Thursday, February 16, 2017

STUDENT ELECTIONS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017

VOL. 127, ISSUE 39

HONORING FAULKNER

VOTE

see EXHIBIT, page 6

STUDENT ELECTIONS LUCAS HALSE | THE CAVALIER DAILY

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Discrimination lawsuit filed against U.Va. Assistant vice provost alleges she was not paid equally to male counterparts ANNA HIGGINS | NEWS EDITOR

Assistant Vice Provost Betsy Ackerson filed a lawsuit against the University in federal court Wednesday, alleging she was not paid equally to her male colleagues. Ackerson’s complaint claimed the University violated four federal laws — the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

“This is a textbook case of employment discrimination and retaliation,” Adam Carter, Ackerson’s attorney from The Employment Law Group, said in a release. “U.Va. and its senior executives took full advantage of Dr. Ackerson’s skills, intelligence, and professional expertise to successfully complete some of the university’s highest priority projects, including its current strategic plan. At the same time, she was subjected to a pernicious pattern of discrimination and retaliation from these people.”

The University declined to comment on the case Wednesday.

According to court documents, Ackerson began working at the University in 2012 as project manager for strategic planning. She alleges her pay disparity began when her superior — former Senior Vice Provost Milton

Adams — relied on her to perform much of the workload on the strategic planning project. The complaint said Adams later hired Charlie Feigenoff to do the same job as Ackerson, but at a higher salary.

“Ackerson frequently had to brief Feigenoff on the strategic plan, despite the fact that U.Va. paid him significantly more than it paid her,” the complaint reads.

The strategic plan, approved in 2013, developed into the Cornerstone Plan. The plan aims to increase residential culture, research and infrastructure, student engagement, faculty support and resources for affordable access.

Ackerson said in court docu-

ments that when she tried to address her pay alleged inequality, Adams and Nancy Rivers — chief of staff for University President Teresa Sullivan and associate vice president for administration — both agreed she deserved a higher salary.

“Rivers and Adams agreed that U.Va. had paid Ackerson too little money for the work she performed for U.Va.,” the complaint reads.

“U.Va. later extended Ackerson’s oneyear contract, however the extension did not come with a higher salary as promised.”

After receiving a diagnosis for chronic fatigue syndrome in March 2014, the complaint says Ackerson took medical leave and returned to

MARSHALL BRONFIN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Ackerson’s request for a private office in Madison Hall was denied by the University.

find her private office had been given to someone else and her private printer had been rescinded. According to the complaint, the lack of privacy in her office compromised the confidentiality of her work and the physical activity involved with walking to the printer aggravated her medical condition.

“Due to her job duties, Ackerson often needs to participate in phone conversations that involve sensitive information, which makes her assignment to a cubicle in an open area totally inappropriate and physically taxing on Ackerson,” the complaint reads.

After trying to address her underpayment and the misclassification of what her job entailed, Ackerson said in her complain that Adams and the University Human Resources department repeatedly delayed her new contracts. When she confronted Adams, she said she was allegedly threatened with losing her job.

“Adams told Ackerson that she risked losing her job if she mentioned the issue of unequal pay or the new three-year contract to anyone,” the complaint reads. “Ackerson took his statement as a threat.”

Ackerson first began discussing legal percussions with Carter and the University in September 2015. She received a pay raise in August 2016,

but is still paid less than male counterparts.

“Late August of 2015 is when she came to us, so we have been in discussions with the University since September of 2015 would be my estimate,” Carter said in an interview with The Cavalier Daily.

According to Carter, the University and Sullivan were fully aware of Ackerson’s situation throughout Ackerson’s time at the University.

“My understanding is that President Sullivan had known about Dr. Ackerson’s pay disparity all the while,” he said.

Carter said this is not the first employment discrimination case he has worked on against the University, though it is the first that has to do with equal pay.

In 2012, Carter successfully represented former University laboratory researcher Weihua Huang, who claimed he was unfairly fired after reporting unauthorized alterations to a research grant. The court awarded Huang over $800,000 in the case.

“Dr. Ackerson is not just trying to do this for herself, but really for other women at this University and elsewhere because it’s just wrong,” Carter said.

The University has 60 days to respond to the lawsuit.

Honor Audit Commission to release report next spring Focus groups, peer reviews, surveys to inform review KATE BELLOWS | ASSOCIATE EDITOR The Honor Audit Commission is conducting research on Grounds as part of an 18-month audit of the Honor Committee.

The HAC plans to release its report in the spring of 2018.

The HAC, an independent body consisting of students, faculty and alumni, is evaluating the honor system and student opinions of the system. The HAC aims to provide recommendations for internal and external improvements to the honor system, said Katie Deal, a fourth-year College student and Honor Committee representative to the HAC. “The HAC is an important step in documenting how the honor system affects students,” Deal said. “And, while our report may offer recommendations to the Honor Committee, its main purpose is to help the student body and Committee members understand the successes and shortcomings of the system.”

Deal said the HAC will be analyzing four facets of the hon-

or system: perceptions, sanctioning, scope and process. The Commission will be conducting research throughout the spring.

“The HAC has drafted a survey to send out to students in order to gauge opinions regarding sanctioning, outreach, opinions of the system … and is working on the timing of its release, in coordination with several other surveys that will be released by the University over the coming months,” said Politics Prof. Evan Pivonka, special assistant to the Honor Committee and administrative assistant to the HAC. Pivonka said the HAC will also be holding focus groups in order to gauge what the most productive issues are and analyze the Committee holistically. HAC has formed subcommittees to peer review honor systems across the country.

Darden Prof. and Senior Assoc. Dean Michael Lenox, alumni representative to the HAC, is part of the peer review subcom-

mittee. He said the committee is currently identifying which schools would be interesting to examine. “[We] use that as a basis for starting our analysis,” Lenox said. “It would include both public universities, private institutions [and] universities in the commonwealth.”

The HAC will not evaluate a proposed amendment to the Honor Committee constitution that would reduce the threshold of student support needed to make a change to the constitution unless the proposal is approved in the upcoming University elections to be held Feb. 21-23.

The proposed amendment would lower the threshold of support needed to amend the Committee’s constitution from 60 percent to 55 percent in referendums, provided that at least 10 percent of students who are eligible to vote support the amendment. The Committee has declined to take a stance on the

amendment ahead of the election.

“There has been a number of changes to the honor system over the years and if a new referendum passes, the HAC will incorporate that into our review,” Phoebe Willis, a third-year Law student and chair of the HAC, said in an email to The Cavalier Daily.

Deal said the HAC will only evaluate the honor system “as it stands today.”

“We heard from the author of the referendum during our last meeting, and will keep in mind how the referendum might affect the honor system upon a vote from the student body,” Deal said.

Fourth-year College student and Honor Committee chair Matt West, who is not a member of the HAC, said the Committee created the HAC last spring and shortly thereafter stepped away from the HAC’s work.

“After briefly meeting with

the Commission during their first meeting to explain to them our hopes for the review, the reasons for their formation, I’ve not been involved in any formal capacity since,” West said. “However, our Committee, as well as me individually, is providing any support that they request from behind the scenes, any statistics that we can offer them that may be helpful and the other materials and resources that would be useful during their review.”

Willis said she hopes the report that the HAC creates will be useful for students by providing a history of the honor system, information about peer institutions and community opinions.

“Having a commission review the system to evaluate it and make non-binding recommendations in our report to the Honor Committee is an important part of checking the health of any organization,” Willis said.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017

www.cavalierdaily.com • NEWS

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UJC referenda up for vote in upcoming election Proposed amendments seek to update language, clarify ambiguities in UJC constitution DANIEL HOERAUF | SENIOR WRITER Students will have the opportunity in the upcoming University-wide elections to vote on four amendments proposed by the University Judiciary Committee to update language and clarify ambiguities in the UJC constitution.

One of the referenda students will be able to vote on is a proposed expansion of protected categories under the Sanction Enhancement Clause of the UJC constitution, which provides for more serious sanctions for students found to have committed bias-motivation violations of the University standards of conduct. The amendment would add gender identity, marital status and family medical or genetic information to protect categories.

UJC Chair and fourth-year College student Mitchell Wellman said this update was not in response to any particular incident but rather to update the language of the constitution to match that of the University’s Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights’ own policy regarding discrimination and harassment.

The University saw an increased number of bias-motivated incidents in the fall 2016 semester “The incidents of last semester involving bias or seeming to involve bias put the change into perspective,” Wellman said. “Those of us who aware of the clause are even more aware of how necessary it is and how

it’s a good thing that we’re keeping up with the language on it.”

A second proposed amendment aims to eliminate ambiguity in the steps required to propose future amendments to the UJC constitution.

The constitution’s current wording is ambiguous as to whether an amendment would require both a petition and two-thirds vote of the entire University Judiciary Committee, or whether just either the petition or the vote would suffice.

“The more important thing was, in a world where we interpret it as a both-and, no one who wasn’t on UJC … would have been able to pass an amendment,” Casey Schmidt, chair of the University Board of Elections and a third-year College student, said. “It would have been restricted and an exclusive right of the committee unlike any other constitution which allows any student if they want to and get enough signatures to put something on the ballot.”

A third referenda proposes an update the UJC constitution with gender-inclusive language by replacing instances of words such as “his,” “he” or “chairman” with “his or her,” “he or she” or “chair,” respectively.

The fourth proposed amendment would update the constitution in regards to vacancies on UJC’s elected representative body.

“We currently reach out to the presidents of the school, notify them

of the vacancy and request their help in locating a person or appointing a person to fill that representative spot from their school,” Wellman said.

“That practice is enshrined in our bylaws but not in our constitution. [The referendum] will just solidify our constitution in that it will be much more faithful and representative of

what we are actually doing.”

The same proposed amendment would also make graduate students who are in one-year degree programs eligible to seek election to UJC. In order for any of the proposed amendments to pass, the questions must receive at least a two-thirds vote for approval, with at least 10 percent

ISABELLE LOTOCKI | THE CAVALIER DAILY

UJC Chair Mitch Wellman said a challenge is raising awareness of the referenda.

of the eligible voting population voting in favor.

“Our main concern is getting enough people to read over the changes and vote on all four parts of it. I don’t think that our challenge is going to be persuading people to vote yes over no. These are not very controversial changes,” Wellman said.

“So that’s where I expect the challenge — just getting people to go out and vote, getting the 10 percent of the student body threshold requirement will be the challenge rather than the approval of whoever votes.”

According to UBE Referendum Liason and fourth-year College student Inez Lieber, there is no way to know how many students will vote on a given referendum since the outcome will depend on which referenda are popularized. However, she said UBE hopes a shortened voting period will help voters remember to vote.

“A lot of people just don’t see how these offices affect them and how much of a vehicle for change they can be. It’s not something we’ve really figured out how to solve. We can push a lot on our end and say ‘You should vote for this,’” Lieber said. “The challenge is how do you connect with these people? How do you communicate the effect that this could have?”

Students will have an opportunity to vote on the referenda when the voting period begins Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 10:00 a.m.

Free speech bill progresses through General Assembly Bill patron describes bill as restatement of First Amendment KATJA CRESANTI | SENIOR WRITER A Virginia State Senate subcommittee passed HB 1401 Tuesday — a proposed law meant to prohibit any public university from abridging the freedom of any individual to speak on campus. This includes individuals, students, faculty members and guest speakers.

The bill’s chief patron was Del. Steve Landes (R-Weyers Cave), who described it as a more detailed restatement of the First Amendment.

“I think it will allow universities to be able to point to the law and say it’s our goal and the state’s goal to promote free speech and to make sure we’re actively trying to do that,” Landes said. “I think universities can comply with this pretty easily. A couple other statutes already on the books promote free speech for faculty and students,

so it would be just a restatement of that policy but also expanding it to include the groups of employees and invited guests.”

The legislation passed the House of Delegates Feb. 2 with a vote of 76-19. It was then sent to the subcommittee on Higher Education within the Senate Committee on Education and Health, where it passed Tuesday afternoon.

“In the political climate, some people feel like they don’t have a voice,” Del. Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon), a supporter of HB 1401, said. “My intention in supporting it was to say that everybody’s voice matters, and we’re not going to tolerate shutting opinions down.”

Boysko said that she saw HB 1401 as more of a symbolic gesture in support of free speech on college campuses than an at-

tempt to break new ground.

“Everybody should have a voice, even if we don’t agree with them,” Boysko said.

Support of the legislation was not universal, however. Some view the bill as overly regulatory or simply unnecessary. Delegate John Bell (D-Loudoun) was one of 19 House Delegates who voted against the House’s passage of HB 1401, calling it repetitive.

“The Constitution guarantees free speech, I don’t know why we would need to guarantee it a second time,” Bell said. “One of the issues we often face in the legislatures is people will ask ‘what’s the problem this seeks to solve?’ or ‘why is this needed?’

In my opinion, based on what we already have, with the Constitution, this is a solution looking for a problem.”

He also said he was con-

cerned the bill’s problem-seeking could result in more instances of hate speech.

"Now the other secondary factor is this could open the door to bad things,” Bell said.

“People were saying hateful remarks or doing improper things, I don’t want to encourage that and this bill in some ways could encourage that."

This bill comes about in light of the larger, highly polarized nature of a public debate over free speech on college campuses.

Protests erupted at the University of Berkeley Feb. 1, for example, in response to Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos being invited by the Berkeley College Republicans to speak on campus. When the demonstrations turned violent, Berkeley announced the cancellation of the appearance via Twitter.

Opponents of the speech called for the event to be cancelled, citing controversial comments and what they considered to be hate speech from Yiannopoulos. President Donald Trump, however, criticized the university for what he said was an attempt to silence free speech.

Landes described HB 1410 as a way to encourage universities to develop policies pertaining to guest speakers.

“There have been some issues, not in Virginia but on other campuses, where faculty or speakers that have been invited onto campus are not allowed to speak by groups infringing on their first amendment rights,” Landes said.

The bill is yet to pass out of the senate.

4

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NEWS • www.cavalierdaily.com

Student leaders work up to 40 hours in positions Honor, Student Council, class council members discuss time commitments MAGGIE SNOW | SENIOR WRITER On average, class council, Student Council and Honor officials can dedicate between 10 and 40 hours a week to their positions. The commitment required of these jobs typically makes it hard for student leaders to fully participate in other activities on Grounds, though some manage to balance multiple roles.

The responsibilities of class council presidents involve attending weekly meetings, keeping in touch with Alumni Hall and University administrators and maintaining a positive relationship with their classes and the greater University community.

“I would say I spend a solid hour or two each day or ... an hour and a half on SYC a day,” said Floyd Black, second-year College student and Second-Year Class Council President.

Black’s schedule is similar to most class council presidents, with a slight variation in the groups they collaborate with.

Omar Elhaj, a first-year College student and First-Year Council President said much of his time is dedicated to meetings.

“My responsibilities are going to and coordinating the council meetings for everybody and organizing the executive board meetings and advisor meetings with Housing and Residence Life, as well as checking in with Student Council executives,” Elhaj said.

Patrick Rice, a fourth-year Engineering student and Fourth Year Trustees President, said it is impor-

tant to have collaboration between University faculty and student leaders.

“I have a lot of resources at my disposal, [so] that if I come up with an idea I know that there are a lot of people, both students and employees of the University alike, who will help me implement that,” Rice said. “I’m definitely thankful to the [vice president and chief student affairs officer’s] office and Alumni Hall for that.”

Rice’s position as Trustees president is unique among class council leaders because it requires his and all other Trustees’ involvement for five years after his graduation.

“One funny quirk in the job description [is that] literally the first sentence says, ‘the Trustees president serves for life’ — so it’s like a title that technically stays with you forever,” Rice said.

The post-graduation commitment is centered around planning events during the two weekends when recent graduates return to Grounds — the Young Alumni Reunion in the fall and the Foxfield Races in the spring.

Stewart credits his excellent working relationship with Third-Year Council Vice President Diane D’Costa, a third-year Batten and Curry student, with his ability to carry out Council responsibilities. He said he manages to break up Council responsibilities so he can participate in other activities, like being a Resident Advisor, a University Guide and a dancer

in the Salsa Club.

“We’re very independently productive and efficient,” Stewart said.

“When we’re both able to kind of divide and conquer and come back together, that’s when we’re able to be most efficient.”

Despite their commitments to student office, most of these students find time to be involved in organizations on Grounds. There is great overlap in leadership positions and other groups on Grounds. Three of the six student leaders interviewed, including Stewart, Rice and Student Council President Emily Lodge are members of the University Guide Service. Both Elhaj and Rice are members of the Jefferson Literary & Debating Society.

Matt West, a fourth-year College student and Honor Committee chair, said while his time commitment depends on how many cases the Honor Committee has on its docket, the time he devotes to Honor responsibilities equals the weekly number of hours of a full-time job.

West said he was fully aware of the time commitment before taking office and has adjusted his schedule accordingly to make room for Honor commitments.

“I would say my experience has closely mirrored my expectations entering the role last April,” he said.

“I think everyone who is interested and ultimately decides to pursue this position is very aware of the responsibilities.”

As for Lodge, the most challenging part of her job is the lack of a clear finish.

“Student Council’s job is never finished. There is always a way the student experience can be improved, so it is difficult to work so hard but still not see a finish line,” Lodge said in an email to The Cavalier Daily.

Lodge said she believes it is important to remember the purpose of

the job when carrying out the sometimes tedious daily work.

“When speaking to a group of first-years, I compared my job to that of a grandma. No matter how busy you are you must always find the time to help others or be a listening ear,” Lodge said.

COURTESY EMILY LODGE

Student Council President Emily Lodge said her job can be tedious but purposeful.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017

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Voter apathy depresses turnout Students cite mix of indifference, disconnection for low voting rates MAGGIE SERVAIS | FOCUS WRITER The University created the University Board of Elections in 2003 to oversee and regulate University-wide student elections of Student Council, the Honor Committee, the University Judiciary Committee and class councils. The aim of UBE is to maintain the ideal of student self-governance and allow for honest, active elections.

UBE reflects some of the values of the University that many students hold in high esteem. However, this component of student self-governance draws only a small percentage of students to participate in elections.

“No, I didn’t [vote],” second-year College student Chris Yeung said. “I guess maybe I didn’t feel like my vote really mattered that much. Or I didn’t really know the candidates that well, didn’t feel a connection to it.”

Yeung was not alone in his choice not to vote in student elections. Only 24.77 percent of students voted for Student Council president in the spring of 2016, and turnout never passed 50 percent for year-specific offices such as Second- and Third-Year Class Council. This means more than half the student body in each year had no input in the selection of their peers who control the activities and initiatives of their class.

Student elections are an integral part of the University’s core tenet of student self-governance. So why do so few students participate?

Voter turnout — by the numbers First, the question of why voter turnout is so low can be analyzed using statistics. Student participation in general student body elections has increased in recent years, but only by small margins.

Voter participation for Student Council President was only 16.26 percent in 2014. It increased by nearly five percent the following year, rising to 21.07 percent. Last year participation rose 3.7 percent to include almost a quarter of the student body at 24.77 percent.

Participation in elections for class council, on the other hand, tends to fluctuate. The percentage of eligible students who voted for Second-Year Council president in 2014 was 17.55 percent. In 2015 it jumped to 41.91 percent and remained around that margin last year with 41.08 percent.

Third-Year Council saw a drop in participation. In 2014, 42.45 percent of eligible students participated but in 2015 numbers decreased to 37.18 percent and remained at 37.94 percent last year.

By school, Batten — graduate and undergraduate combined — had the highest voter turnout with 53.11 percent voting for the Honor representative and 46.89 percent voting for the Judiciary representative in 2016.

Nursing, Education, Architecture and Medicine had the lowest rates of participation — less than 20 percent of students in each school participated in the elections.

Engineering, Commerce and the College had rates of voter turnout similar to those of the general student body elections. Participation within the three schools ranged between 21 percent and 32 percent.

student elections similar to the University in the beginning of every spring semester. Students vote in two rounds of elections — major and minor. Major elections are for overall student body government and student members to the Board of Visitors, while minor elections deal with class councils and college representatives.

In previous years, about 10 per-

VOTE! VOTE!

LUCAS HALSE | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The statistics are both telling and ambiguous. Voter turnout for general student body elections is increasing.

However, other elections show no clear upward or downward trends.

Additionally, participation in elections is significantly lower in certain schools as opposed to others. Schools with smaller student populations, such as Nursing, Architecture and Education tend to have fewer students vote in elections than larger schools such as the College and Engineering.

Yet, Batten is not as large as either the College or the Engineering School and saw the highest voter turnout by a significant margin — Batten student participation in electing the school’s Honor representative was 30.1 percent and 28.15 percent higher than student participation in electing Honor representatives in the Engineering and the College, respectively.

The University is not alone — low student participation affects peer institutions Low turnout in student elections is not a problem only the University faces. Other colleges and universities struggle to increase student awareness and engagement in the election process.

James Madison University holds

cent of the student body has voted in major elections, Eric Hoang, elections commissioner and a senior in the College of Integrated Science and Engineering at JMU, said in an email to The Cavalier Daily.

“This certain issue I’ve been trying to combat this year,” Hoang said.

“It’s just hard to get the word out to the general public.”

Voter turnout often reflects how contentious and large the elections are, Hoang said. More competitive races with more candidates often attract more votes.

“Last year we did have a very good voter turnout but that was also because we had quite a lot of people running,” Hoang said. “There was a lot of competition involved. So generally it depends on that.”

This year the JMU Student Government Association hosted a debate with the candidates and livestreamed the event from their Facebook page.

“We had all the major elections candidates come in,” Hoang said. “It was just me asking each candidate a couple questions on their platform, on what they want to do when they get elected and why they thought they were the best candidate.”

Hoang and members of Student Government are trying to devise other ways to increase student engage-

ment in elections, such as having the university’s mascot, Duke Dog, stand in a central quad with signs advocating for the elections.

The problems JMU is facing with voter turnout are strikingly similar to those at the University and other peer institutions like Virginia Tech.

Last year 19 seats in Virginia Tech’s legislative body remained unfilled. The assembly, previously consisting of a house of representatives and a senate, had just combined into a unicameral legislative branch and received an insufficient amount of candidates to fill every seat during the election.

Why students don’t vote Some students attribute low voter turnout at the University to a disconnect between students and the representatives they are electing, while others identify limited available information and general lack of awareness.

“It was a little confusing,” second-year Curry student Traci Yuen said. “I heard all the news about it but I didn’t really know how to go about it.”

Even students who have voted, such as third-year College student Miles Braxton and second-year College student Francesca Callicotte, identified flaws in the system that may contribute to apparent voter apathy.

“Usually I’ve noticed that individuals who don’t feel like something necessarily concerns them, don’t necessarily become that involved within it and I feel like that’s the majority of the U.Va. population,” Callicotte said.

Braxton similarly addressed priorities and how student government is not the main focus of most students.

“I guess it doesn’t really affect what a lot of students are here to do and that’s to get a degree,” Braxton said. “To vote for one person over the other really won’t affect them at all academically so I guess that’s a big factor.”

Another factor, according to Braxton, might be the weak appeal to minority students. Reaching out to more minority groups could increase voter participation.

“I know that a lot of what consists of student government here doesn’t include minorities just because we’re not necessarily running for those positions,” Braxton said. “So I think specifically minority outreach, going to different black fraternities and sororities, going to BSA and kind of expressing their platform and what they have to offer, I think that would be a good way [to increase voter turnout].”

For many students, it comes down to how much they feel their vote counts and how they are directly

impacted by that vote.

“I think showing what those individuals actually do and how they affect the student at the individual level is pretty important,” Callicotte said. “I still don’t really know how [the] Student Council president necessarily affects me everyday … So I think if that [were] more clear and concise then people would be a lot more involved.”

Addressing low voter turnout The University Board of Elections, which conducts student elections, acknowledges the issue of low voter turnout in recent years and has been trying to combat the issue.

Reflecting the sentiments of many students, third-year College student and UBE Chair Casey Schmidt attributes low voter turnout to a lack of student awareness of the process or its significance.

“I believe students are less inclined to vote because they don't fully understand what they're voting for or the importance of it,” Schmidt said in an email to The Cavalier Daily.

“As much as we advertise the idea of student self-governance, it's another thing for students to actually act on it when they have the opportunity.”

Still, UBE is making a concentrated effort to remedy the issue.

There have been concrete changes to spreading awareness about the elections and getting more students involved.

“Last year we increased our marketing efforts with things like handing out cups and pens to students during the voting period. And this year we are trying to do even more,” Schmidt said. “We're going to be hosting polling stations around Grounds on the first day of voting.

We hope that by making voting an in-person experience it will feel more real and consequential.”

UBE will host student elections beginning Feb. 21 at 10 a.m. and continuing through Feb. 23 at 4 p.m.

UBE is looking forward to a record number of students running for positions in traditionally underrepresented schools including Architecture, Commerce, Nursing and Curry.

“I think the problem of students being preoccupied with different things can especially be seen in the disparity across schools,” Schmidt said. “Leveling this would take a lot of effort on both the UBE and current leadership in those schools to raise awareness about elections.”

As progress is made toward increasing voter turnout, however, there is only so much UBE can do.

Ultimately, the decision to increase voter participation at the University depends on the demographic the elections affect the most — the students.

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CANDIDATES AT A GLANCE • www.cavalierdaily.com

CANDIDATES

THE CAVALIER DAILY

AT A

GLANCE

STUDENT COUNCIL CANDIDATES CANDIDATE

Ryan Hart

SCHOOL POSITION

CLAS

REP

Tanner CLAS Hirschfeld

REP

Katie Yung

NURS

REP

Ian Ware

CLAS

REP

Kelsey Kilgore

BATTEN

PRES

Oliver Yan

CLAS

REP

James Hamil

SEAS

REP

Sarah Kenny

CLAS

PRES

Eddie Lin

CLAS

REP

Ellie Brasacchio CLAS

REP

Do you believe the amount of student Do you believe the University administra- representation on the presidential search tion gives sufficient committee should consideration to be more, less or student self governthe same as what ance? already exists?

Are you satisfied with Are you satisfied the current level of Should the with the efficiency of student representastudent activities Student Council as it tion on the Board of fee be increased? exists today?

Visitors?

Candidates Justin Allen, Abasenia Joie Asuquo, Austin Gogal, Shannon Hill, Nathan John, Danni Martin, Chapman Monroe, Mollie Przybocki, Will Rainey, Shivani Saboo, Ethan Steen and Deniz Tunceli did not respond to the questionnaire.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017

www.cavalierdaily.com • CANDIDATES AT A GLANCE

STUDENT COUNCIL CANDIDATES CANDIDATE

Chi Chan

SCHOOL POSITION

CLAS

REP

Kevon CLAS Turnamian

REP

Farzad Dizaji

SEAS

REP

Al Ahmed

CURRY

REP

Zealand Shannon

CLAS

PRES

Cat Wyatt

CLAS

REP

David CLAS Birkenthal

REP

Ty Zirkle

CLAS

VP ORG

Alex Cintron

CLAS

VP ADMIN

CLAS

REP

Lukas Pietrzak

CLAS

REP

Rohit Rustagi

SEAS

REP

Emmanuel Vega

BATTEN

REP

Ally

Kammerman

Do you believe the amount of student Do you believe the University administra- representation on the presidential search tion gives sufficient committee should consideration to be more, less or student self governthe same as what ance? already exists?

Are you satisfied with Are you satisfied the current level of Should the with the efficiency of student representastudent activities Student Council as it tion on the Board of fee be increased? exists today?

Visitors?

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CANDIDATES AT A GLANCE • www.cavalierdaily.com

THE CAVALIER DAILY

UNIVERSITY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CANDIDATES CANDIDATE

SCHOOL

William Sanfelippo

CLAS

Do you support the first ref- Do you support the second Do you support the third Do you support the fourth erendum allowing for harsh- referendum proposing to referendum to modify the referendum to clarify laner sanctions against more change language in the UJC constitution’s language guage in the UJC’s consticategories of bias-motivated UJC’s constitution to reflect on the membership eligibility tution on the methods of violations of the University women in the University and selection processes used proposing constitutional Standards of Conduct? system and UJC? in practice? amendments?

Jordan Richardson SARC Caroline Harvey

CURRY

Derek Schauss

SEAS

Jordan Arnold

CLAS

Kevin Warshaw

SEAS

Rich Dazzo

SEAS

Alexander CLAS Abramenko Dan Donovan

SEAS

Lauren Brill

NURS

Kimberly Flintsch Medina

COMM

Bennett Lincoln

COMM

Candidates Al Ahmed, Jack Brake, Kelvin Deng, Brielle Gerry, James Strong and Ellie Wood did not respond to the questionnaire.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017

www.cavalierdaily.com • CANDIDATES AT A GLANCE

UNIVERSITY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CANDIDATES Do you believe UJC should push for more case referrals from individual students?

Should Housing and Residence Life increase the number of cases it reports to UJC?

Should UJC be required to publish its budget and spending reports regularly?

Should students be able to have professional representation at UJC trials?

Should UJC be required to release summary statistics regularly, including percentage of cases reported by students vs. ODOS and race, gender school and year of accused students?

Should VP for Student Affairs Pat Lampkin be permitted to review UJC decisions?

Should the chair of UJC be elected by the student body instead of elected by the committee?

Do you intend to seek either chair or one of the vice-chair positions if elected to UJC?

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THE CAVALIER DAILY

CANDIDATES AT A GLANCE • www.cavalierdaily.com

HONOR COMMITTEE CANDIDATES CANDIDATE CANDIDATE

SCHOOL

Jeffery Warren

CLAS

Cameron Springer

SEAS

Devin Rossin

CLAS

Grant

Grunfelder

Do you support the referendum to lower the threshold for changing the Honor constitution from 60 percent to 55 percent of the vote?

Should the Honor Committee be required to publish its budget and spending reports regularly?

Do you support expanding the informed retraction policy?

Should students be able to have professional representation at honor trials?

Should the Honor Committee Chair be elected by the student body instead of the committee?

DoShould you intend the to seek chair or one student activities of the vice-chair fee be increased? positions if elected to the Honor Committee?

COMM

Dijanni Hodges

BATTEN

Henry Holmes

COMM

Al Ahmed

CURRY

Kelly O’Meara

SARC

Kyle Gename

SARC

Lucie Oken

BATTEN

Will Rainey

SEAS

Sophia Martinese

SEAS

Candidate Hannah Chacon, Zachary Diamond, Luke Gigante, Eve Immonen, Samuel Kesting, George Maris, Anneliese Musil, Nick Shafik, Tori Spivey and Ory Streeter did not respond to the questionnaire.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017

www.cavalierdaily.com • CANDIDATES AT A GLANCE

11

HONOR COMMITTEE CANDIDATES CANDIDATE CANDIDATE

SCHOOL

Attiya Latif

CLAS

Joanna Eleni Thomas

BATTEN

Christopher

Benos

CLAS

Michael Ellinor

CLAS

Paul Girgis

SEAS

Tamia

WalkerAtwater

NURS

Sarah Killian

CLAS

Austin Goode

COMM

Brian Truong

SEAS

Brandt Welch

SEAS

Amy

CLAS

Dalrymple

Gunnar Sturman

COMM

Do you support the referendum to lower the threshold for changing the Honor constitution from 60 percent to 55 percent of the vote?

Should the Honor Committee be required to publish its budget and spending reports regularly?

Do you support expanding the informed retraction policy?

Should students be able to have professional representation at honor trials?

Should the Honor Committee Chair be elected by the student body instead of the committee?

Should the Do you intend to student activities seek chair or one fee be increased? of the vice-chair positions if elected to the Honor Committee?

THE CAVALIER DAILY

12

UBE plans for upcoming races Organization implements changes for 2017 elections ALLISON TURNER | FEATURE WRITER

During this time of year, elections can seem all-consuming. Students pass around sheets in class scouting signatures, various hopefuls visit different clubs to talk about their platform and emails are sent reminding students to vote. However, there is a slightly more silent presence on Grounds coordinating all the different processes.

The University Board of Elections was established to supervise all University-wide elections for organizations such as Student Council, School Councils, the Honor Committee, the Judiciary Committee and residence halls. UBE works to ensure free and fair elections by creating consistent regulations across Grounds.

The organization sets the elections calendar and maintains the ballot of the University’s online voting

system.

UBE Chair and third-year College student Casey Schmidt considers UBE central to student self-governance.

“Student self-governance is huge,” Schmidt said. “I like to say that UBE is the place where student self-governance is most alive.”

As chair, Schmidt works as a liaison between the various organizations, schools, classes and the University administration.

“It can be challenging to navigate our own rules and everyone else’s too,” Schmidt said. “[But], it’s a really cool perspective to see how all the different schools [and organizations] do their own thing, but we’re also bridging the gap at the same time.”

UBE is currently comprised of seven members. During the first weeks of the spring semester, UBE

members work long hours to prepare for the election process.

Toshali Randev, UBE technology chair and third-year Engineering student, handles the website and social media for the organization.

In preparation for the upcoming elections, UBE has implemented a few changes to make the process easier.

“One of my biggest initiatives as chair was making it easier to run for positions,” Schmidt said. “It’s easy to get disinterested with the process — it seems like too much work — so I lowered the barriers to entry on a number of positions.”

The organization also increased funding for campaign grants and is also working to institute polling stations on the first day of the voting period, .

“We want there to be a visible

experience to give it more weight,” Schmidt said. “When it’s all online

it’s so easy to feel that it doesn’t really matter.”

LUCAS HALSE | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Women’s basketball faces No. 4 Florida State Cavaliers hope to boost NCAA Tournament resume against Seminoles ALEC DOUGHERTY | SENIOR ASSOCIATE It’s crunch time for the Virginia women’s basketball team, as it looks to pick up some statement wins with the NCAA Tournament looming. The Cavaliers (16-9, 5-7 ACC) face their toughest challenge on their quest for a bid Thursday when No. 4 Florida State (23-3, 11-1 ACC) comes to John Paul Jones Arena.

“I think we came out a little tentative because they’re [a] great rebounding team,” coach Joanne Boyle said. “We were just trying to match that intensity on every play, and I think we came in and out of it. We just have to learn to take care of the ball better when we’re tired.”

Despite the fluctuations in play during regulation, the team got a much-needed win after a solid overtime performance led by freshman guard Dominique Toussaint’s 12 points. “[Situations like overtime] are moments we work on in practice, whether in a drill or a play, just finishing out and executing well,” sophomore guard J’Kyra Brown said. “I felt like we got good shots and second chances.”

Brown got the Cavaliers in a rhythm in the first half of the game, going off for 16 points and making all of the their four shots from beyond the arc in the first

20 minutes. Brown has taken her play to a new level lately, shining as the Cavaliers’ sixth man. She

had a double-double against Georgia Tech and 15 points against Miami to go along with her 17 against

NICK ZURGRIS | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Junior guard J’Kyra Brown has been a weapon off the bench lately for Virginia.

Wake Forest in three of the team’s last four games.

“We struggle to score at times, but [Brown] has come in and made some tough shots,” Boyle said. “She was 4-8 from three last game; those bonus points really help. When she makes her first one and gets in a rhythm … she usually makes a few in a row. She’s been playing really solid.”

As tough of an opponent as Wake Forest was for the Cavaliers, the road only gets tougher going forward. The team’s last four games include No. 4 Florida State, No. 14 Louisville, No. 15 NC State and archrival Virginia Tech, making for quite the gauntlet. However, this difficult remaining schedule also gives Virginia a chance to show the selection committee that it deserves to play among the country’s best teams if it can pick up some signature wins.

“These last four teams are really, really good, and we just have to focus on the things that have been crucial to us winning,” Boyle said.

“Our transition defense has to be on point, we have got to rebound the basketball and we have got to take care of the ball and value positions. We have to consistently do those things well, and if we do I always feel like we have a good outcome.”

Thursday’s matchup against

ACC leader Florida State is the toughest the Cavaliers will have down the stretch. The Seminoles enter the game having lost only their third game of the season, dropping a 92-88 double-overtime thriller at the hands of non-conference foe No. 8 Texas. Before that, Florida State was tearing through ACC teams, entering the Texas matchup having won its last 10 games in a row against conference opponents.

The Seminoles boast the ACC’s top scoring offense at 82.5 points per game while holding opponents to the third least points per game at 57.8. “[Florida State] is going to try to run it down our throats, they love to play fast and they have great rebounders,” Boyle said. “They’re a complete team, they go nine to 10 [players] deep, they’re great athletes and they have great chemistry together. We’ve got to slow them down, we want them to have to beat us on jump shots, and we’ve got to rebound and take care of the basketball.”

Virginia will try to ride its mantras of rebounding and valuing possessions as it looks to take down the ACC’s best squad and send a message that its NCAA Tournament ready. Tipoff against the Seminoles is scheduled for 7 p.m. at JPJ.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017

www.cavalierdaily.com • SPORTS

13

No. 12 Duke pulls away from No. 14 Virginia, 65-55 Blue Devils, Tatum spread out Virginia pack-line late GRANT GOSSAGE | SPORTS EDITOR With shades of former Duke star Brandon Ingram in the second half of last year’s matchup between the two ACC programs, freshman forward Jayson Tatum hit dagger after dagger on Virginia’s pack line defense and the Blue Devils overcame a fourpoint halftime deficit to win, 65-55, Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

Tatum scored 21 of his game-high 28 points after the break. Finding his rhythm, the former No. 2 overall recruit drained six of seven threes on the night, including five of six in the second half. Not many in attendance would’ve guessed Tatum is shooting just under 32 percent from three on the season.

His consecutive makes from downtown at 2:48 and 1:58 extended Duke’s lead to 54-44 in a flash.

“I feel like we played pretty well defensively,” senior guard London Perrantes said. “There was one time Tatum had the ball with five seconds on the shot clock at half court and still ended up making the shot … Isaiah did a good job contesting, doing things like that, he just made some big shots.”

Fueled by a sell-out crowd, Virginia jumped out to a 9-2 lead early in the contest. A two-handed jam from sophomore forward Jack Salt started off the Cavalier run, sending orange and white streamers flying. Two possessions later, junior forward Marial Shayok rattled home a three on the right wing to make it 5-0.

The Blue Devils eventually narrowed the gap behind back-to-back

threes by a pair of talented shooting guards, junior Grayson Allen and sophomore Luke Kennard. Duke grabbed its first lead at 12:03 after the only player ranked higher than Tatum in the class of 2016 — freshman forward Harry Giles — turned and hit the baby hook.

Contributing five points, three rebounds and two steals, Giles brought great energy on both ends while senior leader Amile Jefferson was hobbled and in early foul trouble.

Throughout the first half, the Blue Devils’ soft trap beyond half court on whoever was bringing the ball up made it difficult for Virginia to operate with a shorter shot clock. Off the ball, Duke kept its defensive pressure up, forcing the Cavaliers to work to get open. Tough, contested shots were the primary reason Virginia entered the half with only 25 points on 32.1 percent shooting.

“Credit to Duke — they really guarded us hard,” coach Tony Bennett said. “It was one of those games where you had to work to get catches. I thought we had decent shots in terms of what we could get against them without being able to throw the ball inside and score.”

Despite its first-half shooting woes — especially from three, where the Cavaliers hit just three of 12 attempts — Virginia did enough defensively to disrupt the Blue Devils and to hold a first-half lead, albeit slim. Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s bunch turned the basketball over eight times and, at 33 percent, didn’t shoot it much better.

Allen was one of seven for three

points; Kennard one of six for three; and Tatum one of two for seven.

Attentive to how a cramped floor had limited his trio of offensive creators, Krzyzewski made an adjustment at intermission, spreading out his guards and sending screeners — which proved to be effective.

Duke came out fast in the second half, producing an off-balance bucket by junior guard Matt Jones and a fast-break finish by Tatum. Soon after, Tatum nailed the first of his second-half trifectas to tie it at 25.

“What they started to run is what we do in practice, with the random ball screen action where the guard didn’t dribble, so he could either pass or make a move and the big guy was rolling,” Perrantes said. “That’s when they got into their rhythm at the beginning of the second half. We talk about it all the time in practice, how hard it is to guard.”

In the aftermath of another Tatum dagger at 10:41, the Cavaliers regained composure. Freshman guard Kyle Guy crossed over, stepped back and hit his only three, causing Allen to trip himself. Virginia trailed by just one point, 43-42. Then Tatum went off, all but sealing the deal.

Though he shot only three of 10 for the game, Kennard recorded 16 points — thanks to nine of 10 free throws he sunk in the second half.

Duke went to the line 20 times compared to the Cavaliers’ eight trips.

Dealing with an ankle injury, Allen chipped in five points — hitting on only two of his 10 attempts.

Checked by a solid defender in

Jones, Perrantes led the Cavaliers with 14 points but on just four-of-11 shooting. Freshman guard Ty Jerome — who hit several huge baskets when the game was in reach — tallied 13.

Junior guard Devon Hall contributed eight on four-of-10 shooting.

Virginia shot a season-low 36.8 percent for the contest.

The guy that had to carry the load inside — junior forward Isaiah Wilkins — didn’t have his most efficient night on the floor either. He missed on four of five looks.

“I’m going to continue to take open shots when they’re there,”

Wilkins said. “If I don’t, it makes us struggle a little bit more because nobody is playing me.”

The road doesn’t get any easier for the Cavaliers, as they’ll travel to a rowdy Chapel Hill, N.C. for College GameDay to face No. 8 North Carolina at 8:15 p.m. Saturday.

“You really want to win,” Bennett said. “But it’s a fine line, and we are in so many close games. This ball club has some limitations in certain areas, and we are fighting like crazy … In this one we played hard, but we were outplayed.”

HANNAH MUSSI | THE CAVALIER DAILY

With Duke’s attention elsewhere, junior guard Devon Hall scored eight points in a loss.

No. 7 men’s lacrosse looks to build off opening win Virginia hosts Drexel in coach Lars Tiffany’s home debut RAHUL SHAH | SENIOR ASSOCIATE The No. 7 Virginia men’s lacrosse team started off their season with a bang, defeating No. 9 Loyola in a thrilling, closely-fought 16-15 win.

Coach Lars Tiffany said he was impressed with the way the Cavaliers (1-0) handled the environment and situations they faced throughout their season opener on the road last weekend.

“That was a stressful where we’ve given up a big lead, and they’ve got over four thousand fans hollering,” Tiffany said.

“Yet, what I felt for the most part was the guys stayed the course, just worried about the next play [and] kept having fun.”

Tiffany said the fact that his

team was able to pull out a victory in its season opener against such a quality team will help it moving forward.

“I think it is fortunate to win a close game early in the year and build on that … confidence it can bring,” Tiffany said.

However, though the Cavaliers earned a win last weekend, there is still of plenty to improve on. Tiffany said they put a huge emphasis on the facets of the game they felt needed further refinement and improvement.

“We listed 14 different items that we needed to get better at after the Loyola game,” Tiffany said, “and so, hopefully, we are taking those steps forward.”

In their first collegiate game,

many Virginia freshmen stepped up and delivered. One of these young stars was midfielder Dox Aitken, who had four goals.

Tiffany said he believes the freshmen have immense talent, and he hopes to see them continue to play a significant role in the success the team is striving for.

“There’s some young talent here that we’re really excited about, especially the first-year class,” Tiffany said.

As the Cavaliers prepare to face off against Drexel Saturday afternoon, they know they can’t overlook their opponent.

“They’re a team we don’t know a ton about,” Tiffany said.

“We’ve watched some film from

last year, but certainly they can change. They are definitely a dangerous team.”

Even after Virginia had an impressive win over one of the top teams in the nation last weekend, Tiffany knows Drexel (0-0) presents a host of challenges — including a talented goalie.

“I think they are very wellcoached and [their] strength is their goalie,” Tiffany said. “They play some good defense in front of him … so we’re going to have to shoot well like we did this past Saturday.”

Saturday’s game will be Virginia’s home opener and Drexel’s season opener.

Regardless of the experi-

ence both teams have gained in this young season, Virginia is excited to play its first home game in the Lars Tiffany era in Charlottesville. With the forecast predicting warm weather, the Cavaliers are looking to start their two-game home stand the right way.

“We’re ecstatic — we just heard the band’s coming — and there could potentially be a good turnout because of some great weather here,” Tiffany said.

The game against Drexel is scheduled to start Saturday at 1 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium.

Virginia will then have a quick turnaround, as it takes on Sienna Tuesday night at home.

THE CAVALIER DAILY

14

COMMENT OF THE DAY “If Tom Perriello could not be reelected in this district, it is unlikely he will succeed statewide in purple Virginia.”

FarmerDon in response to Hiestand’s Feb 15th Column “Do not lump all Republicans in with Trump”

LEAD EDITORIAL

Student Council endorsements U

The Editorial Board endorses Sarah Kenny for president, Alex Cintron for VPA

niversity students have two starkly different Student Council presidential candidates to choose from this election year. One displays a vast range of experience, knowledge and passion for StudCo and the other only has a narrow vision for what she would like to achieve during her time as StudCo president. Sarah Kenny, the current Vice President of Administration, is the most qualified candidate running for StudCo president and has the best plan to move StudCo into the direction of equity for all University students. Kenny seeks to move the organization into a direction of equal representation and to make sure representatives are well-equipped to properly address the concerns of their constituencies.

While Kelsey Kilgore, Kenny’s opponent, wishes to change StudCo as an outsider — Kilgore has no prior StudCo experience — she lacks the institutional knowledge to do so effectively. Kilgore is a member of the women’s soccer team and Delta

Delta Delta. While these experiences have provided her with a sense of leadership and teamwork, she is unqualified for the position of StudCo president since she has not directly interacted with student government affairs. Within her platform, one of Kilgore’s top priorities is to “improve the safety for all students,” but her plan is minimal: “a prevention week fair,” “increase the lighting on Grounds near dorms” and “organize ambassadors … to walk students home.” In addition, another initiative to increase campus safety is to have a mobile app for Safe Ride, but Safe Ride already has a mobile app option.

Perhaps Kilgore meant to say she wants to improve the already existing mobile app, or, due to her lack of experience, did not realize this feature is an existing option for University students.

Kenny, on the other hand, provides a clear vision within her platform for inclusion and better representation by looking at how StudCo often is criticized for being

disconnected with the student body.

She openly understands StudCo needs to address “the institution’s flaws” and this in effect motivated her “to run for a position that would allow [her] to confront them.” Kenny aims to increase representation equity by increasing the scale of town hall policy working groups associated with diversity, equity and inclusion.

Such working groups are meant to create policy through partnerships with organizations like the Minority Rights Coalition and the Black Student Alliance to advance equity within “student self-governance and student programming.”

Along with the Editorial Board’s endorsement of Kenny, the board also is endorsing Alex Cintron, the current Chair of the Representative Body, for Vice President of Administration. Cintron in a similar vein to Kenny wants to better the system of representation through more efficient administrative measures: improved transition materials for members and more effective committee

structures.

Cintron is running on a joint platform with Ty Zirkle, the current Director of University Relations and a candidate for Vice President of Organizations. The board, however, will not be endorsing Zirkle. We do not believe he would effectively facilitate relationships with CIOs on Grounds.

In particular, the board does not believe raising the student activities fee, as Zirkle said in his endorsement interview with members of the board, is a responsible solution to increase funding for CIOs since new CIOs are continually created and thus increased funding will be needed essentially every year. In addition, the board has heard from multiple organizations on Grounds that the Winter Activities Fair, organized

by Zirkle, lacked accessibility for all CIOs to be active members of the fair.

CIOs should not be denied access to recruitment fairs organized by the body who determines their funding.

The Editorial Board interviewed nine candidates running to be Stud-

Co representatives, and we are endorsing three of those candidates: David Birkenthal for the College, Shivani Saboo for the Engineering School and Al Ahmed for the Curry School. All of these candidates showcased how they would best represent their respective constituencies and showed a level of humility in how StudCo needs to be reformed to better represent University students.

Additionally, these three candidates understood the challenges that face the schools they represent and how StudCo could build a better working relationship with those schools.

Representation was the guiding philosophy for the board’s endorsement process for StudCo. We endorsed candidates who have a clear vision for how representation within StudCo can be improved and how their previous experience has enabled them to make true student representation a reality.

THE CAVALIER DAILY THE CAVALIER DAILY The Cavalier Daily is a financially and editorially independent news organization staffed and managed entirely by students of the University of Virginia.

The opinions expressed in The Cavalier Daily are not necessarily those of the students, faculty, staff or administration of the University of Virginia. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the editorial board. Cartoons and columns represent the views of the authors. The managing board of The Cavalier Daily has sole authority over and responsibility for all content.

No part of The Cavalier Daily or The Cavalier Daily online edition may be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without the written consent of the editor-in-chief.

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MANAGING BOARD Editor-in-Chief Mike Reingold Managing Editor Tim Dodson Executive Editor Carlos Lopez Operations Manager Danielle Dacanay Chief Financial Officer Grant Parker EDITORIAL BOARD Jordan Brooks Jake Lichtenstein Carlos Lopez Mike Reingold Noah Zeidman JUNIOR BOARD Assistant Managing Editors Lillian Gaertner Ben Tobin (SA) Evan Davis (SA) Colette Marcellin (SA) Trent Lefkowitz (SA) Alix Nguyen (SA) Grant Oken

News Editors Anna Higgins Hailey Ross (SA) Alexis Gravely Sports Editors Grant Gossage Mariel Messier (SA) Alec Dougherty (SA) Rahul Shah Opinion Editors Brendan Novak Lucy Siegel Humor Editor Brennan Lee Focus Editor Hannah Hall (SA) Ankita Satpathy Life Editors Julie Bond Gracie Kreth Arts & Entertainment Editors Dan Goff Ben Hitchcock (SA) Sam Henson (SA) Darby Delaney (SA) Thomas Roades Health & Science Editors Jessica Chandrasekhar Kate Lewis

Production Editors Sean Cassar Disha Jain Victoria Giron (SA) Rupa Nallamothu Graphics Editors Sean Cassar Lucas Halse Amber Liu Photography Editors Richard Dizon Hannah Mussi Video Editors Rebecca Malaret Sinta Taylor Engineer Manager Leo Dominguez Social Media Managers Ashley Botkin Shaelea Carroll Marketing & Business Managers Nate Bolon Carlos Lopez

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017

www.cavalierdaily.com • OPINION

15

LEAD EDITORIAL

Honor Committee endorsements The Editorial Board endorses nine Honor representative candidates

OUR ELECTION ENDORSEMENTS The editorial board has endorsed the following candidates: Student Council President Sarah Kenny Student Council VPA Alex Cintron Fourth-Year Trustee President Malcolm Stewart Fourth-Year Trustee Vice President Diane D'Costa Third-Year Council President Galen Green Third-Year Councol Vice President Rebecca Soistmann Batten Undergraduate Council President Kelsey Keverline Commerce Council President Lauren Fogel Student Council Representatives David Birkenthal (CLAS) Shivani Saboo (SEAS) Al Ahmed (Curry) Honor Representatives Christopher Benos (CLAS) Jeffrey Warren (CLAS) Sarah Killian (CLAS) Devin Rossin (CLAS) Amy Dalrymple (CLAS) Al Ahmed (Curry) Lucie Oken (Batten) University Judiciary Committee Representatives The Editorial Board decided not to endorse any of the interviewed candidates for UJC representatives.

T

his year, nine candidates running to be Honor representatives for the University sought endorsements from the Cavalier Daily: five candidates for the College, one for the Curry School, one for Batten School and two candidates for the Engineering School. Of these candidates, the Cavalier Daily has elected to endorse Christopher Benos, Jeffrey Warren, Sarah Killian, Devin Rossin and Amy Dalrymple from the College; Al Ahmed from the Curry School and Lucie Oken from Batten.

Benos has previously chaired Honor’s Outreach Committee and has consistently been committed to reaching out to international students and students of color. He believes that a diverse collection of student voices in Honor is necessary to set feasible goals and to make any changes to the current system. This is in indirect reference to the most recent attempt to amend the Committee’s constitution. Benos believes the fact that the 58.8 percent vote to the recent multi-sanction amendment led to nothing but discussion is a sign that something needs to change. Benos came into the University with an optimistic outlook on the single sanction system. However, he realized not everyone has the same resources and that international, transfer and athletic students are disproportionately affected. Benos wants to hear the different perspectives and to open discussion and critique, in order to have tangible facts to work towards an effective multi-sanction system. Additionally, he wants to get faculty more involved with the Honor system and to be more educated and engaged, especially because professors are students’ main source of information.

Warren stood out for his extensive service as an advisor and investigation coordinator, positions which have helped him become a senior support trainer. Along with this deep institutional knowledge, Warren critiqued Honor as traditionalist and often out of touch with the views of students. In response to these issues, Warren has worked to diversify the support officer pool, and he wants to see Honor promptly take stances on matters like hate speech. Warren believes that Honor can become a more trusted, better integrated organization by supporting social movements important to

the University community. In addition to seeking out a more diverse membership, Warren wants to expand membership among first- and second-years to improve case processing and ensure that the Committee continues to have experienced and well-trained upper-class members. With a strong belief in Honor as an important moral institution at the University and demonstrated commitment to making the Committee more diverse and representative, Warren would be an invaluable addition to the Honor Committee.

Killian has been involved with the Honor Committee since her first year at the University and has since decided to address certain issues in Honor including transparency, justice, education, outreach and representation. Killian impressed us with her emphasis on keeping both students and faculty informed about the Honor process as well as what is to be discussed during the panels. She believes that if students are aware of the agenda, they will be more engaged and more proactive about issues regarding Honor. In regards to Informed Retraction, Killian notes that international students and undergraduates of lower socioeconomic backgrounds are disproportionately affected by the IR and believes the system should work towards finding a solution to the problem rather than simply addressing it. Killian’s willingness to make sure student voices are heard as well as to maintain the integrity and respectability of the Honor system is what earned her the Editorial Board’s endorsement.

Rossin impressed us with his extensive hands-on experience in almost every part of the Honor system having taken on 21 cases as a support officer in addition to organizing education events and coordinating first-year outreach. He emphasized the need for Honor to take stances on relevant social issues, and he hopes to bring Safe Space or Green Dot training to all Honor representatives.

Rossin pointed to several areas where he has perceived a lack in Honor’s outreach and mediation efforts, including with minority groups and Greek life. Repeatedly, Rossin noted the need for making dialogue and education translate into tangible policy. In particular, he sees the need to assess how Honor impacts international students with visas, as

well as policies on contributing mental disorders. Rossin’s platform centers around bringing increased power to the student body. On the question of a multi-sanction system Rossin said he will support the choice of the students, and he also expressed support for lowering the majority threshold to 55 percent.

To ensure Honor’s full commitment to a diverse student body, Rossin wants to initiate regular meetings and education events for the recently formed Community Relations and Diversity Advisory Committee. He critiqued the committee’s slow start, and stressed the need for internal accountability on diversity. A vocal advocate for Honor as the moral backbone of the University yet an outspoken critic of the organization’s need for increased transparency and student engagement, Rossin will work to turn current concerns about Honor into meaningful policy decisions.

Ahmed described a gap between Honor and the Curry School, and he is dedicated to expanding Honor’s educational efforts. Having served for two years as an Honor dorm representative, Ahmed brings substantial knowledge of effective methods for education and student outreach. While Ahmed lacks case-processing experience, his public relations efforts as a dorm representative and his strong stance on increasing student engagement would make him a strong representative for the Curry School.

Oken brings almost two years’ experience as a support officer and joined Honor after perceiving issues with the organization’s transparency and connection with students as a first-year. Describing other Batten students’ view of Honor as resistant to change, Oken hopes to find more avenues for feedback between Honor representatives and their respective schools. Oken believes in the importance of bringing outside perspectives to Honor, and wants to improve active outreach to minority groups through community liaisons and regular meetings of the Community Relations and Diversity Advisory Committee. These proposals align with Rossin’s, and Oken noted that she and Rossin both want Honor to be an ally to students with a more active role in the community overall. Oken questions the fairness of current

policy on contributing mental disorders, specifically the way in which students cannot identify their disorder as evidence in a trial. Oken takes a nuanced view of the single sanction, having supported it before taking on a number of cases which made her see the potential benefits of a multi-sanction system. With an overall message of increasing transparency and making Honor more receptive to the concerns of students, Oken would bring a critical and constructive mindset to the Honor Committee. Oken demonstrated a clear desire to bring Honor into conversation with Batten students who view it as inaccessible and out-of-touch, and she would be a strong Honor representative for the Batten School.

Dalrymple did not directly engage with Honor during her first year, but was a support officer during her second year.

For this reason, she understands the inner workings of the Committee. Dalrymple has a similar opinion to Benos in regards to last year’s 58.8 percent vote on the multi-sanction amendment.

She feels that percentage cannot be ignored. As an Honor representative, Dalrymple feels that it would be her responsibility to make sure that she prioritizes the student body’s desires over her own, and that those desires are put into action. She describes the Honor community as one that cannot stay stagnant, needs change and must evolve as the student body evolves. In order for that to happen, Dalrymple feels that Honor needs to become more transparent and open to students. This transparency would be in the form of weekly town hall meetings where previously unheard students can voice their opinions.

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OPINION • www.cavalierdaily.com

LEAD EDITORIAL

Class council endorsements I

The Editorial Board endorses Malcolm Stewart for fourth-year trustee president, Galen Green for third-year council president

n an uncontested race, the Editorial Board endorses Malcolm Stewart for fourth-year trustee president. Having served as president of both second- and third-year councils, Stewart approaches the position with a wealth of experience.

While Stewart does benefit from two years of service, there are stark differences between his previous presidential duties and those of the president of the fourth-year trustees. In addition to service during their fourth year, trustees serve a five year term following graduation. During these five years, trustees work closely with the Alumni Association to provide programming for the recent graduates. Stewart discussed his longterm commitment to the Trustees, stating that such responsibility requires forethought and not just a narrow platform for a year-long position.

Stewart laid out several ways that his presidency would benefit fourth-years. As president, Stewart plans to provide avenues for support during such a stressful time and also to serve as a connection between fourth-years and the resources they need to succeed. He

plans to implement programming that celebrates his class’s time at the University.

The Editorial Board endorses Diane D’Costa, also running unopposed, for vice president of the fourth-year trustees. D’Costa stressed the importance of a smooth transition post-graduation and stated that as vice president she would maximize students’ access to resources such as the career center.

We believe Stewart and D’Costa show valuable insights into their class and its needs as they prepare for graduation and life after college.

Third Year Council The Editorial Board endorses Galen Green for resident of thirdyear council. Currently serving as vice president of second-year council after an internal election, Green stressed her ability to increase transparency between Third-Year Council and the Class of 2019 through weekly Facebook Live updates. Green believes in an action-oriented administration, where she would listen to students and synthesize their goals into tangible results.

We also endorse Rebecca Soist-

mann for vice president of thirdyear council. Having served as the chair of the Academic and Wellness Committee of Second-Year Council, Soistmann created programs to develop students’ professional skills as well as their mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.

As vice president, Soistmann wants to work with CIOs to facilitate a tight-knit community. In addition, Soistmann believes that an event’s target audience should be included in the event’s planning. She also stated that ring ceremony should focus less on the ring itself and should act more as a celebration of the class’s hard work in order to foster a more inclusive community. Because third-years are looking towards the future, Soistmann wants to establish a relationship with the career center that fosters personalization for each student’s goals by incorporating advising on non-traditional career paths.

In addition, Soistmann wants to provide effective personal wellness support through initiatives such as a “Fight the Stigma” week.

Batten Undergraduate Council President The Editorial Board endorses Kelsey Keverline for president

of Batten undergraduate council.

Keverline has served on both the External and Social Committees for Batten. She noted that since Batten has grown and is becoming increasingly selective, the role of Batten Undergraduate Council has also changed. The selectivity has resulted in an extremely competitive application process and therefore students start their time at Batten with a combative stance towards each other. While competition can benefit some aspects of their curriculum, Keverline argued that such a stance does not foster Batten’s community-focused policymaking, which is so vital to effective results. We were impressed

by Keverline’s insight into Batten’s mission, and believe she would appropriately represent the school.

Keverline plans to implement initiatives that will encourage effective policymaking in order to combat the current political climate of strawman argumentation and denigration of experts.

Keverline’s opponent, Uhunoma Edamwen, stressed collaboration between Batten Undergraduate Council and councils of other schools at the University as the most important aspect of

his platform. Students come into Batten with many different aspirations, and Edamwen believes Batten Undergraduate Council should reflect all of these interests.

Although we appreciate the desire for inclusivity, Edamwen does not offer enough depth in any of his ideas to earn our endorsement.

He has a lot of potential actions he would like to implement during his term, however he failed to offer clear prioritization of ideas.

Commerce Council The Editorial Board endorses Lauren Fogel for president of the Commerce council. Fogel said that although she has worked on the council before, she has been critical of the school since her admission and identifies with many of the frustrations of her fellow students. Textbook costs, for example, could potentially add up to $1,000 during a single semester. In order to account for varying socioeconomic classes amongst students, Fogel has proposed a textbook library where students can check out the necessary materials for their classes. This and other practical proposals showed Fogel’s ability to represent Commerce students.

HONOR SHOULD HOLD A VOTE ON ENDORSING AMENDMENT Regardless of whether Honor ultimately do or do not officially support referendum, it should open up the forum, take a definitive stance

T

he Honor Committee should respect the democratic tradition of student self-governance and hold a vote on endorsing the democratization amendment. This is not a call for the committee to endorse the amendment itself. Rather, it is a call for the committee to hold a public debate about the democratization amendment and decide, as a representative body, whether or not to support lowering the threshold of votes for constitutional amendments.

According to the University Board of Election rules, “student signatures do not express willingness to vote for a particular referendum, only willingness to have the referendum appear as a question on the ballot.” Over 1,600 students have signed the petition to put the referendum on the ballot. These signatures should be a signal that this issue is of great interest to the community. Yet the majority of the Honor Committee failed to even consult their constituents prior to the meeting on Sunday and failed to give the amendment enough thought to have formed

an opinion. This lack of engagement by committee members demonstrates that Honor’s three-pronged approach is an underwhelming response to an

ically, a candidate could wax poetic about the faults and merits of the amendment without decisively communicating their opinion on it.

Committee members should strive to be representatives as well as experts on a complicated bureaucratic system that is frustratingly foreign to many of their constituents. overwhelming display of interest in seeing this referendum be debated.

The committee’s alternative — an online repository of opinions — is an inadequate substitute for a public debate and vote.

The committee does not take into account whether or not students have time to read as many as five lengthy opinions from their representatives. The online repository does not require that a candidate take a firm stance on the amendment. Hypothet-

A vote on whether or not to endorse sends students a clear message as to where their individual representatives as well as the committee as a whole stand.

This is especially important for students whose representatives are running for reelection to the committee; students have a right to know whether or not their representatives share the same values as them. If the view of the committee is that a vote against the amendment will damage their relations to their constitu-

ents, then they should reevaluate whether or not they actually are representative of them. If the committee is concerned about whether or not voting down an amendment intended to give more power to the student body is bad for public relations, then they should seriously consider why this amendment was proposed in the first place.

Honor should insert itself into this debate. Whether or not it chooses to endorse this amendment sends a clear message on how it views the role students have in shaping the system. It is ludicrous to suggest that a committee designed to run a system that is the caretaker of the moral fabric of our university — the values of the community of trust — should remain neutral and not act as a moral arbiter. Committee members should strive to be representatives as well as experts on a complicated bureaucratic system that is frustratingly foreign to many of their constituents. Members who think that this amendment is potentially damaging to the system should

vote against endorsing it and take responsibility for that vote.

Likewise, those that support it should vote in favor of it and bear that same responsibility.

They should explain why they voted for or against the amendment and not hide behind bylaws and procedures.

The act of voting is an act of expression. Voting as a committee on whether or not to endorse the amendment will not rob individual representatives of their voice. Rather, it is an opportunity for the majority rule to prevail and for dissent to adequately and formally express itself. It is the foundation of representative democracy. The community of trust is built on honesty and mutual respect. We deserve that honesty from our representatives.

NOJAN ROSTAMI is a third-year College student and a member of the Honor Audit Commission.

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18

Student leaders discuss campaign stress UJC, StudCo, URN representatives talk about how to overcome stress while campaigning TOMOYA KANNO | STAFF WRITER

Student elections have begun to draw near and by the end of this month, large organizations such as Honor, Student Council and the University Judicial Committee will hold their elections for their student representatives for the next year. These elections can be large sources of stress for many students involved.

Jack Brake, a third-year College student who acts as the chair of the Undergraduate Research Network and plans to run for a position within UJC, said he has recently been stressed.

“Election time can be very stressful and time consuming — especially those run through the UBE system that the University provides,” Brake said.

The University Board of Elections was established in the fall of 2003 to further the aims of student self- governance. It includes organizations previously mentioned like StudCo, Honor and UJC. One of the main goals of UBE is to reduce the amount of stress placed

on the students running for positions. The organization is responsible for maintaining the election calendar and running the online ballot system for the organizations involved.

Emily Lodge, a fourth-year Batten student and current Student Council president, described ways in which she thinks UBE has addressed the issue.

“The University Board of Elections changed the voting period from one week to three days this year, which I think will be extremely beneficial to the health [and] stress of the candidates,” Lodge said. “By the time the polls open, candidates have done all they can. Yet, you always think you need to be doing more the week of voting to get every vote you can, which causes a prolonged period of stress.”

The stress placed on students can take many forms, but all students interviewed agreed that sacrificing sleep was a common solution in order to meet deadlines for their obligations. While this can become overwhelming, Brake said it is manageable once students recognize the workload that leadership requires and properly budget time to work

through it well.

Some leaders also emphasized that stress related to leadership was not limited to elections, and that oftentimes it became worse.

“I guess election time is tough as it requires an increase in time commitment,” Brake said. “But it’s the same for having to organize many of the other important events that [the

URN] hosts throughout the year.”

Mitch Wellman, a fourth-year College student and UJC Chair, also said that his workload after the election was a larger issue.

“I will say that those who win elections are hit with their fair dose of stress after the election and transition when they truly realize how much work lies ahead of them,” Wellman

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said. “If a transition plan between leaders is lacking, it can cause stress for everyone.”

Most students said that asking for assistance from others — either their friends and family or others in the organization — is crucial in dealing with the stress of leadership.

For Brake, collaborating with his predecessor at the URN greatly assisted him in learning the ropes and smoothly transitioning into his new role, he said. The University also provides services to mitigate health issues through Student Health with Counseling and Psychological Services.

While elections can be stressful, the benefits of running can ultimately outweigh all of the hard work.

“I think elections can be an extremely stressful time, but I also believe they can be exciting and beneficial,” Wellman said. “The competition pushes up-and-coming leaders to form ideas of how to improve their organization and then spread these ideas the best they can. I’d say many organizations see a spike in ingenuity during elections season.”

The student voting period has been reduced from a week to three days.

John Oliver makes triumphant return Show’s fourth season continues Peabody Award-winning-legacy IAN MCCONAUGHY WILLIAM | SENIOR WRITER

John Oliver resumed his role as host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” in its season four premiere last Sunday. The show fulfills a similar purpose as “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” — now hosted by Trevor Noah — where Oliver got his start. It lies at the intersection of news and entertainment, but the two never interfere with each other. The validity of the news presented is never sacrificed for humor’s sake.

“Last Week Tonight” makes it a point to always fact-check and encourages its viewers to do the same. In fact, fact-checking is precisely the issue the show took on as its primary subject in the season premiere.

The show’s setup is essentially a 30-minute tirade on recent political developments, with periodic comedic breaks.

These tirades, though, are not just partisan spewing — they are thought-out, rational counterpoints to decisions made by the government.

Another benefit of the show is its programming. Because “Last Week Tonight” is on HBO, it’s free of commercial breaks — meaning it has less corporate pressures or ties to adhere to. As a result, Oliver has no pressure when reporting on some issue that would hurt his corporate sponsors.

After remaining off the air during the inauguration and first several weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency, Oliver had much to catch up on. For his first episode, he focused on a simple concern — truth, or the matter of what constitutes a fact. Oliver tries to revitalize the most basic premise to any scientific or logical theory — an individual must have evidence for his or her’s claims.

Oliver, by drawing on unbiased sources like PolitiFact, showed that nearly two-thirds of Trump’s claims are false. As Oliver points out, Trump has stated he would have won the popular vote had not millions of illegal aliens voted for Hillary Clinton — something there is no evi-

dence of.

At this point in the show, Oliver lost his comedian’s temperament. Viewers could see the frustration that Oliver normally keeps at bay so well. He lamented what appears to be the death of truth in the Trump presidency, as well as in the American public.

With this in mind, Oliver had no choice but to end the show with a caveat to his faithful viewers — he urged everyone to fact-check their sources and demand real evidence for claims made by anyone, especially by those in power.

What does it mean that people are increasingly getting their news from these comedy sources? Is this a red flag for democracy? Or is it more alarming that comedy sources now serve as fact-checkers for traditional news? Oliver reminded viewers in the fourth season premiere of “Last Week Tonight” that logic and open dialogue have not been forgotten in Trump’s America.

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In his return to HBO, John Oliver urged his viewers to fact-check everything.

www.cavalierdaily.com • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2017

19

Student candidates answer the important questions Olivia Pope is popular, no one likes ‘The Last Airbender’ BEN HITCHCOCK | ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR With elections season underway, the Arts and Entertainment section asked Student Council presidential candidates and Class Council presidential candidates questions regarding their tastes in movies and first dates, among other topics.

What’s the worst movie you’ve ever seen?

Malcolm Stewart, FourthYear Trustees presidential candidate: Worst movie I have ever seen is easily “The Shining.” The movie is often brought up as a horror-film classic, and I truly am not a fan. It wasn’t scary, and it was just weird and so random and full of plot holes and just overall disappointing.

Galen Green, Third-Year Class Council presidential candidate: Not going to lie — not a big movie buff but wasn't a huge fan of “The Last Airbender.”

Sarah Lewis, Second-Year Class Council presidential candidate: The worst movie I've ever seen is definitely “The Last Airbender.” I grew up on “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” so when the movie came out, I was pretty pumped, and I honestly teared up a little — okay, maybe a lot — when they pronounced every character's name wrong. Quite tragic.

What’s the most embarrassing

song you secretly love?

Kelsey Kilgore, Student Council presidential candidate: “True Friend” by Hannah Montana.

Floyd Black, Third-Year Class Council presidential candidate: “Shake it Off ” by Taylor Swift.

Omar Elhaj, Second-Year Class Council presidential candidate: I will sing along to “A Thousand Miles” [by Vanessa Carlton] all day, any day.

Lewis: The absolute most embarrassing song I listen to is “California Dreamin” by MattyB. Do I occasionally listen to a 14-year-old rapper and love it? Yes. Yes I do.

Sarah Kenny, Student Council presidential candidate: “Come Clean” by Hilary Duff, which was on the first CD my sisters and I ever got as kids. Not that embarrassed by it, though, because who can hate on Duff?

Other than “Titanic,” what’s the best movie to watch on a first date?

Green: “The Lion King” — if your partner doesn't like it, you know it’s not going to work out.

Stewart: “50 First Dates” because you can use it as an opportunity at the end to say, “One date down, 49 to go.”

Johnny Pace, Third-Year Class Council presidential candidate: Watching the entire “The Lord of

the Rings” trilogy is a great way to spend quality time with a new date. Picking the right movie can be stressful, but watching this 11hour masterpiece will ensure that you get to know [the other person] very well.

Kenny: I can tell you from experience a very bad first date movie — “Spring Breakers.” Still makes me cringe. Funny is an absolute priority for this category.

Black: I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been on a first date.

If you were a character from a popular TV show, who would you be?

Kilgore: Olivia Pope.

Kenny: My loves of popcorn and red wine, coupled with my aspirations to be a lawyer lead me to say Olivia Pope from “Scandal.”

I’m nowhere near as intense or brave as her, but she is a phenomenal female figure in media.

Elhaj: SpongeBob Squarepants, of course.

Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met? Were they mean to you?

Lewis: You'd think that by the time I got to college I would have met someone insanely famous like Zac Efron or El Chapo. However, the most famous person I've ever met has two wheels and a Mohawk helmet.

Pace: I actually met the myth himself, Wheelie Kid, last week, and despite having a packed schedule of wheelies and jamming out, he was generous enough to show me a thing or two about popping the sickest wheelies. Celebrities can be so inspiring sometimes.

Green: I can't say I have met too many famous people, but I did get the chance to meet Katie Ledecky, who holds multiple world records in the swimming world.

She was super nice — even though she had just creamed me in a race.

Black: President Obama. The exchange was brief but he was very nice.

Kilgore: Joe Harris — I planned our wedding immediately following.

If you had an unlimited budget, who would you get to perform on opening weekend to distract the most kids from Block Party?

Elhaj: Nothing beats my girl Taylor Swift. Quality music, awesome times — I would take her concert over Block Party anytime.

Stewart: With an unlimited budget, why would I get one artist?

I’d start the night getting everyone hype with performances from Lil Wayne, Chance the Rapper and Drake then mellow the night out a bit and catch everyone in their

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Olivia Pope of “Scandal” is an inspiration to both Student Council candidates.

feels with John Legend and Adele, and then end the night on the highest of notes with the Queen B herself, Beyoncé.

Pace: I would have to get J. Cole again. I heard not a single person went to Block Party this year.

All candidates running for Student Council President or a Class Council presidency were contacted for comment.

Grammys replay a tired tune ‘25’ is on top, while ‘Lemonade’ sours DAN GOFF | ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR The Grammys are outdated. It’s been said, but after last Sunday, it needs to be said again — and more emphatically than ever.

From both fans of the artists and the artists themselves, considerable backlash followed the results of the 59th Grammys, in which Adele received Album of the Year, Best Record, Best Single and Best Pop Solo Performance — for “25” and “Hello,” respectively — leaving Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” in the dust.

Beyoncé wasn’t completely unrepresented, winning Best Music Video for “Formation” and Best Urban Contemporary Album — a niche category if ever one existed — for “Lemonade,” but these are spare change compared to Adele’s gains. It’s common knowledge by this point that Beyoncé, or Queen Bey, is R&B royalty. Shouldn’t

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The Grammys snubbed Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” by rewarding Adele’s “25” with Album of the Year.

the most recognized music awards show in America pay her a little more tribute?

It’s not as though choosing Adele’s music over Beyoncé’s was completely unmerited.

They’re both incredibly talented musicians — but Adele has had

her time to shine. She came into this year’s Grammys with an Album of the Year trophy already under her belt from “21” in 2012. While far from bad, “25” is arguably her least-inspired effort to date and was deserving of little more than a nomination.

Conversely, “Lemonade” was the standout of several 2016 albums from artists of color that addressed the current political climate while still being a daring collection of songs. “25” admittedly beat out Beyoncé’s albums in terms of sales — a common factor in the Album of the Year selection process — but this hardly seems relevant.

Why should the artist who has profited the most off of their art receive an extra pat on the back from the Grammys?

Even Adele wasn’t thrilled with the results. In her acceptance speech, she lauded “Lem-

onade,” calling it “so monumental” and referring to Beyoncé as the “artist of my life.” Backstage, she reportedly added, “I thought it was her year. What the f—k does she have to do to win Album of the Year?”

The awards show broke out of its traditionalistic slump in one noticeable way — the awards of Best New Artist and Best Rap Album being given to Chance the Rapper and his work “Coloring Book,” respectively. The soulful Chicago native is the first unsigned, streaming-exclusive artist to win a Grammy — or even to be nominated for one.

But aside from Chance, the distribution of awards was depressingly similar to years past.

Things could’ve gone much differently — and for the better.

If “Lemonade” had achieved Album of the Year status, then Anderson .Paak’s groundbreak-

ing “Malibu” would have been a shoo-in for Best Urban Contemporary Album. Instead, the only recognition he got was a chance to perform with Busta Rhymes and A Tribe Called Quest. While their politically-charged contribution to the Grammys was another highlight of the show, Anderson .Paak deserved more.

It doesn’t make sense for some of music’s most progressive and innovative artists to be ranked by a system that adheres so closely to tradition. 2016 was a banner year for Beyoncé — a year that warrants more than a handful of lesser awards and second-bests.

This is just a more recent and obvious trend of a major awards show failing to properly recognize artists of color. The record has been stuck for too long — maybe the Grammys could use a modern reboot.

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