Zann Isacson, Secretary of Student Rights

My name is Zann Isacson and I am a junior at the college. I spend an inordinate amount of time in Morton Hall studying International Relations. However, I’m happiest in CW with a vat of coffee, a great playlist, and a crossword puzzle.

I joined the Student Assembly last year because I believe the SA has potential to act as a great advocate for student needs. Students underestimate the influence they hold. We are members of the William and Mary community, the city of Williamsburg, and the state of Virginia. The issues in these spheres affect us tremendously, yet students have an unfair reputation of apathy. I dont think our William and Mary community is apathetic- rather we are crunched for time. Few have time to stay current and well informed. The SA acts as a resource for students to stay involved and active in these communities.

Generally, students have a reactive rather than a proactive attitude by towards their students rights. I hope the department can formulate more resources that are easy to access and student friendly in order to aid students in all situations.

Timothy Huffstrutter, Undersecretary of Honor and Judicial Systems

My name is Timothy Huffstutter. I am an alum of the College (BA ’07), as well as a current student at the law school. I am originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee. I served on the William and Mary Undergraduate Honor Council, and that experience had a great influence on me. William and Mary rightly prides itself on its honor and judicial systems. The community of trust these codes create provide students with the ideal setting in which to pursue their academic, personal, and professional goals. It is my hope that by serving in the Student Rights Department, I can help the College community to learn about and abide by these codes.

Polina Zvyagina-Taber, Undersecretary of Student Rights

Before coming to Law School, I used to be an investigator for the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board. I investigated allegations of police misconduct in New York and interviewed civilians and officers regarding abuses concerning unlawful search and seizure, stops, apartment and house entries sans warrant and excessive force. As a civilian, it is important to feel safe and to know your rights as an individual in society. Police officers are just people and they make mistakes all the time, therefore, it is vital for a person, especially living in a city, to know how best to interact with law enforcement and to make law enforcement work for the good of the society. Needless to say, I was surprised when I discovered that  Williamsburg, a town of 14,000 people has 5 police departments and jurisdictions: Williamsburg County, York County, Sheriff’s Department, National Parks Police, and William and Mary Police. It seemed excessive and I became interested in seeing how all these departments interact with the student body, which I assumed would be the primary or secondary target of police interactions. I worked in SA last year in the same position to educate the student body about their rights with the police and will continue to do so this year. It is unfortunate that most people only want to know what their rights are after they get in trouble. If you educate yourself now on the general rights of civilians with the police and know how best to interact with law enforcement, we can prevent arrests and summonses on campus. Be knowledgeable, be respectful, know your rights…come to our events.