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(04/17/17 5:46am)
Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the Virginia Tech mass shooting. The tragic event, which claimed the lives of 32 people, was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history at the time. A decade later, victims and their families are still healing and actively working to prevent future mass shootings. In this time of reflection and remembrance, our University community should discuss emergency preparedness and campus security.
(04/13/17 5:29am)
Today, the University community comes together to celebrate Thomas Jefferson’s 274th birthday. This commemoration offers a valuable opportunity to reflect on an issue that surrounds many facets of our lives: information. Throughout the past year, the country has witnessed an unprecedented proliferation of misinformation and propaganda, often for the sake of political gain. This trend poses a great danger to our community’s ability to make decisions based on verified information.
(04/11/17 4:24am)
Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.) proposed last week to declare April 23 “Barbara Johns Day,” in honor of the Virginian and her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. On that day in 1951, Johns initiated a student walkout at Robert Russa Moton High School to protest separate and unequal facilities for black students. If passed, the proposed bill would recognize the contributions Virginians have made toward promoting inclusion in the United States.
(04/10/17 4:05am)
Two years ago, the University renewed its dining services partnership with Aramark. Under the 20-year contract, Aramark will invest over $20 million in upgrading dining facilities and provide a wider variety of local products. Aramark will also continue to provide contracted workers to operate the University’s dining halls for the next two decades. Although the University works closely with Aramark, the administration has refused to gather information on contracted workers’ wages. This lack of information prevents the University from ensuring contracted employees are paid wages comparable to those of direct employees.
(04/06/17 5:31am)
A group of state lawmakers held a closed meeting yesterday in which they decided the Virginia State Crime Commission will study marijuana decriminalization. While a state-sponsored study does not guarantee the decriminalization of marijuana, it will serve as a strong foundation upon which state legislators can discuss a potential policy change.
(04/04/17 4:08am)
Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-Va.) on March 27 proposed an amendment to the state’s budget which would expand Medicaid coverage across Virginia. The proposal follows Congress’s failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act, though McAuliffe has pushed for the Medicaid expansion in the past. Expanding Medicaid would bring health care to a large number of Virginians who currently do not have it, and would make Virginia a model for effectively utilizing federal health care funds.
(04/03/17 7:03am)
The Washington Post recently obtained documents showing that the University’s advancement office has helped prospective students related to prominent donors and alumni who apply for admission by flagging their applications for special handling. Although not surprising, the uncovering of this practice serves to show how admissions at the University are not based solely on merit. Instead of providing further advantage to students with privileged backgrounds, the University should be actively leveling the playing field for all prospective students.
(03/30/17 5:36am)
When President Donald Trump signed his first executive order on immigration in January, which was subsequently frozen by a Federal judge in Washington state, university officials around the country became fearful of the policy’s immediate and long-term impact on higher education. The revised order, frozen by another Federal judge in Hawaii, included a 120-day suspension of the refugee program and a temporary ban on the issuance of new visas for people from six countries. Although concerns at this point are mostly anecdotal due to the speed of legal challenges, such a policy could have widespread consequences for higher education in the United States.
(03/28/17 4:35am)
College campuses around the country have witnessed a disturbing rise in anti-Semitic acts. During a worship service on March 18, over 100 leaflets with hand-drawn swastikas were found on the lawn of the Chabad Librescu Jewish Student Center at Virginia Tech. Last October, the GrandMarc apartment complex on 15th Street in Charlottesville was spray-painted with an orange Star of David and the word “Juden,” a clear act of hate meant to intimidate and threaten the University’s Jewish community. We decry all acts of hate, and urge the University community to fight anti-Semitism.
(03/27/17 4:06am)
The University recently celebrated the opening of the Lighthouse, a repurposed storage room in Thornton Hall. The Lighthouse will serve as the new home of Works in Progress, a program backed by the Department of Engineering and Society which aims to bring undergraduate student entrepreneurs together and support their business endeavors. The program, which dedicates the room to “those who are seriously working on their [entrepreneurial] project,” is a demonstration of the University’s commitment to promoting a strong entrepreneurial environment for students regardless of their majors.
(03/23/17 4:00am)
Charlottesville City Council voted on Feb. 6 to remove and subsequently relocate the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Lee Park. Last Monday, two organizations and 11 community members filed a lawsuit against the City of Charlottesville over the decision. While the Council's decision to move the statue is justified, it also sets a dangerous precedent for erasing darker aspects of Charlottesville’s history.
(03/21/17 4:09am)
The University held the first Global Black Girlhood Conference last Friday and Saturday, bringing together students and scholars in a series of panels, lectures and a film screening. This conference was inspired by the History of Black Girlhood Network, a forum for the discussion and promotion of black girl history. One of the panels featured four political organizers, each of whom stressed the importance of permanent, structured movements in political change. In an age of social media and information technology, this type of structuring has become easier than ever.
(03/20/17 4:33am)
The Trump administration recently released its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget outlines $200 million in cuts for educational aid programs which support the progress of low-income, first-generation and disabled students. The implementation of these cuts would adversely affect public school students both locally and across the nation.
(03/16/17 4:06am)
During the last two years, the University has been transforming Lloyd Building, located on the Corner, into a recreational space for students called ‘1515.’ The administration should be commended for its empowerment of students in the project's discussion and planning. The effort signals its commitment to not only student self-governance, but to fostering safe and inclusive student social spaces.
(03/14/17 4:55am)
Rep. Tom Garrett, R-Va., plans to hold a closed town hall meeting in Garrett Hall on March 31. The event’s 135 tickets will be distributed via a lottery system, after an earlier announcement they would be evenly dispersed among Batten School students and the local Democratic and Republican committees. Garrett’s constituents have repeatedly called for an open town hall meeting, a request which the congressman’s current plan disregards. To ensure transparency and accurate representation of voters’ concerns, the town hall must be open to the public in a large venue with no tickets.
(03/13/17 4:09am)
The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s March Madness tournament noticeably dominates the national sports world from the second week of March through the first week of April. With its lucrative commercial ventures, the prominent sporting event is often part of a larger debate regarding whether or not schools should pay salaries to their student athletes. In spite of popular arguments in favor, paying student athletes salaries would detrimentally impact collegiate sports.
(03/02/17 5:01am)
The Trump administration’s ambiguous stance on the federal policy Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, has undocumented students across the country grappling with uncertainty. Many of these undocumented students fear President Donald Trump will end the program. As a result, students have called for the establishment of “sanctuary campuses,” a term which does not translate directly into policy. Although administrations must do everything they can to protect students from federal deportation, adopting the label of “sanctuary campus” could in fact endanger undocumented students.
(02/28/17 6:34am)
Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.) recently proposed to rename the Charlottesville Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in honor of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The building is located in the area formerly known as Vinegar Hill, which, prior to redevelopment in the 1960s, had been home to Charlottesville’s black business district. A petition created by Architecture Prof. Frank Dukes is seeking to rename the building in accordance with the history of Vinegar Hill. Former residents of the area and community members should have the opportunity to participate in renaming the building.
(02/27/17 5:34am)
President Trump ordered the Departments of Education and Justice last Wednesday evening to withdraw important protections for transgender students in public schools. Removing these protections, which let transgender students use bathrooms and other facilities corresponding to their gender identity, signals a strong disregard for the civil rights of thousands of students across the country. Given the potentially detrimental effects of this decision, the University needs to take the necessary steps to reassure the transgender community on Grounds of its unconditional support.
(02/23/17 5:05am)
The role of campaign expenditures in student elections has attracted significant attention on Grounds. A recent University Board of Elections interim expenditure report projects student elections to cost up to $6,800 this year, a stark contrast to last year’s total of $2,873. With Kelsey Kilgore’s projected $2,490 campaign expenses, the race for Student Council president makes up a large portion of these costs. As elections come to a close, it is important for the University community to reflect upon the negative impact such excessive campaign expenses might have on the integrity of student self-governance.
