Opinion

Opinion

​KHAN: Native invisibility

By Hasan Khan | April 24, 2015

The plans to build a Mauna Kea observatory show blatant disrespect for the Native Americans, as well as how Native Americans are often exoticised rather than fully recognized in American culture. Often, when people imagine Hawaii, they visualize not only the beautiful beaches and lush forests but also the local people, hula dancing and other aspects of Native culture. The problem isn't so much that Native Americans aren’t recognized; instead, it’s about exoticisation — exotic representation of only certain aspects of the native islander “good life” — without truly caring or respecting Native American lands and culture.

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Opinion

​DEZOORT: Abandon first-year dining requirements

By Gage DeZoort | April 24, 2015

If it’s not dining options or advertising causing this lack of interest in meal plans, then what is it? Personally, and based off of the general feeling around Grounds, I’d be willing to label dining hall food as subpar. It’s reasonable to assert that this stands out as a reason that students might spend less on meal plans. After all, there’s really no other reason students would avoid expensive meal plans. Dining locations are abundant and extremely convenient, and there are meal options for most hours of the day. It must be the case that students simply don’t enjoy dining hall food.

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Opinion

​Eramo’s letter and Rolling Stone’s ramifications

By Managing Board | April 23, 2015

We cannot overstate the harm these generalizations have created. People who are survivors may not see themselves as such, or if they do, they may not report their stories. And those who work tirelessly on behalf of survivors and take all the right steps — such as informing survivors of all their options and allowing them the room to make a choice to give them back their agency, something Erdely condemned in her article — must fear that doing the right thing will be manipulated and distorted by an ill-informed public.

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Opinion

​PARTING SHOT: Digging deeper and pushing further

By Rebecca Lim | April 23, 2015

I remember unsuccessfully fighting back tears in a packed press conference as Hannah Graham’s parents implored an unseen audience for information that might bring back their child. In the aftermath of the Rolling Stone article, I remember piggybacking seemingly endless 4 a.m. nights with coffee-fueled all-nighters, frantically live-tweeting press conferences while typing up my final term papers and struggling to make sense of what I knew to be true and what I felt to be right amid an inundation of national media inquiries, official statements, protests, exams and every little crisis in between.

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Opinion

​JACKSON: Trying to be a better ally

By Lauren Jackson | April 23, 2015

Though I recognize my inherent inadequacy in addressing those concerns — for I speak from a place of the deepest sympathy, but not of empathy — I want to be an effective representative of all members of the student body when I speak to prospective students about enrolling. Addressing minority students’ concerns about attending the University cannot be a job for only the minority community.

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Opinion

​PARTING SHOT: A simple thank-you note

By Kelly Kaler | April 23, 2015

I am humbled and forever thankful for the fleeting time I was able to spend crafting the literal and figurative pages of this organization. You made me a better person, and you will always hold a special place in my heart.

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Opinion

​EDEL: Breaking down a Computer Science minor

By Brennan Edel | April 23, 2015

Computer Science is an intrinsically different type of discipline in that it is highly vocational, more so than any other major in the College or the Engineering School. A study on return-on-investment for universities came to the conclusion that a Computer Science degree is the most valuable in the nation almost across the board. And the reason for that is that almost everything taught in the department correlates to a job skill.

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Opinion

​GORMAN: The college bubble is going to burst

By Ryan Gorman | April 23, 2015

Sooner rather than later there will come a time where there will be no money left to borrow for students and, as a result, colleges will be forced to lower their rates to such an extent that they will no longer be able to break even on their own business model. Clearly, the United States is on the verge of facing a full-blown educational crisis; the demand for traditional learning will soon greatly exceed the supply, causing the net total of young adults in this nation with diversified, adapted intelligence to fall dramatically.

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Opinion

​PARTING SHOT: You won’t believe what happens next

By Peter Simonsen | April 23, 2015

A year and a half ago I was panicking about having to manage the finances of the largest student-run company at the University. Now I wish I had another year at it, because by the end I finally knew what I was doing. But that’s the way it works: you do the thing that terrifies you, and the courage comes afterwards.

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Opinion

​SPINKS: Internships aren’t everything

By Ashley Spinks | April 22, 2015

Being a student at the University comes with enough pressure and expectation, without the self-hatred and mania that alway seem to manifest during internship-search season. Give yourself a break, and know that your time here is preparing you well for a fulfilling life, regardless of what you do during the summer of your third year.

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Opinion

​Acknowledging our history

By Managing Board | April 22, 2015

Slavery was ubiquitous, and therefore markers of its existence and impact should be ubiquitous, too. As we strive to confront this history and best navigate the waters of simultaneously appreciating and condemning the contributions of major historical figures, making our physical spaces reflect that contradiction can only help.

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Opinion

​PATEL: Toward a more equitable credit system

By Sawan Patel | April 22, 2015

I, unlike many students, came in with a minimal amount of credit: less than five credit hours. I know of students who came in with upwards of 40, which basically meant they could go straight into fulfilling major requirements. Rather than promoting the idea of a liberal arts curriculum students are bypassing that which makes paying for college worth it.

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Opinion

​MENNINGER: Providing alternatives to the spring party scene

By Nate Menninger | April 22, 2015

To combat this spring trend toward increased drinking and citation, I argue the University has a responsibility to provide legal alternatives to drinking out on the lawn of your house or some random frat party. On Saturdays or weekend nights the University should sanction and promote events for students who wish to drink in a place free from the over-scrutinizing eyes of police officers.

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Opinion

​ALJASSAR: Preserve the college fraternity

By Nazar Aljassar | April 21, 2015

The national conversation surrounding campus fraternities, wrapped in the mantle of elitism, neglects the benefits that our fraternities provide to their members and the University at large. For many people, participation in a fraternity provides them with opportunities for personal development and peer support. The fraternity as an ideal, rooted in shared values of brotherhood and character, is worth our pursuit.

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Opinion

​Free tuition is unrealistic

By Managing Board | April 21, 2015

As these colleges strive to raise revenue, they are attempting to do so without it being, literally, at the neediest students’ expense. It is unrealistic to expect a school to be completely or close to free, as wonderful as that would be.

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Opinion

​DOYLE: A community in name only

By Bobby Doyle | April 21, 2015

When Hannah Graham disappeared it wasn’t just students who came out to search; many community members came out to help. Yet when University students look back at that time we talk about how the University came together during that difficult time in solidarity — our narratives naturally exclude the Charlottesville community. This is a criminal level of ignorance in what is supposed to be a center of learning.

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Opinion

​Student groups handled “American Sniper” right

By Managing Board | April 20, 2015

By turning the viewing into an opportunity for dialogue about the state of Muslims in America and globally and how the film contributes to perceptions of Muslims, the MSA made it possible for the film to be contextualized. Students who may not otherwise question the presentation of Muslims and Middle Eastern individuals in the film had the opportunity to do so this weekend. In fact, it was probably better for students to watch “American Sniper” in this setting — a setting that ultimately forced them to think critically — than to see it at a movie theater where they may not view the movie the same way.

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Opinion

​PARTING SHOT: Making the right choice

By Andrew Elliott | April 20, 2015

The past eight semesters afforded me an incredible number of opportunities — to speak with people I never thought I would, write articles about topics that mattered, pursue stories and ideas that were interesting and that people wanted to read. But none of those are why I am so indebted to The Cavalier Daily. I am indebted to this organization because it gave me a home.

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Opinion

​PARTING SHOT: Solid ground to stand on

By Katherine Ripley | April 20, 2015

The fall semester was tumultuous to say the least, and traumatizing to say the most. We were invited to events other media outlets were excluded from. We were trusted to cover the issues that tore this community apart, because we are students first before we are the media. And throughout our production process we grieved just as much as the rest of the student body. Every word, every sentence, every story, every page, was assembled with the hope of healing.

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Opinion

​ADAMES: Implement a diversity requirement

By Alexander Adames | April 20, 2015

We live in a society that perpetuates a culture that privileges others on the basis of race and, therefore, reinforces the privilege of one race above others through daily behavior that is regularly glossed over. For example, when people of color accomplish great things (i.e., admission into top-tier schools), their efforts become vulnerable to being dismissed on account of affirmative action.