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(09/20/16 2:32am)
Last Monday, the NCAA announced the relocation of seven championship events that had been originally scheduled to take place in North Carolina to other states in response to the state’s March discriminatory “bathroom bill,” known as HB2. By actively condemning such measures in North Carolina, the NCAA has stressed its commitment to fairness and respect towards its collegiate athletes and fans — a bold move, considering that this includes the Division I men’s basketball tournament, the NCAA’s most celebrated annual event. This is a big hit to a state with a long tradition surrounding college basketball, making the NCAA rightful stand against bigotry all the more powerful.
(09/19/16 5:15am)
On Sept. 2, racial slurs including the N-word were discovered on walls and whiteboards in the Kent-Dabney Dorm Association. However, the University didn’t offer a widespread response to the incident until after Cavalier Daily coverage prompted student reactions — limiting itself to commenting in The Cavalier Daily’s article and emailing resident advisors. This raises questions about when and how the University should issue public responses to episodes that may not reach the entire student body.
(09/15/16 10:27am)
To atone for elements of its history of keeping and selling slaves in the early 19th century, Georgetown University announced a plan to ease admissions criteria for descendants of Georgetown slaves. This change accompanies a formal apology issued by the university, the creation of an institute dedicated to studying slavery and a public memorial dedicated to “the slaves whose labor benefited the institution.” While other universities such as our own have taken steps to address the role of slave labor in their histories, Georgetown is the first to offer reparations to descendants of slaves.
(09/13/16 10:08am)
A week ago, we published an editorial in which we argued same-day registration in Virginia would ensure more democratic election results by increasing voter turnout rates. Of particular urgency to University students is the issue of voting rates among college-aged voters, a group which votes the least out of all age demographics.
(09/12/16 4:20am)
In light of the recent Rugby Road-area robberies and the influx of University email alerts, many students are questioning the effectiveness of the security apparatus that has exploded around the University over the past few years. While it is unfair to point to any specific crime and blame one particular program for not preventing it, the recent armed robberies did occur at precisely the location the ambassadors program patrols. These instances, more than a year since the program’s implementation, provide the University community an opportunity to assess its efficacy.
(09/08/16 10:45am)
Over the summer, the University updated an existing policy restricting public demonstrations such as protests to designated areas during Finals Weekend, including Valedictory and Final Exercises. The policy is intended to ensure free expressive activity has a “reasonable time, manner and place.” While the restrictions may be intended to ensure Finals Weekend runs smoothly, they go too far in limiting student speech.
(09/06/16 5:02am)
Many states require voters to register by a particular deadline to monitor voting fraud and manage crowds that can, at times, be chaotic. Voter registration deadlines often ensure an efficient experience at the polls. This election’s stark contrasts underscore the importance of voting. Efforts that disenfranchise voters of color in states such as Texas and North Carolina have taken hold in part thanks to the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision to dismantle the Voting Rights Act. The youth vote floats around 20 percent, and efforts to mitigate this problem have often been unsuccessful.
(09/05/16 5:25am)
Earlier this summer, Housing and Residence Life informed all new and returning resident advisors that beginning in the fall semester, they would have the additional responsibility of “on-call” hours from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Thursday nights. Previously during these hours, resident advisors only had dorm coverage responsibilities — which include three rounds around the building — on Friday and Saturday nights. The new “on-call” responsibility does not require resident advisors to perform rounds to check each hall for unsafe situations — it only requires them to remain in the building in case students require their attention.
(09/01/16 5:37am)
4,000: The estimated number of people in attendance at this year’s Block Party
(08/30/16 4:10am)
Last week, University of Chicago Dean of Students Jay Ellison sent his yearly welcome letter addressing the incoming freshman class. In the letter, Ellison bluntly stated the University’s stance on one of the most heated debates on college campuses in recent history — the implementation of trigger warnings and intellectual “safe spaces.”
(08/29/16 4:25am)
Last Tuesday marked a win for labor relations in academia, with the National Labor Relations Board ruling that graduate students working as academic assistants at private colleges are employees with organizing rights. The 3-1 vote followed a petition from a Columbia University graduate student organization and the United Auto Workers Union, which has expanded its reach to graduate student assistants at Columbia.
(08/25/16 6:23am)
A Virginia Magazine article titled “1982: The Rise and Fall of Easters” tells a brief history of revelry at the University. It states Easters festivities began as innocent late 19th century formal dances, with students “[pledging] that they would not attend the evening’s dance if they’d had a drink of alcohol after noon of that day.”
(08/23/16 4:10am)
As her tenure on the Board of Visitors came to a close, Helen Dragas penned an op-ed in The Washington Post this July detailing what she called a “$2.3 billion slush fund.” Accusing administrators of “hoarding” money for “pet projects,” the former rector suggested the money in what is formally known as the Strategic Investment Fund would be better put to use reducing (or perhaps eliminating altogether) tuition for financially squeezed students.
(05/03/16 6:46am)
This past Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case against former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who was there to observe the court spar over the true nature of his transgressions. The debate reveals a fundamental tension between what should be considered dishonest conduct and what should be subject to criminal prosecution. Both the justices and Virginians seem to agree: McDonnell’s conduct was dishonest, disreputable and inexcusable. While we believe McDonnell should serve time for his crime, whether conduct in the same vein should always be subject to prosecution is perhaps a trickier matter than McDonnell’s individual offense.
(05/02/16 1:03pm)
2: The number of women in the list of top 20 earners employed by the University in the 2015-16 academic year
(04/28/16 11:08am)
Renovations to the Rotunda are wrapping up soon, but we all know construction at the University never stops. At a recent Board of Visitors meeting, board members discussed projects and proposals including a new Contemplative Sciences Center and relocation or expansion of the Elson Student Health Center and the Frank Batten School of Public Policy. One of the chief considerations for the board was lack of availability of space on Grounds. Faculty Member Joe Garofalo expressed concern with the fate of the basketball courts located behind Ruffner Hall. While basketball courts offer the community a useful location for recreation, the University should use this space for more important purposes if available space does not meet the demand for planned projects.
(04/26/16 10:39am)
The University of Massachusetts-Amherst will introduce a curriculum change requiring all incoming students to fulfill a Social and Cultural Diversity requirement as part of their general education requirements. Effective fall 2017, all UMass students will be expected to fulfill two courses — one regarding diversity in the United States and one globally — which are intended to “address the complex ways in which societies and cultures differ from one another” and to cultivate an “understanding of cultural diversity.” UMass will enable its students to better understand human relations when approaching their subsequent academic pursuits and future interactions.
(04/25/16 5:14am)
Last week, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe issued an executive order to restore voting rights to over 200,000 Virginians who have committed felonies and subsequently served their time. Felons have been prohibited from voting since the Civil War, and in the early 20th century these restrictions were enhanced alongside the creation of literacy tests and poll taxes aimed at disenfranchising African-Americans. McAuliffe’s enfranchisement of convicted felons is long overdue; a system that bars felons from voting unfairly limits political participation. Additionally, it fails to reintegrate former prisoners into society.
(04/21/16 4:52am)
Offensive chalking messages targeting minority and trans individuals appeared on Grounds Monday morning. What followed was a series of reactions from University organizations and individuals including the Black Student Alliance and the Queer Student Union. Among them were chalkings with statements such as “We don’t stand for bigotry” and “Hoos in Solidarity.” Prominent individuals at the University such as Dean of Students Allen Groves and Pat Lampkin, vice president and chief student affairs officer, also condemned the hateful messages. When hate rears its ugly head, it is not enough simply to condemn it; we need to back up that condemnation by showing up. Countering hate speech requires promoting positive speech, and this week University students have done just that.
(04/19/16 6:12am)
The Porcellian Club, one of Harvard’s six remaining all-male final clubs, has recently found itself at the center of the nationwide debate over space and sexual assault. Last Tuesday, the club’s Graduate Board President Charles Storey severely criticized the college’s reinvigorated efforts to make final clubs co-ed. “Given our policies, we are mystified as to why the current administration feels that forcing our club to accept female members would reduce the incidence of sexual assault on campus,” Storey wrote. “Forcing single gender organizations to accept members of the opposite sex could potentially increase, not decrease the potential for sexual misconduct.”
