The Cavalier Daily
Serving the University Community Since 1890

Editorials


Opinion

​Rolling Stone review misses mark on U.Va. culture

It is not up to the authors of this report to account for every wrong Rolling Stone committed, and the job of these researchers was made harder still by the fact that they had to gather their information from Rolling Stone first (though the magazine did provide a 405 page record of everything pertaining to the article). But as we reflect on Erdely’s article, we should not confine our analysis of it just to Jackie’s story and the editorial failures surrounding its presentation. It is a dramatic oversimplification to reduce this article — which shook our University to its core — just to that one narrative.


Opinion

An apology to our readers

The managing board of The Cavalier Daily would like to issue a sincere apology for the publication of two pieces — “ABC officers tackle Native American student outside Bodo’s Bagels” and “Zeta Psi hosts ‘Rosa Parks’ party” — in our April Fools edition which was released this morning.


Opinion

​Ole Miss: reinstate Dr. Jones

Our University is no stranger to board-driven ousters. In 2012, University President Teresa Sullivan was unexpectedly fired from her position, and, in response to widespread protests, the Board of Visitors ultimately reinstated her. We write today to urge the governing board at Ole Miss to do the same.


Opinion

​Transparency in the BOV

A vote on tuition changes requires significant consideration; for all Board members not to feel fully prepared for such a vote is troubling. Even Meg Gould, the non-voting student representative to the Board, pointed to the lack of transparency in the Board’s decision as a reason “students feel that they weren’t given sufficient time to understand the policy and [felt] unheard or unrepresented.”


Opinion

How to improve Title IX: Part II

Yesterday, we wrote about the standardization of elements of Title IX — in particular, standardizing who should oversee investigations and standardizing whether parties should have a right to have counsel or advisers present. In our opinion, the national standardization of these two practices could improve the adjudication of sexual misconduct at colleges and universities, as well as make it easier to compare schools’ respective adjudicative practices.


Opinion

​How to improve Title IX: Part I

A key issue with Title IX requirements is that they leave many decisions up to schools that should, in fact, be standardized. The need for standardization does not apply to all regulations within Title IX — but it definitely applies to regulations regarding due process. This need seems especially important given the existence of so many misunderstandings regarding sexual assault: according to FiveThirtyEight, despite acknowledging the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses nationwide, only 6 percent of U.S. college presidents believe sexual assault is a problem on their own campuses.


Opinion

​Are we showing up for black students?

To lobby for particular changes over a long period of time and see minimal results shapes the context in which Martese’s arrest occurred. For students who have become accustomed to seeing their needs sidelined, a lack of community response to the brutality Martese experienced may not be surprising. And this is something we need to change.


Opinion

​Martese Johnson and the Yik Yak effect

On social media platforms such as Yik Yak, students have posted comments blaming Martese for the arrest, saying his wounds were insignificant and even accusing Martese of enjoying a publicity stunt. These and countless other anonymous posts affirm that race is still a serious problem at U.Va.


Opinion

​We’re here for Martese

Whatever details may surface, a member of our community was hurt, and we have witnessed his pain in the harrowing images that have emerged from that event. He was hurt in a space where he is supposed to feel safe — a space he is supposed to call home. And that is where we should focus our conversation — right here, at home.


Opinion

The debate about flags on campus

The ensuing outrage against the six students who voted to remove the flag was misplaced for two reasons. First, as we at the University can attest to, the exercise of student self-governance is essential to the operation of a school, and UC Irvine’s student government clearly operates to some extent under a system of checks and balances. While an initial group of students voted on this policy, another group was able to veto it — similar to many functioning political systems.


Opinion

Regulating racism

At Rochester, the need to locate students stemmed from racially motivated threats. As we wrote yesterday, racism — and other isms — is perpetuated by the existence of environments of inactive bystanders. Anonymous social media platforms demonstrate an area of student interaction where offensive posts are ubiquitous and users have no accountability.


Opinion

​Combating racism on campus

Since our University is no stranger to this type of racial scandal, these issues are just as relevant for us. At a party jointly thrown by the University chapters of Kappa Alpha and Zeta Psi in 2002, some guests came wearing blackface. We can readily point to the party-goers wearing blackface as racist in their actions — but why not also consider the fact that these two fraternities, by ostensibly failing to criticize these guests and failing to kick them out, contributed to an environment in which racist behavior was acceptable?


Opinion

​Make the Lawn representative

Students may be quick to criticize the Lawn selection system for the disproportionate representation of particular groups, or stigmas surrounding particular extracurriculars, or even the diversity of the applicant pool itself. But the homogeneity of Lawn residents, though impacted by many factors, is due to what we have made the space of the Lawn — an accolade for high-achieving students, a reward by which we can (imperfectly) measure individuals’ achievements, and not necessarily a space where our whole community can gather.


Opinion

​Sexual assault bill leaves much to be desired

The police as a whole have not yet demonstrated the ability to sensitively interact with sexual assault survivors. This does not mean police cannot be trained to respond carefully to survivors’ needs when questioning them or moving forward with investigations — but until the police are thoroughly trained, survivors should not be subjected to the consequences of mandatory reporting laws.


Opinion

​Standardize interrogation practices

Perhaps not every confession can be recorded, but the argument that this means police should not record interrogations is unpersuasive. If police are excessively forceful or brutal in their interrogation tactics, but no recording exists, a defendant’s claim that his confession was coerced or that he was subject to police brutality can’t be substantiated. In such a he-said, she-said scenario, a police officer — even if he did in fact coerce a confession — will appear much more believable than a potential criminal.


Opinion

​Debt collection agencies hurt students

If collection agencies knowingly concealed payment options that could lighten students’ burden of debt, the Department of Education is right in its decision to cut ties with those agencies. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Justice should immediately begin investigating whether those agencies violated existing federal debt collection laws — a strong possibility.


Opinion

​What Honor is, and what it isn’t

Undeniably, the ideals that fall under the umbrella of the community of trust extend far beyond lying, cheating and stealing, and Honor may have a place in conversations outside that punitive domain. But the time for Honor to take on that role has not yet come.

Puzzles
Hoos Spelling

Latest Podcast

All University students are required to live on Grounds in their first year, but they have many on and off-Grounds housing options going into their second year. Students face immense pressure to decide on housing as soon as possible, and this high demand has strained the capacities of both on and off-Grounds accommodations. Lauren Seeliger and Brandon Kile, two third-year Cavalier Daily News writers, discuss the impact of the student housing frenzy on both University students and the Charlottesville community.