I found the lead editorial from March 4 (“Leading the Pack”) to be a bit misleading in nature. The editorial wishes to endorse a specific candidate for the office of Chair of the Judiciary and Honor Committees, but the editors failed to speak with all representatives who have been elected (only speaking to those from some of the more contested representative races). It is also important to note that elections for the Curry School were not yet complete, and The Cavalier Daily’s attempt to support a specific candidate is extremely premature from a time perspective. To think that The Cavalier Daily did not take the time needed to speak with all representatives is very disheartening, considering that The Cavalier Daily is supposed to be a source of factually accurate and detailed information. I sincerely hope that The Cavalier Daily better handles these sorts of nuances in the future, and perhaps it may be best to refrain from publicly supporting any candidate.

Michael Chapman
Curry Graduate Student
UJC Chair ’09-10

The No. 27 Virginia women’s tennis team will travel to Huntington, W.Va. Saturday before heading to Richmond next week for matches against No. 28 Marshall and No. 29 Virginia Commonwealth.

Having won five matches during the past six days — three of which were against ranked opponents and all were dominating wins — the Cavaliers are fairly optimistic.

“We definitely have confidence going into it, just from this past week — we had a good week,” freshman Maria Fuccillo said. “A lot of girls are playing really well, so we just hope for the best, and the belief has to be there.”

But other than shoring the team’s confidence, Virginia’s success last week also will guide its practice routine this week. Coaches will focus on players’ individual needs, while refining strokes and honing technique.

“It’s really just making sure each individual player is doing the thing they need to do to make their game successful, so whether it’s extra serving and returning, whether it’s working on volleying, whether it’s working on our doubles, just whatever each player needs so that when they walk out on the court they feel comfortable,” assistant coach Troy Porco said.

Virginia’s two opponents this week — No. 28 Marshall and No. 29 VCU ­— will look to test the similarly-ranked Cavaliers. Marshall still is undefeated this season, with 10 victories so far. VCU (10-2), after falling to then-No. 1 Duke at the National Indoor Championships in January, has won seven consecutive matches, six of which came at home.

After Monday’s contest, the team will have a rare full week off before facing conference rival Virginia Tech in Blacksburg March 21. The promise of this respite from competition is serving as incentive for the team to push through its next two matches.

“I think that motivation — getting through this weekend then you’ll have some time off,” Fucillo said, “not a lot of teams get to do that. We get to go home.”

The No. 2 Cavalier men’s lacrosse team will square off against defending national champion No. 1 Syracuse Sunday at home.

The undefeated Cavaliers, who lost in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament last year, face a Syracuse team which also has yet to lose a game. Although this clash between the nation’s top two teams has the feel of postseason contest, Starsia emphasized that his team must bear in mind the long season that still lies ahead following Sunday’s contest.

“I think we do have to be careful not to sell our soul for any one of these games,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. “It’s still early March; we have a long way to go. But the point of what we do is to be involved in an activity like this.”

The Orange (2-0) will attempt to protect its rank and earn its 12th consecutive victory, dating back to their last loss April 4 against Princeton. Offensively, Syracuse has excelled, scoring 27 points to just 16 by its opponents. The squad also has dominated at the faceoff, recording a win-loss percentage of .680, taking 34 of the 50 thus far. 

Junior attack Stephen Keogh leads Syracuse with five goals, and senior attack Chris Daniello has earned six points, as well, scoring five goals and notching one assist.

Virginia (3-0) does not lag far behind, however, as the team has outscored opponents 39-23 and has outshot them 137-88, while averaging netting 13 goals per game. Sophomore attack Chris Bocklet is Virginia’s lead scorer with nine goals and four assists, followed by sophomore attack Steele Stanwick with seven goals and five assists. Junior midfielder Rhamel Bratton and freshman attack Connor English each have contributed four goals, as well. 

Nevertheless, Syracuse’s junior goalkeeper John Galloway has maintained a 0.667 save percentage. In comparison, Virginia junior goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman has a .556 save percentage during 165 minutes of play.

“It’s a lot of fun as a goalie. You know, going into this game, you are going to see a lot of shots. They are going to test you — they aren’t going to work the ball around and sit on it,” Ghitelman said.

Both teams are coming off home wins. The Orange defeated Army 12-7 in the Carrier Dome Feb. 28, while Virginia outdueled No. 18 Stony Brook 13-8 at the University Hall Turf Field. Bocklet and Stanwick put away three goals each to seal the Cavalier victory.

“I think the teams have a lot of great lacrosse players on them,” Stanwick said. “They like to take chances.”

The all-time series record between Syracuse and Virginia stands at 11-11, with the last meeting resulting in a 13-12 Virginia win at Syracuse.

After Sunday’s contest, Virginia will continue its three-game homestead March 9 against the Virginia Military Institute.

The snow in Charlottesville may be melting, but the Virginia men’s basketball team remains ice cold after a 68-55 loss at Boston College Wednesday stretched its losing streak to a dismal eight games.

The Cavaliers (14-14, 5-10 ACC) will hope to turn things around this weekend as they face a Maryland team that throttled Virginia 85-66 at College Park, Md. Feb. 15, and will be ranked much higher than No. 23 after knocking off No. 4 Duke Wednesday, 79-72.

Virginia’s loss to the Eagles Wednesday came exactly one month since the team’s last win — a 59-47 decision against North Carolina State — and marks the sixth straight double-digit defeat.

Despite the Cavaliers’ precipitous descent into the bottom of the ACC, Saturday’s game against the Terrapins (22-7, 12-3 ACC) at John Paul Jones Arena — the last of the regular season — still holds plenty of significance for the team.

Tomorrow likely will be the final home game of the collegiate careers of four Virginia seniors, including guard Calvin Baker and forward Jerome Meyinsse.

The lone bright spot in an otherwise ugly week for Virginia has been the inspired play of Meyinsse, who has made his final games in a Cavalier uniform count by shooting 86 percent from the floor and tallying a combined 33 points and 12 rebounds against Duke and Boston College.

Virginia will look to its top post presence, junior forward Mike Scott, to build upon his 13-point, nine-rebound performance against Boston College. During the two games prior, Scott was absent offensively, shooting 0-for-13 and grabbing only four rebounds combined.

In addition, sophomore guard and midseason Naismith Trophy candidate Sylven Landesberg returned to action against Boston College after missing the Duke game with a deep thigh bruise. He remains day-to-day, but his offensive production will aid the Cavalier cause greatly, as they face a Maryland team that ranks first in the ACC in scoring at 80 points per game.

Maryland travels to JPJ on the heels of its 79-72 triumph against the No. 4 Blue Devils, which extended the Terrapins’ season-long winning streak to six games and moved them to the top of the ACC standings.

Led by guard ‘General’ Greivis Vasquez, who averages an ACC-leading 19.5 points and a second-best 6.4 assists per game, Maryland’s high-powered offense shoots 47.7 percent from the floor, which also leads the conference.

After outdueling Duke guard and fellow ACC star Jon Scheyer Wednesday, Vasquez likely has the inside track to winning ACC Player-of-the-Year. Vasquez scored 30 points against Virginia during the two teams’ last match-up Feb. 15, and the Cavaliers will look to contain the dynamic guard during tonight’s contest. 

A win Saturday will secure a winning regular season record before the ACC Tournament begins and will improve the Cavaliers’ hopes of earning a selection for the NIT or CBI postseason tournaments, which begin in late March.

—compiled by Matt Welsh

The Board of Visitors approved plans to accelerate the construction of a new Alderman Road residence hall, which is now scheduled for completion by fall 2014.

This residence hall’s construction is the fourth and final phase of the Alderman Road Replacement Project and was originally expected to be completed in 2017, said Richard Kovatch, associate vice president for business operations.

University officials, however, decided to complete the project sooner to save money.

“In this sort of economy, the bids that were coming in on the Alderman Road Project were significantly less than what had been anticipated,” said Vince Mastracco, chairman of the Board’s Finance Committee and member of the Buildings and Grounds Committee. “We are saving considerably by taking an aggressive approach to the construction project.”

But the decision forces the University to be even more efficient as it implements its current housing plans.

“In order to start phase four, we have to take down Lile and Tuttle [dormitories],” Kovatch said. “Phase three must be completed before that can happen in order to have enough housing space for students.”

This third phase consists of the construction of two additional residence halls to be finished in fall 2013, Kovatch said. This construction follows the second phase, which is to construct two residence halls and a commons building by fall 2011. The first phase was the construction of Kellogg House, which opened to students in fall 2008.

Though the University now may have to deal with more time constraints to get construction off the ground, officials are excited to begin the final phases of the project.

“I’m really pleased we’re able to get phase four started and well under way,” Mastracco said.

Following a two-week break since their last match, the No. 23 Cavaliers look to make a run in this weekend’s ACC Tournament in Raleigh, N.C.

The ACC’s dearth of wrestling programs — only six schools have wrestling teams — will work to Virginia’s advantage this weekend, coach Steve Garland said. 

“That’s what’s great about the ACC,” he said. “There’s only six teams, so you pretty much know who you are going to wrestle.”

With rematches against Maryland and Virginia Tech on the docket — teams that swept the Cavaliers during the regular season — Virginia will look to avenge these early season defeats and make a statement in this year’s tournament.

“We had the losses to [Virginia] Tech and Maryland this year,” sophomore Derek Valenti said, “There’s no doubt we want to get back.”

Garland has put the team through a week of conditioning followed by a week of technique work before beginning competition this weekend.

“A lot of time this week, we have had two main focuses: We’re improving on technique and conditioning,” Valenti said. “Last week, we were working really hard, and this week, we’re going to start tapering off on the conditioning front.”

This past season has been one of the most successful seasons the Virginia wrestling team has ever put together, and it now looks to capture the ACC Championship that has eluded it during the past two years. In 2008 and 2009, the Cavaliers finished second in the ACC Tournament, trailing Maryland by two points both times.

Junior Chris Henrich and senior Brent Jones each won their respective weight classes in last year’s tournament, and Henrich, currently ranked third nationally in the 174-pound class, was named an All-American. This season he is 28-2, with four technical falls and four pins. Jones, who competes in the 197-pound class, has only one loss in the ACC this year, coming against Hudson Taylor of Maryland. Currently ranked 19th in the country for his weight class, Jones has a 21-10 record and 11 pins. Apart from Henrich and Jones, the only ranked Cavalier wrestler is freshman Mike Salopek, who wrestles in the 184-pound class. Salopek is No. 20 nationally in his class and has a 26-8 record overall, with only one loss in the ACC.

“Pins, pin points, bonus points,” Garland said. “Last year, we had a bunch of pins late, and we went from fourth to second and almost won the tournament.”

The first round will start at 11 a.m., followed by the semifinals at 1 p.m. and the finals at 7 p.m.

In an effort to promote sustainability, the University plans to expand its dining hall waste compost program to Newcomb and Runk Dining Halls within the next year.

Waste composting has been a priority for Dining Services, especially since fall 2008, when the program began at Observatory Hill Dining Hall. The Green Dining Group, an advisory committee comprised of students and University faculty and staff members, particularly advocated composting.

“The University has made a commitment to composting,” University Recycling Superintendent Bruce “Sonny” Beale said. “What we do is waste aversion.”

Dining Director Brent Beringer estimated that Observatory Hill Dining Hall has produced about 100 tons of compost since the start of the program. By adding Runk and Newcomb Dining Halls to the program, the University may be able to compost about five tons per week, he said.

The program will begin at Newcomb Dining Hall after Spring Break, Beringer said. But the program will not be able to commence at Runk as quickly because it has yet to obtain the proper equipment, he said. In addition, dining staff must find a way to fit the pulpers into Runk’s kitchen.

These pulpers are needed to remove moisture content from the organic waste dining halls produce. The waste then is placed in steel drums that are delivered to Panorama Farms in nearby Earlysville, Va. Once there, the waste is composted into fertilizer. The University receives no profit from the program, Beale said.

Fourth-year Engineering students Cara Magoon and Dan Michaelson originally designed the program. Magoon said the idea came partly from seeing her parents produce compost.

“I just didn’t see the need to send it [in the trash] to the landfill,” Magoon said, noting that the dining halls “were open to the idea as long as students were putting in the work to make it happen.”

To develop the program, the University first submitted plans to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Those plans had to be rewritten and resubmitted when Newcomb and Runk were added to the program. This step alone took six months.

The results, however, may have been worth the effort.

“I feel like it’s got a good start to it and I just hope it continues,” Magoon said.

Currently, Dining Services has no plans to expand the composting program beyond the dining halls, Beringer said.

The No. 9 women’s lacrosse team will hit the road for the first time this season to face No. 2 Maryland today and then will travel to No. 13 Penn State for a game Sunday. The Cavaliers (2-1) are coming off of an impressive win against No. 6 Syracuse after splitting their first two games against Richmond and then-No. 14 Loyola (Md.).

“This is obviously our biggest challenge of the season so far, but it’s nice to be coming off such an exciting win over Syracuse,” Virginia coach Julie Myers said. “We’ve had a week to prepare for Maryland, so we’ve been able to use the last few days to really learn their tendencies.”

The Terrapins (3-0, 1-0 ACC), who just defeated No. 5 Duke 17-4 last weekend, are returning every starter from last year’s team, which reached the Final Four before eventually losing to national runner-up North Carolina. The Terps have a plethora of experience, boasting 10 upperclassmen in the starting lineup, including senior midfielder Caitlyn McFadden who paces Maryland with 10 goals and five assists. McFadden — recently named ACC Player of the Week — currently has a 27-game scoring streak and is among the NCAA active leaders in points and assists.

“They have the ability to attack from many spots, so they can be extremely dangerous,” Myers said.

The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have significantly less experience than Maryland, with only 11 upperclassmen total. The team primarily is comprised of young talent — including freshman attack Charlie Finnigan and sophomore midfielder Julie Gardner, who each have scored eight goals this year — that still has not seen significant playing time.

Somehow, though, the team seems to be pulling it together, senior midfielder Brittany Kalkstein said.

“We just needed that first game to adapt, but since then from the past two games after that I feel that we have really connected and have been getting used to playing together on the field in game scenarios,” she said.

The Cavaliers have a long history with the Terrapins. Maryland has been Virginia’s most frequent opponent, as the teams have played 50 times during their storied histories. The Terrapins hold the edge in the series 32-17 and have won the last two, the second of which knocked the Cavaliers out of the ACC Tournament last season.
“It’s a huge challenge to be tested in this way, but we’re excited for it,” Myers said.

As for the second game of the weekend, the Cavaliers will take on No. 13 Penn State (3-1). Last season, Virginia narrowly escaped with a 12-11 victory in overtime at home. The games against Maryland and Penn State this weekend will provide an early indicator of whether the team will be able to contend for an ACC title.

Perhaps the most cherished hiatus from classes by students across the nation, Spring Break has come at last. And while many students will race to the beaches, some have traded their vacations in for opportunities to help others. Programs such as Alternative Spring Break combine the desire to travel with the desire to perform community service aiding often impoverished countries. Providing assistance to these foreign countries is a rewarding experience and students should be aware of the cultural and political environments of these areas.

Countries frequented by these programs and other mission trips are often underdeveloped and can be unstable as a result. Volunteers should recognize that although they are there to provide assistance, they might not be as warmly received as imagined. Students must familiarize themselves with the risks that are involved with visiting unfamiliar places. American tourists often are targeted for pickpocketing — and sometimes even worse. 

Patricia Lampkin, vice president and chief student affairs officer, wrote an e-mail to the student body advising against travel to places like Haiti as conditions remain dire. “While the desire of volunteers to help is well-intentioned and commendable, their presence right now only adds to the burden of an already difficult situation,” Lampkin said in the e-mail. Though destinations such as Haiti and Chile likely are not on most students’ iterneraries, volunteers should be considerate of the line between helping and burdening an already overwhelmed system.

The motives behind such travels are laudable; students are using vacation time to aid foreign communities. But whether students choose to go to the beaches of Cancun or the impoverished regions in Belize, they must be aware they are not in Kansas anymore.

The University’s capital campaign currently is falling behind on meeting its goal of raising $3 billion by Dec. 31, 2011.

As of the end of January, the University has raised $180 million less than what was expected to be necessary. As a result, the campaign is 6 percentage points below the desired sum of 77 percent of the ultimate goal.

This figure reflects the $133.4 million that the University raised during the first seven months of the current fiscal year, according to President John T. Casteen, III’s address to the Board of Visitors last Friday. Given the current economic climate, administrators feel fortunate to have received funds and may be aware of how steep the remaining climb could turn out to be.

“We feel good that we are only 6 percentage points behind in this economic crisis that has been called the worst fundraising environment in years, but the reality is that each percentage point is $30 million,” Traub said.

With 22 months remaining in the campaign, however, Traub said she is confident the goal will be reached in time.

In fact, several programs and schools already have reached the goals they set for themselves, Traub said, citing the athletic department and the Education School as examples. The Health System and Law School also are on the verge of completing their individual goals, she added.

Recently, however, gifts to the Health System have slowed down considerably, said Karen Rendleman, associate vice president for Health Systems Development. 

“We were very fortunate to get big gifts at the beginning, because things have slowed down in the past 18 months or so,” she said.

It is imperative that each department reach its own goal because such funds cannot necessarily be reallocated to other programs. Fundraising campaigns, after all, are donor-driven, and donors give to the program or initiative to which they have the strongest personal connection, Rendleman and Traub said. If funds are donated specifically to one department, they cannot be placed elsewhere. Thus, although the overall $3 billion goal is important to the University, Traub said, the smaller sub-goals set by individual schools and programs are the campaign’s main priority.

Campaign director are considering how to make these goals more consistent with the broader campaign.

“We have charted exactly how many gifts we need in each category to make the $3 billion mark,” said Bob Sweeney, senior vice president for development and public affairs.

Although the campaign may have fallen below the expected pace, Sweeney said he is encouraged by recent positive trends.

“We’re beginning to see signs of recovery,” he said “It’s not like the growth we saw several years ago but it’s an upturn.”

To continue that upturn, campaign directors have planned 17,000 visits and 8,000 written solicitations to donors, most of whom have given before.

“This may not be the best time to solicit, but it is time to look our alumni, parents and friends in the eye to ask for their help in meeting our goal,” Sweeney said.