The move to redistrict Virginia, giving Democrats a shot at more seats in Congress, has some lawmakers scrambling. Ghazala Hashmi and Winsome Earl Sears are juggling jobs as candidates for statewide office with their roles as state senators. But that did not stop Hashmi from making a morning stop at UVA to meet with students and share her views on protecting higher education.
Ghazala Hashmi has taught college English and grew up in a family of educators, so she told students she’s not happy with the direction President Trump and Governor Youngkin have taken.
“There’s a lot of work to be done. There’s a lot of work to be undone," she said. "One of the first steps is to make sure that we have a secretary of education who is determined to protect education and not for political perspectives of a certain party.”
Case in point, a requirement imposed on Virginia Commonwealth University.
“We’ve seen the Youngkin administration demand faculty teaching certain courses turn over their syllabi for approval,” she said.
So in the next legislative session, Hashmi says she’ll offer a bill to take the full power of appointments to university boards away from the governor and to stop appointees from joining boards before they’re confirmed by the General Assembly.
“You know, the governor can appoint and the board members get seated," she explained. "Sometimes they’re making – as we’ve seen – very critical decisions for six months, seven months in advance of their actual confirmation.”
Students and faculty now have representation on boards, but they’re not allowed to vote. Hashmi says that, too, should change.
