THIS is my last column as The Cavalier Daily's ombudsman. It has been an honor and a privilege to be given free rein to critique this paper for a year - in public, at that.
IF WORDS had a texture, "no" would be sandpaper - coarse, spike-adorned sandpaper. Fourth years shouldn't say "no" to the class gift. As adults, we've realized through experience the power "no" can convey, but even little children recognize its abrasive nature as they torment their parents behind two-year old giggling.
EVERY year around this time, as warm beautiful days become common outside, many University students are stuck in Alderman Library researching for papers.
WOMEN have always had it rough. Despite the fact that we make up half of the world's population, no group has been as universally, quietly and consistently discriminated against throughout history.
AS DIVERSITY becomes a more and more prevalent buzzword and colleges and universities seek to encourage minority enrollment, we like to think that we are moving away from racial tension and conflict toward a more tolerant society.
SOMETIMES anonymity in class can be a wonderful thing. Our university is big enough so that we easily can things done undisturbed and shrink into obscurity if we make a stupid remark.
INSOMNIA stalked my bed, so I turned on the radio to break up the monotony of sheep-counting. 3WV was playing my favorite Pink Floyd song: "We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control ... Teachers, leave those kids alone!" Of course, the members of Pink Floyd went to British schools in the 1950s, when emotional abuse of the students was considered acceptable, even character-building.
THE FUN police are at it again. In their never-ending quest to ensure everyone else's misery, conservatives in Pound, Virginia have outlawed dancing in their town.
WELL, WE can all breathe a sigh of relief for now. At least until the president has to make the final decision to sell arms to Taiwan, we can relax.
THE Tongue-Tied American by Paul Simon reports the following exchange. "A Georgia school board member asked Genelle Moran of the University of Georgia, "Why should a student who will never leave Macon, Georgia, study a foreign language?" Moran's reply: "That's why he should study a foreign language." I read the April 13 lead editorial, "Scrap language requirement" and cringed with embarrassment as I imagined how it would sound to international students, teaching assistants, professors - anyone, for that matter, using English every day as a second language.
TUESDAY, the Managing Board of The Cavalier Daily managed to cross the line between aggressive journalism and outright disrespect.
AT TIMES, the University seems like the only pocket of reasonable, progressive thought in the otherwise backwardly conservative Commonwealth of Virginia.
DURING the Easter season, it is common for one to reflect personally upon the true meaning of one's religious faith, particularly if one is a Christian (full disclosure: I am one). For those who prefer to look at the holidays in a non-theological light, two Grounds-related issues that have garnered attention in the past few days might have an additional relevance, if considered in light of the political and social lessons of Easter.
WE WRITE to promote a positive vision for collaborative education at the university. We are working together on AIDS politics and epidemiology.
I HAVE a poster on my wall. It reads, "Women need men like fish need bicycles." Recently a male friend of mine came to my room for the first time and seemed a little taken aback by the poster.
THE NEW Economy is collapsing, NASDAQ is a roller coaster, Internet companies are going bankrupt left and right, and venture capitalists are as nervous as long-tailed cats in a room full of rocking chairs.
PARKING and Transportation - quite possibly the most trou-blesome combination of tasks a student must try to endure while at the University.
THE BIGGEST thing I will miss when I graduate next year and truly live the adult life is my health insurance.
ONCE AGAIN, the Board of Visitors has decided to raise out of state tuition. This decision is wrong for both out-of-state students and the University as a whole.
STUPID traditions usually have stupid beginnings. The University does not have a shortage of similar meaningless traditions, but the fact that they've earned the title of being "traditions" doesn't make them any less stupid. All University traditions have an endearing little anecdotal beginning that is passed through generations and ingrained in the students' way of life.
