Opinion

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.

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Opinion

​BROOM: Making better use of the Opinion section

By Christopher Broom | April 20, 2015

The last couple of weeks in The Cavalier Daily’s Opinion pages have included a lot of inside baseball. That is to say, there have been several pieces that seem written mostly for those who work for The Cavalier Daily. Ashley Spinks offered columns in the last two weeks that are strongly critical of the Managing Board.

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Opinion

​MCDUFF: Merit scholars don’t need more money

By Emily McDuff | April 17, 2015

Yes, the Gray-Carrington and Sky Alland scholarships are awarded based on merit, but the award for these scholarships should not pay a full year’s tuition if the recipients already have all of college covered. If both scholarships claim to choose their recipients at least partially based on humility, this conclusion is not difficult to reach.

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Opinion

​End racial gerrymandering in Virginia

By Managing Board | April 17, 2015

It is extremely disappointing that the General Assembly has yet to produce a new, fairer map. What the General Assembly has done so far has actually been contrary to the goal of undermining gerrymandering: this past session, the General Assembly passed numerous bills tweaking existing districts to make them less competitive instead of properly responding to the U.S. District Court’s initial ruling.

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Opinion

​KLAUSING: U.Va. is infringing on the rights of student-athletes

By Tony Klausing | April 17, 2015

University athletes are prohibited by NCAA rules from profiting from their own skills, name and likeness. Every other University student, even those on full scholarship, is afforded that fundamental civil right. So long as you have not been named a “student-athlete,” you can get paid by the University and enjoy a free meal without a guilty conscience. You could even sell your autograph or start a crowdfunding page for your personal ambitions. The University may even applaud and commend your initiative if you did so.

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Opinion

​KHAN: The origin of lumbersexuality

By Hasan Khan | April 17, 2015

As feminist philosophy and women's studies have expanded over the last few years, western society has seen the masculine identity quietly splinter into various different sub-masculinities: gamer, brony, metrosexual and lumbersexual, to name a few. Little emphasis has been put on studying contemporary forms of masculinity and how masculinity has become fragmented by trends in the context of post-industrial consumerist society.

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Opinion

​ZIFF: The transformative power of higher education

By Tamar Ziff | April 17, 2015

We can work as much or as little as we like, but it is in a field of our choosing — whether you spend your four years playing beer pong in a fraternity house, in the editing room of the student newspaper or diligently studying in the library, you must choose to declare at least a stated interest in one or more subjects. You are in charge of charting a course for your learning, and pressed — through basic requirements — to explore beyond what you believe you know to like or dislike.