Re: It's Election Time!

[Curtis Burnam Cooper <cbc8g@cms.mail.virginia.edu>]

	Dear VELLA members:

	I write to throw my hat into the as-of-now empty 
ring for the VELLA vice-presidency.

	Why would I like to be VELLA vice-president? As VP, 
I would like to continue the current VELLA practice of 
hosting practitioner speakers. Hopefully, it will be 
possible to attract some "bigger-name" lawyers and 
attorneys to speak, given VELLA's access to funds through 
the University and the Program on Employment and Labor Law 
Studies. Also, I would like to work on some of VELLA's 
organizational needs. For example, VELLA has a computer, 
but it does not have office space. VELLA deserves an 
office, and I will work to make sure it gets one.

	What are my qualifications to be VELLA 
vice-president? Last summer I worked at Piper & Marbury, a 
large firm with a management clientele, in Baltimore. This 
summer I will clerk at the American Federation of State, 
County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), a 1.2 million 
member labor union, in Washington. I have a perspective on 
employment and labor law from both the management side and 
the union side, and I am comfortable dealing with each. At 
UVa, I am a member of the Labor Action Group (LAG). Along 
with involvement in employment and labor law issues here on 
campus, LAG has provided me with experience in the greater 
university Contracted Independent Organization (CIO) 
system, of which VELLA is a part. As a CIO, VELLA is 
eligible for funding from the student government and other 
perks, but it must meet certain requirements, mostly 
paperwork. I would make sure that these requirements are 
met, and that VELLA makes the most of the resources 
available to it from the University.

	I hope you will vote for me to be VELLA's next 
vice-president.

		Curtis Cooper