Opinion

Opinion

FOGEL: Choose comedians for Valediction

By Jared Fogel | February 12, 2015

In 2013, the University first implemented the tactic of pairing up a comedian with a politician, selecting former U.S. Senator Jim Webb and comedian Stephen Colbert as the final exercise speakers. Choosing a comedian was a huge success, as it was the first time the University had welcomed a comedian in at least the past 25 years. Additionally, Colbert’s speech was, thanks to YouTube, the most watched in the University’s history, garnering almost half a million views on YouTube.

---

Opinion

EDEL: The Grammys don’t make sense

By Brennan Edel | February 12, 2015

Maybe part of the reason the Grammys seem so contrived these days is that a music community, at one time, did exist. But with the rise of iTunes in the 2000s and the subsequent arrival of music-streaming apps like Pandora and Spotify, the importance of the individual artist is at an all-time low. We can pick and choose what songs we like.

---

Opinion

​SPINKS: End Lee-Jackson Day

By Ashley Spinks | February 11, 2015

If Charlottesville decides to get rid of Lee-Jackson Day, it will join the several other Virginia cities that have already done so, among them Alexandria, Fredericksburg, Lynchburg and Richmond. The question of how Charlottesville should handle this dilemma is wrought with ambiguity, and to suggest otherwise would be historically irresponsible.

---

Opinion

Prevent secrecy in executions

By Managing Board | February 11, 2015

Enshrouding the practice of lethal injection in secrecy will make it difficult for the public to know whether inmates are being subjected to faulty or painful drugs and will prevent us from effectively determining whether current execution practices are acceptable. Such secrecy will also prevent us from determining whether these practices are legal, as determining what constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment” under the Eighth Amendment requires knowledge of what exactly the punishment is that’s being inflicted.

---

Opinion

JACKSON: Misinformation on trafficking

By Lauren Jackson | February 11, 2015

Despite the growing literature on trafficking, relatively few studies assess the issue holistically by questioning how the root causes of gender inequality, cultural norms and income disparities affect the problem. Statistics resulting from limited analyses have been used as authoritative foundations for advocacy and government policies, despite their academic deficiencies.

---

Opinion

WALLS: Sororities should empower, not imprison

By Nora Walls | February 11, 2015

Most of my friends who have joined sororities rave about their experiences. They often tell me about the incredible friends they’ve found, the women who inspire them, how safe they feel in their sisterhood. What’s odd to me, though, is that they always tell me how incredible their sororities are in spite of the rules they have to follow.

---

Opinion

Make college data transparent

By Managing Board | February 10, 2015

The virtue of compiling these data on an individual level — as opposed to the U.S. Department of Education’s current plan, which is to rate schools given various criteria and compare them — is that families and students will be able to assess each school for themselves. Comparing schools with different interests and focuses may prove difficult, but making their information accessible to a wider audience will allow people to evaluate these data and make informed decisions.

---

Opinion

PATEL: The case for mandatory vaccination

By Sawan Patel | February 10, 2015

Anti-vaccination advocates claim there is no reason for Big Brother to tell them what to do with their children. This is not, however, a private concern. Public health requires coordination by all members of society to cooperate for communal health. The violation of that trust for reasons that border on irrational is not a demonstration of individual liberty but it is rather individual selfishness.

---

Opinion

CARSON AND LEWIS: An odious debt

By Greg Lewis and Kelly Carson | February 10, 2015

The national student debt clock now stands at more than $1.2 trillion. In Virginia, almost 60 percent of students graduate with debt. The price tag of public higher education has long been a shock for poor students — the net cost of Virginia’s system is the fifth highest in the nation. These numbers are inexcusable.

---

Opinion

​No concealed carry at schools

By Managing Board | February 9, 2015

There is no obvious reason civilians need to carry firearms at schools — certainly not concealed ones. At least at our University, with an undergraduate population numbering above 14,000, the potential for a mistake — a student failing to turn on “safety” on his gun; a student mistakenly suspecting someone of being dangerous and responding by use of his firearm — could have grave consequences.

---

Opinion

​BROOM: The virtue of proactive coverage

By Christopher Broom | February 9, 2015

Though I pointed out some issues with sources and sourcing last week, the reporters of The Cavalier Daily generally do a good job of telling us what happened. But, as with much news reporting, it is after the fact and in many cases informs us all about an event or issue, but too late to do anything about it should one wish.

---

Opinion

YODER: The moral failures of the honor referenda

By Richard Yoder | February 9, 2015

But it will be impossible to have that discussion if the advocates for a multi-sanction system maintain that the Committee is not concerned with morality as such. To argue or imply, as the authors of Referendum Item One do, that the “fundamental purpose” of honor is student self-governance is to err grievously. It is also historically inaccurate.

---

Opinion

MENNINGER: Give student athletes a proper orientation

By Nate Menninger | February 8, 2015

I argue that since student athletes live a different life, the University should implement an orientation program or class for incoming first-year student athletes in order to ease and accelerate their transition to a comfortable and safe collegiate athletic experience.

---

Opinion

Take steps toward privatizing ABC

By Managing Board | February 6, 2015

Currently, ABC stores' success is limited by bureaucracy: the department runs like a government agency and not like a business. Because of this, running ABC stores can be very difficult. According to Albo, it can take up to six months for ABC stores to procure products — a turnover time private businesses do not face.

---

Opinion

HARRINGTON: The case for read receipts

By Elaine Harrington | February 6, 2015

The utility of read receipts demonstrates the truth is often useful. When a 10 p.m. text is left unread, the sender can concede you are asleep and will not be going out tonight. If you’ve read a roommate’s “lost my key, leave the door unlocked” text, she knows you’re aware of the situation.

---

Opinion

KHAN: Reevaluating drinking culture at Dartmouth and beyond

By Hasan Khan | February 6, 2015

If anything, flat out banning all hard liquor is not the answer. Prohibition is a tactic that has failed in the past, and nothing will stop it from failing again. Nor should the extreme measure of ending Greek life be taken; such a decision would only further alienate the student body from the administration.

---

Opinion

What does Teresa Sullivan have to do with Bob McDonnell’s sentencing?

By Managing Board | February 5, 2015

Perhaps the worst element of this intervention is that Sullivan intervened on the wrong side of an ethical issue. We should expect and demand more from the person who represents our school.

---

Opinion

CONNOLLY: Politics with the Pope

By John Connolly | February 5, 2015

The first problem is obvious: Pope Francis is not — nor is any pope — a tool to be utilized for the electoral whims of an American political party. When commentators such as Amy Davidson view Pope Francis merely as a political roadblock for Republicans, due to his public ministry, they forget that Pope Francis stands, first and foremost, as the leader of the Catholic Church.

---

Opinion

RUSSO: Go big on sanctioning reform

By Mary Russo | February 5, 2015

Delaying the vote shows the Honor Committee is perhaps not fully prepared to place the future of the honor system in the community’s hands by confronting the possibility that the single sanction is antithetical to the revitalization of the community of trust.

---

Opinion

Why colleges should support a lower drinking age

By Managing Board | February 4, 2015

By bringing alcohol into an open social sphere, students may be more inclined to drink limited quantities, since they won’t confine their drinking to rushed, secretive pre-games intended to keep them inebriated for an entire night, but may instead space out their drinking.