The campaign office of Congressman Tom Perriello, D-Charlottesville, was broken into the morning of Election Day, said Jessica Barba, communications director for the Perriello campaign. Door hangers labeled with local polling locations had been stolen and passed out to the wrong houses, Barba said.
In Tuesday's midterm elections, 55 percent of voters registered in the Fifth District cast their ballots, the highest percentage of any congressional district in the state, according to the Virginia Board of Elections.
The United States has seen the most significant decline in giving to nonprofit organizations since 1991, according to a recent report from the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The report, which ranked the top 400 nonprofit fundraising organizations, found that there was an 11 percent decrease in philanthropic donations nationwide.
[caption id="attachment_37906" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Student Council honored Leonard Sandridge with an award in his name.
[caption id="attachment_37857" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Congressman-elect Robert Hurt held his viewing party in Chatham, Va.
[caption id="attachment_37855" align="alignleft" width="226" caption="Although Congressman Tom Perriello earned nearly 80 percent of the votes in Charlottesville, he fell short of securing a win by a margin of about 9,000 votes.
After four years of Democratic gains, the Republican Party took several seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate yesterday, ultimately retaking control of the House.
Three constitutional amendments regarding state tax and budgeting policies won the approval of voters across Virginia yesterday. The first initiative gives localities the authority to rule on property tax relief for elderly and disabled residents.
Independent candidate Jeff Clark failed to find the same success at the polls that other anti-establishment figures across the nation enjoyed yesterday. Garnering roughly 2 percent of the votes cast in the Fifth District, Clark fell to both Republican frontrunner Robert Hurt, who won with about 51 percent of the vote, and Democratic incumbent Tom Perriello, who came in second with about 47 percent. Clark's campaign focused mainly on "breaking the political duopoly that is the two-party system in Washington" and shared many roots with the Tea Party movement.
[caption id="attachment_37780" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Honor Committee members heard the Diversity Advisory Board's proposed strategies to engage a broader range of students, particularly the University's community of international students, during Sunday night's meeting.
The University's Human Resources department introduced changes in employee benefits yesterday, including a new online system for employees to manage their own benefits plans.
Gov. Bob McDonnell has charged the state's transportation agencies to consider environmental factors in addition to budgetary concerns. The governor announced his "Going Green With Virginia Transportation" initiative Oct.
The University's Office of Equal Opportunity Programs honored 11 people and organizations on Grounds with its annual Champion Awards last Friday. The awards recognize those individuals who assist in the office's mission to eliminate discrimination and particularly those individuals who may not have otherwise been recognized for their efforts, said Director Darlene Scott-Scurry. "They received the awards because of their contribution to social justice and equal rights," Scott-Scurry said. Recipients range from undergraduate students to faculty, staff and even organizations. Two students were among this year's honorees. Fourth-year Commerce student Jason Shapiro organized an events program for Disabilities Awareness Week to promote respect for people with disabilities.Fourth-year College student Reginald Benbow, Jr., who was also recognized, founded "My Brother's Keeper," a program at Albemarle High School that mentors black male students and helps prepare them for college.
[caption id="attachment_37723" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="More than 10,000 people descended upon downtown Charlottesville Friday to see President Obama speak in favor of Democratic candidate Tom Perriello.
The University's budget is set to see more reductions - estimated to be between $2.4 million and $7.1 million - on top of the $14 million cut passed by the General Assembly this April for the next fiscal year. The Office of the Governor notified the University of these cuts Friday and asked the University to develop an updated budgetary plan, which is due to Gov.
Credit card companies spent more than $83 million last year marketing their cards to college students through agreements with colleges and alumni associations nationwide, according to a report from the Federal Reserve. The report, required by the 2009 Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, mandates the disclosure of all agreements between credit card issuers and college-affiliated organizations, said Josh Frank, senior researcher at the Center for Responsible Lending.
Board of Visitors Building and Grounds Committee discussed the design and schematics for the thrust-theater addition to the drama building Friday. Totalling 20,500 square feet, the addition will include a 3,000-seat theater, an expanded lobby with additional restrooms, dressing rooms, support spaces and a rooftop terrace. "This plan and project represent the Jeffersonian notion of how landscape and buildings fluidly fit together, in a 21st-century way," University architect David Neuman said at the meeting. The primary focus of the plan is to link the arts buildings physically and create a shared outdoor space for students, staff, faculty and visitors to enjoy, Neuman said, noting that the addition is a pointed attempt to provide space for both informal and formal activity, including both faculty-student interaction and performances. The largest outdoor area can fit 1,000 people in folding chairs, made to accommodate graduation ceremonies.
[caption id="attachment_37694" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Officials have discussed ways to make shared road space safer for cyclists in Charlottesville.
On the ballot for Tuesday's midterm elections are three initiatives that would change the state's tax and budgeting policies. For two consecutive years, the proposed constitutional amendments have received bipartisan and nearly unanimous approval when put to a vote before the General Assembly.
After evaluating nine categories relating to green energy practices, the Sustainable Endowments Institute's Green 2011 Report Card gave the University an overall B grade, an improvement from last year's B-. The report provides in-depth sustainability profiles and includes those institutions with the 300 largest endowments in the United States and Canada. "The goal of the report card is to highlight schools that are excelling in promoting sustainability on campus in their operations and within their endowment opportunities," said Susan Paykin, director of communications for the Sustainable Endowments Institute. The average grade given to the surveyed colleges was a B, with 56 percent of surveyed colleges receiving the mark. The University received As in six of the nine grading components, doing well in administration, food & recycling, green building, student involvement, transportation and investment priorities.
