University alumnus William Bennett, a member of the Class of 2000, returned to Charlottesville this summer to follow his passion and sing opera with the Ash Lawn Opera program. The Cavalier Daily caught up with Bennett to discuss his time at the University and his unique road to opera.

Q: Tell me a little bit about your singing career.

A: I grew up singing. I sang in the church choir and I actually started taking voice lessons when I was in seventh grade to try to make the lead in the high school show choir and I was captain of the soccer team and the tennis team and it was just a natural fit to do the musical theater stuff as well. But it wasn’t until I got to Virginia and started taking lessons that I learned classical singing technique.

Q: So you were in the Engineering School at the University, correct?

A: Yes, I came straight into the Engineering School which definitely demanded some time but I knew that I wanted to have other stuff to do outside of engineering as well and there was plenty of singing opportunities. I actually got rejected from the VGs [Virginia Gentlemen], which was a hilarious experience because they were ultimately all my friends. It’s such a small community. That was my first audition first year, and then I sang for the Glee Club. I got into the Glee Club and right away started singing solos. I think I sang in something like 80 concerts with the Glee Club and University Singers, both of which are more classical and traditional music.

Q: Where did you move after you graduated?

A: It was an amazing spring of my fourth year because I did the on-campus interviewing stuff and I did well and I got some job offers. I got a really competitive offer from the Clorox Corporation in Oakland, California to do marketing and I had about a week to consider that offer and during that week I flew to Chicago, auditioned for a master’s program in voice and got a scholarship and said yes. So it was just like life thrown at me real fast. My thinking was that I could come back to engineering and I felt, as a fourth year, that whatever my next step is it’s going to be so massively important. And I guess that’s true in someway but its also just another year so I decided to just try it out.

Q: What was the auditioning process like for Ash Lawn Opera?

A: I had just flown to New York and had a lesson the day before. It was over the winter sometime so it was well before the [Ash Lawn Opera] festival. They have a couple of days of auditions. They say they audition about 200 singers and select 16 of us ultimately.

Q: When was it that you decided to make the return to Charlottesville?

A: I had been doing a couple of summer programs around. I guess the coolest one was at the Chautauqua Institute in New York. It’s funny I actually studied the institute in my [Utopias and Society] class in the Engineering School. I was part of the voice school there for the last couple of years and the instructors and conductors that come through there are just world- renowned.

It was a good experience, but it was still school — Ash Lawn is a professional opera company and I’m [definitely] the small fish which is great because then I have a peer group of amazing and talented people who are doing what I’m doing at different levels and with different skill sets and I can just watch that all go down.

Q: Did you ever see yourself going down this path when you were in the Engineering School? Were you thinking in the back of your mind that you were going to be an opera singer?

A: Definitely not. I toyed with the idea of trying to pursue singing a little bit more in some sort of extra-curricular fashion but I definitely was not into opera while I was here. It just seemed a little self-serving and loud, all the things that we think of when we think of opera, just sort of fake. And also I didn’t think I’d be very good at it because it’s a combination of so much stuff, it’s not just the acting that’s got to be on, it’s also the musicality and it’s also volume. The people that really do this stuff at like The Met are giants, they’re just massive and they put out huge amounts of sound. But through training and time you learn to make the most efficient use of what you have. As time goes on I learn more about what my natural talents are and also what my deficiencies are and what I need to work on.

Q: Are you ultimately glad that you chose this course of action as opposed to engineering?

A: I am. I know that there’s an A-track with engineering and that can be a complete rat race to be the best of the best but that was never my aspiration. I think that systems engineering — well engineering in general, because it’s only enough science to solve a problem, it’s applied science — it’s a tool to help me out and help me do whatever I want to do with my life and it still does. Even in singing, there’s such a process there, there’s sort of alone time that you go and work on this puzzle by yourself and then time when you get to perform it and reveal it to your peers. So there are still some parallels there.

– compiled by Julie Eckert

The University’s economic impact on Charlottesville and Albemarle County surpassed $1 billion in 2005. Excluding spending by faculty, staff and visitors, spending solely by the University totaled nearly $790 million in the same year.

For some, these findings of the recent study by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service articulated a well-known fact among those in the business community: The University is, by far, the largest and most influential economic force in central Virginia.

“Just driving into the town and spending more than a few hours here, it’s very clear that the University of Virginia is the enormous economic engine in the community,” said Timothy Hulbert, president of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Big spender

Students, as much as any other group of individuals at the University, make up a significant portion of this economic energy. The study states that student spending in the Charlottesville area totaled almost $212 million in 2005. According to Hulbert, local businesses understand the importance of serving this large base of potential customers.

“One of the great things about university communities … is that youth brings with it a vitality that is not seen in communities that don’t have a university,” Hulbert said. “Before you get to the dollars, you have the sheer vitality that has its sight set on the future. That’s a good thing, and you can feel that vitality in this community all the time.”

The study also noted that the University generates more than $600 million from out-of-state sources including out-of-state grants and tuition. On average, the University receives $4.71 of out-of-state funding for every $1 of support from the Commonwealth.

“Look at the state contribution and compare that with the money brought in from out-of-state,” said William Shobe, director of business and economic research at the Cooper Center and co-author of the study. “That was a much smaller number that I expected. I didn’t think I was looking at the right thing at first.”

This disparity in the source of operating funds is a “powerful statistic,” according to Hulbert. He said the Commonwealth has decided with such an arrangement that it is going to let the economic marketplace decide the vitality of its universities more so than other states, such as North Carolina, that proportionally provide more direct state funding for their public colleges and universities.

More money, more problems?

While University growth has brought economic benefits to the area, it has prompted a new set of concerns among some members of the Charlottesville community. Many of these, such as increases in traffic and pollution and a negative impact on affordable housing, are not explicitly mentioned in the study.

“If we had taken on a larger sociological view of society and asked questions about [if] we want to have a city where a lower-income person can’t afford to live, it takes us way outside our area of expertise,” Shobe said. “We’d be beyond what we could say anything about as professional economists. Our tendency is to look at things we can more easily measure.”

According to Shobe, skyrocketing land values near Grounds are simply a way of assessing the value of the University and a sign of the very economic advantages the study tries to measure.

“Do you say that an increase in property values around the school are a cost of putting the school there?” Shobe questioned, adding that there is a social adjustment that has to be made when a community becomes prosperous.

John Knapp, senior economist at the Cooper Center and study co-author, echoed a similar sentiment, saying peripheral effects such as rising property values are signs of the University’s economic success.

“Of course, when you have an economic driver like the University, it’s going to make this an area that people want to move to,” Knapp said. “The markets respond to that.”

Hulbert said he believes the challenges of economic growth should be welcomed by both local businesses and residents.

“When population grows there are challenges to that,” Hulbert said. “The challenges of growth are much more preferable than the problems of decline.”

Though Shobe acknowledged that some low-income residents have been priced out of the local housing market because of growth, he pointed out that same growth has brought a number of higher-paying labor jobs to the area. He said both new and long-time residents are willing to pay more to live near the University because of the services it provides. For example, the Medical Center provides a significant amount of indigent care to some local residents, often at little or no cost to those in need.

Hulbert also pointed to student and faculty volunteer efforts as a way of serving the community, using the United Way’s annual Day of Caring as an example.

“There will be hundreds of people from various employers, and we’ll spend a day helping the community,” Hulbert said. “The University is once again the largest player in the field. [It's] contributing to the vitality and tapestry of this community. It’s a great photo, all of the orange.”

Growth potential

The authors of the study ventured guesses that the University’s economic growth will continue well into the future. Shobe, however, suggested that the University’s operations might constitute a smaller percentage of economic activity in the region in the coming years.

“Even as the University grows, the community around it is growing faster,” Shobe said. “Charlottesville is becoming a very attractive place to live. It’s become an attractive place to locate certain kinds of businesses. One has the feeling that it sort of reached the point where this growth is self-sustaining, that it doesn’t require more money from the University to boost growth in the community.”

Knapp pointed to other measures of restraint, including the Board of Visitors’ current cap on student enrollment, which currently rests at about 20,000. He said, however, he does expect the University’s research facilities and capabilities to grow extensively both in the medical and non-medical realm. The research facilities, a new source of income and economic development, were not around in 1990.

Though this current study extensively outlines the University’s large economic impact on the Charlottesville area and the Commonwealth, Leonard Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer, stated it will not influence the way in which the University works with either entity.

“The report will not affect the way we go about our business, teaching, research and health care activities,” Sandridge wrote in an e-mail.

This steadfast approach is good news to some local businessmen, according to Hulbert.

“For the most part, the University has demonstrated over 180 years that it knows what it’s doing,” Hulbert said. “They’re not infallible, but they do know what they’re doing, the stewards of the day. The growth of the university brings with it more economic benefits.”

University officials announced Tuesday that Allen Groves will serve as interim dean of students, taking over the role vacated by current Dean of Students Penny Rue.

Groves, who currently works as a development officer in the Office of Student Affairs, will assume the role Aug. 6 as Rue prepares to leave the University for her new position as vice-chancellor for student affairs at the University of California-San Diego.

According to Pat Lampkin, vice president for student affairs, the dean of students is responsible for several areas including orientation and new student programs, Newcomb Hall, the Center for Alcohol and Substance Abuse, the Office of Student Life and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.

The dean is responsible for “the daily support of students, their student experience, their involvement with student activities and the general safety and well being of all our students,” Lampkin said.

Groves said his experience working in the development office gave him a chance to gain a greater understanding of student life that will aid him in his new position.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with a lot of student leaders and student organizations; lots of dinners, meetings and events to talk to students and hear what they felt about the [student] experience,” Groves said.

Groves stressed that his main goal will be improving the overall student experience.

“[I want to] sit down with students and find out what our priorities should be, what opportunities are out there that we should be taking advantage of, how we can make a better undergraduate experience,” he said. “If we are doing things that are very meaningful for students, and preparing them for later in life, we should be doing more of that.”

In addition, Bill Ashby, associate dean of students and Newcomb Hall director, confirmed that he and fellow associate deans Aaron Laushway and Angela Davis will be stepping up in their roles to aid Groves in their areas of experience.

“I’m happy to step up and provide whatever support and leadership I can,” Ashby said. “[It's beneficial to] try and identify strength across the organization and leverage those strengths for the benefit of the whole.”

According the Lampkin, the search for the permanent dean will start after the beginning of the new school year.

“We are going to get the year started, make sure it’s a seamless transition for the students, make sure all our programs are lined up correctly and then do a national search,” she said.

In the meantime, Groves said he is excited as he approaches this new position.

“This is to me, really a dream opportunity to make a difference in a place I love more then anywhere else,” he said.

Two couples were victims of assaults involving youths wearing white T-shirts Saturday on West Main Street, according to Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo.

These incidents, which took place in the early morning hours, increase the number of reported random “white T-shirt assaults” in Charlottesville to 11, according to Longo.

The first incident occurred at about 2:45 a.m. in the 400 block of West Main Street. A man and woman were sitting in their car when they were approached by a group of black males. One of the males asked for a cell phone. After telling him they did not have a cell phone the group began attacking the car. The man and woman exited the car to confront the group. One of the males in the group then knocked the man to the ground and the group left, Longo said.

According to the police report, the woman involved is affiliated with the University, Longo said.

The second incident occurred shortly thereafter in the 800 block when a group approached a man and woman walking down West Main Street. One male in the group asked for the time. After the woman responded, one member of the group struck the man from behind, Longo said.

Longo added that the groups did not use any weapons, nor did they rob the couples.

According to Longo, the groups contained about five to six black males between the ages of 12 and 15. Longo said the series of reported assaults by young men wearing white T-shirts began in the spring and added that the more recent attacks have become more concentrated on the weekends between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m.

Longo said he only speculates as to whether the incidents are related or if they are some sort of gang activity.

“Their behavior is certainly consistent,” Longo said, adding that there may be “groups on several sides of the city trying to one-up each other.”

He said it is still difficult to discern the motive behind these assaults, though he referenced theories that they could be part of some kind of challenge or initiation process.

The Charlottesville Police Department has increased its presence in the downtown area with both officers in uniform and plain clothes, Longo said.

Associate Dean of Students Aaron Laushway said he would like to remind students to be careful.

“The police have urged the citizens and visitors in Charlottesville to take all necessary precautions to ensure personal safety by staying in well-lit and heavily traveled areas,” Laushway said. “I would urge our students to heed their advice.”

If caught, the attackers could be charged with assault by mob, Longo said. According to the Code of Virginia, any person committing a “simple assault or assault and battery shall be guilty of a class one misdemeanor.” A class one misdemeanor is punishable by up to 12 months in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500.

Another reported assault occurred early Sunday morning after another couple left a restaurant and was assaulted by two black males between the ages of 15 and 17. The first male was described as 5’10,” thin-built and wearing a white T-shirt. The second male was 5’10″ with a stocky build, wearing a blue plaid shirt and wire-rimmed glasses. Longo said he does not believe this incident is related to the ones that occurred Saturday.

Thursday, April 19, while the nation was still coming to grips with the tragedy that had unfolded in Blacksburg three days earlier, Gov. Tim Kaine created an eight-member panel of experts in the fields of security, law and mental health to investigate fully what had gone wrong and what could be done to help prevent a similar incident in the future. Last Wednesday, the panel held what was to be its last public meeting — it has since been announced that another will follow — at the University. While the panel heard testimony on topics as wide-ranging as community mental health services and gun control laws, much of the discussion centered on the unique challenges faced in servicing and protecting a college population.

Beyond “lockdown”

As schools consider the most efficient and safe methods for responding to threats such as an active shooter on campus, lockdowns are a common solution. In fact, much of the panel’s discussion of security procedures focused on the appropriateness and plausibility of a campus-wide lockdown; however, all of the law enforcement experts who testified at the meeting in Charlottesville suggested that responding to such an event is not so simple.

“I think we have this impression that we hit a switch and everything is locked and everything is secure, and that is not the case,” said Don Challis, chief of police at the College of William & Mary.

Challis testified that a lockdown creates a “target-rich environment” in the academic buildings where students congregate. He instead recommended that colleges advise students to take refuge in their own rooms or other safe places. Challis emphasized that colleges need to make it clear in advance what would be expected of students in a crisis situation.

“Hope is not a plan,” Challis said. “We can’t hope that when something happens these people hang on our words and do what we say.”

Avoiding a tragedy

Perhaps the most vexing question surrounding the Virginia Tech tragedy regards the various warning signs of the danger that shooter Seung-Hui Cho posed to others. The panel spent much of the morning hearing ways for universities to more readily identify a troubled student.

Central to the goal of pre-emptive action are Threat Assessment Teams. These teams, present at many schools though not formally at the University, are made of up administrators, deans and law enforcement officers that meet to identify and evaluate potential threats posed by students, according to Challis’s testimony.

Both Challis and Dr. James Madero, a professor at Alliant International University, testified that teams like these can be helpful in preventing school violence.

“It needs to be a campus-wide group that includes … people who have the most contact with students,” Challis said. “If they see a flag, they can run that by others.”

The panel also heard testimony on the effectiveness of campus psychological services, primarily from Russell Federman, University director of counseling and psychological services.

Federman pointed to the low suicide rate at the University– three suicides in the last seven years, which is less than a third of the national average — as evidence that CAPS is effective in dealing with high-risk individuals.

Among the factors contributing to this success, he said, are frequent communication between the administration, faculty and CAPS to determine individuals who may pose threats and follow-up procedures for high-risk individuals who do not appear for counseling.

“My hunch is that if Mr. Cho had been involuntarily hospitalized at U.Va. [as he was at Virginia Tech before the shootings occurred], CAPS staff would have become involved with him much earlier,” Federman said.

Not everyone was satisfied with Federman’s reasoning, however. Holly Sherman, whose daughter Leslie was a victim of the shootings, told reporters she thought the procedures Federman described were “very similar” to those in place at Virginia Tech before the shootings.

Although he said he was confident that academic deans would have contacted CAPS about a student exhibiting the strange behaviors attributed to Cho, Federman said in a later interview he also could not say with certainty that CAPS would have prevented the shooting.

“We can’t buy into the illusion that we can control the uncontrollable,” Federman said. “The bottom line is if someone chooses to be violent, he or she can be without us being able to stop that.”

Issues of confidentiality

One of the hotly debated issues of the day was the importance of students’ rights, as adults, to privacy regarding their mental health records.

Panelist Diane Strickland, Law School alumna and former dean of Student Legal Services, asked if CAPS had access to the mental health records of incoming first-year students while another panelist, Dr. Roger Depue, said he wondered if such information would prove to be helpful.

Privacy concerns dictate that the University does not have such access, Federman answered, but that is not necessarily a problem for CAPS.

Mandatory on-Grounds housing for first-year students ensures that mental health problems are observed quickly by Resident Staff or fellow students, Federman said. He added that even if mental health professionals had access to background information on a student, it would not always be necessary in deciding how to proceed with treatment.

Several victims’ parents expressed concern that privacy issues may hinder communication between administrators about students who present potential threats and may prevent mental health professionals from informing parents if their children seek psychological help.

The experts testifying were divided over whether privacy laws make it difficult to share information among administrators. While Challis testified that privacy laws sometimes make it difficult to determine what information can be shared legally, other experts did not believe this to be the case.

“I have been very alarmed by the perception that the law somehow impedes colleges and universities from doing what they think to be the right thing,” University law Prof. Richard Bonnie said.

Parental involvement does not always help mental health professionals treat students, Federman said, and it is rarely absolutely necessary. College represents a time of transition between dependency and autonomy for many students, and he said he believed, in most cases, automatically involving parents would undermine that transition.

“That’s quite different from a very acute situation where we’re looking at issues of violence and danger to self and where we absolutely need the family involved to help us prevent a tragic outcome,” Federman said.

During the panel’s meeting, Federman resisted a call from Tom Ridge, former secretary of homeland security, to develop standardized guidelines for informing parents when their children seek psychological help, but assured the panel that mental health professionals would breach privacy laws if a situation demanded it.

Several of the victims’ parents present were unsatisfied with the explanations.

“I worry about a society that places individual rights in such a high regard that it jeopardizes public safety,” said Catherine Read, step-mother of victim Mary Read.

University alumnus and current astronaut Patrick Forrester served as a mission specialist for NASA’s most recent mission to the International Space Station, STS-117.

Forrester and six other astronauts were launched into space June 8 on board the space shuttle Atlantis in order to exchange astronauts and complete construction on the International Space Station. After crew members returned, Forrester offered some insight into the success of the mission and explained what it is like to take a walk in space.

Houston, we may have a problem…

The June mission wasn’t entirely smooth sailing for the STS-117 crew. Mission Specialist Steven Swanson said the Russian computer systems were not functioning at the time, a problem which still has not been resolved entirely.

Atlantis was also unable to land in Florida because of bad weather. Instead the shuttle was rerouted to touch down June 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Swanson said, however, extra days are always planned for landing because of the possibility of inclement weather.

Despite encountering a few problems, the crew members of STS-117 saw success in some areas that had proved to be troublesome for previous missions.

According to NASA, a solar array had to be retracted during the mission, a task which had been complicated for the earlier STS-116 mission.

Kathy Thornton, University associate dean for graduate engineering programs and former NASA astronaut, explained that an array is a series of panels that fold up on top of one another. Thornton compared an array retracting incorrectly to folding a map the wrong way.

STS-117 also completed further construction at the International Space Station, such as adding truss segments S3 and S4 to the space station. The truss segments, which Forrester said look like steel girders, have solar arrays on them. These additional arrays will provide the space station with necessary amounts of additional energy.

Mission accomplished

Despite a few glitches, Swanson said STS-117 accomplished all of its goals and more.

Swanson said he and Forrester completed two spacewalks instead of doing only one together as originally planned. In a status report, NASA said Swanson and Forrester were able to complete tasks on their last spacewalk that will decrease the workload of future missions.

Forrester said as a mission specialist on STS-117, he was involved in moving and attaching the truss segments, inspecting thermal blankets and preparing the solar arrays.

“I did a little bit of everything on this mission,” he said.

While Swanson said most of the astronauts’ time was scheduled from when they woke up until they went to sleep, there was a small amount of downtime.

“A very popular thing is just spending some time looking out the window,” Forrester said.

He said he also exercised while listening to his iPod, which helped him to relieve stress.

On the other hand, Swanson said “it was fun just to do the work.”

Forrester said spacewalks are the highlight of what he does as a mission specialist. He said looking out a shuttle window is like looking out of a window in a house; however, on spacewalks, “you can see the entire earth underneath you.”

But it is not just the view that Forrester noticed while outside the shuttle. Forrester said when doing spacewalks, he was very aware of how fast he was moving, explaining that it felt like he was falling toward Earth.

While Forrester had already visited the International Space Station in 2001 as part of his first flight, STS-105, this experience served to increase rather than curb his excitement.

“A real thrill, I think, was to go back up there and to be in a place that I had spent a fair amount of time six years ago,” Forrester said.

He added that this opportunity allowed him to realize all that had been accomplished during his six years away from the station.

A long road…

Forrester came to the University in 1987, graduating in 1989 with a master’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering.

“The University of Virginia was one of my first choices” for graduate school, he said.

Although Forrester graduated over 15 years ago, he still maintains ties to the University. He came to speak at the University after participating in the 2001 flight and said he would love to return again to talk and share stories of some of his experiences.

Forrester said his education at the University aided him on his journey to NASA. He also added, however, that he believes a certain amount of luck was involved, explaining “you definitely have to have things going your way.”

Although no school or program can guarantee anyone a spot on a shuttle, Forrester said education is very important in getting there; however, he added that it is also important to do one’s best in every situation. Perseverance is also a key ingredient, he said, as it was 10 years before he was accepted into the program in 1996.

It is not known yet whether Forrester will find himself in space again any time soon, but in the meantime, he has other aspirations. While he has had several jobs in the Army and also worked at the Johnson Space Center, he said he would like to teach, particularly at the University.

“That’s really where my heart lies,” he said.

Inspired by the friendship of Thomas Jefferson and Italian-born Philip Mazzei, their hometowns recently celebrated their 30th year as sister cities. Officials from Poggio a Caiano, which is located between the Ombrone river and Montalbano in the province of Prato (the sister to Albemarle County), visited Charlottesville to meet with city and University officials this month

The visiting Italian delegation consisted of Silvano Gelli, mayor of Poggio a Caiano; Angelo Formichella, head councilor for cultural affairs for Poggio a Caiano; Salvatore Conte, city councilor for Poggio a Caiano; Salvatore Pirronello, city councilor for Poggio a Caiano; Roberto Rosati, head councilor for tourism for Prato; and Alberto Peruzzini, director of the tourism agency for Prato.

The city formally welcomed these international travelers at a press conference, held in front of City Hall on July 2.

“This has been a wonderful experience over the last 30 years,” said Sally Thomas, chair of Albemarle County’s board of supervisors.

She cited the fact that many officials and students have traveled back and forth between the two cities as one of the benefits of the partnership forged between Charlottesville and Poggio a Caiano.

Gelli echoed Thomas’ words, saying they hoped many “young people come from Charlottesville to Italy.”

Trading places

The logistics of forming a University exchange program were one of the main topics of discussion between Italian and University officials.

The visitors met with the members of the University’s Spanish, Portuguese and Italian department and expressed their eagerness to begin an exchange program, particularly among students studying art history, architecture or Italian language and literature.

According to Peruzzini, the Prato area is a popular location for studying Italian art and language. Gelli added that a student exchange would be a “good way to bring forth the sisterhood between Charlottesville and Poggio a Caiano.”

In addition to academic exchanges, officials pointed out that student tourism exchanges could also serve to benefit University students. According to Peruzzini, visiting Poggio a Caiano would be an excellent first step to discovering Tuscany because its central location allows travelers easy access to many of the region’s cities.

Another proposal put forth by the Italian officials was for an exchange program to benefit some of the University’s student athletes. Through the proposed exchange, the University’s golf club would have the chance to play on some of Prato’s courses while players from their golf clubs would in turn come and experience courses in the Charlottesville area.

Various soccer teams from Charlottesville have already benefited from a similar opportunity in Poggio a Caiano.

A historical connection

On several occasions, Italian officials spoke about the rich historical links between the two cities formed by the friendship of Jefferson and Mazzei.

According to Formichella, Mazzei lived in London for 20 years and met various American revolutionaries before deciding to travel to America to start a new life for himself.

After arriving in America, Mazzei joined the revolutionary movement that was sweeping the colonies, eventually joining George Washington’s army and becoming a close friend of Jefferson.

Formichella added that the Constitutional concept of “happiness for all” was likely an idea of Mazzei, one that he carried home to Poggio a Caiano along with many others.

“We have found [common] historical elements and also common values [between the two cities],” Formichella said.

Today, the legacy of both Mazzei and Jefferson lives on in the two cities, providing firmer ground for their continued friendship and cooperation.

I’m interning in New York for the summer and my parents came to visit me last weekend. My dad insisted that my mother not take out a map when we were in public so people would not think we were “rednecks from Boise, Idaho” –because clearly Boise connotes more redneck fun than my home state of Georgia.

After this experience, I got to thinking about the challenges of fitting in wherever you go on vacation this summer.

Some places are easier than others. If you’re going to the Outer Banks for a week on the beach, you don’t really need to pack anything special besides a bikini and cover up. Cairo, where a friend of mine is studying, is a little trickier. She dyed her bleached blond hair to more of a Jennifer Aniston caramel, but I have a feeling she’s still not going to pass for an Egyptian.

When I studied in Italy last summer, the American tourists were excruciatingly obvious, sporting shorts and Tevas, tennis shoes and fanny packs, college T-shirts and denim mini skirts. I occasionally wondered if these people actually wanted to be pick-pocketed, just so they would have a story to tell back at Chipotle. Thanks to the current administration, being an American is not as cool as it used to be. If you have a trip planned to Europe this summer, here are a few tips:

Don’t wear shorts. Guys can get away with them, although you’d fit in a lot better with pants in a light material, but for girls this is a serious no-no. This includes even the trendy cuffed ones that you wear out or the longer office-appropriate shorts. Nothing screams tacky American tourist more, besides maybe a fanny pack. But I know you guys would never do that.

If you don’t want some serious catcalls, don’t wear a short skirt or dress when walking around, especially during the day. This is very applicable to Spain and Italy, however you might get away with minis in London, Paris or any coastal town.

Although celebrities act like baseball caps make them invisible, they won’t help you blend in. Tennis shoes are also a serious negative, especially if they are white or you wear atrociously colored socks with them. If you must wear sneakers, try to wear cute retro ones, like Pumas or Converse, which the locals might actually buy.

If you’re going somewhere you don’t speak the language or where you have a completely different coloring from the people who live there, you’re not going to pass as a citizen no matter how hard you try. Are you a tall blond guy going to China for a week? A sorority girl visiting Morocco? No matter. Even if you throw on a jeweled tunic and Moroccan slippers, no one is going to think you were born in Marrakech. I don’t care if you ride in on a camel with a monkey perched on your shoulder. Solution?

My advice is to mirror what the expatriates are wearing and not the tourists. It may be 110 in the shade, but a Brit living in India is not going to be wearing shorts and a tank top. No, he or she will be in a breezy tunic, linen pants and thongs or light slippers. Since you may not be able to anticipate the best clothing to wear before you get there, you have two options.

Option one: Be logical and bring something practical that makes sense in the environment you’re visiting. If you’re going to Zimbabwe, bring light linen pants and a pale colored top. Check out the weather beforehand, look up what people actually wear there and, most importantly, figure out what is a serious fashion faux pas.

Option two, and my personal preference: Go shopping! Pack light and then emulate what everyone else is wearing once you get there. If you love someone’s outfit and you can speak the language or do sign language, ask where they bought it. Even if you’re in New York, people will probably be nice and give you an idea of where the good shopping is.

Alex Jospin is a Cavalier Daily columnist. She can be reached at jospin@cavalierdaily.com.