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(04/18/16 7:04am)
As I sit down to write my parting shot editorial — my last chance to (maybe, in the best case scenario) impart some wisdom onto current younger staffers — I feel… weird. From that description, it’s probably difficult for you to believe that I was ever a (semi)-professional writer at all. But that’s the only word I have. I want to offer some final thoughts about The Cavalier Daily and what it meant to me, but I simultaneously feel like my name no longer belongs printed beneath a headline. My life — and, more relevantly, my relationship with The Cavalier Daily—has changed so drastically since I joined the paper in the fall of my first year, and I am not writing the parting shot that I always imagined I would.
(04/22/15 4:25am)
Recently, Life columnist Leah Retta wrote about the anxiety of searching for an internship during third year. I could relate to the column — from January to early April of this year, I was a complete nervous wreck. I spent several hours per week on applications and got rejection letters (or didn’t hear back at all) from nearly every place I applied — all while my family and friends continually inquired about my life plans and reminded me that graduation was looming.
(04/15/15 4:05am)
Last week, I wrote a column about the status of The Cavalier Daily’s editorial integrity. Some may question, “Are Cavalier Daily readers really concerned with editorial integrity?” But to write off this concern as trivial disrespects not only the intelligence of our audience but also the hundreds of students who dedicate hours of their free time to producing our paper. Thousands of people visit our webpage every day. During the several scandals that plagued the University this year, students counted on The Cavalier Daily to deliver the facts efficiently and accurately. To know that our readers care about our editorial integrity, one need only look at the community’s response to the April Fools’ Day issue. Reactions to the issue were varied, but regardless, students had their faith in us as a reliable and reputable publication tested, and they spoke out about it.
(04/09/15 4:02am)
The New York Times holds that in order to maintain its integrity, the paper must “do nothing that might erode readers’ faith and confidence in [its] news columns.” The term “editorial integrity” is thrown around often, perhaps so often that it has started to lack tangible meaning. But I think The Times sums it up well: as journalists, we must be honest, transparent and unbeholden to anything but our audience and the truth. The Cavalier Daily’s recently introduced Brand Link policy prevents us from living up to those ideals.
(04/01/15 5:03am)
On Mar. 20, Student Council organized a community forum with members of local and national law enforcement agencies in response to the brutal arrest of third-year student Martese Johnson. The panel was emotional for me, but I realized that day I will never be able to fully understand how it feels to be a black student at this University. I was angry, sad and indignant following the arrest of Martese. Black students, it seems, also felt isolated, profiled and unsafe on the Grounds of their school due to their race — emotions that I will never be forced to confront.
(03/25/15 4:35am)
Sweeping critiques of the millennial generation almost always make me cringe. We’ve heard it all before — modern 20-somethings feel entitled, we don’t acknowledge authority and we don’t appreciate the opportunities that are presented to us. In his column last week, Jake Olson offered an examination of declining “classroom etiquette” and although his argument was more nuanced than some — he at least linked to a few academic studies about changing cultural trends — I nonetheless found it unconvincing. More than that, I was insulted by his suggestion (via Prof. Lou Bloomfield) that University students simply do not respect professors or their attempts to educate us.
(03/18/15 4:05am)
One aspect of international student life that is critical to address is international housing. I lived in the International Residential College during my second year, and my experience led me to two broad conclusions.
(02/25/15 5:18am)
Like many others, I was devastated to hear that Jon Stewart will be stepping down as the host of The Daily Show. But I knew immediately who I wanted to replace him — the charismatic and bitingly witty Jessica R. Williams. In my eyes, there is no one more qualified and I’ll admit I was very attached to the message her hire would send about the importance of different representation. My motivations for quickly and wholeheartedly supporting Williams' potential campaign were feminist in nature. She is a woman, a person of color and most importantly, she seems immensely well-suited to the position.
(02/18/15 6:09am)
Most Americans have never heard of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the agency that oversees federally-sponsored U.S. international news media. But on Jan. 20, Andrew Lack made history by becoming the BBG’s first-ever CEO. The BBG manages five international news networks that collectively reach over 200 million people in 61 different languages and spanning 100 unique countries on a weekly basis. And in many ways, the BBG represents the journalistic ideal: it avoids being beholden to corporate interests by being entirely funded by tax dollars and it ostensibly aims to “inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy” through “high-quality journalism.” But until 2013, when the Smith-Mundt Act was passed, the BBG was notably forbidden from broadcasting their content to American audiences. The Internet rendered this prohibition mostly symbolic and unenforceable, but nonetheless some observers feel the BBG is not a fact-sharing endeavor but a propaganda machine.
(02/11/15 6:07am)
On Feb. 2, the Charlottesville City Council welcomed public comments on its proposal to discontinue the city’s annual celebration of Lee-Jackson Day. The holiday, which is named for two famous Confederate generals, is currently recognized on the third Monday in January, and is a paid holiday for government employees. Proponents of the move to axe the holiday argue Virginia should no longer honor the legacy of the Confederate South, as it is too closely associated with themes of racism and slavery. Others argue an attack on Confederate history is an insult to those people whose families served in the Civil War. Some see the proposal as progressivism run amok. This sharp dichotomy in viewpoints demonstrates the care with which we must approach any attempt to revise our collective history. We should abolish Lee-Jackson Day because the connotation it carries is an offensive one, but we should do so with respect for the history that it represents to many.
(02/04/15 5:16am)
On Jan. 20, the Charlottesville City Council unanimously approved a plan to appoint a University student liaison. The move to create this new student position was spearheaded by second-year student John Connolly, my colleague in the Opinion section who is also the co-chair of the Student Council’s Community Affairs Committee. In conjunction with City Councilor Bob Fenwick, he campaigned for the position in hopes to further engage University students with local government. While the specific duties and responsibilities of this new position are still in flux, its conception signals a critical shift in the agenda of the Student Council and a noteworthy step towards further interaction with Charlottesville residents and officials.
(08/22/14 4:09am)
This summer, I have had the distinct pleasure and privilege to volunteer with the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum. Last week, the staff had a farewell lunch for the summer interns. I felt wholly comfortable with the entire museum staff, and during the lunch I noticed that everyone in attendance was female. It hadn’t occurred to me the entire summer, but immediately I realized how important that fact was to me. It is rare to find an all-female staff in many professions, and in the field of academia it feels especially meaningful. That experience prompted me to write this column. It profoundly impacted me to work with so many smart, creative, passionate women this summer, because I could see myself eventually emulating them in my personal and professional life. Because we were all women, we shared common experiences that men simply would not understand. We empathized with each other’s problems and concerns and felt similarly about topics ranging from politics to the study of history to how to handle romantic relationships. It was not difficult to imagine myself as one of them in a few years —a young professional in an academic field of work — because I already saw so much of myself in them.
(07/13/14 6:50pm)
Back in April, my home state of Maryland passed a bill that will incrementally raise the state minimum wage to $10.10 by July of 2018. This is a fantastic legislative success that will benefit working-class citizens and the larger economy in Maryland, and such a policy should certainly be instituted at the federal level.
(03/06/14 7:27am)
Last summer, I watched in horror and astonishment as George Zimmerman walked free after being acquitted on charges of both second-degree murder and manslaughter. However you feel about the eventual outcome of the trial, it seems indisputable that race played a major role in the case. And many observers who followed the trial closely, myself included, felt it was very possible that a different verdict may have been reached if the victim of the alleged crime had been white — unlike Trayvon Martin, who was black.
(03/03/14 7:21am)
Recently, we published a piece by one of our new Viewpoint writers, Ben Rudgley, entitled “End Women’s Studies,” which called for dissolving the Women, Gender, and Sexuality major at the University. To briefly summarize his argument: Rudgley contended that the existence of a department devoted to the study of such divisive issues is itself divisive, in that it largely fails to attract and include the very people who need exposure to WGS, and it distracts us from incorporating such ideas into our other studies. It was a controversial piece, and rightly so — Rudgley made a number of provocative claims. We’re not writing in response to the merits of his piece, however, and this is not the first time we have published controversial material.
(01/20/14 5:38am)
Last Monday hateful graffiti was discovered on the sign in front of Elson Student Health Center which read, “UVA Hates Blacks.” Of course, the act of publicly saying something hateful, ignorant or defamatory is unacceptable. But this graffiti can be read two ways, and I think each interpretation has the ability to prompt important reflection on the University’s relationship with race and the practical implications of that relationship for minority students.
(01/13/14 4:24am)
Over winter break, my best friend from high school and I met up at our favorite coffee shop and reviewed the past semester. As we talked, we were both struck by how dramatically our lives had changed since the previous Christmas season. Second year felt even more transformative than first year, and as we compared our current lives to what our senior-year selves had envisioned, some of the changes seemed ridiculously unexpected. We shared anecdotes about trivial things like boys and failed romances, cringed over some of our more regrettable party antics, and swapped stories about classes that kicked our ass or teachers who inspired us. It was a long semester. My best friend summed it up best when she shrugged and said: “Eh. It’s all in the name of personal growth.” I think that’s the most important non-testable material I learned this past semester, and as we all enter a new year it’s a mantra I would encourage you to remember and embrace.
(12/03/13 4:22am)
I have been pleased and impressed with The Cavalier Daily this semester as writers have made significant efforts to address the topic of mental illness. My fellow columnist George Knaysi wrote a four-part series addressing various aspects of mental health, and the managing board encouraged students struggling with depression and anxiety to seek help despite the stigma surrounding mental illness with its editorial “Don’t suffer in silence”.
(11/26/13 2:35am)
Last week, the Oxford Dictionaries announced their “word of the year”. The winner of this prestigious — or perhaps dubious — honor was none other than the word “selfie,” which according to Oxford has increased in usage by more than seventeen thousand percent in the past 12 months. Immediately following the announcement, the Internet erupted with backlash, because people were quick to draw a correlation between the promulgation of the word “selfie” and the alleged narcissism of the millennial generation. While I am undoubtedly biased, I refuse to believe that I am the only one who is tired of this argument. I’m irritated at constantly being told that I’m a member of history’s most selfish, self-congratulatory, lazy and self-obsessed generation, and for me, the widespread hatred toward the “selfie” was just the last straw. Instead of citing the “selfie” as the final evidential nail in the coffin of the millennial generation’s dignity, I embrace it. I celebrate the selfie. I am fully in favor of people taking and sharing pictures of themselves, and I think we’re incorrectly contextualizing selfies as a cultural phenomenon.
(11/18/13 3:10am)
I am irrationally superstitious. While I suppose you could make the argument that all superstitions are irrational, the fact that I would be so wary of jinxes and stepping on cracks is particularly anomalous, because I like to think I approach most situations from a fairly reasonable perspective. I consider myself a logical person, and yet I make a wish every time the clock reads 11:11. I avoid sidewalk cracks. I have lucky pieces of clothing. I knock on wood to prevent a jinx. I can’t help myself.