As a student, I am always pleased to see other members of the community (or from farther reaches of the world) visiting the Grounds to tour the beauty of the University. However, I do not appreciate any such visitors who make themselves a distraction to the community of learning on Grounds. Some people have determined that the University is an easy pulpit from which to preach — and I do mean that literally — because we are so open to visitors. This behavior is unacceptable. We as students have the right to attend class without abatement or chastisement. Walking through Grounds while a man proselytizes loudly in our faces, or to have classes around the amphitheater interrupted by the shouts of this man are things that cannot be tolerated by this University. Such people turn our University into a spectacle. Now that we are in admissions season, we should concern ourselves with how the University will be perceived by prospective students and parents. Do we want Mr. Jefferson’s University to be seen as a playground for zealotry? Can we imagine if, instead of selling religious dogma, this man was selling landshares from the center of our amphitheater? The authorities of this University are beholden not only to the students’ rights from religious harassment, but also to the preservation of the Jeffersonian ideals upon which this University was founded. We must remove these offending persons from Grounds immediately, and inform them that, while our University endorses the free practice of religion, that endorsement extends to all the students that have to listen to them. To permit these religious histrionics to continue is tantamount to condoning them. And I could not imagine a more egregious misappropriation of Jefferson’s vision.

The state of Maryland will play host to this weekend’s biggest collegiate lacrosse game as No. 1 Virginia travels to Baltimore to take on No. 9 Johns Hopkins Saturday night.

The game features two impressive lacrosse teams that have both won two championships in the last six years. The Blue Jays (11-6) are coming off a disappointing loss to No. 2 Syracuse. While Hopkins rallied late in the game to cut the Orange’s lead to three, Syracuse held on to win 14-11.

The Cavaliers, meanwhile, have been able to remain undefeated this season by getting up early on opponents. Outscoring teams 65-23 in the first half, Virginia has been able to work the clock in the second half to limit its opposition’s number of possessions. The Cavaliers will look for their leading scorers — senior attack Garrett Billings (22 goals, ten assists) and freshman attack Steele Stanwick (18 goals, 11 assists) — to jump start their offense in the early periods. Virginia has scored at least 10 goals in each of its nine games this season.

The Blue Jays will have to guard more than just Stanwick and Billings, however, as 21 different Virginia players have scored a goal this season, and underclassmen have scored 51 of the Cavaliers’ 126 goals. With a strong contribution from the team’s freshmen and sophomores, the Cavaliers have been able to go deep into their roster during games.

“We [seniors] are just trying to take these guys in, and they are helping us out,” senior defenseman Matt Kelly said. “Each week in practice, a lot of the younger guys are preparing us for the games, pretending to be the other team and whatnot. It kind of goes both ways.”

Virginia will also use its ground-ball skills against the Blue Jays to maximize its time of possession. The Cavaliers out-average the Blue Jays 44 groundballs a game to Hopkins’ 30.

Defensively, the Cavaliers will need to concentrate on Johns Hopkins’ attack duo of sophomore Kyle Wharton (13 goals, six assists) and junior Steven Boyle (11 goals and five assists). The defense has been able to stop opponents and get the ball back to the offense with ease this season, as Virginia has posted a clearing percentage of .855. Sophomore goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman also has started the year exceptionally well, allowing only 6.29 goals per game with a .596 save percentage.

With a balanced offensive attack and a solid defense, the Cavaliers have a chance to make a run to the national championship. The path to the finals, however, will not be easy. In the next four weeks, Virginia plays games against No. 10 Maryland, at No. 8 Duke and at No. 11 North Carolina.

With their upcoming tough schedule and key game this week, fatigue and injury may be possible concerns for the Cavaliers. One positive about the remainder of the schedule is that Virginia will only play one game per week, after having started the season with nine games in four weeks.

“There are some things I’ve been really pleased with; one of them is our fitness level,” head coach Dom Starsia said. “We’ve been good in the second half of all these games. We just haven’t been able to go hard in practice because we’ve had so many of these games to prepare for. There are just some things that we need to do a little bit better, and getting back to the practice field will help with that.”

This Saturday’s game against the Blue Jays is going to be a lead-in to a very demanding end of the season for the Cavaliers as they look to continue their winning streak. The game against Johns Hopkins can be seen on ESPNU at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Baseball fans across the country have begun to take notice of the Virginia baseball team, now the only remaining undefeated team in the country. This weekend, however, will put coach Brian O’Connor’s team to the test, as it faces off against one of its more challenging opponents, No. 4 Miami.

Despite their untarnished record, the Cavaliers enter the three-day matchup as an underdog, taking the back seat to a team that went to Omaha last year for the College World Series. The Cavaliers, however, have made success a habit this season, and O’Connor said his team remains confident.

“Obviously we want to keep the positive momentum going into this weekend against Miami,” O’Connor said. “They’re one of the top 10 teams in the country and they were in Omaha last year. It’s always important to win, but it’s important to have that momentum going into an important series.”

Miami will pose a stiff challenge, though. Weighing in with an overall record of 16-3 after winning 10 of their last 11 games, the Hurricanes have six players batting .300 or better. Junior Scott Lawson has been particularly impressive, notching 29 hits and nine doubles in his first 18 games. Miami also boasts a strong pitching staff, evidenced by its 2.86 team ERA. After claiming their first ACC title last year, the Hurricanes could have the upper hand this season against a young Virginia squad.

Despite their youth, the Cavaliers have yet to appear nervous. In fact, it has been the opposite — clutch hitting has become something of a team specialty. Fourteen of the team’s 21 runs this past week came with two outs.

“This team has taken an attitude of not being concerned about themselves, and picking a teammate up,” O’Connor said. “You’re gonna face tough pitching at this level, and you’re not gonna get the job done every time, but what’s important is the guy that comes in behind you that gets the job done for your team and drives in a big run.”

Another important factor contributing to Virginia’s success has been pitching, particularly that of freshman Danny Hultzen. Hultzen had 13 strikeouts in seven innings against No. 14 Florida State last week and enters Friday evening with a 4-0 record. Fans may have a pitchers’ duel to look forward to, as last year’s ACC freshman of the year and fellow left-hander, Chris Hernandez, will be on the mound for Miami.

“I know Miami will be ready for him [Hultzen],” O’Connor said. “He’ll be matched up by a left-handed sophomore by the name of Hernandez that was ACC [Freshman] of the year last year. Danny’s gonna have his work cut out for him, but I know he’s gonna go out there and pitch a good ball game and give us a chance to win Friday night.”

Virginia will start senior Andrew Carraway Saturday and freshman Will Roberts Sunday. Both have ERAs less than three, and Roberts has recorded 23 strikeouts in only 16 innings. The Cavaliers’ hitting also has shined so far this season. The team is batting .388 as a whole, and not a single starter sits below the .300 mark. O’Connor said he attributes part of the team’s success to its overall chemistry.
“This is a very tightly-knit group of guys,” sophomore pitcher Kevin Arico said. “We are definitely functioning as a team, without a doubt. It goes full circle … every guy on the bench can come off and do the job, and every guy coming out of the bullpen, starting, whatever their role may be. Everybody’s coming out, executing, doing their job.”

Arico was particularly impressive last week, as he stepped in as the team’s closer when regular Matt Packer was used in middle relief instead. Arico had the first two saves of his college career Tuesday and Wednesday, both coming in close games. His ability to fill the position without a problem is indicative of the squad’s depth, something that has helped it stay undefeated.

“That’s what competition does — it creates guys to stay on edge,” O’Connor said. “There’s a lot of guys on our team that want to play. You’ve got guys like Bivens and Wermen that haven’t played a whole lot, and they’re hungry, and when they get opportunities, they come in there and they’re ready to perform. Depth is a really, really great thing on a college baseball team.”

The No. 5-seeded Virginia women’s basketball team takes the court tomorrow in Los Angeles against No. 12-seeded Marist in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time.

The Cavaliers (23-9, 8-6 ACC) earned the fifth seed in the Trenton Region of the bracket after advancing to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament before falling to Duke 76-53. In the first round of the tournament, Virginia defeated Virginia Tech 66-57.

Junior guard Monica Wright has led the Cavaliers all season. Wright leads the ACC in scoring (20.5 points per game), ranks fourth in steals (2.9 steals per game) and also distributes the ball well (3.2 assists per game). Wright also has been complemented by senior forward Lyndra Littles — who also averages 20.5 ppg — since Littles rejoined the team following academic suspension earlier this season. Littles returned to the floor Dec. 18 against Monmouth, against which she contributed 17 points in a 73-45 win. In her fourth game back against Louisiana Tech, in the final of the Marriott Cavalier Classic, Littles poured in a career-high 33 points in a 68-52 victory. The senior also has collected 6.4 rebounds per game. Additionally, senior center Aisha Mohammed has been an impressive player throughout the year, averaging a double-double with 13 points and an ACC-leading 10.1 rebounds per game.

Three freshmen — guard Ariana Moorer (7 points and 2.3 assists per game), forward Chelsea Shine (5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game) and guard Whitny Edwards (4.8 ppg) — also have contributed significantly to the team’s play this season.

The Cavaliers face the Red Foxes (29-3, 16-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference), who are riding a nine-game win streak but did not play a tough regular season schedule. Marist faced now-No. 1-seeded Oklahoma early in the season but fell, 83-57. The team won both the regular season and tournament MAAC championships.

The Red Foxes are led offensively by junior forward Rachele Fitz, who averages 20.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Senior guard Julianne Viani also averages in doubles figures, putting up 15.2 ppg. Marist appears to have a stout defense, giving up only 56.7 ppg.

Should the Cavaliers win, they will face the winner of the game between No. 4-seeded California and No. 13-seeded Fresno State Monday night. If Virginia wins that game, it would then most likely face undefeated powerhouse Connecticut in the Sweet Sixteen.

—compiled by Aaron Perryman

The No. 9 Virginia women’s lacrosse team will host No. 7 Princeton Saturday at Klöckner Stadium.

The Cavaliers (6-2, 1-2 ACC) are coming off of a hard fought overtime win against in-state rival William & Mary earlier this week. Virginia has been in somewhat of a slump since it beat then-No. 3 Syracuse three weeks ago. In the four games since that victory, the Cavaliers have lost to then-No. 3 Maryland and then-No. 9 North Carolina, and needed overtime to escape with wins against two other opponents.

The Tigers (4-1) meanwhile, have faced three ranked opponents this season, defeating Johns Hopkins and Penn State but losing to Duke. Virginia also was able to overcome Penn State, defeating the Nittany Lions 12-11 in overtime.

“I think we are going to have close games,” Virginia coach Julie Myers said. “Gone are the days when you show up and because you are Virginia you are going to win by eight because people are intimidated.”

Virginia also will have to contend with an impressive sophomore between the pipes: Princeton goalkeeper Erin Tochihara. Tochihara was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week Monday for her performance against Penn State in which she stopped 13 shots — nine of which were in the first half. Tochihara recorded a career-high 16 saves in a losing effort against Duke, and she is only allowing 8.54 goals per game.

Tochihara’s play could pose difficulties for the Cavaliers, who have recently struggled with their offensive efficiency. They are only converting 44.5 percent of their shots on goal and could have a hard time scoring against Tochihara, who is first in the Ivy League in save percentage (.594) and saves per game (10.25).

“We don’t want all of the games to be easy because then we are just going to keep going through the motions,” junior attack Whitaker Hagerman said. “[Our opponents] just keep pushing us. We know that no matter what all of our competitors every single game are going to be tough.”

The Tigers do not have any superstar players on offense; they are, however, a balanced group, as six players have recorded at least six goals this season. The Tigers have played close games this entire season, with their largest margin of victory or loss being four goals.
Virginia should prepare itself for another defensive-minded game and will have to make the most of its scoring opportunities. Virginia still has a long way to go before the NCAA Tournament, and the game this weekend against Princeton could provide some beneficial experience against a high-caliber opponent.

“We still have a lot of games ahead of us and we need to work on a lot of different things and hopefully we will win in the end when it really matters,” senior midfielder Blair Weymouth said. “We will be a much better team come May.”

The Virginia women’s tennis team is preparing to enter one of the toughest parts of its season, as it looks to survive against conference and outdoor competition.

“Most teams don’t get too far ahead and you always take it one team at a time,” Virginia coach Mark Guilbeau said. “But we’ve talked a lot about this next stage of the season, and I think that gives us an edge that we’ve addressed this and we’re ready for this new challenge that’s going to come with these top teams.”

Of the remaining eight opponents on Virginia’s regular season schedule, only N.C. State currently is unranked in the national polls. Three teams hold a spot in the top 10 — Georgia Tech at No. 6, Duke at No. 7 and Miami at No. 8.

“We’ve had to beat some teams to get to where we are now,” Guilbeau said. “We’re going to have to go out there and beat some more teams but if we play our best … I think if we really keep making progress and go one more notch, we are capable of playing with and maybe beating any of the teams left on our schedule.”

Virginia (10-2, 2-0 ACC) will face two top-15 teams this weekend on the road when it visits Georgia Tech Saturday and Clemson Sunday.
2008 NCAA singles champion junior Amanda McDowell leads Georgia Tech (8-4, 2-1 ACC). Despite her exceptional performance at championships last year, however, McDowell does not hold a permanent spot on the top of Georgia Tech’s roster.

“The standard that [a player like McDowell] sets within a program is the big thing,” Guilbeau said. “Georgia Teach is a team that’s really been led by some top players. McDowell is an NCAA champion who has recently played No. 3 for their team, so that gives you an idea of how strong they are.”

No. 18 McDowell ranks behind fellow teammate freshman Irina Falconi, who is ranked No. 7 nationally.

Clemson junior Ani Mijacika, meanwhile, is helping the Tigers (10-5, 2-1 ACC) maintain their No. 13 national ranking and has earned the No. 1 spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles ranking. Virginia freshman Emily Fraser, who will be playing against Mijacika at the No. 1 position, sits far behind at No. 81.

The Cavaliers as a team, though, jumped to No. 1 in the ACC after recent wins against Virginia Tech and Boston College. At the same time, Georgia Tech and Clemson fell to No. 4 and No. 6, respectively.

Virginia’s superior standing can be partly attributed to its depth and adaptability in its 7-0 sweeps against Virginia Tech and Richmond and its 6-1 triumphs against William and Mary, Boston College and Maryland this season.

“We look at every single result throughout the whole year and we also do a lot of scouting – very specific notes on players’ strengths and weaknesses,” Guilbeau said. “There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes in getting ready for matches, and then you really try to fine-tune that and give the kids the very, very precise information that they need to be able to match up as best they can.”

The team focuses on matching the ability of its opponents and taking advantage of challenges.

“I know a lot of girls on [Clemson and Georgia Tech], and there are going to be great opportunities,” freshman Claire Bartlett said. “They’re going to be tougher matches but I think if we can all keep rising up and play our hardest we’ll do really well.”

Guilbeau said he believes Clemson and Georgia Tech will challenge the Cavaliers.

“They’ve got two of the top 10 players in the country at the top of their lineup, so they’re very strong and again, present some great opportunities for us,” Guilbeau said. “I don’t know if they’re quite as deep as Georgia Tech, but they’re certainly a very good team.”
Guilbeau emphasized that the Cavaliers need to adapt to the different strategies used by Georgia Tech and Clemson.

“We’re not going to win this match with only half of the team playing their best,” Guilbeau said. “We’re going to need everyone on the team playing their absolute best.”

The Cavaliers will make their first stop of the weekend in Atlanta, where play begins at noon Saturday.

In response to the announcement of Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, III as the University’s spring commencement speaker, several students have begun circulating a petition to contest the process by which Wilkinson was selected.

The petition, which as of press time had gained 336 signatures on ipetitions.com, reads, “We the undersigned encourage the UVA administration to create a better, more transparent and more accountable commencement speaker selection committee to better reflect and respect the diverse opinions of the student body.”

The petition states that the student body deserves a unifying speaker as well as a “fair, open and respectful” process through which a speaker can be selected.

College fourth-year Quynh Khanh Vu, who also serves as a Cavalier Daily senior advertising representative, said she drafted the petition for several reasons. She said her greatest concern with the announcement was the transparency of the process. Vu said after learning of Wilkinson’s appointment, she voiced her concerns directly to Special Occasions Committee chair Sandy Gilliam.

Vu said, though, that Gilliam said her concerns were unfounded.

“It is about undergraduates learning about how it works, whether or not that is something [students are] comfortable with,” Vu said.
University spokesperson Carol Wood said Wilkinson was selected by University President John T. Casteen, III because Wilkinson had much to offer and share with this year’s graduating class.

Vu noted, however, that after she further investigated the commencement speaker selection process, she had difficulty finding out precisely how the University and its president makes its final decision.

Wood said a speaker selection committee met in October. Before the meeting, Wood said, Gilliam asked all committee members to poll friends, students and colleagues in the University, asking them who they would like to deliver the commencement address.

“There is usually a lively discussion around nominations,” Wood stated in an e-mail.

Around early October, some students began to circulate a petition to adopt comedian Stephen Colbert as the speaker, but by Winter Break the suggestion had been rejected, said Will Eden, a fourth-year College Student and advocate for the Colbert Commences Commencement group.

Eden said although the petition obtained 2000 student signatures, the “group that selected [Wilkinson] was the most resistant to Colbert” and gave the petitioners negative feedback. Wood stated that at this stage, the Special Occasions Committee, which is half composed of students and half composed of faculty and administrative leaders, sent a final list of 10 recommended speakers to Casteen, who made the final decision.

“Students have the final say on the Valediction speaker, but the University president has always had the final call on the finals speaker,” Wood said.

Even when provided with that explanation, however, some students interviewed still said the process is not transparent enough. Others said the chosen speaker is disappointing.

Katelyn Mendoza, a fourth-year College student and Entertainment Chair of the 2009 Trustees, said she was pleased about the selection of Saturday Valediction speaker Dawn Staley, but noted that she felt that University administrators did not listen to students’ concerns and did not take students’ opinions into account for the Sunday speaker.

Fourth-year College student Christian West, meanwhile, said though he does not object to Wilkinson as a person or as the commencement speaker, he remains a bit uncertain about how Wilkinson was selected.

West said he believes the Committee should more actively encourage recommendations from students and should create an online poll through which students can select their favorite speaker.

“It would be very easy for the committee to do some student outreach,” West noted.

Vu added that “an application process for students who are interested on being on the selection committee” could lead to greater student variety than the currently mandated four student members and five additional students picked by the Student Council president. Vu also said she thinks students of the graduating class should be informed about who serves on the committee and have a means through which to deliver suggestions to committee members.

In previous interviews with The Cavalier Daily, Gilliam has noted that in many cases bringing more popular speakers to Grounds is made difficult because the University has a policy of not offering honorary degrees or monetary bonuses for commencement speakers.

Khalifa Sultan Lee, a fourth-year College student and vice chair of the Minority Rights Coalition, however, said the University could have done more to select a more appropriate speaker for the occasion.

“I was definitely surprised that the University would come to the point at which they would accept a speaker such as this judge,” Lee said, adding that he believes the announcement was a “slap to the community” and that “when it came down to final selection, no one had a clue as to how they came to choose him.”

Wood, though, defended this year’s selection and said it was based on Wilkinson’s extensive qualifications.

“I believe that President Casteen saw in J. Harvie what the Jefferson Medal committee saw — a great legal mind and dedicated public servant who has made important contributions to legal scholarship as well as to the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Wood said. “The president — as well as committee members — consider a number of things when recommending and inviting speakers. Does the person have something important and interesting to say? Has the person had life experiences that have prepared him to communicate important life lessons or a particular valuable message?”

As the online student petition continues to gather signatures, Vu said she hopes to meet with University administrators to discuss possible ways to change the selection process in the future.

The University’s economics and foreign affairs departments both recently decided to change their major requirements and required classes for those majors.

The economics department has been discussing the changes to its major requirements for quite some time, said Ron Michener, director of undergraduate studies in the economics department.

The most significant change to the economics major requires students to take a second statistics class, which will be ECON 372, “Introduction to Regression Analysis for most students,” Michener said. Previously, STAT 212, “Introduction to Statistical Analysis” was the only required statistics course.

“Economics is a fairly quantitative major, as most social sciences are,” Michener said. “How can you take an economics major and not take two stat courses?”

He noted that the addition of this course has long been considered.

“This was literally discussed in a faculty meeting over 30 years ago when I came to U.Va.,” Michener said, adding that the techniques taught in this class are very practical in the field of economics.

“You would run into some of the same techniques in the Commerce School as well,” he said.

The department hopes that this additional course will help “to teach people the tools that economists make common use of in the real world,” Michener noted.

In addition to the new course, there are a host of smaller major requirement changes that Michener described as “housekeeping.” The full list of new requirements can be found on the economic department’s Web site. Students now must receive at least grades of a C-plus or above in all prerequisite math and statistic courses, as opposed to the prior C prerequisite requirement. The department, though, is now allowing students to retake the same prerequisite course if they fail to achieve the required minimum grade.

Students, however, can only take the same course twice and students who declare the major under the new rules will only need to complete four elective courses instead of the previously required five.

Third-year economics major Rachael Roueche said she believes the new requirements may make the major more selective and thus more appealing to some University students. She also said, though, the changes could prevent many students from declaring economics as their major.

“I think in the long run, it will make the major and department more prestigious,” Roueche said. “But I don’t think gaining that prestige is worth taking the opportunity away form students.“

Unlike the changes to the economics major, the modifications made to the foreign affairs major were a direct result of recent budget cuts encountered by the politics department, said Leonard Schoppa, the undergraduate director of the politics department.

Students who declare a foreign affairs major will now be able to choose “any combination of international relations and comparative politics” when choosing specialization classes, he added.

Additionally, the department has also changed how it defines the regions of the world for its required “area courses.” Students are now required to achieve at least six credits in two different classes, both of which must specialize in one region.

Eastern and Western Europe, formerly two separate areas students could study, have now been grouped together as one area of study. Similarly, Asia, which is now considered one area of study, was formerly separated into several different regions.

“The old rules required us to offer courses on every region in every year, but with budget cuts, we realized this would be difficult to do,” Schoppa said. He noted, however, that this could give students more flexibility in what cultures they study.

“There is a general trend away from focusing on one region,” he added. “The department hopes to be able to sustain our traditional focus on training our students [to] focus on one region in an era of budget cuts.”

Third-year foreign affairs major Leyla Babaoglu said she believes the new foreign affairs requirements could have both positive and negative consequences for students.

“Some students would really like this change because it’s sometimes hard to choose one specific region,” she said, also noting, however, that it could be harder for other students who may want to focus on more distinct regions for future jobs or careers.

The changes to the economics major will apply only to students who declare their major after Feb. 1, 2010. The changes to the foreign affairs major, meanwhile, will go into effect next semester.

A recent survey of 600 college graduates found that only 30 percent of respondents like or love their current occupations.

The study, conducted by the Rockport Institute, a career-counseling firm, surveyed college graduates living in the Washington D.C. area. The other 70 percent of respondents stated that they felt either neutral about their occupations or felt their career did not suit them well.

“Mostly people would say that they didn’t feel like their talents were used fully,” Rockport Institute Director Nicholas Lore said, adding that many other unsatisfied respondents felt “uninterested in the subject matter” or “bored in their work.”

He said those who were dissatisfied or neutral about their career paths displayed a recurring theme in their responses.

“They’re looking at a lot of things in their life that they hadn’t thought of before,” Lore said, adding that in a college or university setting, “there really isn’t any way to find out how your talents would fit together for a career.”

Kendra Nelsen, director for student services of University Career Services, said she did not find the results surprising.

“A lot of folks don’t take the time to do the front end self-evaluation,” she said.

Lore added that when searching for careers, people tend to neglect their unique talents and do not focus on areas of learning that may challenge them.

“The way people pick careers is still pretty primitive,” Lore said.

Nelsen also said it is difficult to know how satisfied someone will be with his or her career.

“A lot of people don’t do the research before they choose a career,” Nelsen said. She emphasized that students should take advantage of opportunities such as internships and the services UCS provides to help in their career decisions.

Lore, however, said the services college and university career centers provide cannot always successfully map out satisfying career paths.

“Most college career centers do the best they can, but they don’t really have the time or tools to take people through a career design process on an individual basis,” he said.

Despite this, Nelsen said she would like to think University graduates would show a more positive outlook about their careers if subjected to a similar survey.

“My assumption would be that U.Va. students do give it a significant amount of thought,” Nelsen said.

Lore, though, said even many elite university graduates felt dissatisfied with career choices.

“What we noticed was that the results from more elite colleges weren’t really that different from other ones,” Lore said.

—Emily Poe contributed to this article.

In each of the past two years, University students “biked” about 7,354 miles to Uganda to raise money for the construction of schools in that African country. This year, though, what once was a leisurely trip in the Amphitheater will be a friendly race against Virginia Tech.

The University’s traditional in-state rival recently agreed to “race” the University as part of Building Tomorrow’s Bike to Uganda charity event, said third-year student Sarah Wade, president of the University’s Building Tomorrow chapter. According to the organization’s Web site, Building Tomorrow currently has more than 15 chapters at colleges and universities across the United States. Chapters are responsible for raising money to build Ugandan schools, which cost about $45,000 to construct.

Past years’ University-based efforts allowed for the construction of the Building Tomorrow Academy Gita. Now, the University and Virginia Tech are both seeking to raise funds; the University will be participating in the nation-wide event for the third time, while Virginia Tech will be making its Bike to Uganda debut.

Students from the two schools will compete to collectively bike the distance from their respective university to Uganda’s capital city Kampala, Wade said. The race was created to encourage students from both schools to take part in the charity.

The race will be a “really exciting and productive way to use competition in a friendly way between the two colleges in order to raise money for schools,” Wade said.

Allison Jarnigan, the director of Poverty Awareness Coalition for Equality — which is coordinating the event in Blacksburg — said former University student Maggie Kirkpatrick helped establish the event at Virginia Tech.

The event is an effective way of making potential changes and raising awareness about the issue, Kirkpatrick said. Organizers hope that the new “race” agreement will “promote a partnership between both groups” and continue in the future.

“We’re all working towards a common cause,” Jarnigan said.

Wade also said she hopes to continue the University’s success at publicizing and raising funds for the event.

“We’re hoping to raise enough for second school funded by [the] U.Va. chapter of Building Tomorrow,” Wade said.

Though the upcoming competition’s logistics have yet to be fully determined, she noted that the University may hold an early advantage: Virginia Tech’s participating students will have to bike a slightly longer distance and will have two fewer stationary bikes on which to do so.

University and Virginia Tech students will “race” March 30 to April 3.