Opinion

Opinion

COHEN: Celebrating mediocrity

By Benji Cohen | September 19, 2013

On September 13, UVA Today ran a laudatory article about U.Va.’s place as a “top 10” Teach for America (TFA) corps contributor. The celebratory article gave me pause, as it continued to stoke the heroic one-dimensional narrative of TFA as the cure-all to urban public education in the United States. TFA is not a solution and U.Va. should exercise caution when trumpeting a program that has had such mediocre results.

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Opinion

Unearthing history

By Managing Board | September 18, 2013

Our school’s fascination with Jefferson, the man who laid the school’s conceptual foundations, is longstanding. Our interest in the lives of the people who laid the school’s physical cornerstones is quite recent.

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Humor

Parent-teacher conferences, as I imagined them in third grade

By Denise Taylor | September 18, 2013

TEACHER: Is Denise an only child? DAD: No. MOM: But she’s a lonely child.

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Opinion

BOGUE: Logging on to class

By Russell Bogue | September 18, 2013

Each day, I sit down in a highly equipped room across from screens that project images of a classroom at Duke, and I learn a new language in concert with students three hours away.

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Opinion

BROWN: Debts to the past

By Forrest Brown | September 18, 2013

Slavery is a critical element of our history as a school. We, as students here, are directly benefiting from the institution of slavery through its contributions to the establishment of our school. The least we can do is acknowledge that wrong and honor the lives that were stolen so the University could become the leading institution it is today.

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Opinion

Bearing the market

By Managing Board | September 18, 2013

But the University’s shortcomings when it comes to faculty recruitment (and retention) do not stem primarily from a failure of strategy. These problems arise from a failure to pay top faculty members market-rate wages. Until the University can compensate faculty more generously, this element of the strategic plan will be only a partial solution.

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Opinion

KABIR: Meriting attention

By Fariha Kabir | September 17, 2013

Originally, when I read about merit-based pay raises, I hesitated to support it. I recalled opposing this idea in high school, wherein merit pay for teachers would be based on standardized test scores, especially because test scores do not necessarily reflect student learning. By extension, basing pay solely on how college students do on their exams would also be artificial. However, because of the holistic approach that the University is taking to evaluate its faculty, I think merit pay is an effective mechanism for mitigating pay freezes.

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Opinion

Breaking away

By Managing Board | September 16, 2013

The report tells us something interesting about the University’s oft-uneasy relationship with the commonwealth. But it’s not what you might think. The proposal for the University to strike away from the state is not a realistic suggestion. It is the result of lingering resentment. This resentment comes from two sources: first, a trend of declining state appropriations (though state funding increased by roughly $8 million in fiscal year 2013); and second, the attempted ouster of University President Teresa Sullivan, instigated by state-appointed officials, that left the school reeling last June.

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Opinion

Disrespecting your roots

By Caroline Bartholomew | September 16, 2013

Cuccinelli claims on the campaign trail that he nearly witnessed an attempted sexual assault on Grounds, inspiring him to become an advocate. But then as a politician he refused to support one of the most successful prevention efforts against sexual violence in recent history.

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Opinion

'Try' again

By Sarah Buckley | September 16, 2013

Fritz Metzinger’s article, “Worth a Try,” suffers from an excess of assumption and a dearth of nuance.

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Opinion

Virginia and virginity

By Managing Board | September 16, 2013

Off the Hook is more than anti-hookup. It is also pro-abstinence. The organization’s AtUVa page reports that the group believes that “sex is good, but only in the context of marriage.” The group’s purpose, according to its blog, is to promote an “alternative to the hookup scene.” The alternative it offers is simple: don’t do it.

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Opinion

SPINKS: Talking about sex

By Ashley Spinks | September 15, 2013

We have been conditioned to believe that our sexuality is shameful: something to be hidden, something we shouldn’t mention.

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Opinion

RIPLEY: A matter of taste

By Katherine Ripley | September 15, 2013

Even in a world where casual sex is commonplace, we have not lost the ability — despite our best defenses — to fall in love.

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Opinion

CAPPS: Did I mention I was abroad?

By Carrie Capps | September 15, 2013

When I arrived back in the States, my first problem arose when I wanted to get a coffee. I ordered a shot of espresso and the cashier had to ask his manager how to ring me up since no one had ever ordered one before.

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Opinion

BROOM: Working both ways

By Christopher Broom | September 15, 2013

If you feel there is something important, I suggest reaching out to the various press outlets you hope will cover the meeting or event. They may not choose to cover it, but it will get some consideration that might not happen otherwise simply because they might not know the meeting is taking place to begin with.

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Opinion

KEADY: The porn identity

By Walter Keady | September 15, 2013

Perhaps the best way to look at pornography and maintain a healthy sex life is to take it with a grain of salt — porn is not meant to be realistic or grounded, and should not be assumed to be so. Most importantly, however, is to be true to oneself — whether in a Google Chrome incognito window or not.

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Opinion

TODD: A national treasure

By James Todd | September 15, 2013

Much has been written through the years about activist judges; however, the definition of activism is somewhat elusive. I’ve heard both the late Chief Justice Rehnquist and retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor say that an activist decision is one with which you do not agree. There’s a lot of truth to that, but it’s not very helpful identifying the line beyond which a judge has exceeded his or her proper role.

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Opinion

BERGER: Unhooked

By Meredith Berger | September 15, 2013

These “casual encounters” could be a one-night stand or a dance floor make-out (commonly referred to as a DFMO). In these scenarios it can be unclear to one or both parties what the result will be of the casual hookup. Does he like me? Will she text me later? Is this the beginning of a possible relationship?

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Opinion

An uncommon curriculum

By Managing Board | September 12, 2013

For universities that are thinking through their global initiatives, a joint effort between Yale and the National University of Singapore (NUS) provides a useful case study.

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Opinion

An uncommon curriculum

By Managing Board | September 12, 2013

For universities that are thinking through their global initiatives, a joint effort between Yale and the National University of Singapore (NUS) provides a useful case study.