13 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(09/14/20 3:35am)
In an eleventh-hour announcement Aug. 28, the University administration indicated that the fall semester would move forward as planned, with the few remaining in-person classes allowed to continue. Prior to that decision, several organizations on Grounds, including the Student Council, the Young Democratic Socialists of America and the newly-formed United Campus Workers of Virginia have demanded the University immediately shift to fully virtual learning and to cancel general move-in of the roughly 4,400 on-Grounds students who moved in this past week. Each new call to end in-person instruction predicts an unmitigated COVID-19 disaster akin to that of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a result, each new call also reflects a cynical lack of faith in our community of trust. But the University’s plan for Return to Grounds has so far shown to be successful, with expanded testing initiatives already scheduled and little news of on-Grounds transmissions.
(01/20/20 6:21am)
Since Adam Smith wrote “Wealth of Nations,” opponents of freer trade from both sides of the political spectrum have rushed out of the woodworks to justify protectionist arguments. America’s history and affiliation with free trade has been a staple of our prosperity and innovation since World War II. One of the most important roles of the federal government — embedded in the very fabric of our nation — is to regulate (read: standardize) interstate commerce, effectively acting as a guarantor of interstate free trade. America was built on the ability to trade with people across borders, from farmers in the western territories to industrialists in the north and further overseas to Europe. On the other side of the coin, much of America’s success in expanding industrial capacity during the late 19th century can be attributed to a friendliness to foreign capital. Free trade has been essential to the health of the American — and world — economy. The Great Depression can be attributed to the anticipated passage of the Smoot-Hawley tariff of the 1930s. The tremendous growth of the American economy through the second half of the 20th century was also founded upon the international free trade system established by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Likewise, the European Union, which establishes a uniform and liberal set of trade regulations for member states, has been shown to drastically increase per-capita gross domestic product upon accession.
(01/13/20 4:11am)
Democratic Delegate Ibraheem Samirah filed two bills for this session of the Virginia General Assembly contravening the authority of localities to set aside residential land for single family zoning in late December 2019. HB 151 legalizes the addition of accessory dwelling units to all housing lots, while HB 152 allows for duplex home construction on previously single family dwelling lots. These two bills effectively eliminate artificial land use restrictions that prevent developers and landowners from meeting local housing demands. Though I usually have little positive to say about Samirah’s proposals, I applaud all initiatives to address undue legal barriers to housing construction.
(12/09/19 3:16am)
Though landmark Supreme Court cases such as DC v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago have enshrined gun ownership as a fundamental right, gun confiscation has quickly progressed into a defining issue for Americans. Years of claims that “nobody is going to take your guns” have quickly turned into “hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15”, exactly as gun rights advocates have warned.
(11/25/19 3:19pm)
In the wake of elections this month, the first bills and resolutions for the 2020 General Assembly have already been filed. Prominent Democrats have promised a “new” Virginia, and the early legislative proposals already are shaping up to have catastrophic effects on the Commonwealth. Democrats, with their slurry of new proposals, are prepared to change the face of Virginia and dismantle the simple rules under which ordinary Virginians have prospered. Some changes such as decriminalization of marijuana are welcome and even necessary, but for the most part I fear that this new Democratic trifecta in Richmond will have negative effects on prosperity in Virginia.
(10/28/19 10:35pm)
In the early hours of the morning on Oct. 22, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party took the victory in this year’s election, despite losing the popular vote by a margin of over 200,000 votes, or about 1.3 percent. The Liberals lost their previous majority and will go on to form a minority government, winning just 157 seats of the 338 seats in the Parliament. This dampened victory is the product of a campaign fraught with scandal, from intervention in a court case to a shocking brownface photo from an “Arabian Nights” themed gala. Still, despite these blemishes on Trudeau’s record, he and the Liberals retain power.
(10/01/19 8:36pm)
The University recently rolled out a redesign for the Student Information System, often lovingly referred to as SIS. The academic portal — in my experience throughout high school and first year — suffered from challenges across the user experience board. From a visually challenging graphic user interface and slow load times to excessive buttons and checkboxes for simple actions in the enrollment shopping cart, SIS was difficult to use. It was especially unpalatable to us modern students, nowadays rightfully accustomed to usable, friendly designs. As an engineer, I noticed there were problems with the system that I only wished I had the technical knowhow and authority to solve. However, many of my previous complaints have been resolved with the latest functionality and visual update.
(09/16/19 1:58am)
In July, Fifth Congressional District Congressman Denver Riggleman officiated a wedding between two volunteers from his campaign, both of whom are men. Soon after, members of the Fifth Congressional District Republican Committee attempted to censure Congressman Riggleman for violating the party platform, but failed when the motion was declared out of order. To my great disappointment, several local Republican committees proceeded to pass resolutions disapproving of the congressman’s actions. This alone was egregious and worthy of reprimand, but the very man who prevented a motion to censure by the district committee, Chairman Melvin Adams, expressed shockingly homophobic sentiments, approving of a comparison of homosexuality with pedophilia. This line of thought is a relic of Virginia’s less than perfect past and demands immediate redress. It is long past time for Virginia Republicans to condemn and reform in the face of such indecency.
(08/09/19 10:28pm)
On July 1, the Charlottesville City Council voted to establish a new City holiday, Liberation and Freedom Day, set for March 3, to commemorate the arrival of the Union Army in Charlottesville and emancipation of black slaves in 1865. This would be fortuitous news, save for the fact that the Council has also seen fit to cease celebration of Thomas Jefferson’s birthday, April 13, known to the University community as Founder’s Day.
(04/30/19 2:27am)
In the United States, the census determines congressional representation, informs distributions of federal grants by the federal government and the states. It also helps businesses plan expansions, expenditures, advertising and new products. It is not only a political tool — it also a widely used for financial and social purposes. Its efficacy, however, is already partially compromised by the survey and statistical techniques used by the Census Bureau. Adding Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’ proposed citizenship question to the 2020 Decennial Census runs the risk of further reducing the usefulness of the data.
(04/18/19 3:17am)
Structural changes at Newcomb Hall have recently led to hiring freezes and increased workloads for a shrinking number of employees. The student workers at Newcomb have voiced their discontent, especially surrounding the perception that students have not been adequately involved in the decision-making process. According to fourth-year Engineering student Christian May — who received 377 pages of email correspondence via an FOIA request — the fundamental issue is the budget deficit facing the administration at Newcomb. From May’s perspective, the administration plotted to create a hostile working environment and institute a hiring and promotions freeze, which caused increased turnover in Newcomb Hall student jobs without adequate replacement or relief for the remaining workers. These austerity measures for Newcomb Operations, according to May, have produced “abuses, large and small” of the student workers on staff.
(04/08/19 2:22am)
Recently, the Senate voted 57-0 to reject S. J. Resolution 8, popularly known as the Green New Deal. The Deal, drafted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), is a wishlist for left-wing progressives declaring support for state workforce expansion, a ten-year plan for the U.S. economy, health care for all and surprisingly very little climate science. Additionally, a now-retracted frequently asked questions fact sheet — a self-written expose on the ultimate goals and delusions of Ocasio-Cortez and other radical leftists — expresses a desire to provide economic security to those unwilling to work and rejects nuclear power generation, carbon pricing, carbon capture technology and other market and evidence-based policies. The Green New Deal is a laundry list of policies that could make life harder for Americans in the coming decade, all in the name of meeting a now 11-year deadline to address climate change.
(03/11/19 11:17pm)
People of minority culture and descent face real and continuous issues, at both the University and throughout the United States as a whole. Advocacy groups, especially among students of color, do passionate and admirable work. Contributions from the Latinx Student Alliance, Black Student Alliance and other similar groups at the University greatly improve the student experience and make lasting changes that impact students in meaningful ways. These associations accomplish these feats in large part due to their legitimacy, derived from their widespread renown and effective outreach methods. These factors enable organizations to advocate for a larger group in a way that is honest and useful. Unfortunately, the Asian Leaders Council fails to meet these standards.