Wednesday, April 23, in Chancellors Hall, the William and Mary Public Policy club hosted guest speaker Williamsburg City Council member Ayanna Williams ’26 to discuss her term goals and answer questions regarding the Council’s functions and plans.
Williams studies government at the College of William and Mary and was elected to the Council this past November. She is the first actively enrolled undergraduate student to serve as a member of the Council, as well as the fourth student from the College to serve on the Council.
The College’s Public Policy club seeks to expand membership and craft a supportive community where students can work together to learn about policy-making. This event marked the organization’s second-to-last meeting of this semester.
Co-president Logan Snyder ’27 opened the meeting and introduced guest speaker Williams, who provided some initial remarks.
“City council is comprised of five members here in Williamsburg, and they are the ones who are responsible for legislation at the local level,” Williams said. “Student involvement here at William and Mary is unlike any other school. We actually, this past election, had the most amount of students come out and vote than any other Virginia school. I think that really is a testament to the people that we have here at the university and how we are able to come together and really, truly make a difference.”
She opened the floor for attendee questions and input.
Several students inquired about specific policies they hope to see on campus. Williams shared that she is integrating student opinion into council discussions surrounding the city noise ordinance and is working to develop new off-campus student housing that will be available in the upcoming year.
“One of the things that City Council aims to do is work alongside the university very closely, especially when it comes to student issues,” Williams said. “I hate the word politics, too, because it has a certain stigma around it. If you removed the stigma, it really comes to, this is going to sound cheesy, what can we do to just support the people around us and represent everyone well?”
One attendee questioned about the possibility of a student liaison between the Council and the Student Assembly. Williams responded about her plans on the topic.
“That’s something in the works, actually, right now,” Williams said. “I can’t speak much on it, but that is something I’ve been working with Matt and Zoe recently to create. I do my best in conversations that are held on campus to kind of feel out what are some of the things I should bring to the table and also address with my fellow council members, but I think having a student liaison or committee or something of the nature would be also beneficial. What really, I think, for us students would make a huge impact as well is if we start showing up to the meetings.”
Co-president Snyder provided his insight on this topic.
“It would be interesting if part of being on [Student Assembly] would be the requirement of having to go to City Council meetings with people,” Snyder said. “Because, not that another committee wouldn’t be nice, but that’s kind of their responsibility to be representative of all students.”
Snyder and Co-president Ander Erickson ’27 asked Williams about the community council’s effect on her daily life.
“My day-to-day is different every day,” Williams responded. “Every day feels like a brand new adventure. Right now, my responsibilities really consist of emails, my inbox is always full. Also, talking to people and keeping up what I did in the campaign — listening.”
Attendee and Public Policy club Secretary Katie Strohmeyer ’25 shared her insight following the session.
“Something that I’ve heard about before is how professional Ayanna comes off as, so it was really impressive to see her take this role seriously and come off as very genuine at the same time as being very polished in her approach,” Strohmeyer said. “I was very impressed overall. If students are having concerns, then they really need to come to meetings and say it. She can’t be the only person who has our interests at heart. She can fight as hard as she can, but it really depends on everyone showing up and being present.”
Strohmeyer additionally spoke to how this event aligns with the broader goals of the Public Policy club.
“This is a really great example of a current student actually going forward and making public policy changes in the community, so I think it was pretty inspirational for everyone that was here,” she said.
During the session, Williams mentioned that more than 65% of the Williamsburg City population is composed of students at the College. She described her feelings serving as a community-wide pillar for the student body.
“It’s an honor,” she said. “It’s really a team effort with everyone coming together during the campaign, so everyone who came to vote and my remarkable campaign team as well. It’s an honor and also a huge responsibility that everyone on campus and in the community has entrusted me with this position.”
Williams discussed how her time at the College thus far has prepared her for this professional role.
“One of the things that drew me to William and Mary, and I continue to appreciate every day, is the interconnectedness between all of our different studies,” Williams said. “One of the things that William and Mary has taught me is that you can find similarities between anything that you do, and I think that’s very important when you think about diversifying your skill set. Having the ability to make relationships and make connections with people that maybe are not the people that you interact with on a day-to-day basis, but the people that need to be represented well.”
Williams defined her broad goals for the remainder of her term.
“I think really it goes back into making sure that everyone is represented well,” Williams said. “So, whether that’s the student and making sure that student concerns are a voice in the room that will be heard, but also just the broader Williamsburg community as well.”
