Television personality Bob Barker, who hosted “The Price is Right” for many years, recently donated $1 million to the University Law School for the establishment of an animal law program.

“The Bob Barker Animal Law Program will include a course on animal law taught by Prof. Mimi Riley [and a] speaker series that will touch on various topics concerning animal law,” Law Dean Paul Mahoney said.

The course on animal law, which is planned to debut in the 2009-10 academic year, will be the first formal course entirely devoted to the topic in Virginia, according to a University press release. The course will be offered in most academic years — either annually or biannually, Riley said — as part of a “commitment to Mr. Barker.”

Barker, who is famous for his animal rights advocacy, concluded episodes of his long-running game show with a statement encouraging pet owners to spay and neuter their pets and has given similar monetary donations to many law schools, including those at Harvard, Columbia, Duke, Northwestern and Stanford universities.

Georgetown University Law Center received a similar donation from Barker in 2006 and has collaborated with the Humane Society of the United States to use the funds effectively, said Deborah Epstein, Law Center associate dean for clinical education and public interest. First, Georgetown created a “one-semester experiential learning course taught by the head of litigation from the Humane Society,” Epstein said. Secondly, Georgetown established a post-graduate program that grants a one- to two-year fellowship with the Humane Society dealing with animal law, Epstein said. Finally, Georgetown plans to hold a conference about animal law in the spring, Epstein added.

At the University of Virginia, Barker’s donation will not only pay for a speaker series and a course on animal law; it will also help to fund a writing competition about animal law that will be open to all University graduate students. Additionally, Barker’s donation will also provide internship and externship opportunities for Law students interested in animal law issues, but Mahoney and Riley both said the details of such opportunities are still “premature.”

“Animal law is growing in importance, and therefore it is something we should have in our curriculum,” Mahoney said. “But it is always a question of resources and Bob Barker’s gift has addressed that issue.”

The Jefferson Scholars Foundation plans to award fewer scholarships this year than in years past as a result of limited endowment funds.

“We are a bit unlike most entities at the University in that we are 100-percent dependent on our endowment to provide our operating income,” Jefferson Scholars Foundation President James Wright said. “So unless something changes dramatically, we will have to make reductions in the number of scholarships.”

The foundation’s assets are controlled by the University of Virginia Investment Management Company.

“We made the decision to let UVIMCO manage the money, and I’m sure [they are] doing everything they can to reduce losses and [make] gains,” Wright said. “We have confidence in them.”

Because of endowment losses, both UVIMCO and the Jefferson Scholars Foundation have both been working since the summer to address the problem, Wright added.

“The finance committee of the [foundation’s] board has been looking at these things since the summer when [they] began to look not so promising,” Wright said. “We’ve got very talented people who serve on our board and help us make the best decisions we can make.”

As of yet, though, the Jefferson Scholars Foundation has not decided on a definitive plan to address the situation.

“It’s just still a little bit too early to say what we are going to do,” Wright said, noting that the number of scholarships offered this year will be released around March 1.

Second-year College student Abby Adams, a Jefferson Scholar, said while she believes it is unfortunate that the Jefferson Scholars Foundation might award fewer scholarships this year, such reductions in spending will help to continue the program in the future.

“I think the reason they are cutting back on [the number of] scholars [this year is because they] want the program to be able to sustain itself indefinitely,” Adams said. “It’s extremely unfortunate that we can’t have as many scholars next year as we usually do, but I think it’s a wise fiscal decision.”

A current Jefferson Scholar candidate, who requested anonymity because his application is still undergoing review, similarly said the limited number of scholarships is understandable in light of the overall economic status of the country.

“While I’m obviously disappointed that they’re offering fewer Jefferson Scholarships [this year], I do understand the need for doing so,” he said.

Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Charlottesville, sponsored his first bill, the College Learning Access Simplicity and Savings Act of 2009, last Friday in an attempt to simplify the process of claiming federal tax credits for students and their families. Discussion of the bill, which Perriello is co-sponsoring with fellow Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, has now reached the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means.

Perriello’s press secretary Jessica Barba explained that the bill “consolidate[s] the Hope [Scholarship] tax credit and the above-the-line tax deduction for qualified tuition and expenses” into a single tax credit for $3,000. Both the Hope tax credit and the above-the-line tax deduction offer students and their families financial benefits for higher education expenses, Barba said, and the CLASS Act would do the same, but in a simpler way.

Through the CLASS Act, the maximum total a student could receive in his or her lifetime could not exceed $12,000, Barba noted, adding, though, that the CLASS Act also would cover a student’s first two years of graduate school in addition to his or her undergraduate years. Additionally, the new bill would expand the definition of expenses to include textbooks, which currently are not considered a qualifying expense, Barba said.

“What every college student will tell you after buying books for classes is that it will add up to a lot,” she said. “These are a requirement for learning.”

Compared to current methods in which the above-the-line tax deduction is currently deductible for $4,000 and the Hope Scholarship tax credit is available for up to $1,800, the CLASS act, Barba said, “is more generous in the sense that a tax credit is actual cash in your pocket.” The Hope credit, like the credit proposed in the CLASS Act, is a nonrefundable tax credit that is subtracted directly from the tax a student or a student’s family owes, but the CLASS Act’s credit is larger.

The proposed tax credit would be available to higher-income potential recipients who are ineligible for the Hope credit; the CLASS Act would make tax credits available to families with a maximum joint income level of $150,000 and a single parent income level of up to $75,000, Barba said. These figures are higher than the respective requirements for a Hope credit, she said. Students would have to meet certain other requirements to qualify for a tax credit under the proposed system; eligible students would have to carry “at least half the normal full-time work load for the course of study the student is pursuing,” the bill states.

The simplified process may also encourage students who were already eligible for assistance to take advantage of the opportunity. Barba noted that the Government Accountability Office “found that 27 percent of eligible taxpayers do not claim these credits and benefits because they are so complicated.” She added that the CLASS Act is “easier to use and easier to claim” because now there is only one process.

University Student Financial Services Director Yvonne Hubbard said she thinks Perriello is trying to put into place the federal government’s goal of simplifying the tax credit applications process. While the bill would not make aid applications easier, Hubbard said, it would “make claiming these credits easier.”

Though Hubbard said she expects no change in the number of lower-income applicants to the University as a result of Perriello’s new bill, she added, “I really do think it will help make college more affordable. They want you to use this money to fund your education.”

Barba noted that Perriello will be speaking Saturday about the CLASS Act in Charlottesville on the north steps of the Rotunda at 10 a.m.

In response to pending commonwealth budget cuts preventing the Office of the Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences from funding events with guest speakers and guest artists, Arts & Sciences Council has launched a departmental grant program to help fund such events at the University.

“The departmental program grants are meant to fund guest artists or special programs that departments want to put on,” ASC President Lindsey Turner said, adding that both students and faculty members can apply for these grants.

Turner said Arts & Sciences Council decided to launch this program after meeting with Bruce Holsinger, associate dean for humanities and the arts, and Richard Myers, senior associate dean for administration and planning, to discuss ways in which the organization could “help address any areas that might be hurting due to budget cuts.”

Turner explained that the administrators said they recently had to reject requests for guest speakers and artists because of budget cuts but noted that funding guest speakers and artists is one area in which Arts & Sciences Council could help make up for any shortfalls.

“There is a definite desire and need for this type of funding … we’re hoping to be able to step in and fill that need,” Turner said. “It’s a different type of co-sponsorship with a more departmental focus.”

Although faculty members as well as students can apply for departmental program grants, Holsinger said the effort is purely student-run.

“Really, the dean’s office was just there to give advice on how the Arts & Sciences Council could best approach departments and student groups and faculty about the availability of these funds,” Holsinger said. “We were there to help them facilitate their efforts to get the word out about their program.”

Turner said applications for funding will be reviewed at the end of each month, noting that applicants can choose either to make a presentation or to have the materials from the application read at a general Arts & Sciences Council body meeting. Turner added that her organization will consider applications on a rolling basis and plans to use $10 per student who would benefit from a guest or event as a general benchmark for funding.

Turner also said all applications will be considered, regardless of which department they would benefit. There is no quota for each department, she said.

In the current economic downturn, with jobs scarcer than usual, staying out of debt can be difficult for college students and young graduates. Meanwhile, higher education institutions across the country, including the University, are entering into more and more relationships with banks, allowing those financial institutions access to student and alumni information such as names and addresses and giving them permission to set up tables at athletic events in order to market credit cards.

According to a nationwide study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group about two-thirds of the 1,500 students surveyed reported having at least one credit card.

The University currently has a relationship, maintained by the Alumni Association, with Chase Bank. The University receives an annual payment from Chase, Alumni Association President Tom Faulders said, which is split between the Alumni Association, the athletic department and the University as a whole. In return, the Alumni Association provides the names and addresses of alumni to Chase, but does not provide the names or addresses of current students, Faulders noted. Chase also has permission to hold tabling events, “primarily at athletic events,” Faulders said.

Though the intent is to market credit cards to alumni, anyone can sign up for a credit card at the tables, including current students.
These types of tables are what concerns US PIRG, said Christine Lindstrom, US PIRG Higher Education Program director. When banks promote credit cards at tables on school campuses, a recent study shows, students are often offered free gifts — from T-shirts to food to airline miles — in exchange for signing up for a card.

“The PIRGs are not against students getting credit cards,” Lindstrom said. “What the PIRGs are against is overly aggressive marketing techniques and the unfair credit products that are offered on campuses, which together can unnecessarily plunge students into debt.”
Lindstrom noted credit cards offered on campuses often have high penalty fees and rates and have conditions allowing a company to raise interest rates if the student is late in paying an unrelated bill, such as a cell phone bill.

“These conditions pile too much debt onto students, and their balance gets harder and harder to pay off,” Lindstrom said.

Commerce Prof. Karin Bonding, however, said it is more dangerous for students to be unable to obtain a credit card.

“So many things from now on depend on good credit,” she said, citing renting an apartment, getting a job and signing up for car insurance as processes requiring a good credit score.

Obtaining a credit card is important for students, but using the credit cards properly is key, said Bonding, who teaches a class on personal finance.

“To properly use them is to pay attention,” she explained. “It is a loan, and it’s a loan that always needs to be repaid … The best way to demolish your credit score is by late payments.”

On Grounds and at other colleges and universities, though, most credit cards are not necessarily marketed to students — rather, they are marketed to extended members of a school’s community.

Betty Riess, spokesperson for Bank of America, one of the biggest credit card issuers on colleges and universities’ campuses, said the majority of the bank’s collegiate affinity card programs are with alumni associations or athletic departments.

“The primary market for these cards are fans, alumni, parents and non-students who want to support the school,” Riess said. “Students only account for about 2 percent of all open accounts [under the programs].”

Faulders said that under the University’s current agreement with Chase, the bank is allowed to market to students, but chooses not to.
Lindstrom, though, said banks may target students even without the permission of the school.

“Over 75 percent of students surveyed [nationwide] said they had been approached on campus by a bank marketing credit cards,” she said. “I doubt that the bank [representatives] refuse applications to students, even if the terms under which they were allowed to market were to target non-students.”

Bank of America’s credit limit for undergraduate students is $2,500, and the bank is dedicated to providing an educational component, Riess said, including a financial literacy handbook and a Web site about topics including money management and identity theft.

“Our objective is to create the foundation for a long-term banking relationship and help students establish a credit history that enables them to achieve longer-term financial goals,” she said.

Faulders also said education is an important component of the Alumni Association’s credit card program.

“We provide seminars and online information on how to use credit cards responsibly,” he said.

The University’s relationship with Chase will end in October 2009, Faulders said, at which time the Alumni Association will either renew its agreement with Chase or sign a contract with another bank.

“We hope to choose by summer,” Faulders said.

Regardless of which bank the University chooses, Faulders said, the new contract probably will not allow access to the current student population.

“The student population is viewed as being more vulnerable,” he said. “There are lots of horror stories about students who have gotten into a great degree of debt not understanding how credit cards work … We don’t want to put undue pressure on students.”

When I saw The Cavalier Daily published a paper Tuesday, the first day of classes, I was impressed. When I turned to the sports page and saw that our men’s basketball team lost to Virginia Tech by 3 points I was depressed. And when I read a fellow columnist’s article about how — if sports were the only thing that mattered — he would rather be a Hokie, I was shocked.

If my 5-year-old nephew told me that U.Va. fans don’t go to games in Blacksburg “because Virginia Tech wins all the games” I would take his SpongeBob toy until he changed his attitude. The last thing I’d do is admit defeat.

A Cavalier saying that he prefers the Hokie “performance, personnel and atmosphere surrounding athletic programs” is as nonsensical as a Tar Heel praising a Cameron Crazy. It’s as absurd as a Red Sox fan wishing he were really a Yankee fan. It’s like a Minuteman idolizing a Redcoat.

I doubt his is a common sentiment around Grounds. But still, Cavalier fans could benefit from a little more edge — an injection of a little extra confidence or optimism. Beating Maryland by 31 points in football should be an expectation, not a surprise. A win for the men’s basketball team against Georgia Tech is our first of many ACC wins, not a one-time fluke. And when the North Carolina men’s basketball team comes to town, a student should be excited for the chance to see Virginia upset the No. 5/6 team in the nation rather than getting an opportunity to simply see a top-10 team come to Charlottesville.

Last week I watched Florida State host Duke in an ACC men’s basketball matchup on ESPN. Though I am a college basketball fan, I generally don’t have the time or patience to sit down and watch an entire game in which I do not have a vested interest in either team. But I watched from the tip to the final buzzer.

The game was sloppy, it had minor significance for Virginia, and the announcers were mildly annoying. Regardless, I sat in amusement because the Seminole fans were giving the Blue Devils hell for all 40 minutes — so much so that you could hear it over the commentators. They were making fun of Coach K. They were heckling Greg Paulus on the bench. Florida State fans were even jeering J.J. Reddick in absentia. (He was selected in the 2006 NBA Draft and now plays for the Orlando Magic.) If Gerald Henderson put up an air ball, they made sure he didn’t forget about it. When the officials called a foul on FSU, it was “B.S.” (every time, of course). And though Florida State didn’t win, the fans rattled Duke enough to allow the Seminoles to sneak back in the game in the second half.

Forget sportsmanship. It’s gamesmanship. Virginia fans have a prime opportunity to assume that same pesky yet passionate image tonight on national television.

It’s a chance to get a random viewer in Tallahassee to stay tuned because he’s amused by just how much Cavalier fans are getting into Tyler Hansbrough’s head. Or to show someone watching in Blacksburg that Virginia fans have a little edge — that we’re cheering like it’s a conference tournament game and we expect to win.

Heckle UNC players about their two straight conference losses to open ACC play. Or get on Ty Lawson — who many think is one of the best players in the nation — for being worked by the point guard on the opposing team all throughout those two games. Or make fun of Hansbrough for being called “Psycho T,” for playing like a lunatic and for bringing the plastic mask back in style.

It really doesn’t matter what you say, but start cheers, join chants and, when it’s relatively quiet, yell something at Lawson, Hansbrough, Danny Green, Wayne Ellington or, heck, coach Roy Williams.

No need to be ignorant or insensitive — just loud and annoying.

And mixed into all of that mayhem will be cheers to support the home team.

The players are a reflection of the fans at the game. The fans at the game are a reflection of the student body. And the student body is a reflection of the University as a whole.

Tonight is a chance to show UNC, viewers nationwide and ourselves that we have inexhaustible pride for U.Va.

For many fans tonight, sports — even for just 40 minutes — will be the only thing that matters. And even then, I’d take being a Cavalier over being a Hokie any day.

“We’ve got to be hungry.”

That’s what North Carolina junior forward Wayne Ellington told reporters Tuesday, two days after the Tar Heels lost to Wake Forest 92-89 in Winston-Salem. The preseason No. 1 team in the nation has shocked itself and the country by opening the conference season 0-2, as the loss to the Demon Deacons followed an even more stunning 85-78 loss in Chapel Hill to Boston College, picked by the ACC media preseason to finish 11th — ahead of only Virginia.

That means tonight at John Paul Jones Arena, Virginia will have to contend with a North Carolina roster that is not only full of NBA prospects but also angry.

Tonight’s matchup with the struggling Tar Heels is Virginia’s ACC home debut after the team split its first two conference games on the road to Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. This game is the first of a home-and-home with North Carolina, as Virginia makes the return trip Feb. 7.

“Everybody has to be looking forward to [tonight’s game],” freshman guard Sylven Landesberg said. “It’s gonna be a challenge, and I love challenges.”

As the conference season has started, Landesberg has quieted any Virginia followers who questioned whether he could continue to find lanes to the basket against ACC opponents. The New York City native continues to lead the Cavaliers in scoring and sits at fourth in the conference with 18.5 points per game. He has exceeded that mark in each of the team’s two ACC contests, pouring in 26 against Georgia Tech and 20 at Virginia Tech. Landesberg was named ACC Rookie of the Week Tuesday primarily for his effort against Virginia Tech, the fifth time he has received the award this season. He is just the fourth player in Virginia history to win the award at least five times; Cavalier greats Ralph Sampson (1979-80) and Sean Singletary (2004-05) each won the award five times, while Bryant Stith (1988-89) was given the honor on a Virginia-record six occasions.

Another common thread to Virginia’s first two ACC contests has been playing well from behind. Against the Hokies, Virginia trailed by 15 with 5:23 left in regulation, before sophomore guard Mustapha Farrakhan drained four threes in a row to bring Virginia as close as 2 with under a minute remaining before Hokie senior A.D. Vassallo answered with a bucket to put Virginia away. In Atlanta, a 3-point shot from junior forward Jamil Tucker and some big missed free throws from Georgia Tech ultimately sent the game to overtime, when Virginia took its first lead since the 14:29 mark of the second half en route to an 88-84 victory.

“We seem to do this a lot — we start to play harder when the game is starting to get away from us,” Landesberg said. “We’ve gotta find a way to just play like that the whole game.”

One thing that hindered Virginia against the Hokies that could potentially cost Virginia coach Dave Leitao even more tonight is foul trouble in the frontcourt, particularly for 7-foot freshman center Assane Sene. Sene picked up his fourth foul with Virginia trailing by 10 at the 6:38 mark of the second half, and Virginia Tech built the lead to its largest margin of 15 with Sene on the bench.

Sene averages 1.5 blocks per game this season and has the ability to alter shots more than any Cavalier center in recent memory. His size and length makes him the most able to bother North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough, but Sene has had trouble keeping himself on the floor on several occasions this season. Considering Hansbrough’s physical style and his deft ability to get to the foul line, keeping Sene on the floor has to be a concern for Leitao, who noted that while foul trouble was certainly a factor in Blacksburg, it was less of an issue against the perimeter-oriented Hokies.

“You have to make a judgment when a guy has three [fouls] or is in any foul trouble,” Leitao said. “Can you manage with them out? Can you manage with them in foul trouble? Or, you can dip them in and out.”

And, of course, to the dismay of Virginia fans, the Tar Heels likely will not take for granted this game against the preseason pick for last in the ACC.

“Sometimes we go out there and just expect to win instead of realizing that nobody’s going to roll over for us,” Ellington told reporters after the loss to Wake Forest. “We’ve got a target on our back.”

Three years ago, Virginia sophomore tennis player Michael Shabaz took part in what he modestly referred to as, “one of those moments you don’t get to experience often.” Playing in the Wimbledon juniors’ draw, Shabaz was given the opportunity to warm up American star Andy Roddick before Roddick’s semifinal match at the historic All England Tennis Club.

“It was cool,” Shabaz said. “There were obviously cameras and people. I was supposed to warm him up for his final [too], but I had my own final. It was a little bit of fun.”

Although Shabaz’s serve has yet to eclipse the speed of his one-time playing partner’s catapult release, his meteoric rise up the college tennis ranks in the past few months is reminiscent of the way Roddick himself burst onto the professional scene. The sophomore entered this September outside the Intercollegiate Tennis Association top 100, but after knocking off a succession of top-20 opponents during the Cavaliers’ fall campaign, Shabaz has leapt to No. 11 in the ITA singles’ poll heading into the regular season.

“I’m really pleased with [Shabaz]’s performance over the past year and a half,” Virginia coach Brian Boland said. “His skill level in this game is extraordinary; he has a great foundation of knowledge of how to play the game.”

While Shabaz showed promise as a freshman, playing No. 5 singles and pairing with then-junior Dominic Inglot in the second doubles slot as the Cavaliers marched through the regular season undefeated, it was not until the ITA All-American Championships this October that he experienced a real breakthrough. Ranked No. 104 at the time, Shabaz knocked off five higher-ranked opponents, including an upset of the nation’s then-No.2 player, Baylor junior Denes Lukacs, en route to the tournament quarterfinals. His inspired run came to an end there, as the sophomore suffered a tough three-set loss to East Tennessee State senior Enrique Olivares, currently ranked No. 9 in the ITA poll. Nevertheless, his growth through the week in Tulsa was noticeable.

“I think I finally started putting matches together,” Shabaz said. “I started doing that consistently, and my confidence got built [up] just a little bit. I kind of feel like, once you get going a little bit and you feel a little confident, you can beat anybody.”

At the same time that Shabaz has grown more confident on the court, he has grown more comfortable off the court as well. After taking a year off from school to compete on the junior circuit before enrolling at Virginia, he found trying to manage both school and practice day in and day out to be slightly overwhelming at first.

“You have so many things going on,” Shabaz said. “Being here one year, I think that kind of helps second year. It makes things a little easier.”

Instead of spending time at home during the summer, Shabaz chose to stay in Charlottesville, taking a few extra classes while continuing to train on Grounds. He worked on improving his overall stamina by going on long runs. As the fall season approached, he focused on ball-feeding drills to improve his arm and core strength, he said. Since the beginning of the regular season, the effect of such a strict offseason regimen on his game has become apparent.

“The real thing that kind of sets him apart from last year has been his fitness — his ability to cover the court and get to each shot in exactly the right position,” said senior Dominic Inglot, Shabaz’s doubles partner.

After the graduation of two-time NCAA singles champion Somdev Devvarman, one of the best players in the history of college tennis, the Cavaliers will need players like Shabaz to continue to step up and fill the void left by Devvarman’s departure, especially if the squad hopes to earn its third-straight team bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Virginia entered last season’s championship bracket ranked first in the country, but the team suffered a disappointing loss to eventual champion Georgia in the national semifinals in Tulsa, marking the second consecutive year the Cavaliers narrowly missed a shot at a team crown. This year, the team enters the season ranked fifth in the ITA preseason polls, despite losing three of its top six players from last year.

“We really want to peak for the ACCs and the NCAA Tournament,” Boland said. “I think we’ve done a good job of doing each year. We’re young, talented, and I believe we have the right chemistry and work ethic to do some great things.”

Though it could be easy to be caught up in the individual aspect of the game rather than the team’s results, Shabaz understands how instrumental his performance is in dictating the Cavaliers’ success this spring.

“The things I can take care of are my singles match and my doubles match,” Shabaz said. “The rest is kind of out of my hands. I just have to try to do the best I can to take care of my point, and hopefully it gives some momentum to the other guys. Hopefully, we can keep rolling.”

As a freshman and a member of the women’s tennis team, how do you make a name for yourself?

Try winning a professional tournament.

That is exactly what Lindsey Hardenbergh, a freshman out of Fairfax Station, Va., did in the fall season. Hardenbergh defeated four opponents, including the tournament’s top seed and then-world No. 581 Allie Will, en route to winning the Dwight Davis/Merrill Lynch Championships on the USTA Pro Circuit. She defeated third-seeded and then-world No. 614 Anda Perianu 7-5, 7-6 in the final Oct. 19.

“I didn’t even know if I was going to get in the tournament,” Hardenbergh said. “I think I just wanted it more than anyone else.”

Now, with Virginia playing host in its spring season debut this weekend at the annual U.Va. Winter Invitational at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club, Hardenbergh will try to make her presence felt as a Cavalier.

“I think the sky’s the limit for someone like a Lindsey,” Virginia coach Mark Guilbeau said. “Everything that Lindsey does is genuine … If Lindsey’s gonna go from here to that door to get some treatment, she’s gonna do it with some serious intensity.”

And, Guilbeau added, the tennis isn’t bad either.

“She’s extremely quick in terms of the effort that she gets to move to the ball,” he said. “She’s got probably one of the best serves in college tennis. She’s got a great forehand — good from the ground, period.”

Hardenbergh was a top-30 recruit in the country according to tennisrecruiting.net, although she noted that her junior rankings “weren’t as impressive.” Her win on the professional circuit, however, has raised a few eyebrows — including her own.

“When I won that pro tournament, it showed me what I was capable of,” Hardenbergh said. “I’d like to be ranked nationally by the end of my first year and just see how good I can get.”

While Hardenbergh is certainly the leader of the pack of three freshman currently listed on the roster — and Guilbeau noted that the team is attempting to add a fourth if she can become eligible — fellow freshmen Emily Fraser and Claire Bartlett also boast impressive junior resumes. Fraser was ranked as high as No. 23 nationally and Bartlett as high as No. 6, and the two even paired off as a doubles team at the ITF Grasscourt Championships in summer 2007, making the finals. The competition with her peers, along with some veteran leadership from senior Amanda Rales — “I kind of try to take the freshmen and the newcomers under my wing,” Rales said — was exactly the preparation Hardenbergh needed for the victory in her pro debut.

“I really came in here trying to work hard, and then Emily and Clare, the other freshmen, they’re such accomplished players, so it really helped being able to hit with them,” Hardenbergh said. “I’d be out there at the pro tournament playing girls, and I’d say, ‘Oh this girl doesn’t have Emily’s forehand, OK.’ I was seeing things that my teammates were always giving me.”

It also didn’t hurt that when Hardenbergh arrived at Virginia, Guilbeau and assistant coach Troy Porco worked to put Hardenbergh at a level of fitness she said she had never reached before.

“We were out there on the track,” Hardenbergh said. “I’ve definitely been keeping up over the winter, but it’s definitely a challenge to get back into shape.”

Now, Hardenbergh is chomping at the bit to show the college tennis world that the pro win was no fluke — and, as one might expect, she has her eyes on the top dog this weekend at the U.Va. Winter Invitational.

“I know that the No. 1 player in the country is gonna be here, so maybe I’ll get a chance to be on the court with her,” Hardenbergh said.
The player she referred to is senior Aurelija Miseviciute of Arkansas, and it wouldn’t be the first time she faced off with the Lithuanian No. 1 — Hardenbergh noted that she played a practice set with Miseviciute a short time ago.

“I lost 7-5,” she said. “I was actually up 5-4, and I could not finish it out.”

But, she added, she was not quite at the top of her game — “We’re still getting the rust off,” she said.

Now that Hardenbergh has had a couple weeks to work out the kinks, knocking off the best player in the nation this weekend would be another way to make herself known.

The University’s decision to suspend classes for three hours next Tuesday will allow more students to watch the swearing-in of the nation’s 44th president, but if it is cancelling some classes on that day, the University might as well cancel them all. In future inauguration years, the University should plan sufficiently far in advance to allow students to attend the inauguration.

Cancelling classes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. does not provide nearly enough time for students to travel to Washington to experience the event in person. It will, however, let students watch on television without worrying about missing class. For students who were debating whether to skip class anyway, this arrangement is a relief. Many professors likely would have cancelled class themselves, but those who did not would have been asking their students to miss out on a historic event. Suspending classes avoids the confusion that would have occurred otherwise and affords all students a chance to witness democracy in action.

Though it is a step in the right direction, the adjusted schedule fails to benefit from one of the University’s particular assets: its proximity to the nation’s capital. It is no coincidence that a university just down the road from the District of Columbia has a large number of students majoring in politics. Its geographical location is one of the University’s draws, and Inauguration Day is an opportunity to exploit it. Not every school in the country can offer its students a chance to observe government in person. It is a waste for the University not to do so by offering a day off for Inauguration Day.

This semester’s unusual schedule — starting on a Tuesday (but with Monday’s class schedule), followed by a three-day weekend — means that Inauguration Day is the first time Tuesday-only classes will meet. This made cancelling classes for Inauguration Day impractical. But in the future, schedules could be planned around inauguration events. If classes had started only a day earlier, cancelling all classes on Tuesday would not have been a problem, since Tuesday classes could have met during the first week of the semester.

Planning in advance will also eliminate the accusations of partisanship that have accompanied the University’s action. We do not believe the administration intended to endorse a political view with its decision. For whatever reason — President-elect Barack Obama’s historic candidacy and the massive student participation in his election both likely contributed —  there are clearly far more students interested in watching this inauguration than there have been in past years. Acknowledging this fact is not a partisan act.

It is easy to see, however, why those people who are convinced academia is a mechanism of liberal indoctrination would interpret the suspension of classes as an endorsement of Obama’s presidency. Establishing a day off for Inauguration Day as a permanent University policy would render such accusations unfounded.

Though we wish the University had planned years in advance to allow students to attend the inauguration, it is now too late for it to cancel all classes. The administration can still encourage professors to forgive students’ absences from class if they choose to go to Washington, and it should ask that the professors make their intention to do so clear as soon as possible.