Virginia
Are House lawmakers ghosting college students and staff over campus protest rules? • Virginia Mercury
Before the Virginia legislature’s last special session adjourned, the House of Delegates formed a committee to examine how colleges and universities statewide handle campus safety. The committee formed in the wake of a series of campus protests over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war last spring that led to the arrests of dozens of students and faculty members, and criticisms of how some institutions responded to the demonstrations.
Senate hearing over campus protests to Israel-Hamas war draws criticism from Republicans
But after five months, there has yet to be a hearing or word on when one will occur.
Zahra Jalajel, a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, said the House’s lack of action suggests that it is “supportive” of the universities’ and law enforcement’s protest response, which, in VCU’s case, included using pepper spray to clear encampments and arresting 13 people.
Jalajel described the experiences as “brutal” after watching friends and schoolmates being dragged and arrested by police, and their belongings including laptops being permanently destroyed.
“I think that by not having those conversations, it is saying that we’re not important and what occurred to us is not important to them,” said Jalajel.
Updated campus protest policies still a concern
Students, university faculty members, and organizers hoped that lawmakers’ interest would help influence how universities responded to the demonstrations and take accountability for the flurry of policy changes about public demonstrations several schools have made since the protests.. Free speech advocates have described the series of updated campus policies “unprecedented” and questioned whether they infringed on students’ First Amendment rights.
“It was violent; it was the unnecessary use of violence, and people were hurt and harmed. It didn’t have to happen that way,” said Walt Heinecke, immediate past president of the American Association of University Professors Chapter at the University of Virginia.
“I think faculty staff and students around the commonwealth are asking for some accountability about what’s been happening and what has happened since with the changes of university protest policies.”
Others hoped some legislation could also be proposed for the upcoming session starting in January, but they did not have any specific ideas.
Since the spring, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration has urged Virginia’s colleges and universities to “take proactive steps to update policies and improve communication channels before students return this fall,” according to an Aug. 8 email quoting Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera.
VCU has made changes like requiring students to have identification when covering their faces or heads, and banning encampments on campus grounds.
In Charlottesville, the University of Virginia administration has already implemented new disciplinary and protest policies “with no student input” from faculty members and students, according to an Aug. 21 letter from AAUP Chapter at UVA.
UVA president said protest outcome ‘upsetting’; professors condemn administration’s actions
Heinecke fears the longer lawmakers wait to meet, the policy changes could negatively impact students and faculty members.
He added that the policy changes at UVA would increase the punitive nature of protesting and make it “almost near to impossible for students to protest in what is normally accepted ways of protesting.”
Faculty members and students could also face harsher penalties, including termination or expulsion.
“They have made it harder to protest, they have made the consequences for protesting more severe, and they are actually squelching the First Amendment rights of students both at a psychological level and a policy level,” Heinecke said.
Legislators’ response
House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, briefly spoke with the Mercury after the first meeting was canceled. However, neither the office of Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, or Herring, both committee chairs, have responded to questions about the second cancellation.
Since Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, attacked Israel near the Gaza strip last October, killing 1,200, injuring hundreds, and taking hostages, demonstrators have called for a cease-fire and protested at five universities in Virginia last spring. In the resulting aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack, Israel declared war and over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed, while nearly 100,000 were injured and the health care system in Gaza has collapsed.
The Virginia demonstrations ended with more than 125 arrests at four campuses in the commonwealth — the University of Mary Washington, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia.
Since lawmakers in both chambers formed select committees in May to examine campus safety only Senate lawmakers have met, which was a contentious gathering between students, faculty members and some lawmakers.
Republicans disagreed with the hearing process, described as a “fact-finding” session, because lawmakers could not ask university leaders questions publicly. Lawmakers were urged to submit questions afterward in writing. The meeting agenda also went beyond the scope of the events, and no law enforcement agencies were directly invited to speak; instead, they were offered to comment through university leaders.
After the meeting, Capitol Police had to break up students and faculty members with opposing views. Jalajel, who identifies as a Black Palestinian, said the confrontation is an example of why Virginia’s legislature needs to get involved sooner rather than later.
“I think the climate worsens every day, and I think the sooner we have the (hearings) … maybe we’re able to make some changes before it gets worse,” Jalajel said.
A second meeting has yet to be scheduled.
Jack Leff, a recent Virginia Tech graduate arrested during the April campus protest, attempted to find more about the conversations between the House committee chairs and House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth. However, after reviewing the responses from Leff’s records request, the offices invoked their working papers exemptions and didn’t release any correspondence.
Leff, now an adjunct professor who identifies as Jewish, said it’s important for lawmakers to investigate the campus protests to ensure the First Amendment rights of everyone, including Palestinian and Jewish activists, are honored.
“Abandoning their responsibility to protect Palestinian, Jewish, and activist students is a failure to uphold First Amendment rights,” Leff said, adding that it’s truly “undemocratic not to be investigating universities more in response to these protests.”
Leff said he’s concerned about losing his position as an adjunct professor for participating in the encampment at Virginia Tech in the spring. Despite his “strong” teaching record, he said Virginia Tech failed to renew his contract as a teacher following his arrest.
Oliver Nicholson, a senior at Virginia Tech, experienced a similar issue at an encampment at the University of Virginia. Even though the court dismissed the charges against him, and Nicholson said he regained the job he lost, he is now concerned about losing his job again.
He said the House holding its hearings could help everyone understand what happened at Virginia’s universities in response to the continuing conflict.
“I think having an official institution like the Virginia Senate, like the Virginia House, record it and show ‘Hey, here’s what the encampment is about,’ here’s what students endured, here’s how safe it actually was,’ rather than whatever demonization you saw on social media, I think that’s very valuable as providing truth and clarity on the issue,” Nicolson said. “So yeah, it’s disheartening to me that so many of these meetings have been canceled or pushed back. I would like to see them reinstated.”
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A $50 million statewide initiative is looking to reform Virginia’s child welfare system.
In a release shared by the governor’s office on Tuesday, Dec. 16, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced the Safe Kids, Strong Families roadmap, which aims to strengthen child safety, expand permanency and support the Commonwealth’s child welfare workforce. The initiative is a collaboration between the governor’s office and a coalition of state, local and community partners.
The proposed $50 million investment from the governor’s budget would go toward several key objectives in the plan. The roadmap builds on several initiatives to strengthen child safety and permanency that were launched since 2022.
Per the release, $10 million would go toward increasing the minimum salary for local family services specialists to $55,000 to address high vacancy and turnover rates.
An allocation of $424,000 would go toward priority response within 24 hours for children ages 3 and younger. With 81% of last year’s child fatalities involving children under 3 years old, the age group is at the highest risk of maltreatment, per the release.
The initiative also calls for a $32.7 million investment and 132 positions to create a centralized intake system. The 24/7 hotline would handle reports of child abuse and neglect and connect them to local departments.
Youngkin said the initiative reflects years of efforts from the state to strengthen child welfare.
“This roadmap builds on the progress we’ve made and sets a clear direction for a system designed to protect children and support families for generations,” Youngkin said. “It reflects the Commonwealth’s enduring commitment to every child’s well-being and future.”
A posthumous memoir by one of Jeffrey Epstein’s best-known accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, has sold 1m copies worldwide in just the two months after its release.
Publisher Alfred A Knopf announced on Tuesday that more than half the sales for Nobody’s Girl came out of North America; in the US, the book is now in its 10th printing after an initial run of 70,000 copies. Giuffre’s book, co-written by author-journalist Amy Wallace, was published in early October.
The memoir helped revive criticism of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly a British prince, whom Giuffre alleged had sex with her when she was 17. And it heightened demands that the Justice Department release its files on Epstein, who killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Giuffre died by suicide in April at age 41.
“This is a bittersweet moment for us,” Giuffre’s family, including siblings Sky Roberts and Danny Wilson, said in a statement. “We are enormously proud of our sister, and the impact she continues to have on the world. We’re also filled with so much sorrow that she couldn’t be here to witness the impact of her words. In her absence, our family remains committed to ensuring her voice is everlasting.”
Within weeks of Giuffre’s book being published, King Charles III stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his remaining titles and evicted him from his royal residence.
Mountbatten-Windsor has long denied Giuffre’s claims but stepped down from royal duties after a disastrous November 2019 BBC interview in which he attempted to rebut her allegations.
He paid millions in an out-of-court settlement in 2022 after Giuffre filed a civil suit against him in New York. While he didn’t admit wrongdoing, he acknowledged Giuffre’s suffering as a victim of sex trafficking.
This week Giuffre’s family expressed their “deep disappointment” after the Metropolitan police announced Mountbatten-Windsor will not face a criminal investigation in the UK over allegations against him.
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In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Virginia
Virginia voters nominate candidates in Fairfax, Prince William ahead of January special election – WTOP News
Voters in several Northern Virginia districts are nominating candidates Tuesday who could be elected to serve on the state’s House of Delegates.
Voters in several Northern Virginia districts are nominating candidates Tuesday who could be elected to serve on the state’s House of Delegates.
Whoever wins Tuesday’s contests will compete in a special election on Jan. 13, 2026, for vacated seats in the Virginia General Assembly, where Democrats currently hold a 63-37 majority.
The series of shake-ups comes as several Democratic lawmakers step down from the House of Delegates to join Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger’s administration.
Two of the resigning lawmakers represent Northern Virginia: Del. David Bulova, of Fairfax City and Fairfax County; and Del. Candi Mundon King, of Prince William and Stafford counties.
Last week, Spanberger named Bulova as her pick for Virginia’s next secretary of natural and historic resources.
And the future governor tapped King to serve as the secretary of the commonwealth.
Each party has until Dec. 17 to submit a nominee to the Virginia Board of Elections for next month’s special election, according to a writ of special elections filed by Virginia House Speaker Don Scott.
District 11: Fairfax City and part of Fairfax County
Democrats
Five candidates are running for the Democratic nomination in a firehouse primary, including the exiting delegate’s wife, Gretchen Bulova, as well as Vanessa Cardenas, So Lim, Douglas Shuster and Denver Supinger.
Any voter registered in Virginia House of Delegates District 11 can participate — but they have to sign a declaration of support for the Democratic Party, according to the democratic committees in Fairfax County and Fairfax City. In a firehouse primary, the political parties organize the contest, not the state.
District 11 includes all of Fairfax City and portions of Fairfax County. If you’re not sure whether your home sits within the district’s boundaries, check out this website.
The caucus locations are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at these locations:
- Fairfax Presbyterian Church at 10723 Main Street
- Jim Scott Community Center at 3001 Vaden Drive
- Fairfax County Government Center at 12000 Government Center Parkway
Gretchen Bulova is the chair of the Fairfax County 250th Commission and the county’s history commission.
Cardenas is also a Fairfax City resident who works as the executive director of America’s Voice, which works to garner support for policy changes that create paths toward full citizenship for immigrants.
At a candidate forum on Sunday, Lim introduced herself as a progressive Democrat. She served three terms on the Fairfax City Council.
Shuster is the president of the Miller Heights Neighborhood Association and works at an advisory firm.
Supinger, former chief of staff to Del. Karrie Delaney, is the founder of a consulting firm that specializes in social impact strategy, political advocacy, and policymaking, according to its website.
It’s the second time Fairfax voters have participated in a firehouse primary this year, after earlier nominating candidates who competed to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly in June. Democrat James Walkinshaw ultimately won that special election in September.
Republicans
The Fairfax County Republican Committee confirmed with WTOP that Adam Wise will be the nominee, and there will be no caucus held.
Wise had previously run for the District 11 seat in November but lost to David Bulova, the incumbent.
District 23: Parts of Prince William and Stafford
Democrats
A Democratic caucus will also be going on in Virginia House of Delegates District 23 on Tuesday, according to the Democratic committees in Prince William and Stafford counties.
The caucus is scheduled to run from noon to 7 p.m. at these locations:
- Dumfries Community Center at 17757 Main Street, Dumfries
- Porter Branch Library at 2001 Parkway Boulevard, Stafford
Two candidates qualified to be on the ballot: Woodbridge Supervisor Margaret Franklin and Muhammed “Sef” Casim.
WTOP will report on the full ballot once the Republican nominee is finalized.
What’s happening in January
Voters in District 23 and District 11 will head to the polls on Jan. 13, 2026, for a special election to replace Dels. Bulova and King.
Early voting will be open from Jan. 3 to Jan. 10.
Outside of Northern Virginia, a separate special election is being held on Jan. 6, 2026, to replace representatives headed to Spanberger’s administration. Voters in the Richmond area will elect a new state senator in House District 15 and a new delegate in District 77.
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