, but educating yourself is an important act of resistance. In this moment, I would recommend Chuck Rybak’s UW Struggle: When a State Attacks Its University. Here’s the description: “UW Struggle provides an on-the-ground view of the smoldering attack on public higher education in Wisconsin. Chuck Rybak, who works in the University of Wisconsin System, provides important glimpses into the personal lives of those affected, the dismantling of tenure protections, the diminishment of shared governance, and how faculty remain the scapegoat for all of the university’s problems. This is a chronicle of failed leadership and what actions, if any, can protect this vital American institution.”
• Acknowledge - President Ryan was good for certain elements of the University. He also oversaw terrible pain inflicted on the community that should not be minimized or forgotten. His removal is a breach of institutional governance, and the path forward in his absence is likely to be far worse. Others will have different reads drawn from their own personal experiences, and I acknowledge and respect them. But I can see a world in which all of these things can be true at once.
• Organize - If you have energy, find those who are doing the work and get involved. UVA has a wall-to-wall union open to anyone who gets a paycheck from the university. We have a local chapter of AAUP. They are organizing in response. Find your people.
• Care - This also means caring for yourself. We have a toddler at home. He quite literally needs me to keep him alive. Part of my care in the last few days has meant unplugging from social media as much as I can such that I have the wellbeing to provide care for him. This also means I’ll be able to plug back in later when I can help.

This is not about one person. It’s about a community, and we have to care for each other, now more than ever. We have to work together, now more than ever.

All this feels inadequate, but I suppose it can be enough for now. There will be more to come. Onward.