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(02/27/09 6:50am)
It has been a week since Student Council removed the faulty University Unity Project referendum poll from its Web site and an alternative solution has not yet been revealed. University Board of Elections Chair Alisa Abbott has offered a solution as well as a promise to publicize a new vote for the referendum, noting that “the ball is in StudCo’s court.” Meanwhile, Council has been working to create a new platform through which to hold the vote instead of using UBE’s existing structure. That Council has failed to establish a new voting method by now is unacceptable. Election results were announced on Monday and all momentum from last week’s voting period has been lost. While the initial problems with voting on the referendum were not Council’s fault, the failure to quickly secure a solution is.Council President Matt Schrimper said, “The last thing we want is to jump in and do this really quickly.” Actually, that is more or less what Council should have done. According to Abbott, UBE could have listed the referendum as a candidate, allowing students to securely vote on all four options. Though that may have been unorthodox, the structure already exists and a ballot could have been posted Monday, the same day election results were announced. Abbott also said UBE would have worked with Council to publicize the new vote. Capitalizing on the publicity from the election results as well as an additional publicity push to vote on a new ballot would have been a timely and adequate solution.Instead, Schrimper said Council is working with the University to use the Netbadge log-in to create a new secure voting method. UBE’s ballot already uses this secure log-in process, and Schrimper acknowledged that it may be the best solution to go through UBE so that the voting process is as transparent as possible. It is the best solution. UBE was established to run elections and Council should not hold a vote independent of UBE when UBE already has such structures in place. Aside from the time and momentum lost, it is a waste of the University’s resources to create a voting system solely for one referendum when a voting system already exists. There is also the question of the validity of an election run independently of UBE. While Council’s referendum was only an opinion referendum, UBE has strict procedures to ensure the validity of election results. Council likely is not aware of all of the precautions taken in this vein and should leave the task of running elections to UBE. UBE’s voting system is flexible enough that a solution could have been implemented, but Council has decided not to work with UBE and has lost any chance of having an adequate turnout for its vote on the University Unity referendum.Though Schrimper said that Council will have a four day voting period two weeks after Spring Break, with a week to publicize beforehand, no amount of publicity on Council’s part can generate the turnout that elections did. This is not entirely Council’s fault, because the original mistake was UBE’s, but Council compounded the mistake by failing utilize the viable solution UBE offered it.Because of its failure to act quickly, Council will not be able to secure a valid representation of student opinion on the theme for the University Unity Project next year. UBE offered a solution and instead of moving with all due haste, Council has delayed the vote on its referendum, leading to the referendum’s demise.
(02/27/09 6:28am)
After a nail-biting five-point win against Florida State on the road, the No. 19 Virginia women’s basketball team (22-7, 8-5) gears up to take on Georgia Tech in its last regular season contest. The game will take place Sunday afternoon in Atlanta, Ga.Though it will be the first meeting between the two teams this season, both will be playing for more than just a notch in the win column. The Yellow Jackets sit just below the Cavaliers in the ACC standings at 6-6. The game will not only determine if the squad breaks .500 in conference play but also will mark Georgia Tech’s last home game. Although only two seniors are saying goodbye, one of them — guard Jacqua Williams — leads the team in steals and assists, and is second in scoring.The Cavaliers, meanwhile, counter with their own statistic-dominating seniors. Forward Lyndra Littles leads the team in scoring average and rebounds per game, and center Aisha Mohammed is averaging a double-double — 13 points and 10 rebounds — per game this season. Even more impressive, though, is the play of Virginia junior guard Monica Wright. In addition to leading the team in scoring and making a run at the conference scoring crown, Wright is first on the team in assists and second in rebounds. She also has overwhelmingly dominated the steals category, tallying almost three times as many as the next player.The game is a chance for the Cavaliers to follow up their win against Florida State and gain momentum heading into the postseason. Throughout the season, Wahoo fans have waited to see players besides Littles, Mohammed and Wright show depth on the court, and Virginia will need its lesser-known competitors to make an impact Sunday if the team wishes to beat an excited Georgia Tech squad.—compiled by Jack Bird
(02/26/09 7:05am)
A student taking a class in the University’s Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese can now rightfully blame his A- on someone else. This past October, department faculty received a memo instituting a new grading scale intended to standardize grading within the department and combat grade inflation; a student who in the past would have received an A for a 95 in a Spanish course will now receive an A- because the A+ has been eliminated entirely. If the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese has in fact identified a problem of grade inflation within its undergraduate courses, the Office of the Dean of the College — not the department — should be addressing the issue so that a broader solution can be reached without disadvantaging students in any particular department.The Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese implemented its new grading scale to replace a system in which two different scales were used for upper- and lower-level courses and rightly standardized the way students within the department are assessed. The new grading scale also takes a stab at curtailing grade inflation, making it harder to receive an A in any course. But the department should recognize that language classes — especially lower-level courses — provide one of the only settings in which many students legitimately can receive high grades by mastering basic material. Students should not be punished for meeting the objective standards that lower-level language courses necessarily entail.If the department did identify a localized problem of grade inflation, though, it is right to attempt to correct the problem. The way the department sought to address the issue, however, disadvantaged Spanish, Italian and Portuguese majors relative to other students in the College. Majors in this department could now find their grades artificially lowered, while students outside of the department will see no such impact upon their GPAs. This could lead to a host of other problems impacting everything from consideration for honor societies to job searches to graduate program admissions.Any attempt to regulate grading scales or to contend with the issue of grade inflation logically should begin at the top. If grade inflation is an issue in this particular department, it is likely to be an issue in other departments as well. The Office of the Dean of the College is well positioned to take more unified action on the grading standards for affected departments, which could better prevent inter-departmental grading discrepancies. Such an initiative should verify that the high grades within a department reflect students’ mastery of the course content and should not punish students in departments where grades are rightly high. Inconsistent grading standards could cost the University credibility and cause confusion if one department’s grading scale does not reflect the same standards held by the rest of the College.The College also is better poised to collect global feedback about student performance and the fairness of grading within different departments. In making its grading scale change, the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese made a unilateral decision based on the recommendation of its faculty. More sources of information — input from current and former students, as well as feedback from graduate programs requiring foundational knowledge acquired in undergraduate courses — could shed light on whether grade inflation actually is a problem at the University. If students’ grades do not reflect their working knowledge of a subject, the College should consider other solutions to what would then be a much larger problem. Reducing a student’s chance of getting an A in a course does not ensure the information is being presented and evaluated appropriately. What’s more important is getting to the root of the problem: establishing that all students are assessed fairly and held accountable for learning the course material.
(02/25/09 6:54am)
7950 — total number of students who voted in this year’s spring elections48 — percentage of students in the College of Arts and Sciences who voted49 — percentage of total undergraduate students who voted22 — difference in percentages of first—year students (59 percent) versus fourth—year students (37 percent) who voted43.9 — percentage increase in first—year student turnout580 — percentage increase in the number of Medical School students who voted5 — number of referenda on the ballot1 — number of referenda that were unable to be voted on because of the University Board of Elections’ faulty ballot 38,000 — approximate number of votes cast for the University Unity Project theme through the poll on Student Council’s Web site before the poll was removed70 — percentage of voters who voted ‘no’ on the honor single sanction reform amendment referendum2 — percentage of voters who did not cast a vote on the honor single sanction reform amendment referendum 79 — percentage of voters who voted ‘yes’ on the water availability at home football games referendum54 — total number of races34 — number of uncontested races4 — number of votes that decided the race for Trustees President338 — number of votes that decided the race for Trustees Vice President2304 — number of votes that decided the race for Student Council Vice President of Organizations5736 — number of students who cast a vote for Student Council Vice President of Organizations5597 — number of students who cast a vote for Student Council Vice President for Administration, an uncontested race208 — number of votes that decided the race for Student Council President56 — number of votes that separated those who were elected to the Honor Committee as College Representatives and those who were not
(02/25/09 6:31am)
Virginia’s first in-conference road upset of the season could not have been more timely.In the Cavaliers’ final game of the regular season against a ranked opponent, they overcame an 11-point first-half deficit to down No. 11 Florida State 68-63 last night in Tallahassee, Fla. for the Seminoles’ second conference loss of the season. Senior center Aisha Mohammed, senior forward Lyndra Littles and junior guard Monica Wright combined for 56 of the team’s 68 points and 28 of 45 rebounds.The Cavaliers (22-7, 8-5 ACC) took their first lead of 57-56 with 3:27 remaining in regulation on a bucket from freshman guard Ariana Moorer. The two teams then traded leads three times before Florida State (23-6, 11-2 ACC) surrendered seven unanswered points, giving Virginia a 66-60 lead.Florida State sophomore guard Courtney Ward then knocked down a three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to three; out of the ensuing timeout, however, Moorer connected with Mohammed for a fast-break layup to put the game out of the Seminoles’ reach.Wright’s 17 points gave her a new Virginia single-season record 615 for the season, passing Heather Burge’s mark of 612 in 1993. Mohammed added 15 points and 11 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season, while Littles led all scorers with 24 points while also contributing nine rebounds. Ward led Florida State’s scoring with 18 points, but senior guard Tanae Davis-Cain was the only other Seminole in double-figure points with 13. Overall, Virginia out-rebounded Florida State 45-31, including 20-10 off the offensive glass, leading to a difference of 21-10 in second chance points.Virginia plays its season finale Sunday against Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga., in advance of the ACC Tournament March 5 to 8.—compiled by Paul Montana
(02/25/09 6:27am)
Men’s BasketballMaryland had the biggest upset of the past week, rallying from 16 points down to defeat then-No. 3 North Carolina 88-85 in overtime. Greivis Vasquez put on a show for the home Terrapin fans, recording 35 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds for the first double-double by a Maryland player since Derrick Lewis did it twice in 1987. Vasquez also put in a three-pointer to give Maryland the go-ahead bucket and sank two free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining to push the lead to 88-85.No. 9 Duke featured two players who had a career night in its 101-91 win against No. 8 Wake Forest at Cameron Indoor Stadium Sunday; junior forward Gerald Henderson put up 35 points, while junior guard Jon Scheyer added 30 in his second straight start at point guard.Men’s LacrosseRanked No. 5 coming into the season, Duke was upset by then-unranked Harvard 9-6 Sunday after the Crimson Tide scored four unanswered goals to take the lead for good in the third quarter.Both the Blue Devils and neighbor North Carolina held off upsets earlier in the week. Duke scored the go-ahead goal with 2:51 remaining in a 9-8 win against No. 17 Colgate Friday. No. 3 North Carolina had a similarly thrilling finish against No. 12 Navy the same night; the Tar Heels scored back-to-back goals with less than six minutes remaining to take a 9-8 lead, and senior goalie Grant Zimmerman made a save with less than a second left in the game to preserve the one-goal victory.Women’s BasketballMaryland senior guard Marissa Coleman became the eighth player in ACC history to tally at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds Sunday; her final bucket in a 77-59 victory against Duke gave her 24 points for the game and exactly 2,000 for her career.BaseballNo. 2 North Carolina had perhaps the most impressive performance in the opening weekend of college baseball, outscoring a respectable VMI program 30-6 during a three-game series. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, swept its opening four-game series against USC, marking the Hokies’ best start to a season since they won their first five contests in 1993. Georgia Tech flirted with disaster against Lipscomb Sunday, but escaped with a 5-3 victory after sophomore Thomas Nichols hit a walkoff two-run homer in the ninth for a 5-3 victory to sweep the series.N.C. State and Maryland, meanwhile, had the most disappointing weekends. Maryland dropped three straight at UNC-Wilmington, and N.C. State fell to Santa Clara twice in those teams’ three-game set.Men’s Ice HockeyVirginia Tech won the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League tournament Sunday for the first time in school history, defeating Duke 5-2 at the Roanoke Civic Center. Duke’s loss was one of revenge for the Hokies, after they fell to the Blue Devils in a shootout 2-1 in the regular season finale.
(02/24/09 7:03am)
Freeing student concernsStudent Council should take advantage of new ideas about how to collect meaningful feedback from the student body After all the votes were tallied, one of the best things to come out of this year’s student elections was an easy solution to Student Council’s problem of soliciting feedback from the University community. Although Student Council Presidential candidate William Reynolds lost his bid for office, one of his ideas could provide an invaluable means for Council to gather information in the future.According to Council’s Web site, there are three ways for students to make their voices heard: contact a Council representative, attend weekly meetings or run for an elected position. These channels might shed light on some student concerns, but they often collect only a narrow cross-section of student opinion. Even Council finds its current method of reaching the student body lacking: Last year, it spent $1,300 to reward students who participated in a survey with free Rita’s Italian ice, hoping to reach more of the student body. Council’s attempt to gain feedback was laudable, but the price tag might have been excessive for the information.In his campaign, Reynolds found an easy solution to Council’s problem by implementing a feedback forum on his Web site to allow students to propose and vote on issues of concern to the University community. The forum displays proposed issues according to the number of votes they receive from highest to lowest. This forum allows all students to voice their concerns with minimal effort, and it also provides a broader cross-section of student opinion. If Council were to adopt and publicize this forum, it would be a valuable tool in its service to the student body.Paper trailThe University Board of Elections should create a way to gauge spending on referenda When trying to sway student opinion on referenda, the bottom dollar matters. Although individuals and CIOs spend large amounts of money campaigning for or against referenda each year, the University Board of Elections has no way of holding anyone accountable for such spending. More information is rarely a bad thing, and this case is no exception: The UBE would do a service to the University community in seeking to make referenda expenditures just as transparent as candidate expenditures.One of the biggest logistical challenges in keeping track of referenda spending would be making sure all “sides” maintained equal levels of transparency. Only one organization or individual sponsors a referendum, but controversial referenda presumably have both supporters and opponents, many of whom might be spending money to influence student opinion.The legality of a system for monitoring referenda spending would be another complicating factor. In 2003 the University’s legal counsel advised Student Council to change legislation proposed to regulate campaign expenditures because the University had concerns about the legislation violating the First Amendment. Putting up a flier or chalking for a cause can be considered an expression of free speech, so UBE would have to make sure any official regulation protected students’ right to express themselves.Such obstacles might make it impossible for UBE to find an ideal solution, but UBE could certainly provide the means for students to self-report referenda spending and could encourage anyone spending money on referenda to do just that. The student body has the right to know who is spending what to influence a vote on a referendum, and those spending money have an obligation to the University community to make those expenditures transparent.
(02/24/09 6:45am)
The list of arrests affecting the Virginia football team grew still larger over the weekend.Sophomore safety Corey Mosley — the starting safety for much of last season — and freshman safety Ausar Walcott were arrested at 1 a.m. Sunday at a dance party held at the Student Activities Building, according to police reports.Mosley was charged with disorderly conduct after he became combative at the party and was noncompliant with event staff and police, according to the report. Walcott was then charged with obstruction of justice after he attempted to interfere with police as they attempted to take Mosley into custody, the report states. Mosley and Walcott will appear Feb. 27 in Albemarle District Court at 9 a.m.Mosley and Walcott join seven current and former Virginia football players in the past year who faced or who are facing charges while members of the team. The list of the other players, their charges and the ensuing consequences include: cornerback Mike Brown, charged with one count each of grand larceny, possession of stolen property with intent to sell, altering serial numbers and possession of marijuana — kicked off the team; linebacker J’Courtney Williams, credit card theft — kicked off the team; quarterback Peter Lalich, unlawful alcoholic purchase and possession — kicked off the team; offensive lineman Dave Roberts, pled guilty to possession of a fake ID — remains on the team.—compiled by Paul Montana
(02/24/09 6:43am)
The Virginia men’s lacrosse team returns to Klöckner Stadium tonight to take on Mount St. Mary’s. The No. 2 Cavaliers are looking to build on their strong start to the season and improve their record to 4-0.Virginia is coming off a 20-10 win against Stony Brook Saturday, a game in which senior attackman Garrett Billings tied a school record for scores in a game, notching an impressive eight nettings. The lethal offensive trio of Billings, senior Danny Glading and freshman Steele Stanwick combined for 10 goals and 11 assists. Sophomore midfielder Rhamel Bratton also added three goals for Virginia, earning his first career hat trick.Sophomore goalie Adam Ghitelman, meanwhile, who came into the game allowing just 4.88 goals per game, had 10 saves to back up the Cavaliers’ formidable defensive unit, which is led by senior Matt Kelly, junior Ryan Nizolek and junior Ken Clausen. Like Stony Brook, the Mountaineers may have trouble putting up points against the veteran Virginia defense, as four of their five starters on attack are freshmen. Underclassmen occupy 29 of the team’s 43 roster spots, and five of the projected 10 starters are freshmen. Although graduate student Brendan Flanagan and juniors Russell Moncure and Matt Nealis are the foundation of an experienced defense, Mount St. Mary’s is a young team coming off a 2-12 campaign last year. Tonight’s contest will serve as the Cavaliers’ home opener and starts at 7 p.m.—compiled by Nick Eilerson
(02/24/09 6:35am)
Basic Information:Name: Peter FerraraYear: SeniorWeight class: 149 lbs.Stats:2009 record: 17-10 overall, 7-5 dual meetsCareer record: 50-32 overall, 12-9 dual meets How did you first get into wrestling?You will find that wrestling is mostly a family sport, and most of the time it gets passed on from generation to generation. Most of the kids out here, their dads wrestled, their brothers wrestled. My dad wrestled and my uncle actually wrestled here for a year, my older brother wrestled and my two younger brothers actually wrestle, too. It is a big family sport.How did you make your way to U.Va.?I wasn’t highly recruited in high school, so I was planning on doing pre-med. I was going to go through school keeping wrestling in my life, but not making it such a huge priority, so I was planning on going to Johns Hopkins and playing D-3. I made the decision and I got in, but when I was a senior in high school my brother [who went to Hopkins] passed away. He was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to go to Johns Hopkins. It was a good school — it was a program that I was really interested in — but it was mostly because of my brother. I kind of grew out of the emotions. My uncle went here and my dad went here; they lived together and they have that chemistry together. That was something I was really looking forward to, and when my brother passed away, it was like there was no reason for me to go to Johns Hopkins ... People say things happen for a reason; I went back to visit Johns Hopkins and I wouldn’t have been happy there. But here, it took a while for me to get used to things, but I am real comfortable here now and I get to be a part of D-1 wrestling program and not a D-3 wrestling program. My second choice should have been my first choice. What do you plan to do after graduation?I was lucky enough to get accepted to three medical schools. One of them was University of Kentucky, which I don’t plan on going to. The other two are in Pennsylvania: Thomas Jefferson University is in Philadelphia, which is 45 minutes away from my house, and Penn State in Hershey, Penn., which is where my father went. That is probably where I am going to go, so there are no worries right now. All the hard work has paid off and I can relax now. It is a great feeling to know what you are doing.What is it like to have the coaches wrestle with the team?We are a very lucky program because all of our coaches wrestle with us ... [Coach Scott] Moore is way past his prime. He has had three shoulder surgeries but he is still going strong ... His shoulders are probably hanging by threads, but he can still kick all of our asses. Coach [Matt] Pell is probably the most technical and fluid wrestler I have ever seen; I don’t know how he didn’t win a national title ... [Coach Steve] Garland still wrestles with the smaller guys. Pell will wrestle the middle and heavyweights. Coach Moore will wrestle pretty much anybody. He will wrestle the heavyweights because he is an idiot when it comes to weight. He doesn’t have any fear. He actually causes most of the injuries in the room to his own wrestlers. We are really lucky to have all of our coaches wrestle and you will not see that anywhere else ... I wrestled the No. 3 kid in the country but it is not that big of a deal because I wrestle a national runner-up everyday and not only that, he has man-strength. He’s got a kid. When you have a baby you just naturally get stronger.What is with the hair in your picture? I have gone through many different hairstyles. The blonde hair was an experiment, I saw some kid over the summer with my complexion and I liked it, so I just tried it out. Of course, my parents flipped out. I am an adventurous person when it comes to that. When I first got here I had dreadlocks, if you can believe that ... I used to wrestle with a cap and pull it all back. I have found many different styles over the years. Some people like it, some people don’t.In wrestling how important is it to watch what you eat?It is very different than any other sport. It is very simply: You are what eat. With wrestling you have to watch what you eat nutritionally, but you also have to watch what you eat weight-wise, especially when it comes close to competition. You can say, I can have this bottle of water that is a pound, or I can eat this whole box of crackers that would be thousands of calories, but is much lighter. It is a different type of weight watching, but it is really important ... Being a good wrestler is also learning to be very disciplined. There are plenty of kids out there that have the potential to be very good, but they just can’t control their diet.Do you have any pre-match rituals or any superstitions?My ritual is I sit and try to relax before my match and try to get my mind on something else, but it is really hard. I have a set list of songs that kind of get me in that mood: Puff Daddy, “Victory,” Lil’ Wayne, “Sky’s the Limit,” Ludacris, “Get Back.” I will listen to Foreigner and “Hot Blooded” because they will get me in that mood. Some of it is just getting into an angry mood or getting ready for a fight and some of it [is about getting] into a confident, cocky mood ... If you watch me before my match, I might be cheering a little bit, but once I put my headphones on, I have a cocky grin on my face and I will pace back and forth ... Sometimes I hit myself to get the blood flowing and kind of shock the system ... You need to be cocky — that is why coach Moore will kick anybody’s ass because he doesn’t care who he wrestles. He is so cocky that he will try to throw the biggest guy in the room ... When it comes to wrestling and getting in the mood to wrestle, you have to be cocky and fearless and just ready for the fight. There are times in wrestling when it is easy to say, ‘I am going to roll over and pin myself.’ That is the beauty of wrestling: You can be losing 14-0, on the verge of getting [technical] falled, and you can pin and end the match and win.—compiled by Ben Gomez
(02/24/09 6:34am)
The Cavalier mat men dropped their final regular season match to Maryland 25-15 Sunday. The Cavaliers (11-11, 2-3 ACC) started in a 10-0 hole after an injured Matt Bonson forfeited at 133 pounds and Nick Nelson lost at 141 pounds by major decision. Virginia attempted to mount a comeback, as senior Rocco Caponi helped his team take a 15-13 lead with a pin in the 184-pound division, but the grapplers were unable to hold onto the slim margin, losing the final three bouts by major decision. Caponi’s pin tied him for fifth place on Virginia’s all-time pins list and gives him 107 career wins, good for third all-time at Virginia. Though their regular season is now complete, the Cavaliers will travel to Blacksburg March 7 for the ACC Championships.—compiled by Ben Gomez
(02/24/09 6:32am)
The Virginia softball team continued to shine this past weekend, taking three of four games at the Gamecock Invitational in Columbia, S.C. The Cavaliers (9-5) first split their Friday games with Troy and Eastern Illinois. In the first game, freshman Giannina Cipolloni hit her second home run of the season to give Virginia the early lead, and senior Sarah Tacke followed with a three-run homer in the fourth to propel the Cavaliers to a 7-1 victory. Senior pitcher Karla Wilburn picked up the win while tossing a complete game.The second matchup of Friday’s doubleheader was not nearly as positive as the first for the Cavaliers; the squad failed to score until the fourth inning and lost 11-3. Freshman Stephanie Coates was the losing pitcher for Virginia, giving up four runs in 2/3 of an inning. Wilburn and junior Nicole Koren also saw time on the mound.The Cavaliers managed a comeback Saturday, though, against North Florida in a tight 1-0 victory. The lone run came in the fifth inning on a RBI double by Koren, knocking in freshman Clara Kendall from first. Wilburn pitched another complete game, giving up two hits and striking out six in the effort.Virginia wrapped up the weekend with a 12-4 victory against Sacred Heart. Koren went 4-4 in the game, including her fifth home run this season. Wilburn again notched the win, improving her record to 8-1 this season.Virginia will host George Washington in its home opener Saturday.—compiled by William Hrachovina
(02/23/09 7:27am)
Last week, Student Council posted a hastily constructed poll on its Web site in response to an error on the ballot for spring elections. By Friday, more than 38,000 votes were cast and Council took the open poll off its Web site with a promise to have a new way for students to vote soon. Council President Matt Schrimper says a new means of voting will not be available immediately as Council is looking for the optimal solution to the past week’s problems, instead of another quick fix. Council was right not to use the results of its originally flawed poll and to now seek a valid form of surveying the student body. So that the maximum number of students will vote on the University Unity Project referendum, Council must decide on a new solution quickly and heavily advertise its decision.Schrimper said that Council is currently working with the University Board of Elections on the possibility of holding a special election for its referendum. As UBE is responsible for the problems with the original ballot the least it can do is to hold another election for Council’s referendum. A UBE-run election would secure legitimacy for the results of the referendum that a poll on Council’s Web site cannot. The next best solution, if working through UBE is not possible, would be a more secure vote on Council’s Web site, Schrimper said. The problem with this solution is the inability of Council to guarantee the security of its poll, as seen this past week. UBE’s ballots are created by ITC and much less likely to be tampered with. Because of this, working with UBE is the best possible scenario.Whichever solution is chosen, Council must act quickly to capitalize on the momentum of elections while students are still thinking about voting. If Council and UBE decide it is possible to conduct another election solely for the Unity Project referendum, ITC must give top priority to creating a functional ballot immediately. Election results will be announced tonight at 8 p.m., so voting on the referendum needs to begin by Tuesday or Wednesday. Because University-wide elections are already over, Council will be fortunate if the referendum receives half as many votes as the past spring elections did. As Schrimper pointed out, “Elections are a great venue for thousands of people voting.” Because of the lost momentum of having a separate vote for the referendum, Council must publicize this vote. Also, UBE should help Council advertise this vote in whichever form it takes, because it was UBE’s mistake that invalidated the referendum. For the sake of having a valid consensus from the student body, Council must explore every avenue for publicizing the vote for its referendum.Council has handled this problem with its referendum as well as can be expected, but it must work with expediency to obtain a valid measurement of student opinion. Working with UBE will produce the most secure results for the referendum, but whether Council can or not, it must copiously advertise the new vote.
(02/23/09 6:41am)
The Virginia women’s swimming and diving team blew the competition out of the water at last week’s ACC Championships. Tallying a team score of 848, the Cavaliers finished more than 200 points ahead of runner-up North Carolina to secure the victory at College Park, Md.The championship marks the program’s second consecutive and seventh overall conference title. Much of Virginia’s success in the meet can be attributed to its wins in all five relays.Junior Mae Christensen, senior Megan Evo, sophomore Kristen Moores and senior Kristen Wallace recorded a team best in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:15.22.The performance broke the team’s own championship record from last season by more than three seconds and also notched a new school record.In addition to helping win four relays, Christensen was a key contributor on an individual level, sweeping the backstroke events. Improving on last year’s runner-up finishes, Christensen won both the 100 and 200 back in conference records.Christensen’s success earned her the title of the meet’s most valuable performer. Backstroker Brielle White in 2006 was the last Virginia swimmer to earn the award. Evo also was instrumental, adding victories in the 100 butterfly and 200 IM to her relay wins. She finished second in the 200 fly.The Virginia men’s team will look to repeat the women’s team’s success later this week when it competes in its respective ACC Championships, also at College Park, Md.—compiled by Chloe Newschwander
(02/23/09 6:39am)
The No. 4 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (2-0, 1-0 ACC) followed up its season-opening win against Virginia Tech with a sound 19-8 defeat against Loyola (1-1) Saturday. Senior midfielder Ashley McCulloch again led the Cavaliers in the scoring column with four goals and three assists, while fellow senior midfielder Blair Weymouth added four nettings of her own to bolster the team offensively. Junior midfielder Kaitlin Duff also notched three goals and won a career-high six faceoffs against the Greyhounds. Virginia will look to continue its impressive play Wednesday when the team hosts in-state rival Richmond.—compiled by Ben Gomez
(02/23/09 6:38am)
It was the Garrett Billings show Saturday, as the Virginia men’s lacrosse team topped Stony Brook 20-10 in Long Island. The senior attackman scored eight goals to tie a school record for scores in a game, and also added three assists. His seventh netting of the game marked his 100th career goal and made him only the 11th Cavalier to reach the mark.Virginia (3-0) got off to a quick start by scoring the first five goals of the game. Stony Brook was unable to respond until freshman Kyle Belton scored with 2.9 seconds left in the first quarter.The Cavaliers then reeled off five unanswered goals to begin the second period and allowed only two Seawolf scores to head into halftime with a comfortable seven-goal lead.While sophomore midfielder Rhamel Bratton contributed his first career hat trick, Virginia’s attack dominated the offensive charge, with Billings, senior Danny Glading and freshman Steele Stanwick combining for 10 goals and 11 assists total. Coach Dom Starsia also found an opportunity to exercise his team’s depth by playing 37 players. Sophomore midfielder Chris Clements and freshman attackman Matt Kugler took advantage of their increased playing time by scoring their first career goals.The stick-wielding Cavaliers, seeking their fourth win in as many games this season, will return Tuesday to Klöckner Stadium to take on Mount St. Mary’s.—compiled by Jack Bird
(02/20/09 6:57am)
The Cavalier mat men will seek their third straight victory when they travel to College Park, Md. to take on the Terrapins (8-8-1, 2-2 ACC) Sunday. Virginia (11-10, 2-2 ACC) is coming off impressive wins against N.C. State and Duke last weekend. The wins were the squad’s first conference victories this season. Riding the momentum generated by last weekend’s upsets, the Cavaliers hope to continue their winning ways in their last regular season matchup. The key matchups Sunday will come at the 141- and 197-pound weight classes. Though the Terrapins boast two of the nation’s top-10 ranked grapplers — No. 9 redshirt junior Alex Krom and No. 10 junior Hudson Taylor — the Cavaliers will counter in the respective weight classes with two ranked wrestlers of their own: No. 16 sophomore Nick Nelson and No. 19 redshirt junior Brent Jones. Virginia has relied heavily on its trio of No. 7 sophomore Chris Henrich, senior Rocco Caponi and Jones throughout the year, and the Terps have similarly relied on an impressive lightweight threesome. Junior Brendan Byrne, No. 11 junior Steven Bell and Krom have combined for a 40-7 dual meet record this season.—compiled by Ben Gomez
(02/20/09 6:30am)
University-wide spring elections will end at six p.m. Sunday. If you have not already done so, now is the time to vote. Student Council, class councils, the Honor Committee, and the University Judiciary Committee may seem removed from the day to day life of students, but this will not change by ignoring the election of their leaders. A lot of ink has been spilt arguing about how Student Council or the Honor Committee should act, from letters to the editor to guest columns to editorials. As students, we get one chance a year to completely overhaul the bodies of student self-governance. Last year only 22 percent of the student body took that opportunity. This year it needs to be more. Student Council and the Honor Committee have shown their faults in the past year, and this is the chance for students to declare that things need to change. This past year, Student Council began a University Unity Project that has done little to bring the University community together. Though there is still hope for this project, it needs attention and restructuring before it can accomplish anything significant. Council has 11 different standing committees, many of which share common goals with other, independent groups at the University. The Environmental Sustainability, Diversity Initiatives, and Student Arts Committees are all committees that have counterparts outside of Council. Instead of getting bogged down by attempting a huge quantity of initiatives each year, Council would better serve students by having representatives of these organizations work with Council for funding and support. Council has become so extensive it no longer functions effectively and at any one time a student would be hard pressed to describe what Council is doing for him. At such a large university, Council should take on over-arching umbrella projects that still have tangible benefits for the majority of students, instead of trying to address every single concern that arises.The Honor Committee has problems of its own: it has done very little in the past year to address student concerns about procedures and transparency. The Honor Committee too often uses FERPA as its reason for the excessive secrecy that accompanies honor investigations, yet has never asked students if they want their identities revealed. It is understandable that a student accused of an honor offense might want his identity kept secret, but if he does not, there is no reason that student cannot waive his FERPA rights. Under those circumstances the Honor Committee would be free to discuss more specific details of the case. It would only take a few cases like this, with students willing to have their experience heard in the court of public opinion, for the student body to determine if the Honor Committee is functioning as it should. There are students on the ballot who have a desire to change these organizations. But the majority of students who vote are likely also involved in these same organizations and the voice of change often can be hard to hear. It is therefore imperative that all students vote. In the practice of student self-governance, you must vote for change.
(02/19/09 7:32am)
MC Hammer to star in A&E’s ‘Hammertime’Following his stellar cameo in a Cash4Gold Super Bowl ad, 90s rapper and pop culture phenom, MC Hammer, is set to star in a reality show about his family life after his meteoric rise and fall as a hip-hop star. While there probably will be no comedic rants about chocolate cake, the executive producer for the show, J.D. Roth, insists that the show should be similar to an unscripted version of The Cosby Show because of the show’s focus on the MC’s role as the head of the Hammer household. A&E is set to start filming Hammer, his five kids and wife of 23 years for Hammertime next week.—by campbell birdSchwarzenegger becomes ‘Expendable’ California governor and action superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger is the latest big name to be attached to Sylvester Stallone’s latest directorial effort, The Expendables. The movie, set to released in 2010, will also star Stallone, Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li and the WWE’s Randy Couture as a group of mercenaries assigned to take out the dictator of a fictional South American country, played by Oscar winner Forest Whitaker. Schwarzenegger, currently facing a dire economic situation in California, will take a day off to film a scene with Stallone once shooting begins a month from now. —by thomas lynchShakespeare on the Lawn channels WildeDon’t let the name fool you-- Shakespeare on the Lawn can’t be all Othellos, Poloniuses or Juliets. Which may be why the venerable student group is presenting their interpretation of still-hilarious, still-relevant The Importance of Being Earnest by the Irish playwright and poet Oscar Wilde. The satire proved to be one of Wilde’s most popular dramas in the 19th century and still resonates with audiences today. Tickets are on sale on the Lawn through Friday and showings are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, with a special showing on Saturday at 2 pm. Tickets are $3, but the memories could last forever.—by stephanie garcia
(02/19/09 7:16am)
Even with adequate administrative support, an admirable cause and a physical location out of which to operate, a student-led initiative is bound to fail if it lacks sustainable manpower. Such is the case with the Campus Kitchens project, a student-driven project intended to provide surplus dining hall food to the Charlottesville homeless.The Campus Kitchens group seeks to provide Charlottesville’s homeless population with the leftover food from University dining halls, but it faces a huge obstacle in their lack of student volunteers. Its goal of collecting and redistributing the excess of three meals a day from all University dining facilities requires a huge base of volunteers, and the fourth-year students who have begun to establish the Campus Kitchens project over the past few years now struggle to find younger replacements as they prepare to graduate. Involving the University dining staff is out of the question; the University’s dining halls, run by Aramark, function as a business, not a charity. Campus Kitchens at the University must therefore remain a student-driven initiative.Although its mission is sound, the project could serve its intended purpose far more effectively by examining the needs of those even closer to home: University employees who could benefit from a few free meals a week. University Dining Services has enthusiastically thrown its support behind Campus Kitchens, even providing the group with a base of operations at Runk Dining Hall. Campus Kitchens would be wise to harness this support toward a more effective end: working with the dining halls to provide leftover meals to University employees, many of whom would appreciate the extra help in troubled economic times.Another problem Campus Kitchens faces is a shortage of food. The amount of food taken to the Amelia landfill might seem excessive, but because of health code regulations, much of the food set out must be thrown away. Also, as a business, the dining halls are constantly trying to minimize waste and prepare a certain quantity of food based on how much food students have consumed in the past. Because the dining halls already are trying to minimize excess food, only a small percentage is available for redistribution.Rather than expend what little manpower and resources it has making a tiny difference in the broader Charlottesville community, the Campus Kitchens group should work with the dining halls to distribute food efficiently to University employees who need a hand. By turning its well-intentioned eye inward, Campus Kitchens could make a tangible difference in the lives of staff members. Many University employee families have been adversely impacted by the recent economic turmoil, and by providing extra food for employees, Campus Kitchens can be effective than its current goal. Providing extra food to employees would be a more feasible operation, as it requires a smaller student workforce on a daily basis, and one that Campus Kitchens could reasonably take on with its present volunteer base.Campus Kitchens could easily transition into a project like this, first working with University Dining Services to see if there is an actual need among employees. If no such need exists, concerned students could focus on the largest waste of food on Grounds: their peers. As Dining Services Director Brent Beringer points out, students who put too much on their plates are “pound for pound absolutely the single largest waste of food” in dining halls. Both University Dining Services and Campus Kitchens seek to eliminate waste, and they could find no better target than that.