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(09/05/16 5:23am)
As much as we like to view our time at the University as a mix of academic and social events, academics are the base from which we build the rest of our college lives. Sometimes this base begins to crack, either from procrastination or personal issues. In an attempt to push people back onto the straight and narrow path of scholarly excellence, the University can put them on academic probation. This is, in essence, a warning from the University to either shape up or risk expulsion. But the University has an exceedingly poor academic probation system. The University gives academic probation too readily and should adopt an academic warning classification in order to emphasize the goal of rehabilitation rather than punishment.
(08/29/16 4:10am)
What is a university for? In an ideal world, it is a place where people with intelligence and a strong work ethic can learn and prepare themselves to enter the competitive global marketplace. But we expect much more from universities than that. Workout facilities, dining halls, sporting events and concerts are only a few examples of benefits to which students feel they are entitled. This creates pressure on universities — including ours — to make college a fun place at the cost of accessibility. The University is doing much less to make education available than it should, much less than many of its peers. It is easy to blame the administration for this, but we are all complicit in the lack of student aid the University provides.
(04/25/16 5:08am)
Currently, many University students are looking for a summer internship or job. Most of us are striving for a position in an industry we might want to work in after graduation, fighting for a few top spots among select companies. These internships and jobs are invaluable for the experience and insight they give students into an industry. But while high level internships and summer jobs are important, I think there is also great value in a having a minimum wage fast food job. Everyone would benefit from having a base in this area before continuing on to their career paths.
(04/11/16 6:02am)
While campaigning for reelection, British Prime Minister David Cameron promised that if he were voted back into the office, he would hold a referendum on whether Britain should remain a member of the European Union. He has kept to his word, and a few months ago he announced June 23rd as the date of the referendum. Even though Cameron strongly supports British membership of the EU, he promised the referendum in response to a recent rise of anti-EU sentiment in Britain, though recent polling is still fairly split on whether British citizens support the “Brexit.” This may seem a distant issue for people living in the United States, let alone Charlottesville. However, Britain leaving the EU would not only hurt British citizens, but Americans as well.
(03/28/16 6:17am)
Last week Brussels was shaken by a terrible terrorist attack. The city airport and metro were both bombed, killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 260. The reaction to this terror attack has been what we can unfortunately call routine: outpouring support for the victims, renewed discussion on the refugees streaming into Europe and the place Islam had in motivating these attacks. One of the major differences with the conversation surrounding this attack is the amount of people that suddenly question whether Brussels is a safe city. Brussels is, in fact, a safe city, and it’s counterproductive for people to fear-monger about the threat people in the city are under.
(03/14/16 5:28am)
Last week Mark Oppenheimer wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post arguing the benefits of grade inflation. Oppenheimer claims grade inflation has continually become more prominent in the last few decades and is impossible to reverse. His overall conclusion is that grades do not matter and that grade inflation actually helps by ending the centrality of grades in higher education. While I am sympathetic to many of Oppenheimer’s points, grade inflation is not only avoidable but also counterproductive.
(02/29/16 7:46am)
Last year Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford called Russia the greatest existential threat to the United States. This election campaign has reflected this attitude, with many candidates calling Putin a “bully.” Since the invasion of Crimea by “unaffiliated” Russian forces, many have started throwing around the idea of a new Cold War. After two decades of being ignored, Russia is scary again — or is it? Despite many reasons for fearing Russia, the threat it presents has been exaggerated.
(02/15/16 6:54am)
By a vote of 75-22, the Virginia House of Delegates recently passed a bill that would regulate and tax short-term rentals that services like AirBnB provide. This comes on the heel of a similar bill that regulates services like Uber and Lyft, which Virginia passed last year. There are many good arguments for regulations, especially since companies like Uber and AirBnB have no obligation to the people who provide services using their platform. However, strong regulations will destroy this booming new sector of the economy and so regulations of these services need to be limited and strictly defined.
(02/01/16 5:00am)
The presidential campaign might be revolutionary in many ways, but in other ways it is numbingly familiar. One tactic that is always present during these races is the use of historical examples as a way to support a policy proposal. Referencing history can legitimize an argument and make complex concepts more easily understandable to an average voter. The problem is that it is very difficult to make good historical comparisons, since so much can change even in just a decade. It can all be very complicated — and that’s how it should be. Voters need to spend more time uncomfortably acknowledging the different sides of an argument, and examining how candidates use historical examples is a great place to start.
(12/07/15 5:00am)
There have been too many tragedies lately. The Paris attacks, the Planned Parenthood shootings and the recent San Bernardino shooting are just a few examples from the past few weeks. It’s very easy to become cynical and jaded when the string of bad stories never seems to end. People go through the motions of a tragedy, vow to create change — and then nothing seems to happen.
(11/16/15 5:00am)
College is often seen as the time when people explore their freedom and get to make a host of new choices. As students, we get to pick our schedules, majors and whether we attend class. Outside of school, we get to choose what we eat, extracurriculars and most other aspects of our lives.
(11/09/15 5:10am)
Last week, the Justice Department released about 6,000 inmates early from prison. This is the largest one-time release of federal prisoners in U.S. history. The Justice Department is aiming to reduce overcrowding in prisons and provide relief for drug offenders who received harsh sentences. This action is part of larger effort to reform the U.S. prison system, which is widely recognized as needing massive changes. There has been widespread criticism of the Justice Department’s move, but I believe it is a necessary and powerful step toward comprehensive prison reform.
(11/02/15 5:05am)
The University faces a very serious mental health problem among its students, something that remains a strong underlying concern at any college. Though there are a good deal of mental health services provided by the University, they are far from perfect. But we are not alone in facing this problem. Our neighboring school, The College of William and Mary, is especially concerned with this problem, and there is a great deal we can learn from it about how to effectively promote mental health.
(10/26/15 4:05am)
Last week, fellow Opinion columnist Sawan Patel wrote a column arguing for increased recognition of U.S. foreign policy failures by the general public. He asserts if the public fails to recognize foreign policy problems exist, then the United States will be “destined to pursue the same disastrous policies over and over again while expecting a different result.” While more discussion around U.S. policy can only benefit all of us, I believe there is already a growing recognition of U.S. foreign policy failures. The real problem is that this recognition will not create real change because the majority of the power to shape foreign affairs policy is based in the executive branch. A good place to start for curbing the executive branch’s power of foreign policy is reforming the presidential veto, which historically has been used to allow foreign policy mistakes to go unpunished.
(10/19/15 4:00am)
The University’s television commercial “Endless Pursuit” hails Grounds as a place of “perpetual ingenuity” where students can “solve, create, challenge, shatter.” While this may be true in small corners of the University, the vast majority of the work students do is neither ingenious nor challenging. In most courses students are told the exact opposite message of the commercial: listen, learn, understand, repeat back. Students at the University are unintentionally discouraged from being creative and voicing alternative opinions in classes, to their detriment.
(10/12/15 4:10am)
Polls have become too important in this election cycle. The candidates who can participate in debates are determined solely by polls, and no network has announced a method that does not use polls. These polls can have a real impact, with candidates who are left out of the primetime debate reaching 18 million fewer viewers. Using polls to decide who gets into the debates is an inherently flawed system and needs to be replaced by a more democratic model.
(09/28/15 4:08am)
Pope Francis just finished his first U.S. visit yesterday, selling out stadiums up and down the East Coast. His visit even overshadowed the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping for much of the American public. This shouldn’t be a surprise though, because Pope Francis is widely popular. More than just being respected by various religious communities, Pope Francis has become a pop culture icon. A quick Internet search will yield a slew of articles listing the “awesome” things he has done. Much of this adoration is deserved. To name a few examples, Pope Francis has made an effort to interact with the poor — symbolically washing the feet of Muslims and women — and continues to promote environmentalism. However, people should not let Pope Francis’ deluge of good PR hide the fact that he hasn’t addressed many key conflicts the Catholic Church is facing.
(09/21/15 4:05am)
9/11 is slowly being forgotten. The 14th anniversary of 9/11 was a few weeks ago, and the day went by with little fanfare. A day that normally inspires national self-reflection has turned into just another anniversary. Back in 2013 coverage of 9/11 was already on the decline, with no politicians speaking at the Ground Zero Memorial for the first time. There is no longer enough public interest in 9/11 for politicians to bother to show up. The news didn’t even bother to talk about the upcoming expiration of benefits for 9/11 first responders until Jon Stewart started to champion the issue.
(09/14/15 4:00am)
University students are ever more reliant on computers in their daily lives. Despite this, computers still remain unwelcome in many classrooms. Most, if not all, professors and teaching assistants now include a portion in their syllabi dedicated to classroom policies on electronics. Some are fine with students taking notes on computers while others outright ban it. I had two separate professors tell me this semester that they allowed computers in class but then went on to list the disadvantages of taking notes on a computer. Professors outright banning computers in class does a disservice to students by taking away some students’ most effective way of taking notes.
(09/07/15 4:10am)
Meal plans are not a good deal right now. Many upperclassmen are not buying meal plans because it is much cheaper to just buy their own food or cook. This makes the University rely on first-years to make money off dining, locking incoming students into the most expensive meal plans. The system is making the University some money, if a $20 million investment in dining is any indicator. That said, universities should not only be about making money. University Dining is supposed to provide students with a place to eat healthy food and interact with their peers. Making dining plans fully customizable would fulfill that goal and could even help generate greater revenue for the University.