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(09/02/08 1:18am)
Now that the University Unity Project has announced its theme for the school year, “Beyond our Grounds, Within our Community,” Student Council is working to reach out to students in order to facilitate involvement with the project.“We want students to embrace a sense of ownership in the community,” Student Council President Matt Schrimper said. “Their ... well-being in the community is in our hands and is something we can address together.”One of the project’s main goals this year, according to Schrimper, is to improve off-Grounds safety through proposed initiatives such as a free ride program for students, and the Lighten Up program, which would improve lighting in off-Grounds areas, as well as late-night free parking on Grounds. To fund these initiatives, Schrimper said the project received a “generous donation” from the University Bookstore, and he hopes the project will receive additional grants through the University Parents Committee, as well as from student organizations such as the Inter-Sorority Council and the Inter-Fraternity Council. Schrimper also said Council would be requesting more money from the University. Schrimper added that Council plans to reach out to graduate students through Council’s graduate representatives, as well by publicizing the project at the various schools at the University. Schrimper also highlighted the need to reach out to all student organizations on Grounds, especially non-philanthropic groups. “We have no illusions about the fact that if we don’t proactively reach out to these groups and student organizations, this is something that could prove to be a disappointing undertaking,” Schrimper said. Still, Schrimper noted that nothing would be required of any specific student organization.“At no point do we ever want to mandate anything of the student body,” Schrimper said. “The main thing we want to do is highly publicize and reach out to student groups and let them know the opportunities before them and let them know how best they can contribute.”Inter-Sorority Council President Stuart Berkeley and Inter-Fraternity Council President Taylor Richardson said the ISC and the IFC would be helping the project by donating to the “Free Ride” program, which would provide students with rides home at no cost.“Off-Grounds safety is something that’s really important,” Richardson said. “I think it’s neat that students are taking a role in that. I think that’s one of the most important issues facing us right now, and [the project] will make a big difference and will be utilized.”Opera Viva, the University’s student opera program, also expressed a desire to get involved with the University Unity Project; Opera Viva General Director Steven Young said the group is investigating ways to get involved in the wider University community as well as the Charlottesville community.Some groups, however, said they currently have no planned involvement with the project.Tea Club President John Stranahan said the project “didn’t seem well organized, [and] the essence of the project seems to be overwhelmingly rooted in a vague sense of unity, in an unspecified ‘common vision.’”The Latino Student Union also has not planned to join the initiative; Latino Student Union President Chris Blank, said the project is not one of the group’s priorities.“We are trying to focus more on University involvement with Latinos at U.Va.,” Blank said. “We haven’t really considered what any community outreach would be.”
(08/28/08 10:29pm)
Christopher Noakes, the 39-year-old Charlottesville resident who pled guilty to two charges of sodomy in an February attack on a University student, was sentenced Tuesday to serve 40 years in prison, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Katherine Peters said.Peters said she believes this is a positive outcome for the commonwealth’s attorney’s office and noted that given Noakes’ age, “a 40-year sentence is considerable and it is tantamount to a life sentence.”Peters added that Noakes may be eligible to apply for geriatric release if he maintains good behavior, but added that is “unlikely that Mr. Noakes will be going anywhere.”Nicholas Repucci, Noakes’ attorney, said Noakes accepted his sentence as part of a plea agreement.The charges against Noakes were in reference to an assault that occurred Feb. 21 on the 1600 block of Grady Avenue, Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo said. Longo said the victim, a white female University student who was 20 years old at the time, was walking west on Grady Avenue early in the morning. The victim was talking on her cell phone when she heard footsteps coming from behind her and turned around to see a black male with a knife demanding money from her.The victim surrendered her purse, Longo said, and the perpetrator then threw her cell phone into the bushes nearby before he “assaulted her in the area of her head and face, knocked her to the ground, threatened her with a knife and performed a sexual act.”Longo added that the victim’s phone remained on after it was thrown, which “precipitated timely police response” at about 2 a.m. After attempting to flee the scene, Longo said, the perpetrator was apprehended, positively identified on the scene by the victim and later identified as Noakes. Longo said that in this case, the victim did not know her attacker, but “the vast majority of reports of sexual assault” involve victims who are acquainted with their aggressors.Claire Kaplan, director of sexual and domestic violence services at the University Women’s Center, said once or twice a month she hears a report of sexual assault in which a University student is victimized. She noted, as Longo did, that attacks by strangers to the victim are “quite rare” and said they statistically comprise 10 to 15 percent of sexual assault cases.“The most likely perpetrator of a sexual assault against a U.Va. student is a U.Va. student,” Kaplan said, adding “the single best way to be safe is to try your best to be in control of your own faculties when you are with other people.”Kaplan also added that “there is no right and wrong” when it comes to protecting oneself against attack, because typically, individuals walking alone are cautioned against talking on cell phones, but in this case that factor expedited the victim’s rescue.
(07/14/08 4:00am)
As about 3,000 admitted students prepare to swarm the University for Days on the Lawn, the University is reflecting on the impact of eliminating early decision admissions.
(04/23/08 4:00am)
University Architecture students enrolled in PLAC 555, "Community Food Systems," presented their findings on local and global food sources within Charlottesville to city residents and vendors at City Hall yesterday. The students reported that local farmers often struggle because of increased oil prices and weather fluctuations and noted that often for businesses, products from local farms are not a viable option financially.
(04/23/08 4:00am)
The Association of American Colleges and Universities recently released a report claiming students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the nation would like to see a stronger focus on social and personal responsibility within their schools.
(04/16/08 4:00am)
The one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings will be marked today by a series of remembrance events at Virginia Tech, as well as by a ceremony at the University.
(04/14/08 4:00am)
Following extensive media coverage of controversial comments made by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama last week about rural Americans, experts anticipate Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. will fare well in the upcoming Pennsylvania primary, slated for April 22.
(04/07/08 4:00am)
As about 3,000 admitted students prepare to swarm the University for Days on the Lawn, the University is reflecting on the impact of eliminating early decision admissions.
(03/31/08 4:00am)
Following the shootings at Virginia Tech last April, Education Prof. Dewey Cornell found that Virginia high school students have become more likely to report a threat of violence in their schools.
(03/28/08 4:00am)
More than three decades ago, a Student Council president named Larry J. Sabato, along with other University students, began calling for the creation of a student position on the Board of Visitors. In 1983, that position became a reality and now, 25 years later, the student member continues to serve as one of the most important outlets for the Board when attempting to gauge students' opinions.
(03/21/08 4:00am)
The University received an award of excellence yesterday for being the top contributor in the commonwealth to the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign, a giving campaign for commonwealth employees.
(03/19/08 4:00am)
Students interested in combining their interests in arts and business may have more opportunities at the University in the future because of the possible creation of a five-year master's degree program for arts administration.
(03/17/08 4:00am)
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently announced a change in its financial aid program, enabling students whose families earn less than $75,000 a year to attend MIT tuition-free. While the University of Virginia has been studying financial aid initiatives, the University's Student Financial Services faces different circumstances than private institutions when trying to offer greater financial aid packages, Student Financial Services Director Yvonne Hubbard noted.
(03/14/08 4:00am)
About $400 was stolen from the C3 convenience store in Newcomb Hall Wednesday morning, according to a University police report.
(02/28/08 5:00am)
Elizabeth City State University students in a 1 p.m. foreign policy lecture were given quite a scare last Friday when a man brandishing a gun walked into a classroom and threatened those gathered in it.
(02/27/08 5:00am)
Cardiovascular patients in central Virginia can expect to receive superior care, a Thomson Healthcare study suggests, ranking the University Hospital among the top 100 in the country for cardiovascular health services.
(02/20/08 5:00am)
The representatives who will sit on the Honor Committee and the University Judiciary Committee for the next year were announced by the University Board of Elections last night. Internal elections will take place within both committees in the coming month to choose committee chairs.
(02/18/08 5:00am)
In cooperation with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the University has chosen Sen. John Warner, R-Va., U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and Gro Harlem Brundtland, United Nations special envoy on climate change and former prime minister of Norway, as the recipients of the 2008 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals.
(02/11/08 5:00am)
The Board of Visitors selected third-year College student Adom Getachew as its new student member Friday.
(02/06/08 5:00am)
As of 1:30 this morning, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton had come out slightly ahead of opponent Barack Obama, while John McCain maintained an increasing lead throughout the night over fellow Republican contenders Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul in Super Tuesday's primary elections.