BEFORE I went to France this summer, I didn't really understand why a lot of Europeans think Americans are idiots.
IF YOU opened a newspaper or newsmagazine, listened to a radio or watched a television for any amount of time this summer, brace yourself.
VIRGINIANS are everywhere. From every corner of the state, they come with parents and siblings and even dogs in tow, having loaded up large vehicles with apparently everything they own.
CAMPAIGN 2000 introduced the nation to "fuzzy math" when it came to national fiscal policy. Now the phenomenon has crept across the Potomac, down to the executive office of the Capital building in Richmond.
WHETHER it's your first time moving in or your fourth, some things never change. Oppressive heat, carpet sales, U-Hauls and traffic jams quickly come to mind.
THERE is nothing more annoying than a driver on a cell phone. I think so, many professional comedians think so, and a majority of registered voters in New York think so.
AS ORIENTATION rolls around this year, I am reminded of one of my experiences from my first-year orientation.
UNLIKE some of the more vocal callers who appear on C-SPAN's television show "Washington Journal" - the political version of "The Jerry Springer Show" - I don't hold the belief that a vast left-wing conspiracy exists in the media.
IT LOOKS like the National Organization for Women (NOW) has let their whole staff out on summer vacation.
THE HONOR system at the University needs to go. Our honor system routinely rewards cheaters and punishes honesty.
THERE ARE times when ignorance isn't exactly bliss: When a professor calls on you in class and you have no idea what the answer is.
NEW YORK City Mayoral Candidate Michael Bloomberg (R) has joined the ranks of those who want to put religion in public schools.
THE OTHER day I came across an extremely puzzling article in the newspaper. I was reading a Washington Post article on the faith-based charity bill that recently passed through the House of Representatives when a single sentence stopped me cold.
HAPPY birthday to Jennifer Lopez, who turned 31 on Tuesday. Going by the numbers, she had a successful week: Her platinum-selling album J.Lo made big sales gains; the single "I'm Real" continues to rise on the Billboard Hot 100 as its video became number nine on MTV's most-played for the week.
MAYBE if you've been born and raised with the intention of heading off to U.Va. after high school, the University's football games - and the traditions that accompany them - seem normal to you.
YOU COULD say that I was less than pleased when I discovered an e-mail in my inbox early this July instructing me to write "an advice column to first years" which was to be mailed out to the entire University population.
STUDENTS, alumni and sports fans gathering to cheer on the University's varsity football team expect sport and entertainment but experience much more.
GETTING away from my parents and partying until dawn were the two main thoughts on my mind as I unpacked my belongings and set up my college pad.
THE GOOD folks at The Cavalier Daily have asked for a column directed at incoming students.
It really isn't so bad that the latest headlines involve fibbing politicians, sly mistresses, and the sordid details about their affairs.
