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(10/30/13 1:14am)
Earlier this month, Xia Yeliang, an economist at Peking University who is known for his pro-democratic views was fired. Xia was one of the many intellectuals to sign Charter 08, a petition released in 2008 calling for democratic reform in China. Unsurprisingly, the document’s signers are not exactly held in high regard by the Chinese government. Lu Xiaobo, one of the charter’s authors — and the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize — is currently incarcerated as a political prisoner.
(10/23/13 4:08am)
The United States’ education system is in trouble. Despite our vast resources and wealth, we are unable to keep up with other countries educationally by many measures, including international standardized test scores and measures of literacy and scientific knowledge. Much research has strived to decipher where our shortcomings in education lie. What are we doing wrong? A recent article on the Washington Post argues that the poverty-like conditions in which many children grow up limits their ability to succeed. According to U.S. Census Bureau, 22 percent of children are in poverty.Education reform needs to take into account students’ home conditions (such as parents with a weak educational background) rather than always attributing failures to poor teachers or parents. These social constraints limit a student’s ability succeed before the student begins school.
(10/16/13 4:17am)
I recently read a University press release on a psychological study recruiting students to treat social anxiety disorder among teens. Social anxiety is a mental disorder in which the individual has a difficult time adjusting in social situations, and the disorder affects about 15 percent of today’s youth. The study aims to make treatments for social anxiety more accessible by providing care via the Internet. I find this method of treatment rather odd, and I have trouble believing it will be an effective approach.
(10/02/13 1:43am)
Recently, The New York Times published an editorial titled “Fed Up in Bangladesh” that supported Bangladesh workers’ demands for better labor conditions, particularly in garment factories, and higher wages. A number of protests in Bangladesh have brought the issue of worker conditions to the forefront after the collapse of a garment factory in April killed more than a thousand people. Much of the problem is the government’s refusal to raise the minimum wage, which is currently $38 a month. Workers want the minimum wage to be raised to $100 a month. But their bargaining power is limited. Bangladesh has a large population of unskilled workers — so if current laborers refuse to work, plenty of others are likely to be willing.
(09/24/13 10:48pm)
With whispers in the air about the AccessUVa financial aid program’s swelling costs, the Board of Visitors finally made a decision last month to restructure it. Since it launched in 2004, AccessUVa has offered all-grant aid packages to students whose families made less than twice the federal poverty line ($47,100 for a family of four). This practice allowed some low-income students to attend the University without taking out loans. With the newly structured program, loans will now be counted as part of students’ aid packages. The program caps the amount of need-based loans a student can accumulate in four years at $28,000 for out-of-state students and $14,000 for in-state students. The changes will go into effect for new students beginning in the 2014-15 academic year. They will not affect any current students receiving aid from AccessUVa.
(09/18/13 2:02am)
With pay stagnation a reality for many faculty members in recent years, the University approved a merit-based pay system in May to increase faculty salaries. Merit pay, as the name implies, bases faculty salary raises on the work each faculty member is doing. A non-merit-based pay system would give raises to faculty members regardless of the research they are doing or their effectiveness as a teacher. Under a merit system, a select group of faculty members from each department will peer review other faculty members (of their department) to determine salary raises.
(09/04/13 1:15am)
When I first came to college, one of the best parts was not having to wake up at 6 a.m. to go to school. Waking up at 9 a.m., I was more focused and awake and better able to concentrate on the material I was learning in class. Many schools in Northern Virginia, as well as in other parts of the country, have decided to follow a similar path by starting high schools later to ensure students receive more sleep and therefore remain focused in class.
(08/29/13 12:36am)
College students have made an art form of procrastination. Whether it’s writing a 20-page paper the night before it’s due or cramming for finals, saving things until the last minute is part of student life. As I begin my fourth year, I realize I too have procrastinated on a number of things. There are so many great restaurants in Charlottesville and I have only tried a handful. Academically, I’ve been putting off taking an art history class or trying to learn Chinese. Nearly every time an interesting opportunity came up, I generally pushed it aside because it was not relevant for the specific future goal I had in mind. I was very focused on achieving certain academic credentials that I let other opportunities slip by. But, now as a fourth year reflecting on my tenure at the University so far, I realize that by constantly pushing things back semester after semester, I have yet to try or do many things that I had originally wanted to.
(04/24/13 3:38am)
The Virginia Board of Health gave final approval last week to a new set of regulations on clinics that perform abortions. This issue has been live since 2011, when the General Assembly decided to tighten the standards abortion clinics are obliged to meet. The Board of Health had initially decided to exclude existing clinics from having to meet the regulations but changed its mind because all 19 clinics in Virginia renewed their licenses last year. Those clinics are now being treated as new clinics and must abide by the new regulations, which primarily mandate architectural changes such as wider hallways like those usually found in hospitals.
(04/17/13 1:47am)
The University recently announced its plans to participate in the first national digital library, known as the Digital Public Library of America. This ambitious project, which gathers information from an array of scholarly organizations, will give students and scholars access to information available digitally at other universities as well as at the National Archives, the Smithsonian and other federal organizations. The University has decided to provide the Holsinger Studio Collection, which consists of information about Charlottesville from the 19th and 20th centuries. In the future, the University hopes to offer access to 16th-century French texts.
(04/10/13 3:05am)
North Korea has made many nations nervous. In response to the military threats coming out of the East Asian dictatorship, the United States has sent missiles to be stationed in Guam, and the United Nations has implemented additional sanctions. While North Korea is volatile at the moment, the regime does not pose as significant a danger as many believe.
(04/03/13 2:45am)
Using social media to advocate political positions has taken hold in the past few years. A recent high-profile example of social-media advocacy has been people posting images of the equality sign with a red background in support of marriage equality. The Supreme Court’s tackling of gay marriage’s constitutionality has invigorated equality advocates nationwide — and on Facebook.
The Supreme Court is considering two cases dealing with gay marriage. The first case involves California’s Proposition 8, with the plaintiffs arguing that the legislation, which bans gay marriage in California, violates the federal constitution. The second case involves Defense of Marriage Act from 1996 (DOMA), signed under former President Bill Clinton. DOMA denies gay married couples the federal benefits heterosexual couples receive. It also formally defines marriage as an institution between a man and woman.
(03/27/13 1:12am)
It’s nearly that time of the year again. As we frantically work on semester papers, complete the last of our midterms and come to terms with how quickly the semester has gone by, we once more sift through class options to figure out a course schedule for next year.
(03/20/13 2:07am)
The University recently shifted the status of incoming librarians from faculty to managerial and professional staff, informing all current librarians by email. The title change has drawn ire from library employees and is, in my opinion, rather backward.
(03/06/13 5:13am)
I recall the days when I was studying for the SAT (yes, I actually studied for the SAT). I remember memorizing random vocabulary and wondering if colleges really expected us to use those words. My experience in the past three years at the University has taught me that many of the words I learned for the SAT are too obscure to use for most papers. While learning words like crepuscular, which means “occurring or being active during twilight,” is never a bad thing as far as learning goes, college courses do not generally demand the same level of verbal erudition as the SAT. The exam’s current design does not accurately measure a student’s true college potential. Not knowing the definition of words like crepuscular is not indicative of collegiate success or failure. In that respect, the SAT fails to achieve its objective. Instead, it creates a false impression of one’s college future. For these reasons, I am glad the College Board is considering changing the SAT.
(02/27/13 3:12am)
Weed-out classes are familiar territory for most college students. Many have taken at least one such course either to fulfill major requirements or graduation requirements. I myself have taken a couple of courses that would qualify as weed-outs. Though I did not think the courses were too difficult, I disagreed with the way the classes were structured. They seemed too cutthroat. Generally, weed-out courses run counter to what should be the objective of an education system: to encourage and maximize learning.
(02/20/13 4:53am)
The Virginia Senate passed legislation last week that would allow student organizations to exclude individuals from becoming members if they do not seem committed to the organization’s mission. The wording of the legislation is as follows: “A religious or political student organization may determine that ordering the organization’s internal affairs, selecting the organization’s leaders and members, defining the organization’s doctrines, and resolving the organization’s disputes are in furtherance of the organizations’ religious or political mission and that only persons committed to that mission should conduct such activities.”
(02/13/13 4:12am)
The Virginia legislature recently passed laws that would reduce the incidence of voter fraud by limiting the types of voter ID polling places deem acceptable. With the new laws, voters can still show a voter ID card, concealed handgun permit, driver’s license or student ID but can no longer use a utility bill, pay stub, government check or Social Security card as proof of voting eligibility. These laws at first glance seem like measures that enhance the integrity of the voting process by preventing voter fraud. But a closer analysis reveals these laws could disenfranchise eligible voters.
(02/06/13 5:29am)
President Barack Obama has decided to make immigration reform
a priority for his second term. Illegal immigration has been tackled several times at the state level, but unsuccessfully. For example, Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 legislation led to a decrease in overall state revenue, according to research by the Center for American Progress. Many argue the U.S. needs to deport illegal immigrants rather than provide amnesty. But rather than deporting illegal immigrants, it would be better economically to integrate illegal immigrants into the U.S. by extending amnesty and giving legal immigrants greater flexibility in obtaining citizenship status.
(01/23/13 3:38am)
Recently, members of the law community in New York proposed making the legal reform necessary to allow law students to take the bar exam after two years of law school, rather than the usual three. In this proposed change, students would have the option to attend their third year; if students passed the bar exam after their second year, then they may forgo their third year and seek a job. Proponents of the legislation have offered many arguments in favor of this reform.