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(04/18/16 7:07am)
Last week, in the middle of the Take Back the Night’s week of events concerning sexual violence awareness, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed new legislation to better protect sexual assault survivors. The bill — which will mandate the storage of rape evidence kits in the state’s Division of Consolidated Labor Services for a minimum of two years — comes after a state audit last year which found nearly 3,000 untested kits in the custody of state law enforcement agencies. According to the new law, if a survivor later reports an assault, the kit will be released to law enforcement. These new measures are commendable: failures from local law enforcement agencies to handle sexual assault cases should not be detrimental to survivors.
(04/14/16 4:46am)
In just a few weeks, College faculty members will vote on new educational requirements for first-year students, which would be the first curriculum change in the past 40 years. The proposal would mandate that all first-year students complete four two-credit courses on “engagement”: Aesthetic Engagement, Empirical and Scientific Engagement, Engaging Difference and Ethical Engagement. College Dean Ian Baucom said the new course requirements would “provide students with an intellectual framework to help guide them through their subsequent studies.” The possibility of a core undergraduate curriculum — as opposed to general requirements — is worth exploring given its promotion of a shared intellectual experience for undergraduates. However, we are unsure whether this curriculum will accomplish that.
(04/12/16 4:05am)
34: The number of years Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo has spent in the police service
(04/11/16 6:04am)
Since last year’s murder of University of Mary Washington student and popular campus feminist Grace Mann, some have called for an end to Yik Yak, the anonymous social media platform, including via formal complaint to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. Mann was murdered by one of her male roommates after receiving verbal threats, both in person and over Yik Yak. Recently, civil liberties organizations such as the National Coalition Against Censorship sent a letter to the OCR arguing inclusion of speech in Title IX harassment regulations would threaten free speech rights. The letter also urged education officials to consider the harmful effects of restricting access to Yik Yak on students’ educations. While concerns about the hostile nature of Yik Yak messages are legitimate, censorship is not the answer, and the Department of Education should not mandate that schools introduce social media bans.
(04/07/16 7:20am)
White healthcare professionals consistently under-prescribe pain medications for black patients, and a recent study conducted at the University by Ph.D. candidate Kelly Hoffman explains why. According to the study, the disparity is attributable to white medical students holding false beliefs about differences in black and white biologies. The research findings demonstrate a need for greater incorporation of the social sciences into medical curricula as a way to develop healthcare professionals who understand the social dimensions of a science that involves so much human interaction.
(04/05/16 4:11am)
A recent 116-page state audit revealed that the University of California system has, for the past three years, admitted out-of-state students less qualified than in-state students in order to generate revenue. The difference in tuition between the two groups is more than double — California residents pay $13,400 in basic tuition and fees, compared to $38,108 for residents of other states. The state college system’s acceptance of higher-paying out-of-state students at the expense of in-state students is condemnable given the system’s purpose to serve Californians. And even if the skewed admissions demographics were necessary to address budgetary woes, the system’s administration should have made this motive clearer to state residents.
(04/04/16 4:42am)
This academic year’s faculty salaries data reveal an important trend: female faculty and administrators at the University continue to be underrepresented amongst top earners.
(03/31/16 6:03am)
Tuesday night, Student Council voted to approve the CIO status of DREAMers, an organization that represents undocumented students at the University. The vote came a week after Student Council refused to grant CIO status to DREAMers due to concerns about the organization and its CIO application. What followed was a flurry of impassioned responses from the group and its allies aimed at Student Council, including the circulation of a petition requesting, among other demands, a public apology from the organization. The controversy following this incident highlights the need for student groups to gather all information before issuing a response.
(03/29/16 4:16am)
Recently, political chalk messages in support of Donald Trump appeared on Emory University’s campus, with phrases such as “Vote Trump 2016,” “Accept the Inevitable” and “Build the Wall.” The chalk has triggered significant uproar from Emory students who protested to the administration and shouted that they are “in pain.” Trump supporters should have the right to engage in chalking campaigns so long as Emory permits political chalking. It is disingenuous for those who deride the campus protestors to reduce the issue to a matter of hurt feelings, but the protesters’ time would be better spent addressing social issues specific to their campus; though the candidate himself may not be, the chalkings in question are relatively innocuous.
(03/28/16 6:18am)
Despite a tough loss last night, the Cavaliers’ Friday win is still cause for celebration; it gave Virginia its first Elite Eight appearance since 1995. This win was so major that coach Tony Bennett earned a $250,000 bonus for it, on top of his previous $300,000 in bonuses this season. What’s more staggering is the over $1 billion in yearly ad revenue that March Madness generates, which eclipses the NFL playoff ad revenue totals, including the Super Bowl. And it’s not just coaches and ads: even the ladder used in the net cutting ceremony after the championship has an official sponsor. Those who profit from college athletics do so at the expense of individuals who have limited freedoms in their academic lives. While there are valid arguments against paying college athletes, both supporters and opponents of amateurism should be able to agree it is unreasonable for student-athletes to be as restricted as they are in their pursuit of an education — especially under the pretense that college students are not paid in order for them to obtain a quality educational experience.
(03/24/16 6:09am)
Local Charlottesville residents — led by Wes Bellamy, Charlottesville City Council vice chair — are calling for the removal of the General Robert E. Lee statue in Lee Park near the Downtown Mall. Bellamy and other opponents of the statue have argued it stands for white supremacist values that have no place in a public setting. A “Save the Robert E. Lee Statue” Facebook page, created by supporters of the monument, has already garnered nearly 7,000 likes as of press time. Charlottesville should remove the statue and preserve it elsewhere in order to maintain its historically educational value but demonstrate the community’s evolution away from antiquated views.
(03/22/16 5:23am)
UBike, the University’s bicycle sharing program, has offered students another mode of transportation since its official launch on Jan. 20, 2015. The program has seen success in attracting students with over 677 registered users since its launch, according to Nneka Sobers, the University’s transportation demand management coordinator. Going forward, UBike should create additional hubs on top of its existing 19 and modify its membership structure to support increased ridership. Currently, the only subscriptions that include discounts for students are its six- and 12-month options.
(03/21/16 6:32am)
Disciplinary measures in Virginia K-12 public schools are a subject University students should be concerned with: many of us grew up in the state and many of the University’s future students will have gone through the Virginia public school system. A recent report by the Virginia Department of Education, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and a Curry school group analyzed the state’s 2014-15 implementation of “threat assessment teams” aimed at preventing violence in Virginia public schools. The report showed that the teams, introduced in 2013, have been successful in curbing public school violence. Moreover, it concluded there were no racial inconsistencies in the teams’ disciplinary actions. Other states should consider implementing threat assessment programs modeled after Virginia’s, which, unlike zero tolerance policies, limit public school violence while disciplining white and minority students equitably.
(03/17/16 5:20am)
The recent event “First Gen Initiative,” part of University President Teresa Sullivan’s “Total Advising” program, highlighted the experience of first-generation students at the University through a series of speeches. Sullivan organized the event in partnership with United for Undergraduate Socioeconomic Diversity, or UFUSED, a CIO that provides a network for low-socioeconomic status students. In an email statement regarding the event, Sullivan said, “Making these connections between student and faculty is a major part of the University’s plan for the future.” Sullivan’s emphasis on meeting the needs of first-generation students is commendable, and especially appropriate given past criticism of the administration for failing to prioritize the concerns of low-income students.
(03/15/16 6:33am)
Companies often assign job and internship applicants a “buddy” — usually a relatively new hire — to chat about company culture, interviewing and life in the professional world. In light of general admission acceptances coming out soon, the Office of Undergraduate Admission and Fourth Year Trustees should consider implementing a similar system with recent U.Va. alumni.
(03/14/16 5:37am)
The federal poverty rate is a measure that helps legislators address poverty through targeted initiatives in areas with the greatest needs. Researchers in the University’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service’s Demographics Research Group recently found that college students living off-campus skew poverty rates as they often earn little to no income and are included in the poverty rate calculation. Since college students don’t have the same needs as non-college students, including them in poverty rate calculations may result in misplaced anti-poverty initiatives. While college students should not be excluded from local census data, a poverty rate calculation that excludes them should be reported alongside the overall poverty rate to create a better picture of where persistent poverty affects Americans.
(03/03/16 6:55am)
Though some bemoan the decline of the liberal arts education and the rise of undergraduate trade schools, pre-professionalism has a rightful place at universities. At our University, which has several undergraduate trade schools and at which students often pursue internships and employment early on in their scholastic careers, pre-professionalism can aid students for whom the pursuit of a college diploma is not intended to be solely academic.
(03/01/16 6:59am)
This year’s student elections process saw significant increases in voter turnout compared to last year’s elections. Just under 35 percent of students voted on the honor sanctioning options referendum this year, compared to the under 20 percent of students who voted on last year’s three referenda. Elected positions in Student Council all saw increases in voter turnout by a few percentage points. The increase in voter turnout is promising, as it suggests increased engagement with student government. In searching for ways to capture even greater voter turnout, the University Board of Elections, or UBE, should consider making voting mandatory for students.
(02/29/16 8:06am)
Last week, students voted on an amendment to the Honor Committee’s constitution which contained two options concerning the single sanction system. A majority of voters supported the second option, which would allow the committee to “impose lesser sanctions” on students who commit honor offenses. However, the Honor Committee requires a 60 percent supermajority for an amendment to pass, and just under 59 percent of students voted for Option 2. Although the constitutional change will not be put into effect, the fact that a majority of students supported this change suggests committee representatives should continue to closely examine the possibility of a multiple sanction system.
(02/25/16 5:54am)
The president of California State University, Los Angeles recently cancelled an event on campus called “When Diversity Becomes a Problem,” at which conservative author and political commentator Ben Shapiro was, quite ironically, scheduled to speak about freedom of speech at colleges. In particular, Shapiro intended to argue that trigger warnings, diversity, microaggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, safe spaces and the #ConcernedStudent1950 hashtag are threats to free expression on campuses.
