Recently released fall fraternity bid statistics indicate a increase in the number of bids extended and number of fall rush participants compared to last year.
Andy Snyder, Inter-Fraternity Council chairman for membership intake, said 125 men registered for the 10-day event, which ended two weeks ago. About 45 to 50 bids were extended Sept. 27, he said, noting that about 40 of those bids were accepted.
“It’s up a little from last year,” Snyder said, explaining that in fall 2007, only 31 bids were accepted. Additionally, Snyder said, there were about 15 to 20 more participants registered for fall rush this year compared to last year.
“It was a good result,” IFC President Taylor Richardson said.
Snyder said he anticipates that spring rush will experience a similar growth in numbers.
According to Snyder, this year’s fall rush was more informal than in previous years, alleviating pressure on brothers and rushees alike. As opposed to following a rigid schedule, Snyder said this year’s fall rush events were “up to the discretion of the fraternity,” a decision that may have resulted in the increased participation.
Snyder said he thinks the whole process of fall rush is more convenient because it requires less organizing than spring rush, which attracted more than 700 men this past spring. With fewer potential members in the fall, brothers can extend invites by simply making a quick phone call.
Additionally, fall rush does not hold “no contact days” during which potential brothers take a break and consider for which fraternity they are most suited. Snyder said with fewer potential brothers and fewer participating houses, this part of the schedule is just not necessary.
“We feel that its more important that spring rush have more structure,” Richardson said, adding that this structure exists to level the playing field for first-year students rushing in the spring. He said the IFC feels that upperclassmen have had more experience with University life and would therefore not benefit as much from a rigorous rush schedule.
While fall rush is a growing and convenient form of fraternity recruitment, the IFC does not anticipate it growing to rival the number of participants in spring rush.
“It might slowly get bigger,” Snyder said, noting, however, “I think it will stay an informal process.”
Richardson agreed, adding that the IFC hopes to increase the size of rush in general by expanding both the spring and fall recruitment seasons.
“There is room for both of them to grow,” he said. “We want to expose as many people as possible to the system.”

The Board of Visitors approved start-up funding Friday for six initiatives, four of which have been articulated, generated by the Commission on the Future of the University. The initiatives are meant to address some of the University’s primary concerns for the future: the student experience; science, technology and research; and international programs.
A University press release stated that the Board has guaranteed $4 million for the current fiscal year and an additional $16 million for the next two years in order to fund initiatives stemming from the Commission report. This base funding ensures the initiatives will be implemented, University Provost Arthur Garson  said, noting, however, that potential budget cuts could delay how quickly some of the projects “can be rolled out.” The Board’s decision to fund the initiatives comes with the provision that additional funds, totaling $130 million, will be raised by the University to further develop and expand the programs.
The first initiative to receive seed funding calls for the creation of The Jefferson Public Citizens, a group of undergraduate students assembled with research and public service issues in mind, he said. According to the release, about 250 students are expected to enroll in new courses relevant to the group the during the program’s first year, and 100 students, or 20 teams, are expected to enroll into the Jefferson Public Citizens program during the program’s second year.
Milton Adams, team leader of the project and vice provost for academic programs, said students will begin by taking service-oriented courses that span multiple disciplines, citing EDHS 289, an Education School course that collaborates with the Women’s Center to mentor middle school students, as an example. The teams of students will then submit proposals to procure funding for a service and research project in cooperation with a faculty advisor with ties to the concerned community. For example, Adams said, students could travel to a Guatemalan clinic to research health care issues.
Garson noted that he anticipates most students would participate in the Jefferson Public Citizens program during the summer between their second and third year, adding that students will most likely receive credits for their participation in the program.
The second initiative to receive funding will establish the Institute for Faculty Advancement, which aims to recruit diverse faculty as well as to support, retain and develop current faculty members through leadership programs, according to the press release. Garson specified that in the next decade, the University will recruit 200 additional faculty members in the sciences across multiple schools.
Funding has also been approved to expand the Education School’s current Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning from a program that provides pre-K through grade 12 teachers with tools to “improve learning outcomes,” to include higher education, according to the press release.
Additionally, a Center for Computation-Intense Research and Scholarship — incorporating two wings, one for humanities and social sciences and another for the natural and physical sciences — will be created, according to the press release. It will enable “a new way of thinking about how information can be visualized digitally and presented in the classroom and for research”, the press release stated.
This center will categorize and catalogue immense amounts of information, Garson said. It will also encourage collaboration among faculty as well as between staff and students who are familiar with complex computer programming.
The Commission’s report also includes initiatives to improve the University’s two other priorities for the future: science, technology and research, and international programs, although specific initiatives have yet to be fully articulated.
“They’re very broad priorities,” Garson said.
University spokesperson Carol Wood said the two initiatives will be more fully articulated in the coming months and year.
Garson said one of the plans aimed at improving the sciences at the University includes building three 100,000 square-foot research facilities. Those buildings, though “are just the start to moving down the road towards a greater science initiative,” he said.
The head of the science initiative is Thomas Skalak, vice president for research and graduate studies. According to the press release, Skalak, who was unavailable for comment, intends to build an interdisciplinary research culture at the University.
Gowher Rizvi, vice provost for international programs, meanwhile, said the initiative he heads ultimately aims to integrate international perspectives into the existing curriculum and to ensure every student has had international experience by the time he graduates.
“Today we can no longer think of things as ‘This is a foreign issue’ or ‘This is a domestic issue,’” Rizvi said. “Our students need to understand the outside world just as much as they understand their home.”
The “philosophical underpinnings” for his initiative have been established, he said, adding that within the next year, consultations with faculty and students will be held. The ideas generated from these meetings will then be translated into concrete projects.
Garson emphasized the multidisciplinary aspect of these two initiatives.
“Each will help work within schools, across schools, and create pan-University initiatives as well,” Garson said, noting that the charge of the University’s report on the future was to find ways to further distinguish the University from its peers.

As a result of uncertainty surrounding the commonwealth’s current economic situation, the University’s Board of Visitors decided last week to defer action on the issue of supplementing faculty salaries beyond the 2-percent increase called for in the current commonwealth budget.
For the past five years, according to Leonard Sandridge, University executive vice president and chief operating officer, the Board has augmented salary increases from the commonwealth. Sandridge stated in an e-mail that this augmentation is not likely to occur in the 2008-09 year for economic reasons.
The salary increase currently called for in the commonwealth’s budget also is uncertain.
“The current state budget includes salary increases for faculty and staff effective November 25,” Sandridge stated. “However, given the current economic stress the state and the nation are facing, we are not sure what the state might do to reduce spending in 2008-2009 and we do not know whether there will be any impact on the planned salary increases.”
The competitiveness of the University’s faculty salaries could be impacted by changes in government funding.
“Many of the other schools, particularly state schools, are under similar or more severe budget pressure,” Faculty Senate Chair Edmund Kitch said. “The $2.9 billion [deficit] has to come from somewhere, but there are some things that can’t be expected to go down.”
Kitch also said prospective faculty members may receive offers from a number of institutions, noting “salaries are part of the package that the University uses to try to attract a competent faculty.” He said, though, that faculty members already working in Charlottesville already have some investment in the University, which could factor into decisions about whether to accept offers from another college or university.
According to Sandridge, the Board’s plan for supporting faculty salaries will next be addressed in June 2009 as part of the discussion for the following academic year’s budget.
“We had been asked to recommend a plan for continuing our multi-year efforts to keep faculty salaries at competitive levels,” Sandridge stated. “We recommended that the next five-year plan be included in the University’s budget for 2009-2010.”

In an attempt to benefit students who are considering living off Grounds, Student Council presented a proposal for an ordinance to Charlottesville City Council last night that would mandate a certain period of time between when a lease begins and when a landlord could begin advertising the same unit for the next cycle of leasing.
Colin Hood, Student Council’s representative to City Council, told City Council that the leasing process begins “closer and closer to the onset of the academic year” each year, causing students a great deal of stress at an inconvenient time.
He noted that while there is plenty of housing available for students — citing a 45-percent increase in off-Grounds housing units during the past several years — many students still feel pressured by their peers or landlords to sign leases in September or October.
He noted that Student Council’s “Don’t Sign It” campaign began this year, which so far consists of educating students about their housing options, both on and off Grounds. He asked City Council to pass legislation that would create a more “permanent solution” to the problem, allowing students more time to evaluate their options.
According to Hood, Student Council was inspired by the students at the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin, who successfully petitioned their local governments to pass similar ordinances. At these schools, students convinced the municipal governments to pass ordinances that prohibited landlords from advertising a property until a specified amount of time, such as the 90-day period in Ann Arbor, had passed from the first day the lease was valid. Hood said Student Council has not drafted an ordinance for Charlottesville because it hopes to work with City Council to write an ordinance that would be mutually beneficial for University students and the city.
Shannon Smith, Student Council’s deputy representative to the City Council, said such an ordinance would “help [Student Council] make the ‘Don’t Sign It’ campaign a success” because it would complement on-going educational efforts.
Rick Jones, vice chairman of Management Services Corporation, however, said while he approved of Student Council’s efforts to ease the stress of signing leases and to benefit University students, he felt that educating students about their options was the best way to handle the situation.
“I applaud their efforts, but I think legislating what people do in free markets is inappropriate,” he said. He used the analogy of credit cards to support his claims, noting that while students can get into serious trouble if they are not careful in how they use credit cards, they have not been outlawed for use by students.
Hood stated, however, that the proposed ordinance had been implemented successfully in other university towns and would not impede the free market in Charlottesville. He also said the credit card analogy was flawed because laws have been passed regarding who can purchase a credit card in response to young adults making poor decisions regarding credit card usage.
“Landlords are not our opponents,” Hood maintained. “We’re not changing the demand for their business. There will be just as much demand [if the ordinance is passed], but at a later time.”
City Council is currently looking into the legality of passing such an ordinance, Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris said. Once City Council determines if such legislation is within its jurisdiction, it will be able to decide whether it will work with Student Council to draft a resolution addressing this issue, Hood said.
If City Council determines it does not have the authority to pass such legislation, Hood said, Student Council will petition the General Assembly in Richmond to address the issue.

The PA announcer at University Hall Turf Field has had to get used to saying Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn’s name a lot this year. The senior midfielder from the Netherlands is the backbone of the No. 10 Cavaliers, who are having one of their best seasons in recent memory.
Sijpesteijn is playing her final season in Charlottesville, ending her collegiate career very differently from how she started it. Sijpesteijn began her collegiate career in 2004 in East Lansing, Mich. playing for Michigan State University under Michele Madison. In her one year at Michigan State, Sijpesteijn played in all 20 games for the Spartans, finishing second on the team in scoring with eight goals while also adding four assists. Following Madison’s hire at Virginia in 2006, Sijpesteijn made the decision to join her coach in Charlottesville. Madison is the only NCAA field hockey coach to take three teams — Michigan State, Virginia and Temple — to the NCAA Tournament, and this fact does not go unnoticed by her players.
“She is the best coach I’ve ever had, [and] I didn’t want to leave her,” Sijpesteijn said of her decision to follow Madison to Virginia.
Madison is more than just a coach to Sijpesteijn; she is a mentor and friend.
“She gives me so much confidence in my game,” Sijpesteijn said. “And I have so much fun playing for her [because] she just wants to have fun [and wants you to] give it your all.”
The addition of Sijpesteijn and Madison brought life to the Virginia program. In their first year in Charlottesville, Sijpesteijn and Madison helped lead the team to a 14-8 finish and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, its first appearance since 2001. Sijpesteijn was named a first team All-American by womensfieldhockey.com during her first year as a Cavalier, and her performance that year put her in the Virginia record books as well. Sijpesteijn netted 14 goals that season, which tied her for sixth all-time in goals for Cavalier sophomores during a single season.
“Inge is just a brick wall,” Madison said. “She’s always there. She is always focused.”
This season, Sijpesteijn and the rest of the Cavaliers are 10-3 so far this season, the best mark by the team after 13 games since Madison and Sijpesteijn have arrived at Virginia. Sijpesteijn leads a defense near the top of national rankings that has allowed just 1.31 goals per game.
Sijpesteijn and the rest of the upperclassmen have played not only a key role on the field through their efforts to guide a freshman class that has been a big key to Virginia’s success this season.
“The upperclassmen are great,” freshman midfielder Paige Selenski said. “They help us so much on the field and off the field. Our team grows so well together and we are so close. I couldn’t ask for better upperclassmen than I have.”

You may not have noticed, but the National Hockey League season started Saturday with a 2-1 victory for the New York Rangers against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Like other major professional sports, the NHL allowed its season to begin overseas, as both opening series took place in Europe. The Rangers took two from the Lightning in Prague, Czech Republic, while the Pittsburgh Penguins split a two-game set with the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm, Sweden. The season begins in earnest Thursday, and there are several things you should be watching for this season.

The continuation of the Crosby–Ovechkin battle for supremacy
Not much really needs to be said here, as Penguins center (and captain) Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals left winger Alexander Ovechkin are the two most electrifying players in the NHL. They have many traits in common, starting with the fact that both are young: Crosby turned 21 in August, while Ovechkin turned 23 in September. Crosby was the first pick in the 2005 NHL Draft, while Ovechkin was the top pick the year before. Both began their NHL careers in the ‘05-‘06 season, in which Ovechkin edged Crosby for the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year.
Ovechkin led the NHL in scoring points last season with 112 to win the Art Ross Trophy, while Crosby accomplished that feat the previous season with 120 points. Ovechkin led the league with 65 goals last year en route to winning the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL MVP, an award Crosby also won the previous year. So, as you can see, the two have traded off who wins the big awards every year and likely will continue to do so in years to come. Watch out as the two meet up face to face four times this season, starting with an Oct. 16 game in Pittsburgh.

The New York Rangers’ acquisitions
When Jaromir Jagr bid farewell to New York and hello to Russia this offseason, he left a vacancy at captain for the Rangers, which is now filled by Chris Drury. Scott Gomez was named one alternate captain, while the other “A” will be worn by free agent Markus Naslund. Moving across the country to play left wing for the “Broadway Blueshirts” after signing a two-year, $8-million contract, Naslund joins the first-line offense with Drury and Gomez, forming a prolific trio that could score plenty of goals this season.
Two-time All-Star defenseman Wade Redden also joined the Rangers as a free agent when he signed a 6-year, $39-million contract in July. Redden will team up with Michael Rozsival on the first-line defense for the Rangers and will have plenty of opportunities to contribute to the offense as well. Right winger Nikolai Zherdev could be the most underrated acquisition for the Rangers this year as he joins the second-line attack. Acquired via trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he scored 26 goals and had 35 assists last season, Zherdev is playing the final year of a three-year, $7.5-million contract. Look for him to have a big breakout year.
These three moves, while overshadowed by the big pickup made by the Detroit Red Wings (see next topic), have already paid dividends for the Rangers through the first two games of the season. Naslund scored in the season opener and added an assist in the second game, while Redden tallied a goal and assist in game two. Look for the success of this new trio to continue throughout the year.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field — Jan. 1, 2009
The defending champion Red Wings obviously have tons of talent on their roster. Big-time players like Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom return to try to repeat what they accomplished last season and will have lots of help from a big-name newcomer. Detroit added right winger Marian Hossa as a free agent this offseason, picking him up from the team it defeated to win the Stanley Cup last year, thereby adding insult to injury for the Penguins. Hossa was the biggest move of the offseason for any NHL team, as he is a proven scorer who has averaged 37 goals per season in the three seasons since the lockout.
The Blackhawks also made some moves this offseason, as they signed defenseman Brian Campbell to an 8-year, $57.12-million deal. Campbell tied for third in points (62) among all NHL defensemen last season and will be playing with renewed passion as he reportedly spurned more lucrative offers to play for the Blackhawks. Chicago also added a solid goalie in Cristobal Huet after giving him a four-year, $22.5-million deal this offseason.
The reason I pick this game is because outdoor hockey is ridiculously fun to watch, and this will be the first hockey game on the hallowed grounds of Wrigley Field. While the ivy won’t be in full bloom on the brick walls of the stadium, the scene is sure to be spectacular when two of the Original Six do battle in the outfield of The Friendly Confines. It will be freezing cold on New Year’s Day in Chicago, but that won’t stop tens of thousands of fans from packing the bleachers to watch some great hockey.
Well, that’s all I have to say for now, as I am already well over my line limit in this column. I hope you will check out some NHL action this year, because there are plenty more storylines to watch than I had room to write about.

With the arrival of Lee Maes, a young but seasoned coach from a high-pedigree program, and the implementation of a new system, the Virginia volleyball season began with high hopes but uncertainty about how difficult the transition would be. The preseason started well, with a sweep of the James Madison Days Inn Invitational, but the Cavaliers hit some roadblocks with some difficult losses in the Denver Pioneer Invitational.
The performance of the team in the final two tournaments of the preseason were stark contrasts. The Marriott Jefferson Cup, played at home in Memorial Gymnasium, showed Virginia dominating opponents, finding rhythm and making consistent strides. The Wildcat Classic at Northwestern, however, saw the Cavaliers inconsistent, frustrated and occasionally struggling. The team put up a solid effort against then-No. 4 UCLA, but collapsed in five sets to Northwestern before rebounding to trounce Georgetown.
Now Virginia is two games into a week-long series of away games in which the Cavaliers are looking to rebound from three ACC losses to kick off the regular-season schedule. The Cavaliers will look to build on their experience so far this season as they progress down the conference schedule and work toward an ACC title.
The transition for the Cavaliers has been inconsistent and gradual, but the team is showing signs of development.
“I think for us, we’ve developed a lot and we’ve grown a lot,” Maes said. “I’m looking for just that mentality that shows us we’re going to continue playing aggressively, we’re going to attack in everything we do.”
The key for developing chemistry will be the leadership of the three seniors. Middle blocker Shannon Davis has been one of the Cavaliers’ key performers thus far this season, leading the team in hitting percentage (.312).
“I think we’re ready,” Davis said. “We just gotta show up to play when we get there.”
Davis has been one of the cornerstones of the Cavaliers’ volleyball team for her entire collegiate career. She has been a regular starter for Virginia since her first year and continually puts up an impressive number of blocks to accompany her strong hitting percentage and steady stream of kills.
Outside hitter Beth Shelton, another of Virginia’s seniors, also has had an impact on the team. Shelton redshirted her first year for medical reasons and has been a presence for the Cavaliers ever since. She currently ranks fifth on the team in kills (85) and also has totaled 73 digs in the matches so far.
Shelton, though not the top statistical performer on the team, remains a constant threat to her opponents because of her consistency and her demonstrated ability to have explosive streaks of volleyball. Against Duke in 2007, Shelton broke out for 14 kills, and against Arkansas earlier in that season hit five service aces.
Marlow Bruneau, a setter and the Cavaliers’ third senior, is also a key component of the Cavaliers. She was put on the all-tournament teams twice during the preseason and leads the Cavaliers in assists so far in 2008 (411). Her current total is more than double that of the Cavalier with the second highest number of assists, sophomore setter Kelly Irvin (167).
Each of the senior Cavaliers plays a key role in keeping spirits and focus high in the face of whatever challenges the team might face. Their legacy will be how they work through this transition period, finish off Maes’ first season and set up the program for success in years to come.

The streaking Virginia men’s soccer team continues its season tonight at home with a non-conference game against Liberty. The Cavaliers are looking for their fifth straight victory in an effort to maintain their stride during the middle of their season schedule.
After a slow start to the season, Virginia has rebounded. The Cavaliers are now 6-3 overall and undefeated in the ACC with a 3-0 record. Their biggest win of the season occurred this past Friday at Chapel Hill, where the then-unranked Cavaliers won a tight 1-0 game against then-No. 12 North Carolina. Mostly because of its four-game winning streak and excellent play during that span — highlighted by the upset against North Carolina — Virginia is now ranked No. 18 in the Soccer America poll. In the game against UNC, junior goalkeeper Michael Giallombardo posted his third shutout of the season, and freshman sensation midfielder Tony Tchani scored the only goal on a penalty kick during the 85th minute. Throughout the winning streak, the entire team has been rolling on all cylinders and all the team members seem to be on the same page.
Freshman defenseman Hunter Jumper cited the team’s chemistry as a reason for success.
“As a team we’re starting to come together well and that’s helped out a lot,” he said.
Virginia has also appeared to have withstood its subpar start to the season.
“We had a rough start but the coaches kept challenging us,” Giallombardo said. “We’ve just been persevering and keeping up the intensity.”
Tchani’s play during the season has been especially impressive; he leads the team with eight goals and 31 points overall. During their four-game win streak, the Cavaliers have outscored their opponents 12-1, and for the season have outscored their opponents 21-12. The Cavaliers plan to bring this same level of play to the field tonight.
Against Liberty (5-4, 1-3 Big South), the Cavaliers have been told by their coaches to just prepare for what they have to do.
“The coaches have told us they’re a good opponent,” Giallombardo said. “But we try to just go out and dictate the game with our play and not worry about the opponent.”
Liberty is led by senior midfielder/forward Joshua Boateng from Ghana, who leads the Flames with six goals and 29 points overall, and by redshirt freshman forward/midfielder Darren Amoo, also from Ghana, who has scored four goals and has a total of 13 points. These two players, especially Boateng, have been the key to Liberty’s past success.
History is overwhelmingly on the side of the Cavaliers; in their all-time series that dates back to 1986, Virginia has won all 16 matches with Liberty and defeated the Flames last year 3-0 at home. Virginia must continue its stellar play and retain its team chemistry while making sure not to overlook a solid Liberty squad that is hungry for a big upset and its first victory ever against the Cavaliers.

The Virginia men’s and women’s cross country teams remain perfect on the season, as each took first at the George Mason Invitational Saturday.
The men won with a total time of 2:04:20 and 19 points in a field of 16 teams participating in the 8K race. The men, ranked No. 12 in the nation, took six of the top 10 spots. Virginia was led by sophomore Emil Heineking with a time of 24:40, as he captured his first collegiate victory. Following closely behind him was sophomore Ryan Collins at 24:46, then junior Graham Tribble at 24:48. Junior Trey Miller took sixth with a time of 25:02, and senior Andy Biladeau crossed the line eighth in 25:05. Columbia took second with 50 points, and Maryland finished third with 85 points.
The Virginia women captured first place with a total time of 1:49:34 and 30 points. Columbia came in second, running 1:50:25 to tally up 41 points, and Maryland rounded out the top three at 1:53:34 with 92 points. Senior Lauretta Dezubay won her second meet of the season crossing the line at 21:29. Freshman Morgane Gay followed behind Dezubay at 21:37 in her first collegiate race for Virginia. Junior Stephanie Garcia, who is also a tableau editor for The Cavalier Daily, ran a time of 21:55 for fourth place.
This was the second win for new head coach Jason Vigilante.
Virginia will next prepare for the Pre-NCAA Meet in Terre Haute, Ind. Oct. 18.

—compiled by Emily Bareford

The Monday, Oct. 6 Sports article “Cavaliers suffer razor-thin overtime loss at home,” incorrectly stated that freshman midfielder Paige Selenski ranks seventh in goals and second in assists all-time at Virginia. Selenski actually ranks seventh in goals and is tied for second in assists in terms of Virginia single-season freshmen statistical records. The Cavalier Daily regrets the error.