The class president does not represent me at UVA
In an Instagram reel promoting getting portraits taken for the school yearbook by @classof2027uva, Jackson Sleadd, the president of the class of 2027, said: “You don’t want to be the one fourth-year who is listed as “not pictured”.”
When I was a first year my initial thought about this person was… who even was he? Did we have an election at some point?
I’ve asked a few people recently, and they don’t even know who their class president is.
It really irks me whenever I see his emails that end in “President of the Class of 2027”. I don’t think he represents the class in its entirety at all. Instead, he’s the President of the Student Council of the Class of 2027. And the Student Council then actually represents the class, somewhat.
My time at UVA has been defined mostly by the classes and clubs that I’ve joined; my student job and research - they’ve all contributed meaningfully to my experience here. It’s been great! I’ve met so many wonderful people and gotten to attend several interesting events.
Occasionally Student Council has events but they’re usually generic college things. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just that they don’t interest me.
But I don’t recall Student Council ever benefiting my experience here in a significant way. If they actually have, then they need to do a better job of taking credit for the actions that they do. I’m sure there are things, maybe the Wahoo Spins program? But even that was advertised as HRL taking credit for the program.
I understand that they’re bringing back the yearbook. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s a good way to snapshot history. And if it’s a tradition you’re trying to revive that started back in 1888, sure, that’s good! But I don’t want to be part of this yearbook. I could care less about “missing out” when I’ve never felt like I “belong” to the class of 2027. I belong to a subset of organizations at UVA, not some organization that claims to blanket all of us.
I think UVA is a giant pool of diverse communities that doesn’t need to be centralized under one place. If I want to memorialize my time, I’m going to do it with the communities I care about.
As for our class president… I respect that he became the student representative for the Board of Visitors. That does mean a lot to me because that actually has consequential meaning for the University. But as just a class president? I see that as nothing more than a ceremonial service, and I could care less.
Do things need to change? Not necessarily. If the current model works, keep it as it is. Student Council and the “class president” will never represent everyone at UVA, and that’s to be expected. Really, it’s to be expected in high school, other universities, every school. If you’re a first-year, you shouldn’t stay within the generic college experience. Branch out, find a niche! Because that’s where I think UVA truly shines.
At the very least, don’t call yourself the president of the class when you don’t represent the class.