Radical UVA GROUP Attempts to Sabotage Speech by Jason Miyares

Yesterday, UVA Dissenters, a self-proclaimed “collective of anti-imperialist organizers” brazenly and publicly urged its members to "spam" register for a Center for Politics event featuring former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares with no intention of actually attending. The stated goal was to "screw up their numbers," flooding the registration system with fake sign-ups in order to block real attendees from securing a spot. 

Let's be clear about what this is: it's not a protest. It's sabotage — and it absolutely runs afoul of a number of UVA's fundamental principles.

It conflicts with UVA's Statement on Free Expression and Free Inquiry: That policy states that "all views, beliefs, and perspectives deserve to be articulated and heard free from interference" and that the University must not allow others to "obstruct or shut down" protected expression. Coordinating fake registrations to undermine a speaker event is textbook obstruction.

It breaches the University Standards of Conduct: The Judiciary Committee ensures students are committed “to maintain an atmosphere conducive to education and scholarship.” UVA Dissenters clearly violated Article 4: “Intentional disruption or obstruction of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures, other University activities, or activities authorized to take place on University property.”

It constitutes an Honor Code violation: UVA Dissenters explicitly asked members to submit false registrations — to lie — in order to game the University system and disrupt a legitimate event hosted by a well-respected institution, the Center for Politics. That's not civil disobedience. That's cheating and lying, aimed at a specific target.

What's especially striking, however, is that this wasn't an underground plan. UVA Dissenters felt justified because it was a speaker with whom the group disagreed. It was boldly posted publicly and casually, as if this kind of tactic is normal and simply business-as-usual at UVA. Is it? Because it shouldn't be. This has to be stopped immediately. Such actions contravene and jeopardize the essence of what an institution of higher learning is about.

Nor is this UVA Dissenters' first brush with disrupting guest speakers.  These troublesome and unruly actions deserve immediate attention by numerous organizations and individuals on Grounds. We're calling on the Honor Committee, the University Judiciary Committee, and relevant university officials to look into this incident — and to make it clear that coordinated deception by anyone or any group aimed at shutting down free speech has no place at UVA.

We'll be watching to see how these University organizations and individuals respond.