University students and Charlottesville community members packed a room Wednesday to listen to a panel moderated by Dean of Students Allen Groves about the prospects for same-sex marriage in Virginia in the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Hosted by the Charlottesville Pride Community Network, an organization focused on supporting the local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning communities, the second annual event featured 67 vendors as well as entertainment, food and children’s activities.
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell announced state revenue growth was double projections in a press release Friday. While the state saw a month-over-month 4.8 percent decrease in revenue, the state saw 3 percent year-to-date growth. This year was the 15th consecutive record-setting year for sales for the ABC stores.
A draft report released by the Public University Working Group recommended the University end some connections with the state and function more like private institution.
The student organization Off the Hook hosted a panel Thursday evening discussing the hookup culture at the University.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of part of the Defense of Marriage Act this summer, increased attention has fallen on the University and its public school counterparts for their lack of same-sex partner benefits and the potential impact that will have on their ability to attract and retain LGBT faculty.
A petition to overturn the changes to AccessUVa instituted by the Board of Visitors this summer has been circulating the state and currently contains 7,394 signatures. The petition, coined “I am not a loan,” is part of a larger campaign of students, parents and graduates across the nation to reduce student debt.
University students took time to remember the tragic events of September 11 yesterday, through a variety of activities sponsored by student groups around grounds.
The University community commemorates the tragedy of 9/11 12 years later. The Burke Society handed out flags for students to plant at the south end of the Lawn.
When the Board of Visitors holds its first meeting of the academic year on September 19, it will be headed by the first African-American rector in school history.
Student Council addressed recent changes to AccessUVa, the University’s financial aid program, at its representative body meeting Tuesday evening.
The University is the second best public university in the nation, according to the 2014 rankings released by U.S. News and World Report Tuesday morning. Since the ranking system was started in 1983 the University has consistently ranked in the top 25, tying for number 24 in 2013 and number 25 in 2012.
A new system of faculty pay will now rely on group evaluations and peer review to determine the level of pay for faculty members.
The Honor Committee published case summaries Tuesday outlining the instances in which students took advantage of the Honor Committee’s new informed retraction policy since it passed in a referendum in March.
Student Council’s appropriations committee is in the process of allocating its semi-annual funding for the fall semester, the first of two processes through which the University’s Contracted Independent Organizations can gain access to funds this semester.
On Thursday, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell recognized improvements the state has made against human trafficking in rankings released last month by the anti-human trafficking group Polaris. Polaris ranks every state and the District of Columbia on the stringency of their laws combating sex trafficking and supporting trafficking survivors. In the past three years, Virginia has moved from Polaris’ fourth and bottom tier to the organization’s top tier.
The University Judiciary Committee passed two bylaw changes by unanimous consent Sunday night. The changes shrink the First-Year Judiciary Committee from 17 to 12 members and require Judiciary Committee members to sign up for 12 trials each semester.
The Virginia Death Penalty Assessment Team, part of the American Bar Association, released a report Thursday finding several areas of the state’s capital punishment in need improvement. The team’s recommendations centered around twelve issues the American Bar Association identified as imperative to the fairness of the death penalty. As long as the death penalty exists in Virginia, Team members say the state must take action to ensure this form of punishment is reserved for a narrow group consisting only of the worst offenders.
In recent weeks, foot traffic has noticeably swelled outside New Cabell Hall, with congestion forming between classes on the stairwell east of the building, adjacent to Wilson Hall. Renovations on New Cabell have been ongoing since September 2011, but according to an August status report by University Facilities Management, 80 percent of the renovations are complete. Currently, the only portions of the building that have not been finished are the third, fourth and fifth floors.
A majority of Virginia law enforcement agencies continue to adhere to an outdated suspect lineup policy that frequently produces wrongful convictions, according to research conducted by Law Prof. Brandon Garrett.
