Opinion

Opinion

KABIR: Putting off fun

By Fariha Kabir | August 28, 2013

The University has a long list of traditions, and partaking in these traditions or better experiencing the Charlottesville area enhances the four years spent at U.Va. Participation in these activities can help a person grow by exposing them to different ideas and environments. More importantly, it makes college an academic, social and cultural experience, which is important in helping an individual better understand themselves and the world around them. College is the last cushion before the “real world”; therefore, having a more rich college experience can be important in preparing students for the challenges they face after graduation.

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Opinion

A journey, not a destination

By Managing Board | August 27, 2013

The College’s 2012 destinations report hints at an argument that College officials should be making, or at least making more forcefully. Often, critics of the College make the mistake of judging an undergraduate experience not by the experience itself but by future earning potential. When faced with this limited perspective, College officials can still defend the worth of a liberal arts degree by pointing to the high number of students who win admission to graduate programs.

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Opinion

Wherever, whenever

By Managing Board | August 26, 2013

We will have some growing pains. Our redesign is ambitious, and we will learn as we go. At this time we welcome your feedback more than ever. Email us directly, or send a message to our new public editor, Christopher Broom, who we welcomed aboard this week, at publiceditor@cavalierdaily.com. And join us at our Sept. 6 launch party in the Amphitheater to mark a new year and a new Cavalier Daily.

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Opinion

KNAYSI: Debatable debates

By George Knaysi | August 26, 2013

In my experience, some of the best insights in recent memory were gained from late-night chats on a dorm room floor or drunken philosophizing at a friend’s apartment.

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Opinion

BERGER: See no evil

By Meredith Berger | August 26, 2013

The kind of fear “The Conjuring” struck in me was different. It prompted me to strengthen my faith and believe in something greater than myself.

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Opinion

BROOM: A declaration of independence

By Christopher Broom | August 26, 2013

My role is to serve as a voice for the readers of this paper, website and increasingly, Twitter feed and other outlets. I am charged with publicly critiquing and commenting on the work presented in all of these means of publication. I will look for honesty, rigor and fairness in reporting and writing. I will look for both the good and the places where work falls short of the high standards The Cavalier Daily has set over the decades.

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Opinion

Reflections on the founder

By Managing Board | August 22, 2013

Jefferson the man was more complex. Sandy-haired and gangly, fearful of public speaking, Jefferson was, like many gifted people, consistently inconsistent. Pick a quote from his voluminous correspondence. What he says in one letter he will contradict in another.

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Opinion

Saying “goodbye”

By Katherine Ripley | August 22, 2013

But despite the allure of social media, we still feel the need to meet up one last time—one last day at the beach, one last lunch, one last night out, all for the purpose of saying farewell to a friend, a family member, a summer romance. We get together again. We brace ourselves. We cry. We call out and say “I love you” as the car is driving away.

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Opinion

An open letter to the Class of 2017

By Russell Bogue | August 22, 2013

Going to college is a period in your life unlike any other. At no other point will you have such freedom to set your schedule, pursue your passions and educate yourself as a human being. That last bit is important, not because majoring in chemistry and taking all the pre-med requirements makes you an uneducated blockhead, but because if you leave U.Va having never considered J.S. Mill’s political philosophy, having never tried out a new language, having never Aristotle or Shakespeare or even the Bible, how can you call yourself an “educated” person?

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Opinion

Quiet magic

By Sam Novack | August 22, 2013

Newcomb Hall and O-Hill may not serve pumpkin juice, but students from first to fourth year will soon be packing into these buildings for feasts aplenty. New students will have a few days to get themselves situated, and then they—and all of us returners—will be heading to class. And while the University does not feature the winding staircases and secret passageways that crisscross Hogwarts, first years will still take a wrong turn here and there. I remember trying to figure out the numbering system for rooms in New Cabell my first year and thinking frantically that I could not be late for my first class in college.

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Opinion

The view from Topkapi

By Denise Taylor | August 22, 2013

“Can” (pronounced “jahn”) has no direct English equivalent. It’s one of the several Turkish words for “life,” intended to describe “life” as the thing that distinguishes organisms from inorganic matter. It’s more associated, however, with the soul and compassion independent of the conscious mind. In Turkey, it’s understood that there is “can” in every living thing—my grandmother once told me not to eat food while walking outside because “If even a bird saw it out of the corner of his eye, his ‘can’ could want it.”

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Opinion

Idealizing college

By Walter Keady | August 22, 2013

If you spend your time in college looking for the best four years of your life, you will not find them.

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Opinion

Scrubbing up

By Ashley Spinks | August 22, 2013

Many students make the same mistake of committing themselves to a course of study before they’ve given themselves time to change and grow. This early and unyielding decision makes a change of heart more challenging to deal with.

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Opinion

The case for moderation

By Alex Yahanda | August 22, 2013

Sometimes, too many interesting outlets can cause students to lose sight of their initial goals.

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Opinion

Access denied

By Thomas Madrecki | August 6, 2013

At a time when college costs are rising and economic uncertainty poses additional challenges to already low-income families, the Board of Visitors’ decision to scale back AccessUVA for the University’s most needy students is—at best—a step in the wrong direction. At worst, it threatens to put an end to the program’s loftiest goals, as envisioned by the late Dean of Admissions John Blackburn and former University President John T. Casteen III.

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Opinion

Big data, redux

By Managing Board | July 22, 2013

The madcap mailing mishap has all the elements of farce.

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Opinion

Trading blows

By Managing Board | June 14, 2013

Because Jones’ views do not equal the University’s views, and Jones has issued a public apology of his own, the administration is not committing a grave error by considering the matter settled. But by opting to remain silent, the administration missed an opportunity to do two things: first, affirm its commitment to fostering women’s potential in a range of fields; and second, show that the school is not unduly beholden to donors.

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Opinion

Old rhymes, new times

By Managing Board | May 7, 2013

Four years ago the Class of 2013 Came to Grounds bright-eyed and green. They learned to question and think And to mix a strong drink. At reunions they’ll all reconvene. Many students think of graduation As an intellectual emancipation. No more blue books or notes Time to sow some wild oats And eventually find a vocation. Congratulations, graduates!

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Opinion

Being black at U.Va.: a reflection

By Hallie Clark | May 7, 2013

I was always black. My grandparents told me about Angela, Muhammad Ali, Spike, etc. at an early age. There was never any doubt before that I was black. But when I came to U.Va., my experiential blackness became something I even now have trouble explaining.

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Opinion

Being black at Mr. Jefferson’s University

By Adair Hodge | May 7, 2013

I must admit that during my stay at one of the nation’s most prestigious universities, my “blackness” never went unnoticed.