The seniors of the men’s soccer team could not ask for a more formidable opponent for their last home game. The Cavaliers will host No. 1 Wake Forest at Klöckner Stadium tonight for their senior night game. Wake Forest, whose lone blemish on its record is a double-overtime tie to Duke Oct. 18, comes into Charlottesville having already clinched the ACC regular-season crown and the top seed in the ACC Tournament.

While the defending national champion Demon Deacons (16-0-1, 6-0-1 ACC) have played nearly flawless soccer this season, Virginia (9-6-1, 4-3 ACC) has struggled of late. In last Friday’s 2-1 loss to Maryland, the Cavaliers outshot the Terrapins 9-4, dominating in possession time, but only managed to put one shot into the net, while the Terrapins capitalized on two of their three attempts on goal.

Despite good offensive ball-handling, Virginia has struggled to take advantage of its opportunities to score. Against the strong Wake Forest team, the Cavaliers will need to play nearly perfect offense if they hope to give the team’s seniors one last home win.

“We’re getting chances — it’s just a matter of scoring when we get chances,” junior midfielder/forward Neil Barlow said. “We’re not worried about creating chances because we know we can do that. But we’re young, and being able to score consistently is just something that comes with experience.”

Virginia, which hovered in the top 25 for a couple weeks before falling out in last week’s poll, has suffered some costly injuries throughout the season. After freshman forward Chris Agorsor was injured earlier this season against Central Connecticut State, freshman midfielder Tony Tchani, the Cavaliers’ leading scorer, went down with an ACL tear in an 2-2 draw with Longwood Oct. 21.
“It’s been a different year for the offense because of the injuries,” junior goalkeeper Michael Giallombardo said. “We’re searching for ourselves right now, but we have a lot of confidence in our guys.”

Meanwhile Wake Forest is playing phenomenal soccer in the always-competitive ACC. The team is averaging 3.53 goals per game while holding opponents to less than one per game. Of the team’s 16 wins, 12 have been by 2 goals or more.

Individually, junior goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald has recorded 10 shutouts while junior forward Cory Arnoux has recorded 13 goals.

Though the Demon Deacons have dominated their competition this season, Virginia is optimistic that it will ride the wave of excitement from senior night and play well in its regular-season finale.  

“The team has a good feeling,” Giallombardo said. “Anytime the number one team in the country comes to town, it’s really important and we’re optimistic. When it gets closer to the post-season, coach [Gelnovatch] and [everyone] else just tightens up.”

A win would undoubtedly give the Cavaliers some momentum heading into the ACC Tournament. Currently third in the ACC standings, the Virginia players know what a win would mean for their postseason drive.

“A win would be a huge deal,” Barlow said. “It would lead us to the postseason with confidence.”

Though the thought of an upset on senior night is undoubtedly in the players’ minds, the team is trying to stay grounded and play well no matter what.

“It’s a big challenge but we’re approaching it the same way,” Giallombardo said. “A win will definitely help us, especially when it comes to the ACC Tournament. But we’re just looking at it like another ACC game.”

A sweet winning streak for the Virginia football team turned sour at the end of last Saturday’s game at Scott Stadium. The loss to Miami in an overtime letdown has cast a shadow of doubt on whether Virginia can make it to the ACC Championship game.

Had the team avoided two missed field goals and a late fumble, the Cavaliers (5-4, 3-2 ACC) could have prevented the 24-17 overtime loss to Miami (6-3, 3-2 ACC). But instead of dwelling on what might have been, the Cavaliers will use last Saturday’s disappointing results as motivation to play at the height of their ability as they take on Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C. Saturday.

“We can’t wait to get back out there, especially coming off a game like that,” Virginia junior wide receiver Kevin Ogletree said. “We want to get back out there as soon as possible. We want to go prove something again.”

For Ogletree, “proving something” has not been a problem during his first season back from a knee injury. Despite his setback, Ogletree is nearing the bar he set for himself in 2006. This season Ogletree has 44 catches for 545 yards and four touchdowns, proving his ability to return strong after a year of recovery.

The previously unrecognized potential of Virginia redshirt freshman wide receiver Jared Green was apparent when he caught his first touchdown at the collegiate level during Virginia’s matchup against Miami. Upon direction from Virginia coach Al Groh, Green has used the 2008 season to focus on developing his strengths and not worrying about the weaknesses he may have.

“He was a very raw player coming in,” Groh said. “We had a chance to see him catch the ball much more in practice than in games and had confidence that with work he would develop into a good receiver.”

Even if Green continues to impress the coaches on the field and even if passes are completed and Virginia executes plays successfully, the Cavalier defense will have its work cut out for itself with Wake Forest’s redshirt junior quarterback Riley Skinner on the field.

With a shoulder injury, Skinner boasts a 123.4 pass efficiency rating, 122 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.

“He’s a marvelous player,” Groh said. “He makes great decisions, he’s accurate, he’s cool at the end of the games. He’s clearly engineered that train.”

When two teams with standout players like Wake’s Skinner and Virginia’s Cedric Peerman compete, the result is unpredictable. Virginia and Wake Forest epitomize the concept of unpredictability with their individual histories of saving the action for the final quarters.

“Wake Forest and Virginia are the two teams during the course of two-plus seasons, almost three seasons now, who have played in the most games in this conference that were decided right at the end,” Groh said. “That was the case last year when the two teams played, and now a year later there’s just been more added to that total for each team. Last year substantiated that because clearly that was decided on the last play.”

Just last weekend against Duke, Wake Forest pulled away with a 33-30 overtime win, tying with Florida State for second in the ACC Atlantic Division.

The Virginia football team has not traveled to Wake Forest since 2002, making it difficult to know what to expect from the Demon Deacons on their home field.  

“It’s almost as though you’re playing a non-conference opponent,” Groh said. “You know what’s going on with their games, but outside of that you don’t have a great familiarity with them. You really have to study them.”

Virginia’s determination to put last weekend’s loss in the past could bode well for the Cavaliers as they enter tomorrow’s game.

“That’s the great thing about this game — there’s a chance for redemption from week to week,” sophomore quarterback Marc Verica said. “If things didn’t go your way the week before, then you have a great opportunity the next week. Usually, a win can solve things like this.”

After a big win last weekend, Virginia’s top runners will be getting some well-deserved rest.

The Cavalier Open will take place today in Charlottesville at Panorama Farms, but everyone who competed in last week’s ACC Championships will be sitting out.

“We will send a JV squad to the Cavalier Open to give the younger runners a chance to develop and race,” coach Jason Vigilante said. “None of the individuals who ran at the ACC [Championships] or who will be running the regional championships next Saturday will be competing.”

The runners earned this chance to take a weekend off with an impressive performance. Last Saturday, the men’s team won their second-consecutive ACC title. With these back-to-back victories, Vigilante has reason to be optimistic.

“We did really well a year ago, and Saturday came together perfectly for us,” he said. “I don’t ever want to lose, so we are going to continue to recruit and develop athletes with the intention of winning the ACC every year.”

Senior Ryan Foster also expressed hope for the future.

“I wouldn’t call it a dynasty yet,” he said. “This is definitely a trend I hope we will continue as long as Virginia is running cross-country. I’d like to think that my class started a tradition. The younger guys will make it a dynasty.”

Foster led the way for the Cavaliers at the ACC Championships, bringing home the individual title. He was followed by sophomore Ryan Collins in sixth, senior Andy Biladeau in eighth, sophomore Emil Heineking in ninth and junior Graham Tribble in 16th.

“It was a lot of fun to take the individual title,” Foster said. “I couldn’t be more thankful for the chance to race one more time in a Virginia uniform and win.”

Vigilante noted that Foster’s success — and the Cavaliers’ success overall — was a product of the depth at the top of his lineup.

“We have four individuals who on any given day would have an opportunity to win overall,” he said. “I said to each of them that if the opportunity arises you need to be certain to seize it. Unfortunately we have four, and only one can come out on top.”

This depth should serve the team well when it takes on other top Southeastern schools next weekend to qualify for the NCAA Championship meet.

“We expect to win the regional meet in another tight battle with N.C. State and [Colonial Athletic Association champion] William & Mary,” Foster said. “At the NCAA [Championships] I think that we would like to place in the top 10. On a really great day, maybe in the top five.”

The extra rest this weekend is part of preparation, but the team isn’t getting lazy.

“The NCAA regional meet is a week from Saturday, and we need to finish in the top two to go to the national championships,” Vigilante said. “Being healthy physically and emotionally comes first. Second, we have to maintain our fitness by continuing to work hard and remain focused on the ultimate competition of the season.”

Foster also stressed preparation for the NCAA Regional Championships.

“What the team will do now is rest and focus on the next race,” he said. “We will maintain our current fitness with a few small workouts and try to sharpen up for the longer 10K races.”

Last weekend also showed dramatic progress for the women’s team, which improved four slots from last year’s ACC finish, moving from eighth up to fourth. Junior Stephanie Garcia, who is also a Cavalier Daily tableau editor, was Virginia’s highest finisher, checking in at eighth place.

“The girls are working really well with one another and when they go out to compete, they compete collectively to represent their university,” Vigilante said. “A year ago it wasn’t quite the same; they didn’t have the same attitude. They have really come together as a group, and I am proud of them.”

The ACC is finally starting to settle down. Clemson, last year’s conference champion, has stormed back to the top of the standings. Virginia Tech, which began the conference schedule with an unlikely run of victories and was the last team to lose a conference game, has cooled back down toward the middle of the conference. And Virginia, which has broken out with big games against some of the top teams but has never been able to find a constant groove, sits at a disappointing ninth place.

The Cavaliers (13-12, 5-8 ACC) will look to tip momentum back in their favor with a strong performance this weekend at home against a pair of North Carolina schools.

North Carolina (15-9, 9-4 ACC) comes to Memorial Gym tonight at 7 p.m., attempting to avenge a loss at Chapel Hill to the Cavaliers earlier this season and to boost their tied-second place record to first in the conference.

N.C. State (9-19, 3-10 ACC) comes to Charlottesville for a Saturday match at 7 p.m. The Wolfpack sit two games, but only one position, behind the Cavaliers in the conference ranking. The last time N.C. State and Virginia met was Oct. 11, when the Wolfpack won in four games.

The Cavaliers hope to take a stride toward consistency this weekend with a victory against either or both teams, but the team knows neither of its opponents will go down without a fight.

“I think everybody in the conference knows it’s going to be extremely competitive each night,” Virginia coach Lee Maes said.

Virginia is currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak, the team’s longest since 2003. With home-court advantage, the Cavaliers hope to end the drought of wins, though freshman outside hitter Simone Asque says she focuses on the team and the game, not her surroundings.

“I’ve found that when I’m playing, I always tune out the crowd,” Asque said. “I always try to focus on the coaches and what they’re saying.”

Playing at home has helped the Cavaliers so far this season, but it has not guaranteed victory. Virginia is 5-4 at home compared to 8-8 on the road.

During the recent three-game losing streak, the Cavaliers’ level of production has fallen. In two of the three matches, Virginia has hit a percentage worse than its season average, including a .096 against Clemson last weekend, the second lowest mark of the season for the team.

One bright spot for the team in recent weeks has been Asque, who has quickly emerged as one of the biggest threats on the Cavaliers. She ranks second on the team in kills per set at 2.65, behind only Lauren Dickson’s 2.98.

The Cavaliers have only seven matches left in the regular season. Following this weekend, Virginia has another weekend of home matches followed by a weekend of away matches at Wake Forest and Duke. The Cavaliers end their conference schedule Thanksgiving week with a Nov. 28 match against Virginia Tech.

ACC volleyball has no conference tournament, so the Cavaliers’ hopes of winning an ACC title appear fainter than ever. But with seven matches remaining, Virginia refuses to give up hope of ending the season successfully.

Expectations are through the roof as the Virginia wrestling team is set to start its season this weekend.

“If we don’t have at least three All-Americans, I am going to be distraught,” coach Steve Garland said.

This is how confident the Cavaliers are as they begin their season. Last year’s campaign saw several program firsts: beating two teams from the Big Ten — usually considered the premier conference in wrestling — for the first time ever as well as beating Lehigh for the first time. The Cavaliers are hungry to improve this season and are looking to achieve more program firsts. Entering the season, the Cavaliers are ranked No. 23 in the country by InterMat, the highest and first ranking in the program’s history. To accompany their ranking, the Cavaliers will also face their toughest schedule in program history, as well. The Cavaliers are led by Garland, a young coach in his third year at Virginia who has seen improvement in each of his previous two seasons. The Cavaliers welcome back starters in eight of the 10 weight classes and are looking for the freshman class to make a big impact. Garland has been able to bring in three straight top-25 recruiting classes. Most notable from this year’s class is Jedd Moore, who won the Eastern Michigan Open this past weekend, wrestling in the 157-pound division.

“He was one of our biggest recruits last year,” Garland said. “We couldn’t be more excited about Jedd.”

While the freshman class is highly touted, the experienced veterans will have to carry the team through the year. Virginia has three wrestlers ranked in the top 25 in their respective weight classes: No. 16 junior Ross Gitomer at 125 pounds, No. 16 sophomore Chris Henrich at 174 pounds and senior No. 9 Rocco Caponi at 184 pounds. All three made it to the NCAA Championships last season and look to return this season.

“Rocco Caponi and Chris Henrich are the two guys we depend highly upon,” Garland said. “Every big dual meet we will look to those guys for wins. They are the heart and soul of the team. Ross Gitomer is our most vocal leader; he is a phenomenal worker.”

The Cavaliers, who are ranked second in the ACC behind No. 17 Maryland, will need everyone to step up this season as they face their toughest schedule in program history, facing six top-25 teams in dual matches, three of which are in the top 10. One of Virginia’s most notable opponents will be 34-time national champion Oklahoma State.

“Rocco Caponi was one of the main catalysts for me designing the schedule the way I did,” Garland said. “He needs to wrestle the best, win or lose and improve from that.”

Caponi has won two ACC titles in the 184-pound division and has made three trips to the NCAA Championships. The team’s success this year will depend largely on Caponi. The Cavaliers’ first and foremost goal is to win an ACC title, as the team was inches away from winning it last year, losing to Maryland by just two points.

“Our goal is the same as it is every year: to win an NCAA title,” Caponi said. “As for the team, it’s trying to get every single person to NCAAs and to win our first ACC title since the 1970s.”

The Cavaliers will kick off their season at the Michigan State Open this Sunday in East Lansing, Mich. The Cavaliers do not have a home match until Jan. 17 when they take on UNC Greensboro and Rutgers in a double dual meet.

Selenski to Ragukas was the name of the game in Durham, N.C. yesterday as the Virginia field hockey team downed Duke 5-2 to advance to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.

The Cavaliers followed up their win last weekend against Duke with another impressive performance to all but secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Virginia got on the board quickly, as junior forward Traci Ragukas scored two minutes into the game on an assist from freshman forward Paige Selenski. Selenski and Ragukas finished the game with three goals and two assists between them. The Cavaliers also got an impressive performance from senior goalkeeper Amy Desjadon as she was able record eight saves and propel the team to victory.

Virginia is set to face No. 1 seed Maryland tomorrow at 4 p.m. The Cavaliers took the Terrapins to overtime earlier in the season, losing 4-3.

—compiled by Ben Gomez

In the University’s ever-bustling community of student-self governance, the latest flurry of activity concerns student leadership within the classroom. Because of efforts by the Student Council’s Academic Affairs Committee, students have the opportunity to submit proposals for courses to be added to the Course Offering Directory.  

In the words of Marisa Roman, fourth-year College student and Academic Affairs co-chair, “The student-initiated course [is] a greater representation of student governance … [granting students] the authority to dictate what they want to learn … and expand their horizons to the greatest extent possible.”

But why the need for student-created courses?

“We felt as though there were a lot of courses out there that weren’t … serving [students’] learning needs or desires,” Roman said.  
Matt Fifer, fourth-year Engineering student and Academic Affairs co-chair, said student-initiated courses provide students with the means and funding “to take their ideas and turn them into tangible solutions.”

Though the program just recently has come into the spotlight, it is not new; before this semester it existed for several years but with so little publicity and support that Roman called it “just a little tidbit in the [College of] Arts & Sciences.”

At least one early student-founded course proved successful, though. Many people have heard of the University’s popular LASE 360, “The Best of U.Va.: A Collection of Unforgettable Lectures” but do not realize that it was started by a student. According to “E-News Online,” a University Engineering news source, Emily Ewell, a 2007 chemical engineering graduate, came up with the idea for Unforgettable Lectures when considering how many students missed out on great lectures that were unrelated to their majors.   
With the support of Biology associate professor Barry Condron, Ewell’s proposal for the course was accepted and quickly filled by students. The course still runs today under Condron’s supervision and is widely sought after by University students.

In general, however, the early student-initiated course program proved difficult to navigate, mainly because it did not offer any funding for the classes. This left course proposers on their own to find a faculty sponsor. “You can’t really expect faculty members to completely volunteer their time [for] one- to three-credit classes,” Fifer said.

When Fifer joined the Academic Affairs Committee in 2006, the co-chairs, then-second-year College students A.J. Frey and Kathryn Serra, began discussing ideas for revamping the program to make it more usable for students. Similar programs were already solidly in place at other schools like Stanford and Berkeley, and Frey and Serra “tossed the idea around a little bit” and consulted Assoc. Dean for Undergraduate Studies Gordon Stewart about it, Fifer said.

The program began to gain momentum when Fifer and Roman became co-chairs last year. They started talking with the vice provost about possibilities and posted a preliminary application to the Student Council Web site, Fifer said.

Finally, Roman and Fifer succeeded in acquiring enough funding for the program: They received roughly $1,000 from Student Council and garnered about $5,000 total for the program. Help from the Student Council would not be possible without the aid of the University Bookstore, Fifer said.

“The bookstore is basically paying for this initiative,” he said.

Student-initiated courses are costly endeavors, and the creation process demands committed students. The application process works in a “two-fold manner,” Roman said. Students must complete the form posted online and must also submit a statement of what makes their topic relevant and a detailed syllabus. Then they must obtain the signature and approval of a faculty member “who can assume the necessary role… as if he or she were teaching the course.”

The signature does not mean that the faculty member will be the primary teacher, however. In some cases his or her only function is to fulfill administrative tasks, monitor attendance and provide outside support if needed — an example is the role of Condron in the Unforgettable Lecture series.

The first official recipient of the co-chairs’ approval, selected for the current fall semester, was a course titled “Global Development in Practice,” INST 150. Led by fourth-year Biomedical Engineering student Shokoufeh Dianat and third-year College student Meredyth Gilmore, the course aims to help first- and second-year students explore different issues in global development and “what students at U.Va. have done before that they can learn from,” Dianat said.

Dianat and other students had worked on development projects abroad, she said, but had not seen support for similar efforts at the University.

“We wanted to create some student-to-student venue … for underclassmen to learn how they can get involved … and whether they should get involved,” she said.  

The two-credit course meets every Wednesday evening and is led by one of the 10 course moderators, all of whom are students with extensive experience in global development studies. Environmental Sciences Professor Robert J. Swap, the professor supporting and supervising the course, said he accepted the students’ request for his guidance because he knew and respected Dianat and Gilmore.
“The bottom line is that they’ve done good work,” he said, noting he wanted to “honor their efforts.”

When asked about the value of student-instructed courses on topics of field research, Swap said “students speaking to students comes across as authentic.”

“It’s a fellow learner’s voice … having gone through [the experience] before … [and] I think that students can better relate to what other students are capable of doing,” he said. “There’s a sense of empowerment [that] goes both ways.”

After every class, Dianat said, instructors pass out evaluation sheets for students to assess the effectiveness of that week’s selected lecture, reading and class discussion.

“The really cool thing is that a lot of the students want to continue this course and become instructors for next year,” she added.

With the encouragement of the first course’s success, Roman and Fifer have already finished the initial application phase for spring 2009 courses, Fifer said. Roman added that the committee hopes to expand the program to offer three student-led courses. One has already been selected, a course on Turkish culture proposed by third-year College student Sena Aydin.

Though the problem of funding the courses has been temporarily resolved, Fifer said, “I don’t think the [current] status of the funding … is something we’d want to continue forever.”

Fifer said he hopes to expand the program’s current partnerships with organizations like the Arts & Sciences Council, which has contributed roughly $7,000 for the program’s book fees.

Arts & Sciences Council President Lindsey Turner said the Council is “very supportive. We like the idea and hope the program continues.”

Some students whine about the lackluster quality of the University’s dining halls. They complain about trivial nuisances such as long lines, poor customer service and dead animals in their soup. These students have never been to Runk Hall Dining Room.

If there is one thing I’ve learned during my short time here at the University, it is that Runk, dubbed by dining hall connoisseurs worldwide as “The Hidden Treasure,” is the hippest, most bodacious place to eat on Grounds. Located in the boonies of the University (aka the Hereford College area), Runk is often neglected by students with tolerable living locations. Either unaware of Runk’s existence altogether or simply too lazy to go the extra mile — or two — to get there, they opt for the long lines and crowded tables of Newcomb and O-Hill. What they fail to recognize is that Runk is the friendliest, most welcoming place around, and perhaps more importantly, is always giving out free stuff. Seriously, I now have enough shampoo to keep an entire herd of yaks clean for a year.

While Runk’s lack of crowds is certainly a plus, its most outstanding attribute, manager Jerry Trombley said, is the relationship students have with employees.

“Students really get to know our employees,” Trombley said. “Runk is often not very crowded, which allows us to chat with students about sports and school and stuff like that. O-Hill and Newcomb are just too busy for that.” Trombley added that he always manages to eat lunch with students, saying that he is very receptive to their ideas and suggestions for improvement to the dining hall — though I must note that my request for leather massage chairs has yet been acknowledged.

Speaking of improvement, any intelligent person, or even a reasonably bright protist, can see that Runk has made tremendous strides during the past few years. What used to be a regular old cafeteria has been transformed into a mouth-watering, many-windowed, not-so-regular cafeteria. For starters, the building itself is pleasing to the eye. The massive, sloped, glass windows give off an aquarium/spaceship aura, while the funky interior lighting and oddly shaped ceiling make visitors feel as if they were eating in an art museum. Of course, the food has also improved. The Mongolian Grill, my personal favorite station, was installed this summer to complement the Fire and Ice station, which now serves up flavorful dishes cooked right before your eyes. The island salad bar, the only organic salad bar on Grounds, is another recent addition that students enjoy.

Unlike Newcomb and O-Hill, Runk thrives on simplicity. At Newcomb, stranded students can be found fighting their way through long lines and trekking across room after room to find the kind of food they want, only to forget their fork and proceed to spend the next 10 minutes on the prowl for the elusive silverware bin. (Yes, I admit I am basing this on personal experience.) But at Runk, everything you need is packed closely together, allowing students to gather all their food and find an open table in less time than it takes the average first-year to get through the 300-yard-long line at the entrance of Newcomb. Meanwhile, at O-Hill, even leaving the place is a struggle. With my to-go box in hand and the exit stairs in front of me, I am always baffled when the cashier insists that I take the Great Circle Route before walking down those stairs. At Runk, I am able to leave the place just as easily as I entered it — although not before I grab some shampoo or even an entire box of Doritos.

If you are still not convinced that Runk is one of the top 15 dining halls on the Eastern seaboard, as People Magazine declared last month, consider these facts:

1. Runk is the only dining hall with After Hours.

2. Runk provides all the commissary items a University student needs free of charge.

3. Runk has a piano. A PIANO, people! Come on!

4. It also has a television.

5. Runk feeds the Shea House, the French House and the Spanish House.

6. Runk has the freshest musical selection around. Seriously, if you’re tired of the mundane rap/pop music at O-Hill, come to Runk, where anything from Euro Disco to African tribal chants to talk radio can be heard at any given moment.

Even in the face of student adoration and international acclaim, Runk manages to maintain peace and quiet. Trombley said that’s just the way they like it. “We like to keep our status the way it is,” he said.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I just heard Runk is giving out free laptops.

Nick’s column runs weekly Fridays. He can be reached at n.eilerson@cavalierdaily.com.

The University will hold its first Assembly for the Arts Sunday, featuring dance choreographer Bill T. Jones and his dance company. Jones, who will be the primary speaker at Sunday’s event, will spend the following week at the University researching Abraham Lincoln and creating a dance celebrating the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth.

Elizabeth Hutton Turner, vice provost for the arts, said Jones will perform his work at the south end of the Lawn Nov. 15. The dance, titled “100 Migrations,” will be included in a larger collection of dances that will be performed in Chicago next year, Turner said.
The University was interested in hosting Jones not only because of his international renown but also because it wants to promote permanent collaboration between the arts and other disciplines at the University, Vice President of Research Thomas Skalak said.
“We want to make the habit of creativity visible [so that it can] inspire people across all majors,” he said. Skalak said he hoped that having a prominent artistic presence on Grounds will inspire others, regardless of current academic discipline. He noted that at the beginning of the creative process, everyone begins with a blank slate.

Skalak said Turner’s arrival on Grounds nearly one year ago was an important step in leading the University to put more emphasis on showcasing all types of arts. He noted that his office chose to cosponsor the event with Turner because “research means scholarship in every discipline and school, and research involves creativity and innovation.”

Turner “embodies the spirit of cross-cutting innovation that we hope will be a hallmark at the University of Virginia and which a lot of universities want but find difficult [to achieve],” Skalak said.

Turner noted that one of the benefits of Jones’ residency will be that the entire University community can watch his creative process as he rehearses and performs on the Lawn. She also noted that while Jones, who is famous for using non-dancers in his works, will arrive at the University with 10 dancers from his own company, the final dance will incorporate 100 dancers, some of whom may be University students.

The University also will sponsor an exhibit at the University Art Museum Dec. 11 that will bring artists and scientists together to collaborate on their respective projects. Skalak noted that this will be the first of many such events that he and Turner will cosponsor.

Turner said through these types of collaborative and artistic programs, she hopes University members will find ways to encourage a new level of engagement with the arts and incorporate art into their academic and everyday lives.

“We are a research university and we are all about the creation of new knowledge,” Turner said. “The arts can lead to that knowledge, and art can be a part of that research. Through the arts we can create important and strategic partnerships university-wide and worldwide.”

The City of Charlottesville lost its competition with Falls Church, Va., to see which city would have a higher percentage of registered voters go to the polls Tuesday. For its decisive 80 percent to 66 percent voter turnout rate victory against Charlottesville, the Northern Virginia city received a bust of Thomas Jefferson.

Jackie Harris, voter outreach coordinator for the City of Charlottesville, explained that Falls Church was chosen as Charlottesville’s competitor in an attempt to unseat Falls Church from its position as the Virginia city with the highest voter turnout rate.

“We were looking around at the most recent presidential election and we saw that Falls Church had the highest turnout … and Charlottesville always wants to be number one,” Harris said when explaining the city’s motivation to pursue the challenge.

In addition, Harris noted that the competition provided a “fun way” of reinforcing the many grassroots efforts to increase voter turnout and registration. If Charlottesville had beaten Falls Church, the city would have received a sassafras sapling wagered before Election Day.

This year’s voter turnout percentage in both cities was not significantly different from the 2004 election, she said, but the cities both saw an overall increase in both voter registration and voter turnout.

In explaining her city’s success in the friendly competition, Falls Church General Registrar Debbie Taylor noted that her city has both a small population of about 10,000 that makes differences in voter turnout more noticeable and a relatively high level of political interest because of the city’s proximity to and relationship with Washington, D.C.

Harris noted that the smaller community of Falls Church regularly manages to produce a voter turnout rate five to 10 percentage points higher than Charlottesville’s voter turnout rate.

Even though Charlottesville lost, Mayor Dave Norris said he believes the competition was a success overall. While he noted that it would be difficult to measure the actual impact of the rivalry, Norris said Charlottesville ultimately had “thousands more” people at the polls this year than in the 2004 election.

“It was all in good fun,” Norris said. “The mayor of Falls Church was eager to put [its] reputation on the line, and this time they came out ahead, but next time will be sweet revenge.”

In keeping with this spirit of friendly rivalry, Taylor joked that Charlottesville may have reservations about challenging Falls Church in the future.

“I would say that’s completely up to the losers,” Taylor said of the possibility of a voter turnout rematch between the two cities. “If you want to lick your wounds and come back, that’d be fine with us.”

While Norris noted that he does not plan to be the city’s mayor in 2012 and would thus not be able to arrange another competition, he said he believes that continuing to challenge a competitive community such as Falls Church, with its ability to easily mobilize voters, would be beneficial to Charlottesville.

“I think it’s good for Charlottesville to raise the bar and try to get more citizens involved in the democratic process,” Norris said. “I’m out 60 bucks for a bust of Jefferson, but … that’s a small price to pay.”