"Thank you for raising your hand to be part of Wahoos4UVA..."

Dear Fellow Wahoo,

Thank you for raising your hand to be part of Wahoos4UVA, a growing group of alumni and friends of UVA from across the political spectrum who have come together to defend UVA from partisan attacks, protect viewpoint diversity, and support President Jim Ryan’s principled leadership.

Over the past year, we’ve watched with rising concern as a small, radical faction of alumni has tried to turn UVA into a political pawn. Last week, they took out a full-page ad in the Richmond Times-Dispatch calling for President Ryan’s firing. The ad was filled with misinformation.

Differences of opinion are essential to a university that values viewpoint diversity. Disrespect and dishonesty are not. It’s time for us to speak up.

As UVA alumni, we strive to live Honor in all we do. The Jefferson Council's actions betray that ideal. In the 50+ years since its executive committee members were students at UVA, they seem to have forgotten Honor’s purpose: “to live and work in a Community of Trust, where honesty and mutual respect are the baseline for all our interactions and academic endeavors.”

UVA shaped who we are. It taught us to seek truth, lead with integrity, and stand up for what’s right. We owe it to the place that gave us so much to defend it now.

Help us show the world that UVA’s alumni are broad, diverse, and united in our love for the University. We may not agree on everything, but we agree on this: UVA deserves leadership grounded in principle, not politics. President Ryan exemplifies that leadership, and we support him.

Wahoowa!

Ashley Apple (BSN ’18, MSN ’20, DNP ’21) and the Wahoos4UVA Organizing Team

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Take Action Today to Support UVA!

Connect and engage with groups at UVA that support and encourage viewpoint

diversity. Here are just a few of them:

• Think Again at UVA
• Heterodox Academy at UVA
• Hoos for Free Speech
• The Civil Discourse Initiative at UVA
• Talking Across Difference at the Karsh Institute of Democracy
• The Fund for Free Expression and Viewpoint Diversity
• The UVA Faculty Senate

Tell the world about the good work being done at UVA to support viewpoint

diversity.

• Share articles and events, along with your comments, on social media.
  • UVA is proud to be ranked #1 in the nation by The Foundation for Individual
  • Rights and Expression in their college free speech rankings. You can learn more here.
• Send an email to UVA's Board of Visitors:
  • Urge them to defend the University against partisan attacks and disinformation campaigns
• Follow @wahoos4uva on X: Repost our messages and use the hashtags #Wahoos4UVA and #DefendUVA.
• Counter disinformation about UVA on X.
  • When The Jefferson Council or @CvilleBubble share disinformation on X,
  • comment on their post with the following message (and nothing more):
  "Disagreement is fine. Disinformation is not. #Wahoos4UVA #DefendUVA"
• Write an Opinion piece for the Cavalier Daily
• Write a Letter of Opinion for the Daily Progress
• Write a Letter to the Editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch

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