Everyone has his own preferred piece of cardio equipment when at the gym for a workout. Most people opt for one of the standard machines: treadmill, stairmaster, bike, elliptical trainer and so forth. Recently emerging, however, is a machine that’s entirely in a league of its own: the Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill.

Originally developed by NASA scientists, the Alter-G was intended as a substitute for Earth’s gravity for astronauts exercising in space. It is unique because it is able to vary the pressure inside its vacuum-sealed chamber, reducing one’s weight by a certain percentage, which limits the pressure exerted on joints and muscles. Consequently, it has mainly been adopted for rehabilitation programs for injured patients, as well as the elderly and overweight. It is being further adopted in some settings for college and professional sports training.

The machine itself operates by using a system known as Advanced Differential Air Pressure Technology, according to the Alter-G Web site. The user is required to put on neoprene compression shorts that “zips” him into the device. The user then can regulate ‘unweighing’ in 1 percent increments, from 100 percent of one’s body weight to as low as 20 percent. The Alter-G also features familiar, user-friendly speed, incline and body weight controls. It can accommodate body types within 90-400-pounds, with full range of motion while providing lateral support, which keeps users in place and prevents falls.

“It’s a great rehab tool as well as conditioning tool,” said Chip Schaeffer, the NBA Lakers Director of Athletic Performance/Player Development, in an interview with NBA news.

Moreover, Amy Burfoot, the editor at large of Runners World, told Alter-G.com that “the Alter-G is the most significant advance in training equipment for distance runners in the last half century.”

So what’s not to love?

When it comes to price and value, the Alter-G leaves room for critique. Depending on the model, the machine is priced anywhere from about $25,000 to $75,000, according to the Alter-G Web site.

“[It would be] nice to have but not necessarily a necessity, especially in the college athletics environment where there’s a budget crunch just like anywhere else,” said Rob Skinner, the University’s director of sports nutrition.

He added that the machines are great recruiting tools but may be unrealistic for regular training at this current price.

“Think of a cross-country team that has about 60 athletes,” he postulated. “Are there going to be sixty treadmills so everyone can do their workout?”

For a less expensive alternative, the Alter-G is similar in concept to that of a water-treadmill, which he said University Sports Medicine does have.

Skinner does, however, agree that the Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill has its advantages.

“It would be good for someone training, like an endurance athlete, putting in lots and lots of miles to still go the distance but undergo less pounding and strain on the hip, knees, etc.,” he said. “It’s not a bad mode of training.”

Skinner also noted that returning to earthbound running from the anti-gravity machine should not be problematic because the athlete should not solely train on the Alter-G. Similarly, an injured person would still slowly return to full weight-bearing activities.

“Like any other exercise regimen, the key is mixing it up and incorporating various forms of training,” he said.

The possibilities that arise from this invention are expounded upon in Matt Fitzgerald’s book “Racing Weight.” The book’s anti-gravity treadmill is used to show runners what it would be like if they lost a percentage of their body weight, considering that “endurance/distance running is one of the few sports where total mass truly matters,” Skinner said. The experience of feeling lighter could provide motivation for the extremely overweight to want to shed their extra weight, as well, he said.

Another advantage is the aerobic conditioning that the treadmill provides. It allows for injured athletes and patients to more effectively retain levels of fitness while recovering from and rehabbing an injury.

After suffering an ACL tear, second-year College student Katie Knapp, a varsity field hockey player, received reconstructive surgery and lost months of training time.

“In my situation, being able to utilize the Alter-G treadmill as part of rehab would have been especially helpful because I did have substantial movement — I just could not put much pressure on my knee whatsoever,” she said. “Leg lifts and other parts of therapy are helpful but nothing compares to being able to actually walk and keep that muscle memory and strength, which the Alter-G would have made possible.”

We are all conscious about our teeth, whether it is because of yellow teeth or bad breath. Admit it: Before you chat with a buddy, you pop a mint in your mouth to make sure you cover up that nasty odor. We all do it. Many of us suffer from an occasional bout of bad breath, some worse than others. Chronic bad breath, medically known as halitosis, commonly results when bacteria in the mouth ferments food particles. These bacteria may be found in areas of gum disease or tooth disease, or on the back of the tongue. Several factors can contribute to bad breath, including decreased amounts of saliva, certain foods or spices (um, garlic!), or certain infections.

Here are some ways you can help yourself:

Take care of your oral health. Odor usually occurs when food particles in your mouth begin to decay, so brush and floss your teeth everyday and be sure to brush your tongue to get rid of as much bacteria as you can. Although mouthwash comes in handy before a romantic dinner for two, you have to use a full-strength mouthwash for at least 30 seconds (ouch!) to have a longer-lasting effect.

Chew sugarless gum. Saliva mechanically washes out and enzymatically kills bacteria, making it one of the best weapons against bad breath. Stimulate the production of saliva by chomping on some sugarless gum. Ever notice how your breath reeks in the morning? That’s because saliva production slows while you sleep, allowing particles to linger longer and odor to build up.

Drink more water. It’ll help wash out the bacteria in your mouth.

Rule out less common, more dangerous causes of bad breath. If there is a persistent odor in your mouth, visit your dentist. He might be able to pinpoint any cavities or decay. If your dentist doesn’t find a cause for your bad breath, visit your doctor to rule out any underlying medical disorder.

Bad breath can be embarrassing, but yellow teeth are yet another inconvenience. There are several factors that cause yellow teeth:

• Genetics. Some people’s teeth are naturally more yellow in color. The outermost layer of the tooth (enamel) is white, and the layer below (dentin) is yellow. The enamel can become translucent, however, if the it is not well-mineralized. This makes the color of the dentin more apparent.
• Food and drinks. Coffee, tea, colas, wine, tomato sauces and certain fruits and vegetables can stain your teeth.
• Tobacco. Smoking or chewing tobacco can stain teeth.
• Poor dental hygiene. Infrequent brushing and flossing will not remove plaque and other stain-producing substances that can cause tooth discoloration.
• To help prevent yellow teeth, brush and floss twice a day. Chewing sugarless gum or swishing your mouth with water after eating also helps minimize discoloration.

We’ve all had conversations with people whose breath could kill a small animal. We’ve also all wished for pearly whites. Don’t fret! Yellow teeth and bad breath are common and are, for the most part, preventable.

Kira Blair Mayo is a University Medical student. She can be reached at k.mayo@cavalierdaily.com.

An alcohol substitute developed from chemicals similar to those found in Valium, specifically benzodiazepines like diazepam, can give a buzz without any of the negative effects, such as hangovers and addiction. Professor David Nutt from the Imperial College in London has expressed his hopes of finding a way for people to drink without risk of addiction, intoxication or increased aggression. He believes that it would improve public health because a person would only be mildly drunk no matter how much “alcohol” he had consumed. Unlike actual alcohol, the drug derivative does not affect other parts of the brain related to addiction and mood swings. Researchers also have developed a sobering antidote pill that turns off the effect of this pseudo-alcohol, an effect that could decrease drunk driving. Nutt hopes the alcohol substitute will undergo clinical trials and licensing soon.

—compiled by Surabhi Bhatt

Researchers from the University of Birmingham in Britain conducted an experiment to test validity of the phrase, “I feel your pain.” Led by psychologist Stuart Derbyshire, the team asked 123 college students to view pictures and videos of painful situations, such as a person breaking a bone or receiving an injection. Nearly all the participants said they experienced some sort of emotional reaction to at least one of the stimuli. One-third, however, claimed to have had a sensory reaction, as well. They reported pain in the same site as the injury in the picture. The researchers then used functional magnetic resonance imaging to further explore the connection and discovered heightened activity in the pain-sensing brain regions of those who experienced the physical reactions, meaning the physical reactions were not imagined. Researchers concluded that about one in three people experience empathetic physical pain when they see someone else in distress.

—compiled by Surabhi Bhatt

I pass Baja Bean Co. everyday on my walk home, but before this weekend, I had never stopped for a meal. I merely saw it as another small bar on the Corner that might offer the typical chips and salsa to its drunken patrons at midnight. As it turns out, however, Baja Bean offers a full course Mexican menu at modest prices.

Notably, Baja Bean was one of the few places open this past Sunday evening. The two establishments my friend and I tried before Baja — St. Maarten Cafe and Buddhist Biker Bar & Grill — were both closed for the night. Baja is almost always open whenever you may want food: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week.

Baja also offers excellent prices for college students; nothing on the menu even breaks the $10 mark. Most meals were in the $7 range.

Like any Mexican restaurant, endless chips and salsa are provided for free to each table. Although the chips seemed homemade, they lacked the typical snap of most restaurants’ in-house chips, and I wondered if they just might have been leftover from the party Saturday night. The salsa was spicy and chunky and was much better prepared than the chips. Had the chips been fresher, I would have enjoyed the salsa much more.

For my meal, I settled on the Southwest Salad for $6.95. The salad was made up of romaine and iceberg lettuce, chicken tenders, roasted red pepper corn salsa, Monterey Jack cheese and topped off with bacon and tortilla strips. This was the first time I had seen fried chicken strips on a Mexican restaurant’s menu, but I was excited to see what form of Southwestern flair Baja gave to the tenders, so I decided to try it out.

While the menu stated that the salad contained romaine and iceberg lettuce, I only saw chopped up iceberg lettuce in mine. The lettuce did have the good crunch that all iceberg lettuce should, but I would have enjoyed it more at a cooler temperature, as it was served a bit too warm for my taste. I also felt as if the lettuce was just leftover taco toppings stuck on my plate; I would rather Baja served fresher and larger pieces of lettuce in the salads.

I was disappointed in the lack of Southwestern spark in the chicken. The pieces did have a bit of an extra kick in them, but that was mostly because of the chipotle ranch dressing. There was a decent amount of chicken served for the price, though.

Indeed, the only things south of the border about the salad were the five rolled-up hard taco pieces and the spicy dressing. While enjoyable, the roasted red pepper corn salsa as well as the Monterey Jack failed to add the extra spice expected in a Mexican restaurant. I couldn’t help but compare the salad to the chicken strip salad at Chick-fil-a, which I eat often. Though a bit pricier at Baja Bean, I believe the chicken strip salad at Chick-fil-a is a more fulfilling and tasty meal.

My friend ordered the Soco Gouda tacos for $7.75, which came in a soft shell fajita, with chicken or steak, corn salsa, gouda, lettuce, cilantro cream dressing, black beans, rice and sour cream.

The portion size for the tacos was good for the price, and the tacos were much more enjoyable and seemingly more authentic-tasting than the salad.

My friend chose steak for her taco meat, and the steak was better than I expected, but still seemed rather sparse compared to the ample amount of toppings.

Admittedly, I did like that the tacos came with so many options included. My main Mexican restaurant in my hometown charges extra for all the toppings, and Mexican food is never complete without a dollop of sour cream and corn.

Although Baja Bean’s food and overall experience were enjoyable, I was disappointed by the lack of authenticity in the Mexican restaurant. No salsa music played in the background, no steaming hot plates were served and no Spanish was sputtered by the staff. My favorite part of Mexican restaurants is always attempting to speak my broken Spanish with an all-too-American accent to the waiters, but I could not do this at Baja.

Granted, a truly authentic Mexican restaurant on the Corner cannot be expected. Baja Bean Co. may join the ranks of the many “asi asi” restaurant establishments on the Corner, but I would not discourage students to try it out next time they want a new, spicier taste on Main Street.

After five-and-a-half years of classes en français, I still do not speak French very well. Things I do well include: eating, drinking, tanning and reading obtuse novels in beach chairs. When my mother told me we would be traveling to St. Maarten/St. Martin (Dutch/French West Indies aka THE CARIBBEAN) during Winter Break, I happily started planning my four activities. “You can order for us on the French side!” my mother exclaimed, referring to the St. Martin “side” of the tiny island. “Oui,” I replied, exhausting my French vocabulary.

Our first night on St. Maarten, we stumbled upon L’Escargot. L’Escargot is a French restaurant that specializes in l’escargot. Which means, and I’m almost certain about this, snails. So I ate snails. They were chewy and rich in flavor and texture. I think their thick garlic-and-something-else sauce helped me with the whole enjoying the slimy marsh creature experience. The wine helped, too.

I like the Caribbean’s weather and beaches and metro European males. I really like the Caribbean’s drinking age. I could probably get away with ordering a beer if I were 13, but it felt sort of empowering to legally and easily order alcohol whenever and wherever I wanted. Feigning sophistication, I ordered wine with dinner and Bloody Marys with brunch. Have you ever had a Bloody Mary? If not, I can accurately describe it for you: pulpy tomato juice with pepper and celery salt and vodka. I deemed it a loser slushy and traded up for a margarita.

After a number of mixed drinks, beers and wine, I still hadn’t spoken any French. I would wake up in the morning, go for a 10-minute run up painfully mountainous terrain, deem myself super athletic and worthy of Dutch bread and fried plantains, and finally collapse at whatever beach my mother had chosen in her meticulously planned day trips. I was way too busy to communicate with the locals or the topless French women lounging by the shore.

Frenchies, though, were not too busy to communicate with me. The ease of our waiter at a beach bar — with our feet in the sand and sand in our eyes — shocked me. He spoke English with a thick accent and took several minutes to write down our orders, yet he didn’t seem to mind the awkward nods and eager smiles that defined what I perceived to be a language barrier. “Tweens?” he asked looking at first my sister’s face, then mine. The universal twin question broke down any barriers I’d used as an excuse. Nodding, I offered, “Oui, jumelles.” My new French best friend beamed, “Parle francais!” And I had spoken French.

This breakthrough led to my ravenous intake of grilled shrimp and “rice and peas.” Peas are black beans and the rice is similar to dark Mexican rice. This side dish comes with most meals, especially at restaurants that specialize in local fare. There was also a mound of creamy potato salad atop “vegetables,” (a mixed greens salad with shredded carrots). Next time you’re trying to mix up your traditional potato salad recipe, add hardboiled eggs.

Fancy restaurants are fun enough. Lolos, though, are the best way to taste the Caribbean. A lolo is an upgraded beach shack with picnic tables and food in big tin vats in the center of the “restaurant.” Ribs and chicken legs and fish are cooked on big grills and smoke adds to the heat of the midday sun. I had Mahi Mahi while my brother crooned in my ear, “the fish so nice they named it twice.” This mild fish is so nice. Lightly seasoned with grilled vegetables, it’s a simple dish that could probably be whipped up in 10 minutes. Add that to some hardboiled egg potato salad and you’ve got a full-blown Caribbean feast.

By the time I was gnawing on ribs and Creole shrimp — an action representative of family food snatching — I felt more comfortable in the French environment. Mumbling “petit bateau” at a French woman’s painting of the island and “très belle” at necklaces in a souvenir shop, I attempted to channel the ease and confidence of the Europeans and locals around me. I found that everyone spoke the common language of food. Just as a French waiter would naturally ask if my sister and I were twins, so would a Dutch waiter expect his patrons to enjoy their specially prepared dishes.

Loosening up the tight tie of expectations I had wound around my neck, I slouched in my chair at restaurants and laughingly shouted out broken French with my sister. I do not view vacations as most people do. It probably has something to do with the obtuse novels I like to curl up with in beach chairs. Instead of fixating on my inability to speak French or obsessing about my body in a bathing suit or timing my front and back tanning sessions, I kind of adopted “island time.” Smiling with a fellow diner at the never-ending baskets of French bread, I knew I’d had more than a language breakthrough.

From the Caribbean, I did not only bring back a refreshing new perspective on life (I get those a lot); I also brought back a recipe. I do not know how to make Dutch bread but I can whip up a mad batch of fried plantains. Plantains are just big bitter bananas. They do not taste very good by themselves, so frying them is your best option. Yes, you can have fried plantains in Charlottesville! They sell them at the grocery store in my rural county, and so I can confidently assume that they are readily available everywhere. Plantain recipe: slice plantain into 2-inch circles/ellipses, jauntily throw into pan, add enough oil to cover slices, cook over heat until browned on both sides. Voilà (another French word I know).

Connelly’s column runs biweekly Wednesdays. She can be reached at c.hardaway@cavalierdaily.com.

I always have preferred instantaneous, black-and-white feedback; confirmation that my efforts have enjoyed absolute success or utter failure; noteworthy victory or crushing defeat. In middle and high school, grades proved far too important, and long-distance running perfectly satisfied my demands for a concrete, objective and immediate evaluation of my abilities: My race, performance and months of training could be economically summarized with a mere two or three numbers. Times, reduced to figures like six-fourteen or sub-twenty-two, induced either sleepless nights and feelings of inadequacy or relieved waves of elation. Inevitably, cooking — what began as a purely recreational, whimsical hobby, a release from more demanding tasks — morphed into yet another yardstick to determine tangibly my contributions or wasteful fumbles to society.

The lure of the possibilities embedded within a basic kitchen and few simple ingredients enticed me at an early age, and I quickly expanded my repertoire of recipes from cakes concocted of packed wet sand and seashells to edible treats like homemade freezer pops of frozen orange juice or cookie sandwiches formed with Chips Ahoy! miniatures and vanilla ice cream. My poor parents patiently endured several questionable experimentations on my part (I remember one “recipe” involving some of my favorite foods as a 5-year-old: peanut butter cookies doused with Mondo grape drink, placed in the toaster oven for several minutes). Soon, however, I grew restless with what I considered to be amateur or childish menu suggestions and looked to my mother’s cookbooks for inspiration.

The concepts “slow” and “gradual” never quite registered with me, and I approached baking and cooking as I did all other things — with initial overenthusiastic fervor and naïve ambition. I took orders from my brother and father for their birthday desserts, and they obliviously delivered challenging requests, never considering that they perhaps ought to tone down their demands to suit a novice’s abilities. One year, when I was about 14, my father asked for a caramel cake, and I excitedly began scouring books for a recipe. I grew concerned when I realized that every version of the recipe required a candy thermometer, a utensil which we did not own, for homemade caramel frosting. But I believed that I had found instructions descriptive enough to cue the arrival of the caramel stage, when the cream, sugar, and butter perfectly meld together to form a rich, golden, thick sauce.

I made the cake with little trouble and even managed to keep all three layers perfectly intact when I removed them from the pan. Yet when I began to prepare the stovetop frosting, I panicked as the sauce quickly progressed through various shades of brown, from yellow-beige to taupe to honey. When should I remove the pan from the burner? I had no candy thermometer to indicate the proper temperature, so in a moment of desperation — I still fail to understand my logic here — I decided that I would somehow feel whether the concoction had reached the necessary 238 degrees. I stuck my index finger into the boiling sticky mess, promptly looked down at my finger and noticed the beginnings of a second-degree burn on its underside. Somewhere between my attempts to alleviate the searing pain with cold water and to remove the saucepan upon realizing that the mixture was almost black and hardening by the second, the tears came. I futilely spread the mixture on the cake layers with my unburned hand, but the hours of work I had poured into my father’s birthday gift were rendered useless. The caramel frosting would not spread and had actually progressed beyond the caramel stage to the butterscotch phase; I was trying to spread rock-hard butterscotch candy onto a delicate yellow cake. Failure. Undeniable failure. I threw the cake, all three stacked layers half-covered with butterscotch coating, in the trash. (My mother immediately rescued the cake, proclaimed that I could not waste all the money spent on the ingredients, and my dad slowly “ate” the cake, or discreetly stuffed hunks of the disaster down the garbage disposal.)

I have other horror stories, too, like the time I spent hours forming elaborate stained-glass window cookies for my friends’ Christmas presents. The homemade sugar cookie dough never would roll out smoothly, and after a bleary-eyed evening warring with — and being defeated by — the shortbread mixture, I resorted to buying a log of Pillsbury sugar cookie dough. And you know what? The cookies turned out beautifully, thus rendering the 12 hours I invested all worth it. (Not.) Unfortunately, one friend never did see the end result — intricate, colorful “glass” peeping through the golden brown cookie frame — because her Labrador retriever tore through the cookies I left on her porch, box and all, before she arrived home.

Of course, I forget all too soon my failures. It is the successes that keep me going, experimenting, rolling up my sleeves to face the next challenge. The deep sense of accomplishment that arises when I wiggle a crème brûlée and discover that I finally have achieved the proper custardy, almost-set interior and picture-perfect crunchy brown sugar outer coat; the murmurs of anticipation that accompany my removal of a homemade apple pie from the oven, with its flaky, golden crust and perfectly mounded, tender apples; the stares of admiration that continually return to my carefully decorated layer cakes, perfectly accentuated with well-placed details or cookie-crumb coats rimming the circumference  — that is why I persevere. After all, without the failures, the victories would never taste so sweet.

Emily’s column runs biweekly Wednesdays. She can be reached at e.rowell@cavalierdaily.com.

The Board selected Teresa A. Sullivan as the eighth president of the University. She will begin her term Aug. 1. Photo courtesy University Relations.

Gathered before a crowd of administrators, faculty and community members in the Dome Room of the Rotunda, the Board of Visitors unanimously selected Teresa A. Sullivan as the University’s eighth president Jan. 11 following a five-month search.

Sullivan replaces John T. Casteen, III, who will retire Aug. 1 after two decades at the helm. Sullivan currently serves as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan, a post she has held since 2006, and will become the University’s first female president since the position was created in 1905.

At Michigan, Sullivan oversees a significant portion of the school’s annual budget and is also a leading scholar in sociology — teaching classes and conducting research focusing primarily on labor force demography. Before moving to Michigan, she spent 27 years at the University of Texas, Austin, where she was the chief academic officer for the state institution’s nine campuses.

Her background as an administrator and a scholar will enable her to achieve tangible results on grounds, said John Wynne, chair of the Board’s Special Committee on the Nomination of a President. The hire marks the University’s second recent courting of a prominent University of Michigan administrator; last year, the Board appointed Meredith Woo as the dean of the College.

After her introduction and a public reception in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom, Sullivan explained that her administrative experience helps to inform her work inside the classroom, and that, in many ways, the same goes for how her academic areas of expertise assist in managing and planning at the higher education level.

“I’m a data person,” she said. “I believe in forming inferences by observing and collecting data. I do it when I’m teaching and when I’m doing administrative work.”

During the months leading up to the announcement, University leaders touted the far-ranging implications of the presidential search, as well as the national spotlight it had garnered. Community members were asked to contribute to the hiring process during several open forums, and after narrowing its pool of candidates, the Board conducted interviews in undisclosed locations this month. Ultimately, Sullivan was deemed the best fit to succeed Casteen, who will leave office after two decades worth of accomplishments but also amid mounting commonwealth budget cuts.

Sullivan said she is well aware of the challenges she will immediately face, especially in the financial arena.

“The quality of higher education is threatened by increasing costs and declining state support,” she said. “This cannot, however, keep us from our commitment to our students and to the states and the nation we serve. We must always honor our public mission — regardless of the level of the state’s contributions to our budgets.”

That mission, she explained, includes working to make both education and health care available to those who cannot afford it. In light of the country’s ongoing financial problems and the obvious pressures associated with the Board’s numerous goals for the University’s eighth leader, Sullivan emphasized that her predecessor already completed a great deal of the most demanding work.

Wynne, in his introduction of Sullivan, said the University made immeasurable progress during Casteen’s presidency, noting that he “set a high bar for performance.” Though some community members debate his responsibility in a handful of on-Grounds controversies — including those pertaining to a living wage campaign and several sexual assault trials — Casteen also is generally acknowledged to have initiated the development of the nationally recognized AccessUVa financial aid program and to have expanded the University’s ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. With Casteen’s leadership, the University also embarked on its most ambitious capital development campaign and expanded its endowment to rival many private higher education institutions.

Moving forward, Wynne said the Board is confident Sullivan will continue Casteen’s strong leadership style, adding that he and other committee members were impressed with her “integrity, experience and vision.”

Looking to build upon much of the groundwork laid during Casteen’s term, Sullivan said her first order of business is to become part of the University community and to learn more about its intricacies.

“Leadership,” she said, “especially if it must implement change, should make decisions organically”; that is, resolutions are made — from the ground up — by a community of which Sullivan is only just becoming a part.

Stephanie Jean-Charles, a Batten student and active member of the University community, was home with her family and sleeping when a wall collapsed on her bed during the earthquake in Haiti. A memorial service will take place tomorrow in the Newcomb Ballroom. Photo courtesy Sylvia Terry.

Stephanie Jean-Charles, a second-year Batten student and a 2009 University graduate, died last week in the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti.

Jean-Charles was home with family members in Port-au-Prince when she suffered a fatal head injury as a result of the earthquake, a University press release stated. She was sleeping when a wall collapsed onto her bed, said cousin Genevieve Rene.

The rest of her family, including her parents and sister, survived the disaster.

Jean-Charles would have returned Saturday to the United States, said Genevieve Rene’s sister, Getteline.

“She was supposed to come back tomorrow,” Getteline Rene said Friday. “But she’s not.”

Jean-Charles received a bachelor’s degree in French and foreign affairs in May and was dedicated to her academic endeavors and extracurricular activities.

“She’s touched so many lives,” Genevieve Rene said.

Those who knew Jean-Charles at the University remembered her as warm and friendly. Batten Dean Harry Harding e-mailed students Thursday about her death.

“Stephanie was a young woman with many dreams,” Harding wrote. “Like the challenges she faced and overcame, they came in sizes both large and small. Her main aspiration was to take the knowledge and skills she learned at the Batten School to try to improve the educational system in Haiti and to keep children in school.”

Jill Miller, Batten director of career services, recalled Jean-Charles’ persistently positive outlook about life.

“She was well-loved here,” Miller said. “She was always smiling, always kind and happy.”

Third-year College student Amanda Lucht also remembered Jean-Charles’ openness and energy.

“She’s one of the most amazing and happy people I’ve ever known,” said Lucht, who lived with Jean-Charles in the French House.

“She was the right one to speak to if you were having a bad day,” Getteline Rene said.

Jean-Charles served as a role model at the University as a peer adviser for the Office of African-American Affairs, former OAAA associate dean Sylvia Terry said.

Terry shared one of the comments of Jean-Charles’ advisees: “Though the adjustment to life at U.Va. has not always been a smooth one, without Stephanie, the slight bumps that I experienced could have very well been mountains instead of molehills,” the student wrote.

In addition to tutoring French and advising individual students, Jean-Charles chaired the orientation committee’s peer advising program.

“She was really dedicated and passionate about the peer advising program,” said fourth-year Nursing student Christina Gray, a fellow peer adviser.

Terry said she had been in e-mail contact with Jean-Charles last week about a recommendation letter for a future research opportunity.

“She was really getting experiences and gearing up for things,” said Terry, who met Jean-Charles only two weeks into Jean-Charles’ first semester at the University.

Jean-Charles participated in two internships in Haiti during the past two summers, including one with the Education Development Center, Terry said. Those opportunities solidified her drive to improve education in rural areas of her native country.

“She was driven to do things because she wanted to make differences,” Terry said.

Miller echoed Terry’s sentiment about Jean-Charles’ devotion to service.

“Stephanie was utterly public service-minded,” she said.

Apart from being a dedicated student and friend, Jean-Charles’ cousins said she also loved to have fun. Jean-Charles loved watching movie trailers and the Canadian television show, “Degrassi,” wearing bright colors and playing board games.

During a Batten School leadership retreat last fall, Miller said, Jean-Charles overcame her fear of whitewater rafting. At the same retreat, second-year Batten student Sam Dreiman recalled a personal motto that Jean-Charles shared — a French phrase that translates as, “Live where you will, die where you must.”

“It gives a nice insight into who she was,” Dreiman said.

Harding said the Batten School will host an event to honor Jean-Charles next week.

First-year Darden student Justin Key died Dec. 14 from a blood clot to the lungs. A memorial service will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. in Abbott Auditorium.

The blood clot that caused Key’s death came after several weeks of illness with H1N1, said Christy Bell, assistant director of general medicine at Student Health and Key’s physician.

“Recent research has shown a higher than expected number of cases of lung blood clots in those hospitalized with swine flu,” she said, adding that researchers are looking into whether blood clots could potentially explain sudden deaths in other young healthy people ill with H1N1.

Key was 26 when he died in his apartment, said his father, Brian Key, who remembered his son as a passionate and friendly person. “He loved so many things,” his father said, “but one of the main things he loved was travel.” Key spent last summer in South and Central America and spent eight months traveling across Europe two years prior. By the time he started at Darden, Key had visited 40 countries.

Justin Key was best known for the time he spent with people, his father said, noting that he met with people for coffee or drinks nearly everyday.

“He was just an energetic individual who made an effort to contribute positively to other people’s lives,” second-year Darden student Parker Garrett said.

First-year Darden student Jenn Crutchfield described him as outgoing and fun, as well as encouraging.

“He always had a ready smile and he was one of the more cheerful [and] positive people that I knew,” she said.

His friends and family also spoke of his commitment to his religion.

“He was a Christian and his faith meant a whole to him,” Key’s father said. “That was a huge priority of his, living out his faith.”

Garrett, who knew Key through his involvement in the Darden Christian Fellowship, said Key was unique for “his absolute love of God and what he was doing in his life [with regards to] his Christian faith.” Key expressed his religious devotion in what he said and wrote, Garrett said. He described Key as “a very considerate individual who really understood how blessed he was.”

Crossroads Bible Church Youth Pastor Stephen Janho recalled Key’s involvement at his church in Bellevue, Washington. Key led the Young Men’s Project at his church, working to create mentoring relationships between young men at the church and local business leaders, Janho said. Key also spent summers working with youth in church programs.

“He was just interested in caring for people and serving as an older mentor in their [lives],” Janho said. “Here’s a young guy who was bright, sharp and I think had the whole world ahead of him.”