As a college student who is a former victim of advanced-stage teen angst and spent his formative years under the Bush administration, I like to think I am jaded.
When something like this happens, it is impossible to ignore. We have all heard the statistics: 33 dead, 15 injured, countless other emotional wounds.
I started working at The Cavalier Daily almost four years ago. Since then I've drawn five dozen editorial cartoons, over a hundred illustrations, almost four hundred comics and written a handful of columns.
I never thought I would turn my back on this University. I never thought I would so willingly abandon the friends I love, the classes I enjoy and the a cappella groups I tolerate.
In 1969, the University of Virginia was a very different place. Discrimination was part of the fabric of the University and racial tensions were high.
With the semester winding down, University students' minds collectively turn to one thing: end of the year celebrations, the most extravagant event being the Foxfield Races April 28.
It started out with whispers during classes Monday morning as the story about Virginia Tech broke on the Internet.
University students dug through their closets to find anything maroon and orange -- two colors all Hoos had previously tried to avoid -- to demonstrate their support of Virginia Tech at the vigil held last night. As candlelight slowly spread around the Amphitheater and flags from both universities were displayed, President John Casteen, III began his address to an overwhelmingly maroon and orange audience. "Tonight we have come together to talk, to meditate on, to mourn the deaths of Virginia Tech students and faculty members," Casteen said to an eerily silent crowd. Yesterday afternoon, Casteen attended a convocation held at Virginia Tech, later remarking that the somber atmosphere among students there was still "assertive of life." "Today was for them -- tonight is also for them, but tonight is for you, too," Casteen said, addressing the many University students who suffered losses Monday. Four of the 33 deaths hit especially close to home here at the University.
The semester is coming to a close, the fourth years are getting all nostalgic and weepy, and what's the deal with all of this rain?
Alumnus Frank Batten recently gave a $100 million donation to our fine University to establish a school of "leadership and public policy." Let me be the first to say... we don't want a school of leadership and public policy.
So this is it ladies and gentlemen, the final column of my illustrious writing career. It all began in third grade when a piece I had written about tiger poaching was published in Florida Keys Magazine.
In the wake of yesterday's tragedy, many University students felt unable to help their peers at Virginia Tech.
To the University Community: The shootings this morning at Virginia Tech have turned a seemingly normal day into one filled with grief and disbelief.
The wind howling in the quad of Old Dorms was strong enough to prevent students from lighting their candles as they took part in a vigil for those affected by the tragedy of Virginia Tech. Instead, organizers and first-year College students Katie Welch and Chelsea Cantrell asked the students to move behind Emmet dormitory and form a circle. "Close your eyes and brace yourself against the wind," Cantrell said. For the roughly 80 students in attendance, bracing against the wind meant different things. "I am here because I am hoping to find peace from community," third-year College student Laura Woolley said.
Whistle wind! Embrace the lost. Send spirits with loud moans. Silence radiant flowers. Break still order like our rage. Hum hair before low faces, Liquid tangles blown below. Hide eyes from icy sunlight, Bright bullets slice the soul. Cut power cut exposing lights There's nothing to be seen. Crumple trees' blanketing leaves And dismiss whatever's green. Drown smiling drown laughter With the honesty of loss. Take, wind, our silent prayers And the torrent wave of thoughts. Pound windows, fling the darkness down Let each feel each's chill. Make haughty grass bow down its stalk And mourn for all those killed.
College life is expensive. Well, OK -- it doesn't have to be pricey, if you currently reside in a sub-letted Clemons cubicle, as I do.
If the skies opened up and someone dropped $115 million dollars into my lap, I could think of 115 million different ways to spend it.
D r. Donald R. Erbschloe remembers leaving the University like any other student. He had a bachelor's in math and physics, a high admiration for the honor code and respect for professors that impacted and inspired him. But when he returned to Grounds April 3 to speak to Air Force ROTC cadets, Erbschloe came with an extensive education and experience from his Air Force career. Major George Dowdy, University commandant of cadets, invited Erbschloe to speak to the cadets because his career after leaving the University has taken him from the battlefield to the office, making him a valuable resource for cadets, especially those majoring in the technical fields. Erbschloe is the current chief scientist, Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base.
Vandalism/ damage /destruction of property: RESTRICTED VICTIM of Vandalism/damage/destruction Of Property (C), at John St, Charlottesville, VA, between 01:30, 04/08/2007 and 05:30, 04/08/2007.
You wake up. Your alarm clock shows 7 a.m., but you are oddly awake and alert. You recognize this behavior is weird, even if you do consider yourself to be a morning person.
