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(02/24/20 5:56pm)
Ever since Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., ran for president in 2016, the socialist movement in America has become much more prominent in our national discourse. The Democratic Socialists of America have increased their membership exponentially since 2016, and many down ballot candidates affiliated with the organization have run under their banner. This resurgence has also led to a spirited debate about the definition of socialism — specifically whether Nordic societies that DSA members wish to emulate are truly socialist. While this argument is certainly an interesting academic one, it has significantly muddled our political discourse and is frankly irrelevant. Socialist or not, America would be well served by following Nordic welfare models and beginning to substantially increase government intervention in the economy.
(01/21/20 8:11pm)
As University students get into the swing of the semester, many of us are attempting to fulfill our New Year’s resolutions. One of the most common of these resolutions is getting in shape, which in turn leads to increased gym attendance in the United States during the month of January. However, for those of us who attempt to make good on this resolution and decide to drive from our homes to the gym, a rude awakening awaits in the form of mandatory parking fees at the University’s gym facilities.
(10/18/19 4:51pm)
University President Jim Ryan announced last weekend that the University raised $2.75 billion of its $5 billion goal for its “Honor the Future” campaign which is currently in its public phase. The project was created to raise a significant sum from donors in order to make the University “the leading” public institution in the United States. While it is certainly impressive that so much money has been raised, the entire process begs the question — what does being the best public university in the nation really mean?
(09/30/19 2:44am)
Over the weekend, The Cavalier Daily broke the story that the University’s administration was deploying resources to aid applicants connected to wealthy donors. A similar incident occurred in 2017, when it was revealed the University had a “heads-up” list of individuals for them to look out for and give special treatment during the application process.
(09/16/19 2:02am)
Nothing has characterized the 2020 Democratic presidential primary more than the crowd of Democrats hoping to chip away at former Vice President Joe Biden’s steady polling lead. Apparently this tendency is contagious because the media has also joined in the pile on by publishing a disproportionate number of negative stories about Biden in recent weeks — many of which I will concede are self-inflicted. As a result, two more left-wing candidates — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — are closing in on him in the polls.
(06/29/19 2:39pm)
Last year when I wrote a column for this same issue, I provided incoming first years with practical advice on the best way to sign up for courses. And while I still think that the class sign up process is unnecessarily difficult and convoluted, going into my fourth year has provided me with a different perspective of the kind of advice I think would be the most useful — use college to challenge yourself and your worldview.
(03/29/19 7:47pm)
During his one term in Congress, former Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.) proposed and sponsored several bills. However, one policy that caught my attention was his proposal to help alleviate student debt by allowing students to defer up to $550 in student loans in exchange for delaying the receipt of social security benefits by a month past an individual's usual retirement age, ultimately capping out at $40,150. Though this policy never became law following Garrett’s retirement to seek treatment for his alcoholism, it has been re-purposed recently by incumbent Republicans in order to fund a paid family leave policy. To be clear, both of these policies are outrageous in that they rob individuals of retirement security in order to fund essential parts of their lives which should ultimately be public services provided by the government.
(03/13/19 3:12am)
During student election season, everyone extols the importance of voting in student elections and the virtues of student self-governance. Students involved in student government are particularly motivated and excited by election season, as it is a chance for new initiatives to be implemented and new individuals to be elected to these prestigious positions. And while I am not downplaying the real-world impact many of the policies enacted by these groups have on the University, the whole system in which they operate is flawed, which makes them broadly inaccessible to many in the U.Va. community.
(02/22/19 12:15am)
The last few weeks in Virginia politics have been pretty rough for Democrats. First, it was uncovered that Gov. Ralph Northam was found to have had racist pictures on his page of his medical school yearbook, and then, he unfortunately handled the situation in a way that can only be described as a textbook example on how to not handle a crisis. A few days later, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax was accused of sexually assaulting two women — charges that he has unequivocally, though not always factually, denied. This left Attorney General Mark Herring, who later admitted to doing blackface while he was an undergraduate at the University, despite having called on Northam to resign prior to his admission. These scandals consumed the media for what seemed like an eternity, and these three all faced condemnation and calls to resign.
(01/14/19 11:50pm)
Almost a decade ago, the Great Recession devastated the United States economy, greatly reducing state budgets among a host negative externalities. In response to these revenue shortfalls, many states began to cut funding for public services including higher education. This decline in funding for higher education is understandable in tough economic times. However, after previous recessions, colleges eventually regained the lost money — that did not happen this time around.
(09/18/18 4:14am)
In October 2017, The Wall Street Journal published an editorial lambasting the treatment of then gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie entitled “Smearing Ed Gillespie in Virginia.” In the article the Editorial Board lambasted the treatment of Gillespie during the campaign, stating he had been unfairly attacked by the Democrats. While I certainly disagree with The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board’s assessment of the gubernatorial campaign, this framework applies well in this election cycle, where there is a candidate being unfairly attacked — the Democratic candidate for the fifth congressional district of Virginia, Leslie Cockburn.
(07/13/18 2:47pm)
Arriving to college for the first time can be very difficult. There are so many things on the to-do list, ranging from what to bring with you to what extracurriculars you plan to join. Keeping it all straight can be daunting, and thankfully there are several online resources dedicated to helping students navigate these aspects of college. However, I believe new students need to be aware of sites that can help them get through what is in my opinion the most stressful part of attending college — choosing courses for the first time. I was completely lost when I was supposed to be choosing courses until someone explained many of these online services to me, so to ease the transition to college life new students must be made aware of these online resources before they arrive to Grounds.
(06/07/18 9:55pm)
Much has been discussed about which Democrats will challenge President Donald Trump and run for president in 2020. So many names have been thrown around that it seems as though the Democrats are poised to have a large primary with several contenders, much like the Republicans had in 2016. Though all the potential candidates have distinctive qualities, many of the front runners seem to be using a similar strategy — pandering to the more progressive wing of the electorate by advocating unpassable and surprisingly partisan policy ideas. Some of these policies include single payer healthcare and free college for all which, as I have mentioned before, are well meaning policies, but are incredibly unlikely to become law and may not work as intended.
(05/15/18 1:57am)
Partisan gerrymandering is a pervasive problem in the United States. Look no further than the 2017 statewide elections, where Democrats enjoyed stunning gains in the House of Delegates, but still failed to gain a majority despite their overwhelming victory. This was a result of partisan redistricting, with legislative districts drawn up by Republicans allowing them to preserve their majority despite losing the election. In addition, Virginia’s congressional districts have also come under scrutiny for being racially gerrymandered. In fact the gerrymandering was so blatant, a federal court invalidated the map, which allowed Democrats in Virginia to gain a seat in the House of Representatives.
(04/23/18 4:27am)
For the first half of President Donald Trump’s term in office, a lot of issues have had their day in the sun, but one that desperately needs attention in this country is child poverty. In the United States, 11.8 percent of children are living in absolute poverty, and 21 percent of American children are living with incomes below the federal poverty threshold.That is an unacceptable number for a rich country like ours and far beyond the child poverty rate in other Western countries. Though the U.S. has made progress toward reducing its child poverty rates through government policies such as the Child Tax Credit, Congress has taken steps during this session that will reverse that good work and could possibly lead to a dramatic increase in child poverty rates.
(01/17/18 5:54am)
2017 has been a landmark year for Virginia Democrats. In the 2017 general election, Virginia Democrats, along with electing Gov. Ralph Northam (D), enjoyed stunning gains in the House of Delegates, and were agonizingly close to becoming the majority party. Unfortunately, the Republicans’ slim majority in the House will remain due to the results of a random drawing in the 94th District, where Del. David Yancey (R) was declared the winner over Shelly Simmonds. Remaining in the minority makes it nearly impossible to pass some of the progressive legislation that would be beneficial for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and Northam have released a plan with a number of wide-ranging proposals from strengthening background checks on gun sales to expanding Medicaid. While it is important that our elected officials bring to the forefront issues that are important to progressive voters, they should be cautious. Many of these newly elected Democratic delegates won by slim margins and face tough reelection races in 2019. It is essential that Democrats balance their progressive priorities with pragmatism, ensuring that they are actually making progress for the constituents who propelled them to office.
(12/22/17 2:13am)
After the Democrat’s stunning win in the recent Alabama Senate special election, there was a focus in the media on the high turnout among black voters, especially black women, that pushed Senator-elect Doug Jones (D-Ala.) to victory. What is also remarkable was that the share of black voters was higher in this special election than in 2008 and 2012 when Barack Obama ran for president. Along with high turnout among African Americans, another group in the coalition which helped Jones win was young voters. Strong turnout among young voters in the state of Alabama, many of whom are minorities, was essential to Jones’ victory in the special election. Without young voters we would be faced with the prospect of elected officials like Roy Moore, so it is essential for the future of this country that young voters are recognized as an essential voting block for Democrats and treated as such.
(12/04/17 6:51am)
After the Democrats’ strong showing in the 2017 Virginia general election, many were optimistic that liberal priorities would be addressed. While there are several worthy policy goals which the new administration should pursue, none seem more important or more difficult to pass than an increase in the minimum wage. An increase is essential because the current minimum wage has lost nearly 10 percent of its purchasing power due to inflation. Even though some states have elected to go higher, Virginia has decided to stay at the federal minimum, $7.25 an hour. The resistance to increasing the minimum wage rests on faulty logic, which lawmakers espouse to avoid giving workers a much needed raise. It is essential that lawmakers look at the facts and make the effort to institute a necessary increase in the minimum wage.
(11/27/17 5:05am)
In many states across the country, localities have to adhere to an established doctrine called the Dillon rule. The Dillon rule, derived from the legal scholar John Forrest Dillon, restricts the powers of local governments and only allows them the powers specifically granted to them by the state government. According to this doctrine, localities have to go to the state government to ask for permission to tackle serious problems which occur at the local level. This process wastes valuable time and resources which the localities could otherwise dedicate to solving the problems at hand, while also reducing the freedom of local leaders to govern their localities as they see appropriate. Because of these problems, the Dillon rule must be repealed. That is what their citizens elected their local governments to do, so they should be given the power to do so.
(11/20/17 5:06am)
After months of debate, Republicans in the House of Representatives have passed a tax reform bill and Republicans in the Senate have released their version. Unfortunately, there are many provisions in the House bill which will make life more difficult for students and universities across the country. These changes make a college education more expensive for students who already struggle to pay sky-high tuitions. It would also affect universities, who need to use their endowments to fund world class research. All these changes are taking place while Congress leaves in place a litany of exemptions for large corporations and the ultra-rich. This attack on universities is unsurprising, considering that GOP voters’ opinions about universities are strikingly poor, but it is unfortunate that the House is making such terrible public policy decisions. While there is certainly a case to make for tax reform and eliminating certain deductions, it is unconscionable to do so on the backs of already-struggling students.