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(09/28/18 12:51am)
Last September, The Cavalier Daily published an opinion column arguing that the Democratic Party should not move away from identity politics, which are “politics in which groups of people having a particular racial, religious, ethnic, social or cultural identity tend to promote their own specific interests or concerns without regard to the interests or concerns of any larger political group.” While the author articulated a valid argument in favor of using identity politics to advance advocacy for disinvested voters of different class and education backgrounds, it is possible that the implementation of such a strategy may lead to greater division among Americans.
(09/13/18 10:01pm)
The framers of the United States Constitution developed a political system that remains relevant over 200 years after its creation. Although imperfect, the democratic republic envisioned in 1787 has matured into the freest, most successful civilization that has ever existed. However, one of the most pressing issues related to our current state of politics is the existence of the professional politician.
(08/29/18 4:29am)
When University President Jim Ryan describes his vision for his tenure as the University’s ninth president, he focused on three areas he wanted to address: community, discovery and service. While these areas should be included in his list of priorities — and remain essential topics for any administration — the president and the rest of the University administration should focus on addressing other challenges facing the University and higher education as a whole. These challenges include ensuring higher education is accessible to students from a diverse array of backgrounds and preserving free speech and discourse on Grounds.
(06/12/18 1:55am)
Virginians will vote in a primary Tuesday to determine which Republican candidate will challenge incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine in November. Corey Stewart, the Chairman for the Board of Supervisors of Prince William County, E. W. Jackson, a minister in Chesapeake and Del. Nick Freitas (R-Culpeper) are contending for the Republican nomination. Out of these three, Freitas not only best represents the ideals and vision of the Republican Party, but he is also the most viable competitor against Kaine.
(04/29/18 3:54am)
Peggy McIntosh’s 1989 essay detailing the evidence for and prevalence of white privilege in American society provided the foundation for much of the discussion today. In her work, she used examples such as “I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed” to illustrate how whites benefit from social structures unfairly skewed in their favor. However, McIntosh’s argument fails to hold up to rigorous scrutiny.
(03/30/18 3:21am)
A century and a half after the Civil War, contention surrounding the memorialization of the Confederacy, the effects of slavery and Jim Crow laws and the persistence of racism still factor heavily into current events and discussion. The establishment of the plantation system and economy in colonial Virginia defined a Southern society predicated on the belief that the white race was inherently superior to the black race. The modern South continues to grapple with this legacy — with instances of both the romanticization and condemnation of the Old South factoring into dialogues on how to interpret and contextualize the past. However, despite its past institutional and cultural failures, all Southerners today should acknowledge the contributions that the South has made to American and Western culture. Without these contributions, areas including politics, civil rights, music and literature would lack the richness and advancement that we enjoy today. The South today should construct its identity around these accomplishments to foster a Southern character that provides a source of pride for the cultural nation.
(03/14/18 3:28am)
On Feb. 14, a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fl., killing 17 people and injuring 17 others. This event joins the litany of mass shootings that have occurred in the United States over the past several years — including those at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. and Virginia Tech. In response to the Parkland shooting, Student Council decided to join a national walkout protesting gun violence on March 14. During the walkout, students and faculty will have the opportunity to sign a banner that will be sent to Stoneman Douglas High School, allowing the University community to express its solidarity with those affected. Unfortunately, the Council also decided to insert a political agenda into its response.
(02/22/18 6:48am)
More than six months after the events related to the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, the University community is still formulating responses and adjusting policies to discourage such activity from occurring on Grounds. The Board of Visitors has implemented several positive amendments to University policy, such as banning open flames on the Lawn in order to discourage white supremacist groups from holding torches while marching. However, others are not as constructive. These include re-evaluations of the climate of speech at the University, such as Student Council President Sarah Kenny’s column discussing hate speech at universities. She argued that “a select category of speech presently protected by a persuasive liberty paradigm fails to further the truth seeking charge of our scholars and institution of higher education.” On Feb. 14, Law School Dean Risa Goluboff led a Deans Working Group session soliciting input from the community concerning proposed regulations of speech of those not affiliated with the University and the legal boundaries of free speech.
(01/25/18 6:55am)
When describing the many attributes of the University that combine to form its identity, Charlottesville is as important as its ties to Thomas Jefferson, its robust Honor System and its renowned architecture. Charlottesville embodies several aspects of the quintessential college town, including diverse cultural and recreational offerings for students and residents alike. The city’s status as a great town to live in has even been recognized by several media outlets. Southern Living magazine ranked Charlottesville among the best college towns in the South, and National Geographic ranked it as the third happiest city in America. While Charlottesville’s many accolades are well deserved, the city must face its most pressing shortcomings if it is to improve further.
(11/29/17 5:01am)
On Sept. 20, The Cavalier Daily published my column highlighting the prevalence of liberal anti-intellectualism and its detrimental effects on the climates of discourse on college campuses. The deterioration of discourse at colleges and universities is evident, and unfortunately has spread to our University. One of the most significant factors contributing to such decay is the presence of safe spaces at colleges and universities and the attitudes that endorse them. A “safe space” is defined as “a place intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations.” They originally existed to provide shelters against racism, sexism and trauma, but they have since evolved to encompass intellectual discourse in general. Such spaces are antithetical to the purpose of attending college, and their existence does a disservice to students by encouraging them to retreat from confrontation instead of embracing it. The University should follow the University of Chicago’s lead in formally eliminating all safe spaces from Grounds in order to advance the mission of the University and the development of its students.
(11/01/17 4:26am)
On Oct. 27, the Catalan Parliament declared independence from Spain. Within hours of the vote, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy instructed the regional government of Catalonia to dissolve, with Catalonia’s elected officials to be replaced with elections in December. The movement towards secession has grown in recent years because of Spain’s economic troubles and the perception among certain Catalans that national government does not respect their language and culture. The Spanish Constitution does not allow for regions like Catalonia to unilaterally declare independence, and arguments coming from Rajoy’s administration focused on maintaining the rule of law present a strong case for dismissing the vote. The significance of the vote should not be discounted, but should instead encourage the national government in Madrid to seriously consider supporting Catalan independence by amending the Spanish Constitution.
(10/25/17 3:41am)
The University recently decided to require all first-year students to complete an implicit bias module in order to “build a more inclusive community” and to “make U.Va. a place where everyone feels welcome and people are treated equitably.” However, the module which the University uses — the Implicit Association Test, or IAT — has been proven to be inconclusive in describing bias. Researchers, including the University’s own Brian Nosek, have found that exploring implicit bias as a way to address prejudice is ineffective. Given the scientifically proven inconsistencies of the IAT and its failure to effect positive behavioral change, the University should withdraw its decision to force first-years to complete the module.
(10/18/17 3:05am)
Since trends towards decriminalizing the possession of marijuana and legalizing its use for recreational purposes have gained traction in the United States, Virginia lawmakers have considered whether or not to change Virginia’s laws governing the use of marijuana. Democratic gubernatorial nominee and current Lt. Governor Ralph Northam has voiced his support for decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana, while the Virginia State Crime Commission is currently sponsoring studies gauging the effectiveness of such a change to the Commonwealth’s laws. Even though other states have decided to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, Virginia should maintain its current laws criminalizing the possession, consumption and trafficking of cannabis. The costs of legalizing marijuana simply do not compensate for the benefits legalization might bring.
(10/11/17 3:40am)
Charlottesville’s City Council has damaged the city it is supposed to serve. It has consistently shown both poor judgement and a lack of foresight when responding to the recent white supremacist and white nationalist activity which has taken place in Charlottesville over the past several months, and is largely to blame for bringing such activity to Charlottesville. By causing courts to consider the legality of moving the Robert E. Lee statue, it brought unnecessary attention to Charlottesville, causing white nationalist and white supremacist groups to focus their attention here. Were it not for their incompetence, Charlottesville would not be the epicenter of white supremacist activity in America today.
(10/05/17 3:36am)
Gentrification remains one of the most controversial issues related to urban development and revitalization, in part because of the perception that it is a form of oppression against inner-city minority populations. However, the idea that the forces of gentrification work against the majority of disadvantaged inner-city populations is a misconception. According to John Buntin, staff correspondent for “Governing” magazine, that “gentrification displaces poor people of color by well-off white people is a claim so commonplace that most people accept it as a widespread fact of urban life. It’s not. Gentrification of this sort is actually exceedingly rare. The socio-economic status of most neighborhoods is strikingly stable over time.” The arguments against gentrification are misguided, and overall it serves as a positive force in cities which benefit residents, both new and old.
(09/27/17 3:31am)
Recent white supremacist and white nationalist activity in Charlottesville has spurred debate concerning the memorialization of the Confederacy and those who fought for it. In response to the unrest on Aug. 11 and 12 — culminating in the deaths of counter-protester Heather Heyer and Virginia State Police officers Lieutenant H. Jay Cullen and Trooper Berke M. M. Bates — municipal leaders and citizens across the South and America as a whole are calling for the removal of Confederate monuments. On Sept. 15, the University’s Board of Visitors voted to take down the plaques on the Rotunda memorializing Confederate soldiers with ties to the University who died in the Civil War. The Board of Visitors made a grave mistake which reinforced current trends towards historical erasure, and the plaques should be restored to their original location to strengthen historical remembrance and perspective.
(09/21/17 3:45am)
Planning and managing viable public housing options poses significant challenges for municipal governments in Virginia and across the country. Most notably, Newport News, Va. and Norfolk, Va. epitomize the problems which current public housing options present, as well as opportunities for policymakers and municipalities for effective urban development and planning. Mixed-income development should remain at the forefront of redevelopment efforts for places like Newport News and Norfolk because this model serves the entire citizenry of the city and address key issues related to current public housing models.
(09/20/17 4:10am)
Incidents at several colleges over the past couple years demonstrate how certain student bodies and administrations have marginalized conservative perspectives and actively attempted to stifle voices which dissent from liberal doctrine. For example, Virginia Tech’s leadership disinvited Wall Street Journal columnist and Manhattan Institute senior fellow Jason Riley out of fear that his presence on their campus would incite uncontrollable protests in response to his 2014 book titled, “Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make it Harder for Blacks to Succeed.” Although Virginia Tech later reinstated his invitation, it did so only after receiving pressure alumni and donors. Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State under George W. Bush’s administration, canceled her scheduled appearance as Rutgers University’s commencement speaker in 2014, as a result of receiving an openly hostile response from the student body. Similarly, Ben Shapiro, a conservative commentator and advocate for Zionism, was banned from DePaul University’s campus due to security concerns. College and university communities must correct the trend of silencing dissent instead of embracing it in order to make colleges and universities welcoming places for all regardless of viewpoint and to advance the pursuit of knowledge.