What’s Happening:

• VMAS has been relocated from its longstanding office and student lounge on the 4th floor of the Student Services Building (SSB) to the Flawn Academic Center (FAC) — without any meaningful student consultation or replacement of the critical community space.
• VMAS staff have been removed to a location with no functional service area for students and no plan to create one. This will lead to diminished advocacy for all military affiliated student needs.
• SVA autonomy is under threat. Dean of Students Katie McGee, with support from Registrar Brenda Schuman, is attempting to assert control over the SVA through a "co-sponsorship" model, despite SVA leadership’s explicit opposition. This undermines 14 years of successful, student-led programming by VMAS staff who understand and represent the military-affiliated community.

We are asking the University to:

1. Restore VMAS’s dedicated student space in the Student Services Building or an equivalent accessible, centralized location.
2. Reinstate full advising and operational oversight of the SVA under VMAS, not the Office of the Dean of Students.
3. Ensure all future decisions affecting veteran services are made with transparent input from veteran and military-affiliated students.
4. Recognize and preserve the self-governance of the SVA, free from external administrative control.
5. Hold accountable any administrative offices that bypassed shared governance and disregarded the community’s voice.

We urge UT Austin and State of Texas leadership to act swiftly to protect the legacy, mission, and autonomy of veteran support services on our campus.