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(04/27/17 5:11am)
I came to the University and, eager to sound off on whatever weekly controversy I wanted (i.e. rant on the Internet with some legitimacy), I joined The Cavalier Daily’s Opinion section my first semester. I did so without the slightest imagination I would someday become the executive editor. For one, I was set on majoring in statistics (which I did), and I knew I would only ever write a handful of college papers. Writing didn’t come easy to me. Second, I, as many first years do, viewed the then-fourth years on the managing board as infallible, confident role models who had everything together — in retrospect, this hero worship on my part was a bit silly. Struggling to even find my way around Grounds, I didn’t expect to someday fill one of their seats in The Cavalier Daily offices.
(10/22/15 4:05am)
Last month, I penned a column in which I argued the laissez-faire law enforcement approach to events such as Block Party reveals an inequality in the way students and local residents are treated by police officers. The purpose of the column was not to offer a solution to police behavior and bias — that would be quite a tall order — but to highlight a disparity that has received little commentary by Cavalier Daily writers and the student population at large, perhaps because we are all beneficiaries of the benefits attending the University confers. In this column, I aim to suggest steps the University and local police should take in order to support more equitable law enforcement in our community.
(10/06/15 5:52am)
Last month, Opinion columnist Ryan Gorman penned a column titled “Taking Voldemort seriously,” in which he argued in favor of trendy courses at the University such as “Game of Thrones” in the English department. According to Gorman, courses that cover trendy topics can be academically enriching as they demonstrate creative modes of thinking traditional courses skip over. I disagree — “trendy” courses such as “Politicizing Beyoncé” at Rutgers University and “Battling Against Voldemort” at Swarthmore College do not belong in academia. I say this not because I am a STEM student who regards liberal arts courses as worthless. Despite my background in statistics, I have taken a fair amount of humanities courses and have previously written columns in support of the liberal arts. Defenders of the liberal arts should oppose and look down on courses such as “Game of Thrones” because they dilute the value of a rigorous liberal arts education.
(09/10/15 4:15am)
It is a well-known fact among students at the University that Charlottesville police officers are chiefly invested in student safety, so much so that they will often turn a blind eye to underage drinking and other related offenses. Consider the police presence at Block Party, our yearly bacchanal that coincides with the start of the fall semester. As thousands of inebriated students take over 14th Street and Wertland Street — streets which fall outside of the University’s Grounds — Charlottesville police officers stand idly on the side and look out for students who may be a danger to themselves or others. Also consider the police presence at last year’s spring Foxfield races, where Albemarle County police officers did not intervene much. They were stationed at the perimeter of the event and made just seven arrests, even though thousands of students were breaking the law.
(08/18/15 4:00am)
Donald Trump’s ascendancy into the Republican political milieu may result from his candid media interactions. The abrasive entrepreneur has won plaudits from supporters who perceive him to be a Washington outsider who dares to speak his mind and approach topics other politicians do not touch. In a CNN interview, former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer responded to Trump’s comments linking illegal immigration to crime by saying, “I believe that Mr. Trump is kind of telling it like it really, truly is.” Prominent conservative commentator Pat Buchanan attributes Trump’s lead in the polls to his rejection of political correctness, which has resonated with Americans who are “tired” of politically correct Republicans.
(06/05/15 4:00am)
Today, roughly 20 Americans will die waiting for an organ transplant. We already have the cure — medical technologies associated with organ transplantation have evolved to promote long-term survival and support enhanced quality of life among patients. Five-year survival rates among those who receive transplanted organs are auspicious; according to figures from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, over 80 percent of those who receive a kidney from a deceased donor remain alive after five years. This figure is almost 75 percent for those who receive a liver from a deceased donor.
(04/21/15 4:20am)
Last semester, the The Dartmouth Editorial Board published an editorial in which it called on Dartmouth’s president and Board of Trustees to dissolve the college’s Greek system. A 2014 Bloomberg editorial similarly advocated for the abolition of campus fraternities, arguing that “fraternities are at odds with the mission of a college or university.” As more and more people express grievances with a Greek system they perceive to be irreparable, we will arrive at a point where we ask ourselves: is the Greek system really worth preserving? In view of the ills and controversies that surround many of our nation’s fraternities, is it worth it to continue to support a system that may be beyond repair?
(04/07/15 4:01am)
After witnessing the April Fools’ debacle at our paper, I’ve experienced mixed emotions. I sympathize with the black and Native American students who felt that the April Fools’ articles trivialized their experiences. But I also understand that The Cavalier Daily approached the issue with the good intention of highlighting important issues such as Alcoholic Beverage Control agent violence and the offensive nature of racist-themed parties. These articles were not malicious. They were simply bad pieces of satire that demonstrated a lack of awareness.
(04/02/15 5:37am)
I never felt a sense of ownership of the Lawn — that is, I never felt like I belonged on the Lawn — until I joined the University Guide Service at the start of last semester. Part of the reason why is that the organization maintains a space inside of Pavilion VIII furnished with tables and couches for its members to use. The room was initially intended for general student use, but members of the Guide Service colonized and decorated it years ago. For me, it has been a space to meet friends and study in between classes. No other student group holds such a space on the Lawn, a fact which contributes to what I perceive to be a general lack of inclusivity and student participation on the Lawn.
(03/24/15 4:29am)
When I march in protest with my peers and say “black lives matter,” I do so because there is no shortage of Americans who believe that black lives are disposable. The wanton use of excessive force by police officers against young black males is well-documented: despite comprising 13 percent of the national population, black Americans are victims of roughly one in four police shootings. In our own community, we have seen one of our black students, Martese Johnson, bloodied by Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control agents whose racial biases, implicit or explicit, likely affected their ill disposition towards him — and even if they didn’t in this instance, the possibility of prejudice alone illustrates just how heavily race hangs over the heads of those who regularly run into racism. I say “black lives matter” because America has declared open season against young black males, and I am embittered by disrespectful University students who insist on replacing “black lives matter” with “all lives matter.”
(03/17/15 4:17am)
Aside from Lawn rooms, which are inaccessible to the majority of University students, there are few spaces that students occupy on the Lawn. Each pavilion except for Pavilion VII houses a faculty resident, consistent with Thomas Jefferson’s plan for students to live among faculty members. Faculty residence in the Lawn pavilions greatly limits the amount of space students can access on the Lawn, which contributes to what I perceive to be a general lack of student participation on the Lawn. A radical solution to the Lawn’s lack of student space would be to discontinue faculty residence in pavilions as Jefferson intended and instead introduce student spaces to each pavilion.
(02/24/15 5:05am)
The rumor mill is humming with speculation over who will fill the role of debonair spy James Bond after actor Daniel Craig’s contract for two more films expires. Among the names being tossed around by fans is that of black British actor Idris Elba, who has collected endorsements from celebrities such as Kanye West and Jamie Foxx. Elba’s performances in “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” and in British television series “Luther” have won plaudits from film critics. The strongest seal of approval comes from former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, who affirmed Elba’s fit for the role of 007 in a recent interview with RadioTimes.
(02/17/15 6:46am)
The Virginia General Assembly is currently considering two bills that would ostensibly result in greater reporting of mental health issues on college campuses. House Bill 1715, passed unanimously by the House last week, would legally mandate resident advisors to alert campus threat assessment teams if a student exhibits suicidal tendencies. Similarly, Senate Bill 1122 would require parents of such students to be informed.
(01/30/15 5:24am)
The history of African Americans at the University is often presented in two phases: slavery and Civil Rights. Last semester, I penned a column in which I commended the University Guide Service (UGS) for its efforts to confront our history of slavery. And while it is important for members of our community to take a critical look at the institution that hangs so heavily over our history, we must be careful not to forget the hundred years between slavery and Civil Rights in addition to the decades that followed integration. I think part of the problem is the nature of condensing all of the University’s black history into an hour-long historical tour. Inevitably, the most momentous events will be selected, so it is easy to see why slavery and integration receive the most attention. But another problem has to do with research and education: many students and tour guides simply don’t know as much about recent black history or the years between slavery and integration as they do about the antebellum and Civil Rights eras.
(11/14/14 3:12am)
In 1999, former Kansas State University professor Michael Suleiman published a book titled “Arabs in America: Building a New Future,” in which he explores, among other topics, identity and the Arab American experience. Suleiman writes: “Today, the constituency known as Arab American is situated at an interesting social crossroads, where issues of minority and majority affiliation demand more attention.” Salient to Suleiman’s analysis of Arab American racial classification is the notion that we constantly “[straddle our] technical white identity with [our] practical affinity to ‘people of color.’” Though his book was penned before 9/11, a tragedy that would alter the trajectory of Arab American lives and identities, Suleiman’s ideas remain valid to this day.
(11/07/14 4:08am)
In October, my fellow columnist Gray Whisnant penned a column titled “Reform is required” in which he asserted that reform is necessary to address systemic problems associated with the Honor system. Whisnant points to ill-defined outreach efforts as recurring calls for change that have failed to repair the Community of Trust. Each year, the Honor Committee wrestles with staggeringly low reporting rates and inconsistent verdicts. And each year, the Committee reaffirms its commitment to outreach as a means of increasing student buy-in.
(10/31/14 1:09am)
The history of slavery is inextricably linked to the history of the University. Enslaved laborers built our Grounds from the laying of the cornerstone at Pavilion VII in 1817 through the Civil War. They terraced the Lawn, served the needs of students and laid the bricks we walk on today, often in the face of abuse and humiliation.
(10/24/14 3:37am)
California State University, a public university system composed of 23 campuses, recently de-recognized local chapters of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a student-led evangelical ministry. The decision was in response to InterVarsity’s refusal to sign a general non-discrimination statement that would require the organization to admit non-Christians.
(10/17/14 5:04am)
On October 2, the Managing Board published an editorial in which it asserted that universities should not ban smoking on their campuses. This piece was written in response to the smoking ban enacted at each of the 31 public colleges and universities belonging to the University System of Georgia.
(10/03/14 4:46am)
One month ago, I penned a column titled “The merits of GMOs” in which I sought to dispel the notion that “naturally” grown food crops are superior to those that are genetically modified. I stressed that there is no difference between altering a food crop through artificial selection and artificial mutation to achieve a desired biological result.