Weekly

Opinion

SPINKS: Feminism is more than leaning in

By Ashley Spinks | February 25, 2015

Women should have the ability to make career moves that they want or deserve — but not the obligation to do so. The problem with accusing Williams of suffering from "imposter syndrome" is it assumes that, as a woman, Williams is simply unaware of her own talents. This kind of woman-on-woman criticism is exactly what hurts the feminist movement, rather than propelling it forward.

---

Opinion

WALLS: Support a living wage at U.Va

By Nora Walls | February 25, 2015

Worker involvement is crucial in a campaign focused on worker treatment and wages. The employees deserve to speak for themselves, rather than having students speak on their behalf. Still, it makes sense that students would be more willing and able to participate.

---

Opinion

OLSON: Don’t watch Daesh’s videos

By Jake Olson | February 24, 2015

Any decision to view the murder of al-Kasasbeh that is rooted in this is simply consuming terrorist propaganda for cheap thrills while helping Daesh garner the attention they crave from their depravity. Others choose to watch the video to personally experience the atrocities Daesh commits and confirm they are a twisted, evil and morally corrupt organization. However, it shouldn’t take the graphic death of al-Kasasbeh to convince us Daesh is a group of deplorable murderers.

---

Opinion

Fully honoring those who built the University

By Managing Board | February 24, 2015

Jefferson, Madison and Monroe have been commemorated around our school and in world history over and over again — their stories require little further acknowledgment. But Thrimston Hern’s story is not commemorated in any physical way at the University. He and his peers are deserving of the same recognition as these three Founding Fathers in the creation of our school.

---

Opinion

ALJASSAR: There’s nothing wrong with a black Bond

By Nazar Aljassar | February 24, 2015

I am skeptical about this concern with finding an actor who most closely matches Bond’s physical characteristics as they are in Fleming’s novels. The pretense of preserving the accuracy of Fleming’s novels belies the racism that lies at the center of the objections to Elba’s candidacy for the role of Bond.

---

Opinion

PATEL: Changing the SIS-tem

By Sawan Patel | February 24, 2015

Self-adjusting class sizes would improve efficiency by limiting the use of huge lecture halls that are half full or small classrooms that can barely fit the amount of people enrolled. Such a robust system would have drawbacks because of uncertainty about distance between classes. This is because classrooms would not be set while people were making their rankings, only after SIS had determined preliminary schedules.

---

Opinion

DOYLE: Why vigils work against positive change

By Bobby Doyle | February 23, 2015

This is because vigils are an inherently passive event. They attempt to patch up the immediate pain instead of looking to address the habitual source of it. Yet while vigils are passive, they are the most active part a majority of students take in addressing tragedies on Grounds. This gives vigils a strong ability to shape the views of students.

---

Opinion

BROOM: Improving election coverage

By Christopher Broom | February 23, 2015

The distinction between the print and digital formats was really highlighted with this issue. The print issue was easily navigated and the graphics showing how various parts of student government function were interesting. The problem I ran into is that I couldn’t locate most of them online.

---

Opinion

MENNINGER: Re-thinking hook-up culture

By Nate Menninger | February 23, 2015

But what makes this hook-up model the correct model? Is it merely personal opinion? Isn’t it possible your monogamous favoritism is based off societal pressures which have convinced you marital monogamy is the only truly acceptable form of adult relationship? If we look at the world, out of over 1,000 societies 186 are monogamous and 453 have occasional polygyny (with others having more frequent polygyny or polyandry).

---

Opinion

EDEL: Misunderstanding Modi

By Brennan Edel | February 20, 2015

I find Doyle’s portrayal of Modi as a ruthless, power-hungry fascist dictator — as evidenced by Doyle’s numerous references to fascism and his portentous warning that a “nationalistic man leading the Indian state should be very scary to us all” — decidedly exaggerated and unfounded.

---

Opinion

HARRINGTON: Rethinking “slacktivism”

By Elaine Harrington | February 20, 2015

The often-competing ideals of student self-governance and tradition at the University allow for true activism, but at the expense of expediency. This creates a gap in student support of causes which so-called “slacktivism” fills nicely.

---

Opinion

RUDGLEY: The GOP and the politics of fear

By Ben Rudgley | February 20, 2015

Congressional Republicans have been desperately trying to prove they can govern as well as obstruct, though their recent actions have done little to change their perception. Republicans’ rabid opposition to President Barack Obama’s recent executive action on immigration has led to their latest exercise in brinkmanship: failing to fund the Department of Homeland Security while at the same time bemoaning the national security threats of ISIL and terrorist plots in Europe.

---

Opinion

ZIFF: Festivus and the airing of grievances

By Tamar Ziff | February 20, 2015

Are we all just talking at each other? Social media forums are notoriously bad for interacting with other people. Not only are we alone when we stand on our virtual soapboxes, but Facebook and Twitter let us behave like ideological Whack-a-Moles, launching loaded statements and then retreating from any rebuttal into the depths of the Internet.

---

Opinion

GORMAN: GOP flunks on higher education

By Ryan Gorman | February 19, 2015

Essentially, the Republican Party identified every student enrolled in a public university as a dependent thinker, and they labeled every university as a factory that exclusively produces liberals. But what if the majority of college students are liberal because they want to be?

---

Opinion

RUSSO: The dangers of social media in student elections

By Mary Russo | February 19, 2015

There is nothing inherently wrong with using social media. However, when the number of attendees on a Facebook event becomes the primary indicator of who is to win an election, we should be concerned. At a certain point we should question whom social media campaigns are reaching.

---

Opinion

CONNOLLY: The firm morality of a multi-sanction system

By John Connolly | February 19, 2015

Can honor be preserved at this University without the single sanction? Unequivocally, yes. Some will argue the single sanction is what distinguishes our honor from that of other schools and places. But they are mostly wrong. 

---

Opinion

EVANS: Honor referenda signal progress

By Will Evans | February 18, 2015

Although the referenda do not directly propose a multi-sanction model, to join the conversation is to realize that single sanction serves as a disincentive in encouraging students to honor the system. After all, the fates of accused cheaters and liars should not be determined by a moral code that was instituted following the slaughter of a professor back in 1840.

---

Opinion

JACKSON: The importance of being code literate

By Lauren Jackson | February 18, 2015

Not every person needs to be a master coder. Coding is not the only technical skill that develops mental focus, enhances problem-solving capabilities and hones creativity. However, I do agree with Obama that coding is a new literacy that must be acquired so that all people can understand computer science basics and communicate effectively to programmers who have the capacity to make their ideas a reality.

---

Opinion

SPINKS: What should we consider real news?

By Ashley Spinks | February 18, 2015

The BBG had a budget of $731 million in fiscal year 2014, which means it has the resources to do a lot of good — or a significant amount of harm. From a solely idealistic standpoint, we can all get behind the mission of the BBG, which involves protecting free speech and providing news that is “accurate, objective, and comprehensive” to countries that often do not have access to a free press.

---

Opinion

ALJASSAR: The consequences of the GA’s mental health legislation

By Nazar Aljassar | February 17, 2015

As legal adults, students have a right to mental health privacy. For students who do not want their mental health information shared with their parents, SB 1122 is especially concerning. And according to Davis, CAPS would have to report concerning student behavior to campus threat assessment teams, as University counseling centers would not be exempt from HB 1715.