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Sept. 4
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Sept. 4
Editor’s note: This article is a humor column.
As a seemingly endless summer transitions to an autumn of academic opportunities and students settle in on Grounds, many may grapple with a combination of excitement for the school year ahead and a wistful longing for the events of the past few months. Some students may already be looking back fondly on a season full of slower days, but a year full of new beginnings and fresh opportunities awaits with the start of the academic calendar. These songs are perfect for soaking up the last few drops of summer sunshine and serve as a great soundtrack for the first few weeks back in Charlottesville.
The last time fifth-year running back Xavier Brown took the field, it was in front of 56,000 strong during Virginia’s 2025 homecoming victory. Brown was carted away from that game, a torn ligament in his knee and tears streaming from his eyes. Now, it’s only fitting he returned in a homecoming of his own, this time for a sellout crowd, leading his Cavaliers (1-0, 1-0 ACC) to triumph.
A commission of 10 scholars convened by the chancellors of Vanderbilt University and Washington University in St. Louis released a report in June concluding that scholarship in the humanities and social science disciplines has been distorted by political motives. This central claim has drawn criticism from faculty across the nation, as well as mixed reactions from professors at the University.
EdPolicyWorks is a center for research built as a collaboration between the School of Education and Human Development and the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy to investigate and solve problems in systems of education. According to the website, its research spans college access and success, early childhood education, school leadership and accountability, teacher quality, labor market trends and methodology and measurement studies. EdPolicyWorks also serves as a home for policy discussions and intellectual exchange between students and faculty.
The Cavaliers wrapped up their 34-8 Week Zero victory over N.C. State with a behemoth 23 play touchdown drive that lasted 12 minutes and 15 seconds — each count is a school record.
For No. 5 Virginia field hockey, opening another season against Penn State has become an expectation, with the programs playing against one another on opening weekend almost every year since 2009.
They may have worn a new kit and had new faces in the starting 11, but when Virginia took the pitch at Klöckner Field Friday, they went back to the same winning ways as they capped off an explosive night with their first win of the season. After dropping the first two matches, the resilient Cavaliers (1-0-2, 0-0-0 ACC), rebounded with a strong 4-0 thrashing of American (0-2-1, 0-0-0 Patriot League).
In another world, Virginia football kicks off its 2026 season with a feat of logistical incomprehensibility. Fifth-year quarterback Beau Pribula makes his Cavalier debut after travelling almost 5,000 miles south to an unfamiliar stadium. Dedicated Virginia fans pack their passports to see their beloved program — fresh off of a historic 11-3 season — play a non-conference game.
Today, living in western Virginia means facing a slew of economic, infrastructural and health gaps. The region is stricken by poverty — the 11 poorest counties and localities in Virginia are exclusively located in the western half of the state, where over 20 percent of the population lives under the poverty line. The region is also plagued by poor infrastructure, as insufficient roads and limited broadband internet access can isolate residents, deepening economic separation. What is worse, the physical well-being of western Virginians is at serious risk due to a lack of healthcare facilities in rural areas. Someone living in Wise, a rural county in southwestern Virginia, can expect to live almost 14 years less than someone living in Fairfax County.
The Lawn was filled with music and harmony Wednesday evening as 18 University a cappella groups took to the steps of the Rotunda for the University’s 38th annual Rotunda Sing. Continuing a longstanding and cherished tradition, Rotunda Sing brought together both students and performers for a night celebrating vocal excellence and the University’s diverse musical community.
Student Council convened for its first meeting of the academic year Tuesday. At the meeting, representatives confirmed a rules and ethics chair and raised concerns regarding graduate student participation and input on the Council.
It’s been a while since Virginia has been here. As the dawn of the 2026 college football season approaches, hope springs anew for each team. But for the Cavaliers, this time that hope comes with weighty expectations.
During Thursday’s quarterly meeting of the University Health System Board’s Quality Subcommittee, Board members recognized recent accomplishments made by the Health System, discussed the opening in late May of a new surgical clinic in Pantops and introduced the interim dean of the School of Nursing and new CEO of the Medical Center.
Monday, Central Grounds was abuzz with students attending and tabling during the Fall Activities Fair. Organized by Student Council, students browsed over 550 Contracted Independent Organizations, Special Status Organizations and other student-oriented organizations to learn about the plethora of avenues for involvement around Grounds.
A critical conversation around trust in universities is upon us. In April, Yale University’s Committee on Trust in Higher Education published a 58-page report replete with reasons that confidence in higher education had fallen 21 percent in the last 12 years, and recommendations on how to fix this growing mistrust. Earlier this month, Education Secretary Linda McMahon pointed to the Yale report as she called on universities to publish institutional statements on the federal government’s prominent priorities by the end of the year. There are multiple key topics covered across both documents, including affordability, free speech and artificial intelligence — three topics important to our University. With University President Scott Beardsley having named the committee for our University’s next strategic plan, and with the committee due to meet for the first time this month, it is crucial that the formation of our next multi-year plan aims to focus on these issues. In doing so, the plan must reflect the depth of the Yale report and the transparency called for in McMahon’s letter, a facet that remains important despite the federal administration’s continuous unwillingness to act as a good-faith partner.
Editor’s note: This article contains mentions of sexual assault.
When OpenAI released ChatGPT as the first consumer large language model in 2022, the program was nearly unable to render any version of visual or written “art.” Distorted human bodies, glitching movements and robotic writing was the limit of artificial intelligence’s artistic ability, which gave some in fine arts a sense of security within their profession and passion. But over the last four years, the capabilities of generative AI programs have evolved exponentially, casting doubt on whether the arts will remain a solely human industry.
For Virginia baseball, the season concluded with a loss in Hattiesburg, Miss. May 31. Afterward, Coach Chris Pollard and his staff returned to Charlottesville, presumably to recruit, retool and assess the Cavalier program as it prepares for year two of the Pollard era in 2027.