Thursday, March 7, 2019

The Cavalier Daily

Vol. 129, Issue 22

Thursday, March 7, 2019 EMMA KLEIN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

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This week in-brief

NEWS

CD News Staff

Ellie Brasacchio elected Student Council president Third-year College student Ellie Brasacchio was elected Student Council President last Friday, winning 89.1 percent of the University-wide vote. According to data from the University Board of Elections, voter turnout for the Student Council race was 12.6 percent, down by nearly a third from last year when voter turnout was 18.8 percent. Brasacchio has served on Student Council since her first year at the University and previously served as the Chair of the Representative Body.

She defeated first-year Curry student Arabella Lee, who won 10.9 percent of the vote.

Brasacchio ran on a joint ticket with third-year College student and incumbent Vice President of Administration Taylor Overton and second-year College

student Shefalika Prasad, both of whom ran unopposed in this election. Overton will again serve as vice president of administration, while Prasad will serve as vice president for organizations, succeeding fourthyear College student Ty Zirkle.

Brasacchio, Overton and Prasad’s joint platform emphasizes financial accessibility for low-income students at the University. It calls for the creation of a Financial Accessibility Committee to focus on programs for low-income students, discounted meal plans for low-income students and free printing and textbooks.

Brasacchio, Overton, Prasad and all elected Student Council representatives will be sworn in later this month.

EMMA KLEIN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Brasacchio has served on Student Council since her first year at the University.

An estimated 600 votes reset in Spring 2019 election

EMMA KLEIN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Alex Smith-Scales, UBE chair, said a technology error caused votes to be reset.

An email sent by Alex Smith-Scales, University Board of Elections chair and a fourth-year College student, informed students that their votes for the Honor Undergraduate Arts & Sciences representative were “reset” due to a “technology error” in the Spring 2019 University-wide elections. The error on the ballot, which is managed by Big Pulse — an online election software company used by the University Board of Elections — allowed students to vote for and rank only two candidates out of the six running. The Honor Undergraduate Arts and Sciences representative position is filled by five individuals, and it was intended for a voter to be able to vote for five individuals.

The number of students whose votes had to be reset was “significant,” according to Smith-Scales. Although

the exact number of reset votes was unclear, SmithScales said it was around 600. Students whose votes were reset had to vote again for it to count. The final number of votes for the Honor representative position in question reached 1,341.

According to data from the University Board of Elections, voter turnout for the Honor Undergraduate Arts and Sciences representative race was 11.9 percent, down from last year when voter turnout was 19.7 percent. Voter turnout decreased in almost every race this year.

Despite around 600 votes being reset, Smith-Scales does not believe that turnout for this specific election was affected, stating that her personal belief was that voter turnout was low because of increased apathy towards student government over the past few years.

BOV committee approves new University Hotel and Conference Center, renovated Inn at Darden The Buildings and Grounds committee for the University’s Board of Visitors met Thursday afternoon in the Rotunda boardroom, where the agenda included concept designs for two new hotel buildings. The committee also voted to name the Brandon Avenue upper-class residence hall Bond House, which is currently under construction for use in the fall.

The Board began the meeting discussing the naming of the Brandon Avenue student housing construction project, and the proposed name Bond House was approved unanimously.

Bond House’s namesake, Julian Bond, was a professor of civil rights in the history department from 1992 until 2012. Bond also co-directed the Explorations in Black Leadership Project — which brought lectures and conversations by black leaders to Grounds — and led an annual civil rights tour and seminar

for the University community.

Outside of his work at the University, Bond served 20 years in state government as a member of both the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate. Bond was also the first president of the Southern Poverty Legal Center from 1971 to 1979 and NAACP chairman from 1998 until 2010.

The decision to name the residence hall after a civil rights advocate comes in the wake of recent backlash against the vestiges of the University’s racist history evident in controversial building names such as Alderman Library and the Curry School of Education — former University President Edwin Alderman advocated for eugenics against people of color, and J.L.M. Curry supported slavery and secession from the Union during the Civil War.

CHRISTINA ANTON | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The BOV announced the partial demolition of the Inn at Darden.

Derrick Wang appointed as next Board of Visitors student member

COURTESY DERRICK WANG

Wang will replace Brendan Nigro as the non-voting student Board member.

Third-year College student Derrick Wang was selected last Friday to be the next Board of Visitors student representative.

The student member of the Board is a non-voting position, but the representative provides the Board with student input and acts as a liaison between Board members and the University student body. Over the past year, Wang has served as vice chair of community relations for the Honor Committee and was recently elected to serve as an Honor undergraduate Arts and Sciences representative for the upcoming year. His experience has prepared him to for the role of student Board member by allowing him to “interact with a broad range of students in the community,” Wang said.

“I really see that role as bridging the institution of the Honor Committee and students of all different backgrounds,” Wang said. “I think that kind of experience is really important in how I’ll approach being the student member, in acting as a bridge between different groups of students, different types of concerns people might have, and the Board of Visitors.”

Fourth-year College student Brendan Nigro is the current BOV student member and was on the panel of six student leaders that conducted the first round of interviews for the BOV student member position this year. Wang’s outreach experience through Honor and his academic record will serve him well in the role, Nigro said.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019

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Living Wage Campaign activists rally outside BOV meeting The rally was intended to protest the University’s lack of progress on the issue Tadd Luhan & Tristan Baird | Senior Writers

RILEY WALSH | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Dozens of demonstrators were present at the rally, and the group mainly consisted of students. While the demonstration was intended to be peaceful, a window was broken on the north side of the Rotunda, facing the Lawn. It was repaired within 24 hours.

Activists from the Living Wage Campaign held a rally outside of the ongoing Board of Visitors sessions Friday afternoon at the Rotunda. The demonstration occurred as Board members, including President Jim Ryan, were slated to discuss major decisions involving minimum wage increases for University employees and affordable housing.The University’s Community Working Group, created by Ryan in 2018, had delivered its official report earlier in the morning, which identified both affordable employee housing and fair wages as top priorities.

As the self-proclaimed oldest living wage advocacy group in the country, the Living Wage Campaign also has a substantial history of both at the University and in Charlottesville at large. Over its 21-year history, the campaign has a number of victories under its belt, including actively leading the drive to an $8 minimum wage in 1998 and organizing a 14-day hunger strike in 2012 in which 21 students participated. Both events drew widespread media coverage.

Comprised of students, faculty and community members, the Living Wage Campaign has featured prominently at the University and in the greater community in the past year. Founded in 1997 with the stated purpose of “advocat[ing] for workers rights on Grounds” and “drawing attention to issues of inequality, poverty and the fact that worker’s rights are civil rights,” the group criticized Ryan heavily last December for his perceived failure

to take a strong enough position on the wage issue. Ryan had at the time declined to take a stance on the subject, stating that he would need to do more research on issue before making a decision.

“The University’s historical unwillingness to treat its low-wage staff as full members of our community has led to gross inequity and unfair working conditions,” said a press release issued by the organization prior to the event. “For an employer with a deeply racist past, the fact that these employees are disproportionately people of color, recent immigrants, and/or refugees, constitutes a continuation of UVA’s white supremacist legacy.”

The press release also contained a four-point list of demands — that the University implement a living wage of $16.84 an hour in addition to healthcare benefits, that contracted employees — including Aramark dining service staff and others — be included in proposed wage increases, that the University support affordable housing for its employees and that the University create open channels for dialogue with low-wage staff without fear of reprisal from management.

While Ryan has promised to make pursuing a living wage a priority of his presidency, including stating that he would like to have a solution in hand by the end of the current academic year, the Living Wage campaign argued that time is of the essence.

“President James E. Ryan’s Com-

munity Working Group has affirmed our insistence that compensation, housing, and race lie at the core of UVA’s problems,” said the press release. "We applaud group’s efforts.

President Ryan has expressed interest in the University’s working conditions and a willingness to engage on the issue beyond his predecessors, but now it is time for the and the Board of Visitors to act.”

Activists braved rain and cold temperatures to let their voices be heard. At least four dozen demonstrators were present at the rally, and the group mainly consisted of students.

Demonstrators gathered first on the Rotunda steps, holding signs and banners in support of a $16.84 living wage, affordable housing for workers and an end to the prison-industrial complex. Organizers then addressed the crowd, stating the purpose of the demonstration, reading off testimonials from University employees and reiterating the group’s list of demands.

In order to address their concerns directly to the Board of Visitors, the protest then moved to the Rotunda’s front porch, where only steps away, the Board was engaged in full session. Organizers led the group in chants of “You can’t survive on $7.25,” and “Jim Ryan, stop the lies. Let the workers organize,” and read off a list of grievances against specific Board members.

Among the individuals criticized were Board Rector Frank “Rusty” M. Conner III, who the protestors ac-

cused of buying his position through donations to the governor and who worked on transactions cumulatively worth more than $100 billion during his career at international law firm Covington and & Burling, and Robert M. Blue, Executive Vice President and President and CEO of Dominion Energy’s Power Delivery Group. Demonstrators erroneously stated that Blue was the company’s CEO. While organizers expressed support for President Ryan’s recent creation of a Community Working Group to address some of the group’s concerns, protestors also took issue with the University’s renewal of a 20-year contract with Aramark, whose contract employees staff the University’s dining halls. According to fourth-year College student Elise Peterson-McMath, who attended the rally and was invited by the campaign to speak at the event, some English learning were not allowed to attend English as a second language class “due to understaffing issues” but are now allowed to attend for a minimum of 30 minutes in the work day unless the service is “significantly understaffed that day.”

“The main change that we have seen since the workers are no longer permitted to stay clocked in during this hour has been in the fact that many workers are not allowed to stay for the full hour of English class anymore and are only given permission to come for thirty minutes,” Peterson-McMath said in an email.

“The main point being that our partnership with corporate Aramark differs greatly from the support we receive from the University, specifically UVA Facilities.”

Peterson-McMath said that the University often does not treat contract staff with the same respect as other full-time employees.

“I think the University doesn't have to go through the trouble and the expenses of employing people themselves. So they hire a contracted company to do the work for them, and in effect they don’t have to pay as much money,” Peterson-McMath said. “And they place all the responsibility on [the company] and act like their hands are tied.”

While the demonstration was intended to be a peaceful one — and the University Police Department did not order the crowd to disperse — a window was broken on the north side of the Rotunda, facing the Lawn. According to the Daily Progress, students had been slapping their hands against the Rotunda windows, which resulted in the damage. The damage was repaired within 24 hours, although University spokesman Anthony de Bruyn stated in an email to the Cavalier Daily that a total cost estimate for the

maintenance work was not yet available. The University does not plan on taking additional preventative measures in response to the incident.

Runkel also stressed that the time is long past for partial solutions to the problem.

“There really are no intermediary steps to paying a living wage,” Runkel said in an email statement to the Cavalier Daily. “There are other, separate actions that we would like (contractor parity, transparency in management, the BoV to act like they are the board of a school and not Walmart) but resolution does not happen until workers get the resources to decide how to live their lives.”

In terms of the campaign’s confidence in the current University administration to make good on student and community concerns over the minimum wage, Runkel stated that the responsibility for change is no longer solely the University’s, but lies with the people themselves.

“After several decades we put confidence not in UVA administrators--whoever they may be--but in ourselves and organizers around Charlottesville,” Runkel said. “[President Ryan] signed a letter of support as a law professor here several years ago, but we have learned from a quarter century here not to rely on things of that nature. We will advocate regardless.”

While the demonstration was mainly concerned with providing a living wage and affordable housing for University employees, race was also discussed in tandem with the University’s controversial racial history. According to speakers from the Living Wage Campaign, black community members and other minority groups, including non-native English speakers, disproportionately hold wage-based salary positions within the University.

First-year College student Gabryelle Francois, who attended the event after hearing about it from one of her professors, commented on her experience as a black student on Grounds.

“When I go into my classroom, it’s pretty rare for me to see someone of color, but when I go into the dining halls, that’s when I see my face reflected,” Francois said. “And I don’t think that should be the only place where I see my color reflected within the community. It’s like a business here — we have so much money. We can be helping a lot of people by hiring more people of color.”

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Addressing Charlottesville’s rising homeless population The number of people in the Charlottesville region who experience homelessness at least once a year has nearly doubled in five years Caroline Stoerker & Jennifer Brice | Senior Associate & Senior Writer In downtown Charlottesville, The Haven stands tall as an inviting sanctuary to all those who come across it. Outside the church building converted to a homeless shelter, a sign reads, “Everyone needs a place to start.” Inside, dozens of individuals are resting in pews or downstairs enjoying a meal. The Haven serves as a shelter for the homeless population of Charlottesville, who may otherwise have nowhere else to turn to for assistance.

Being more than simply a physical space to congregate, The Haven also hosts the offices of Peoples and Congregations Engaged in Ministry — a shelter that utilizes local churches a place to sleep in colder months — and the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless — a non-profit coalition of local organizations who work together to end homelessness in the region. These services — along with laundry services, showers, mailing addresses and storage — exist to aid the homeless and fill gaps that may exist in the availability of resources. The central focus of The Haven in providing this support system is to serve as a launchpad for guests’ transformation from homelessness to sustainable living.

Homelessness exists throughout the City of Charlottesville and its metropolitan region comprised of Albemarle, Greene, Nelson, Louisa and Fluvanna counties. According to statistics from TJACH, the number of people in this metropolitan region who were served for homelessness at any given moment in a specific year rose from 283 to 440 between 2013 and 2018.

TJACH Executive Director Anthony Haro said this rapid uptick is due to a complicated paradox of local organizations’ expanding ability to help this community and the rapid increase of the region’s affordable housing crisis in recent years. The region is in need of over 4,000 affordable units — defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as one a three-member family can purchase or rent for 30 percent or less of the area’s median income of $60,047 — in order to satisfy current demand.

“I think that the housing needs in the community are more significant now, and that is contributing to the rise in the number of people who fall into homelessness,” Haro said. “But I think that number of increase can be attributed to an increase in our system’s capacity to help people. That’s an important thing to note.”

Dynamics and demographics of homelessness The homeless population in Charlottesville is largely comprised

TYRA KREHBIEL | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Charlottesville’s homeless population is 0.21% higher than the national average and higher than Ann Arbor, Mich. and Chapel Hill, N.C. — the locations of the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina. Of all comparable college towns, Berkely, Calif. has the highest homeless population relative to its overall city population.

of adults between 25 and 54. Additionally, black individuals are overrepresented at just under 50 percent of the homeless population, which is disproportionate to the 13 to 20 percent of black community members in Charlottesville’s overall population. Despite a large proportion of middle-aged adults and black citizens who are homeless, however, Haro describes the problem as a dynamic one. According to Haro, there exists a wide variety of reasons why individuals find themselves falling into homelessness, including job losses, unresolved health problems and domestic violence.

“There’s different needs that exist in the homeless population,” Haro said. “It’s not a homogenous population, if you will. It’s often just people like you and I who fall on hard times and there’s different needs across the whole spectrum.”

Janette Kawachi, the chief partnership officer at Habitat for Humanity’s Charlottesville arm and a TJACH board member, described a recent applicant to the Habitat program from Richmond who had been both living out of her car and receiving resources from a local shelter after she escaped a domestic violence situation. Thirty-four percent of homeless adults in the Charlottesville area are women, and 25 percent of homeless adults in the area were victims of domestic violence at some point in their past.

Habitat in Charlottesville is

only able to accept 10 percent of their applicants due to both a lack of resources and a high value of applicants to their homeownership program, which works with low-income families to provide them with a permanent, stable housing solution. Their recent work has focused on fighting gentrification in the region through purchasing homes in gentrifying areas in order to restore them and sell them at affordable prices and creating a “Pathways to Housing” program. The Pathways program accepts families that typically may be rejected from Habitat homeownership due to reasons including debt, poor credit or an income that does not meet Habitat’s income threshold.

Another Habitat applicant found herself and her family unexpectedly homeless after a devastating job loss. The family had no choice but to double up in a small unit with their grandparents — a category Kawachi and others refer to as the “invisible homeless,”or multiple families who are forced to reside in the same unit due to a lack of stable housing — with the parents sleeping on couches and their five children sleeping on the floor.

From Haro’s perspective, all forms of homelessness are a prevailing issue that cannot be resolved by temporary efforts, but rather by long-term work that involves generating an adequate and affordable housing stock for the area’s homeless population to transition into.

“Housing solutions are the answer to homelessness,” Haro said.

“We can’t continue putting BandAids on the issue. We need to deal with the issue by addressing the ultimate solution, which is increased housing resources.”

Generating solutions in the face of an affordable housing crisis Several other organizations apart from TJACH and Habitat are actively working to provide temporary shelter and resources to the area’s homeless population, including The Haven.

As a low-barrier shelter, there is no drug or breathalyzer test administered prior to admission to The Haven, and there is no requirement that guests have a regular income of some kind to qualify for shelter. The site is accessible to anyone seeking its aid, regardless of circumstance.

The shelter can thus accommodate the homeless population to its fullest extent, with a maximum capacity of 384 people. The Haven’s mission statement describes this nondiscriminating welcome policy as “radical hospitality.”

Stephen Hitchcock, executive director at The Haven, said services such as Region Ten — which assists those struggling with mental health, disability or substance abuse — and the Departments of Social Services and Veterans Affairs connect with guests as part of the organization’s “Housing First” mission, which diverges from the traditional shelter-based approach by

acknowledging homelessness as a housing crisis. Hitchcock said the shelter-based approach — however supportive and comprehensive it may be — does not adequately address the sheer lack of affordable housing at the root of homelessness.

The Haven serves as a support system for those on the path to sustainable and stable housing. One of The Haven’s former residents, James, began receiving services from the day shelter five months ago after his journey through rehabilitation and relocation to Charlottesville from Newport News.

Since he first began volunteering as a resident, James has earned a job as a shift supervisor at the shelter, and he has received housing accommodations with The Haven’s assistance. James said The Haven helped him turn his life around — supporting him and giving him an opportunity to support others.

“The Haven has definitely been a blessing,” James said. “I wanted to stay away from the craziness when I started here, and I began to like working with homeless people. I can identify with them — I’ve been there. I have compassion for them because I’ve been in the same place, and I want them to see that life can change. Life can be different.”

However, James said that although he’s been fortunate in his own experience, many more residents at The Haven are still struggling to find a home to call their own. James said the lack of afforda-

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THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019 ble housing and the high cost of living in Charlottesville leave many in need of The Haven’s assistance.

“That is the main thing in Charlottesville, is housing,” James said.

“The cost of living is sky high, and low income housing’s very rare …

Charlottesville’s not that big, so most of the people that’s homeless would be here [at The Haven].

It’s not really a lot, but to me it’s enough people here, where they could be easily helped if somebody would.”

From the last week of October through mid-April, guests at The Haven in need of shelter for the night are taken in by PACEM. A rotation of 80 local congregations and community groups provide respite for those without sufficient protection from inclement weather.

PACEM executive director Jayson Whitehead said the need for these services has been increasing in recent years. During operations, PACEM hosts an average of 42 men and 13 women. This is maximum capacity for men and also at maximum capacity for women. Whitehead, like the city’s other experts on the subject, said the high demand is most directly related to Charlottesville’s shortage of affordable housing units.

“Since about mid December, we’ve been at max capacity on our men’s site almost every night,” Whitehead said. “We were actually full on our women’s site — I think it’s been three straight nights now

— which is pretty unusual. And then that’s building on last season.… We saw the highest number of unique individuals that we’ve ever seen, which was 243 folks for our 24 weeks, and we’re on a similar pace.”

Community impact and a housing hub This implementation of support systems for the homeless community has proven to significantly influence the community at large as the City has struggled to address the affordable housing crisis in recent years. A proposal for a $50 million bond to rectify the crisis was never directly addressed by City Council, and it is unclear why councillors chose not to publicly address it.

Additionally, the overhaul of the City’s comprehensive plan and zoning codes — the key determinants of where high-density and affordable housing units can be developed in the City — is expected to take up to three years to complete.

Kawachi said that Habitat, TJACH, the Charlottesville Redevelopment Housing Association and a number of other organizations in the area have recently taken action under the umbrella of the the Charlottesville Low-Income Housing Coalition to establish what Kawachi calls a centralized housing hub for individuals and families who need housing assistance. This could mean providing resources for a variety of housing needs — including homelessness,

home repair or rehab or searching for an affordable market unit — in a singular place, due to the current lack of synthesized and coalesced solutions and resources. “[What] we are really pushing and focusing on is the development of what we call a centralized housing hub,” Kawachi said. “We’re trying to create essentially a hub where folks can come, because that is one of the primary things we’ve heard from individuals who are having housing issues or are experiencing homelessness is that they have nowhere to go.”

The coalition filled out the grant application with the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, a non-profit, philanthropic organization that provides funding to projects improving the quality of life in the metropolitan region.

Kawachi is hopeful that it will gain traction with CACF and receive funding to launch the hub relatively soon, although it is unclear when CACF will respond to the request.

“We’re really hoping that it will be a strong application given all the issues going on around affordable housing here,” Kawachi said. “Our hope is to get some initial fundraising to do the design and planning component, and then hopefully to launch it within a year and a half.”

Additionally, many University students live in off-Grounds housing in the Venable and Jefferson Park Avenue neighborhoods, complicating the affordable housing

crisis by reducing the number of units available to Charlottesville residents and being willing to pay as high as $900 per bedroom in monthly rent.

The University has done little in recent years to help the City alleviate the problem — however, the Brandon Avenue on-Grounds housing complex is slated to open in August 2019, creating space for 500 students and shifting some of the demand away from offGrounds. University President Jim Ryan’s community working group named affordable housing as their number two priority area behind jobs and wages in a report released last week, saying that University officials and administration “should partner with housing providers to help ensure there is safe, quality, affordable housing for all residents in the region.”

Grant Duffield, the executive director of the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority, says a partnership between the City and the University could help streamline valuable resources to aid in the creation of more affordable units and the generation of a living wage. Duffield said in an interview with The Cavalier Daily that so far, he has not yet “been privy” to conversations regarding wages and affordable housing at the University.

“I think there could be some synergy there,” Duffield said. “Certainly the housing authority has programs and resources at its dis-

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posal that could help make that type of initiative much more effective, much more impactful for the residents involved.”

Ultimately, while local organizations are doing what their resources permit them to in order to care for and support the local homeless population, their leaders agree that affordable housing is the solution to Charlottesville’s dynamic homelessness problem, with both strong social and fiscal implications in balance.

“It’s actually cheaper to house individuals and families than it is to just manage their homelessness,” Whitehead said. “There’s also this fiscal component…. Most people think ‘oh, housing people that’s gotta be so expensive,’ instead of keeping them in a shelter. But it’s the opposite.”

TYRA KREHBIEL | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Black individuals in Charlottesville are overrepresented at just under 50 percent of the homeless population, which is disproportionate to the 13 to 20 percent of black community members in Charlottesville’s overall population.

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THE CAVALIER DAILY

NEWS • www.cavalierdaily.com

BOV approves new upper division tuition rates 21.6 percent upper division tuition increase will apply beginning in fall 2021 Colleen Schinderle | Staff Writer The University Board of Visitors met Friday morning to approve proposed increases in third- and fourth-year student tuition starting in fall 2021.

Drawing on their vision for the College of Arts and Sciences outlined in a committee report that includes educating “the next generation of citizen leaders” and recruiting and retaining “the world’s leading faculty,” the Board discussed generating six million dollars through student tuition increases.

Third-year College students will be subject to a rate that is $2,700 higher than the University’s base tuition rate in 2021. In-state students in the College are currently set to pay $14,094 for tuition in the 2019-20 school year. In 2022 and every year thereafter, both thirdand fourth-years will pay the extra fee, generating $12 million annually for the University.

The University’s Budget Office

projects that upper division tuition rates for in-state College students will be $14,094 for 2019-20, $14,518 in 2020-21, $17,654 for 2021-22 and $18,184 for 2022-23, assuming a 21.6 percent increase in base and fees for third- and fourth-year students after the 2020-21 academic year.

The University has increased its tuition either at the rate of inflation or below it for four consecutive years until the 2019-20 school year, when the tuition rate will increase by 2.9 percent for in-state students.

The increases will apply equally to both in- and out-of-state students, University Deputy Spokesperson Wes Hester said in an email to The Cavalier Daily.

“I'm not a fan of raising tuition — I have kids in college — so I get that raising tuition is not the first thing you should do,” University President Jim Ryan said in an interview with The Cavalier Daily. “But you know, the College needs more resources to improve student-fac-

ulty ratios for every hundred students.”

The committee report states that the income generated from these increases will fund less than 20 percent of a multi-year plan to carry out the College’s vision. The $12 million generated by tuition increases will fund an “enhancement of the quality of the undergraduate experience.”

Other key components of this new vision include a rise from 28th to 20th in terms of faculty salary for the University, providing Pan-University Excellence through facilities, student services, research and academic support and IT security among other targets.

The remaining 80 percent of funding needed to accomplish these goals will be sourced from philanthropy and reallocation of cost savings.

Noted in the committee report was that AccessUVa will still be fully applicable to all students, en-

suring that “28 percent of 3rd and 4th year College students will be held harmless, through additional grants.”

AccessUVa is a financial aid program that began in 2004 that seeks to increase socioeconomic diversity at the University by lowering or fully covering the cost of attendance for students whose parental income is more than two times less than the federal poverty line.

Ryan addressed student tuition in his inaugural address when he announced that students from Virginia families that earn less than $80,000 annually would be able to attend the University free of tuition, and further, those that earned less than $30,000 in yearly income would be eligible for free room and board on top of that.

“If the tuition differential is approved, students whose families earn less than $80,000 will still receive grants that are equal to the tuition even including the in-

crease,” Ryan said. “Students whose families earn less than $30,000 will still receive grants that are equal to tuition.”

These financial aid packages will include work-study and need-based loans in addition to grants and scholarships, and will apply to all current University students with an emphasis on the incoming Class of 2023 during their third and fourth years.

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JACOB DEANE | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The University’s Budget Office projects that upper division tuition rates for in-state College students will be $14,094 for 2019-20, $14,518 in 2020-21, $17,654 for 2021-22 and $18,184 for 2022-23, assuming a 21.6 percent increase in base and fees for third- and fourth-year students after the 2020-21 academic year.

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THE CAVALIER DAILY

Prime 109 — a place to celebrate Banking on a good time? Try Prime 109!

LIFE Appeal Prime 109 has some of the most dec adent and well-prepared dishes I’ve tried in Charlottesville. The Downtown Grille pales in comparison to this modern and glamorous restaurant. The upscale interior is supported perfectly by the menu, which is a mix of familiar dishes like bolognese and caesar salad and new exciting plates like lobster tail pasta and cioppino — a seafood filled soup.

I opted for the lobster tail pasta, a caesar salad and the lemon meringue for dessert. The caesar salad was delicious and surprisingly filling. The salad is a base of little gem lettuce topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, an anchovy vinaigrette and frico — a thin, crunchy cheese crisp.

The salad isn’t too fishy — an initial concern I had when I heard anchovy vinaigrette. Instead, it’s just slightly salty and has a satisfying crunch from the crisp little gem lettuce and the brittle frico. The lobster tail pasta was rich and buttery, and I enjoyed every bit. A large piece of lobster was positioned atop a bed of gnocchi in a delicious tomato sauce.

The shining star of the meal for me, however, was the lemon meringue dessert. I’m a huge fan of any kind of pie or tart, and this was one of the best tarts I’ve ever tried. The filling was a delicate mix of lemon and lime curd sitting inside a small

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Sadie Goodman | Food Columnist shortbread crust. The tart is covered with white and purple meringues surrounded by light purple berry sugar. The finishing touch is a scoop of Splendora’s blueberry sorbet. The dish was as beautiful as it was delicious. I couldn’t believe such amazing flavor was coming from such a small, elegant dessert. Every bite was slightly different and better than the last.

Affordability This is definitely not a place to bring friends for a casual Friday night dinner. Prime 109 is quite pricey with most salads costing around $10, sides coming in between $6-15 and entrees falling between $14 - $37. The steaks cost anywhere between $24 and $80.

This is a great place for a birthday dinner or a fun restaurant to bring your parents when they visit. It may be expensive, but trust me, it’s worth it.

Accessibility Prime 109 comes with the challenges of parking Downtown and sadly, the building does not appear to be handicap accessible, as it has a small flight of stairs by the entrance.

Prime 109 is open from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and open from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Sundays. I recommend making a reservation either online or by calling the restaurant to ensure you can get a seat. I went right at 5:30

SADIE GOODMAN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Prime 109’s lemon meringue dessert.

p.m., and it filled up quite quickly.

Prime 109 is also not the place to go for a quick bite — our dinner took almost three hours, though we did have a party of eight.

Atmosphere Walking into Prime 109 feels like walking into Gringotts Wizarding Bank from Harry Potter — fittingly so because the location of this new restaurant is in the old Bank of America. This new addition to the great dining on the Downtown

Mall is a definite win in terms of the ambiance. The ceiling is high and grand with the columns lining the dining area giving it a regal air. The clean marble floors and simple table settings also make just entering the restaurant part of the dining experience.

The restaurant was busy and loud but in a comforting, exciting way.

The servers were professional and efficient. Our dinner was long but not by fault of the kitchen or serv-

ers — we just enjoyed our time and ate slowly. My water glass was never empty and all my questions about the menu were answered.

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Prime 109 and hope to return again.

The meal was an experience, and though it is definitely not an every weekend venue, I will certainly returning when I have an occasion to celebrate.

Vegetable and carb load in one go-to pasta recipe A Thursday night tradition like no other Madison McNamee | Food Columnist As a self-identified foodie, I am all for going out to eat and trying intriguing new dishes. I’m not one to pass up dinner with friends on the Corner, at the Downtown Mall or even on the outskirts of Charlottesville if it means delectable food. If my friends want to test a new restaurant, I’m their go-to dining partner — except on Thursday nights. Anyone who knows me knows that in my kitchen Thursday night means pasta night.

Every Thursday, you might ask?

How can you eat pasta every Thursday and not get tired of it? Isn’t it just carbs and sauce? You see, when you have a dish as versatile as mine, it becomes something you look forward to each week and even crave on the daily. Any pasta shape will do, which makes it easy to diversify this dish each week. The carb load is comforting and the veggies are nutritious — ideal for any pre-weekend festiv-

ities. The sauce can be substituted for anything you’re in the mood for, but a classic red sauce never fails to please. If you’re out of red sauce, olive oil works too. This recipe is really up to you.

The ingredients and instructions here are loose directives, so they can be altered to your liking. This is just one of my favorite combinations, but sometimes I simply throw in whatever vegetables in my fridge are about to go bad. I recommend sauteing an onion to add because it creates a pungent flavor. If you don’t have an onion, or despise the texture like me, opt for Trader Joe’s onion salt in the sautee instead to aid in the flavoring. Sometimes, I’ll add in a dash of paprika or red pepper if I’m in the mood for spice. I really cannot emphasize enough how adaptable this recipe is!

Servings: 4 Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Ingredients: 3 - 4 cloves of sliced garlic (or more, if you’re into that) 3 tablespoons of olive oil 1/3 cup of sliced cherry tomatoes 1/3 cup of sliced mushrooms 1/3 cup of broccoli 2 big handfuls of baby spinach 1 box of your favorite pasta shape 1 jar of your preferred sauce Salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Prep veggies beforehand. Slice cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and garlic. Cut any broccoli pieces that are too large.

2. Boil pasta. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in skillet.

3. Once the oil is hot, toss in garlic. Saute until onions until golden brown and season with salt and pepper.

4. Add your veggies — other than spinach — to the pan. I typically put broccoli first to let it soften. I like to add a ladle of pasta water into the pan at this time to help with that, too. Season again with salt and pepper.

5. Add sauce to the veggies.

6. Keep an eye on your pasta — usually 7 to 8 minutes to cook — to see if it’s ready, depending on what consistency you like. Then drain it.

7. Now add pasta to the mixture of sauce and veggies. Stir it around until both are well mixed.

8. Lastly, add the spinach. Stir it around with the pasta until it wilts from the heat. Add more salt, pepper and other spices if desired.

9. Serve and enjoy!

The leftovers are the best part of this recipe. I don’t know if anyone else can relate, but my stomach typically craves more than one “suggested serving.” With this recipe, I can

feast and not feel guilty because of the plentiful nutrients from the vegetables. Furthermore, I’ll still have leftovers for the rest of the weekend.

Okay, so maybe I lied. Maybe this isn’t just my Thursday pasta dish, but in fact, my weekend pasta dish. Go ahead and judge me, but it’s just that good to have every night.

Thursdays at the University are big nights, but in my kitchen, Thursdays are even more than that. Some may argue no Thursday is complete without Trin, but I will disagree — no Thursday is complete without pasta. Sure, you can go out and have a wild time with your friends, but there’s room for all sorts of unexpected surprises with that. After three semesters at the University, I have gained some wisdom and let me tell you — this recipe is something that will never fail you.

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LIFE • www.cavalierdaily.com

The double life of a student bus driver These University students operate 35-foot-long vehicles with ease Angel Swain | Feature Writer On any given day, driving on one of the numerous bus routes, second-year College student Austin Jennings, better known in the student driving community as “Tex,” is waiting for the next batch of students to flood onto the bus.

Jennings, with a patriotic spirit and cowboy boots — hence the shortened “Texas” nickname — is one of the 25 student bus drivers who have the essential task of transporting the thousands of University students who hop on and off of the bus.

Driving alongside the 40 fulltime and 20 to 30 part-time drivers, this eclectic group of student bus drivers is tasked with one of the most unique jobs that the University has to offer its students. Overlooked by some and thanked by many, student drivers not only live out their days as college students but also perform their jobs of operating 35-foot-long buses.

Signing up was just a matter of looking in the right place. Based on the numerous ads present in every bus, Jennings contacted the University Transit Services and inquired about a job. Although combining a college student schedule and bus driving job can be hard, student drivers have relied on networking behind the scenes, carried out by UTS Operations Manager Allison Day, to structure a system that adheres to the student drivers’ needs and schedules.

“That was one of the most appealing things about becoming a bus driver,” Jennings said. “Not only that the pay was pretty good, but they are just about as flexible as you possible can be in terms of schedule.”

With the convenience of combining their class and work schedules and with salaries for students starting at $10 per hour, many of the student drivers navigating around Grounds have found that serving their community through UTS has been a valuable, worthwhile experience. This has certainly been the case for fourth-year College student Brian Cameron, who described his job as “one of the best jobs on Grounds.”

Though he has only been on the job for less than a month, Cameron — trained by Jacob Weitzman, third-year College student, Student Supervisor and long-time driver — has already experienced the warmth and community of UTS. “I think that's actually an element of the job that I've come to appreciate,” Cameron said. “That balance between normal people working [their] careers versus students — they’re all just the friendliest folks.”

Weitzman, who has been driving for two years, has observed cars recklessly cross double yellow lines, pedestrians disregard the crosswalk and many box trucks get stuck under the 14th street bridge.

UTS is self-insured through the University’s Risk Management Office in the case of an accident, there is a standard procedure regardless of whether the driver is a student or not. Depending on the case, the procedure involves police, emergency or supervisory responses, forms and follow-ups with the driver.

Although he’s a veteran driver, Weitzman is still learning and enjoying the techniques and strategies of being a student driver.

“I mean, sure, it’s hard at first, but UTS has a very good training program with a full time training specialist,” Weitzman said. “By the time you're done training, you're a pretty decent driver for a 18-, 19[or] 20-year-old.”

Through the intensive training, which includes written and practical tests, student drivers work alongside the full-time drivers to navigate their way through the pedestrian, scooter and car-filled streets around Grounds.

“Trainees experience both classroom style training and hands on training,” Rebecca White, director of the Department of Parking and Transportation, said in an email to The Cavalier Daily. “Trainees first get behind the wheel on a cone course and eventually graduate to on-road and then on-route, both during the day and at night.”

Training for the student drivers comes in two different formats.

Sessions offered in late May, early August and during J-Term concentrate 100 hours of training in about 2 weeks. However, mid-semester training spreads those 100 hours over the course of about 8 weeks.

“After initial training, there is another 20 hours of what we call ‘senior driving’ where the trainee is on route with a more senior driver,” White said.

Even after they learn to operate behind the wheel, student drivers must go on a series of required ride-alongs and in-service training modules to become proficient in all aspects of driving.

By learning numerous driving techniques including backing, using the wheelchair ramps and tiedowns, student drivers are thoroughly prepared for the challenge.

Successful trainees receive a commercial driver’s license at the end of their training. “[The training] was super intense, so that was like, kind of a big wake-up call — but it was definitely

worth it because I knew that I wanted to be a driver for a pretty long time,” Cameron said.

Every job comes with its challenges, and this one comes with sharp right turns on the difficult Inner U-Loop bus route, rush hour traffic, Lime and Bird scooters and the occasional over-enthusiastic rider.

But the ability to “see all sorts of different people from all different walks of life on the day-to-day basis” as Cameron expressed, is one that the student drivers have collectively come to cherish.

“It's changed my experience at U.Va. because when I get on a bus now, it's not just a bus driver — it's like a friend of mine, and I think it's cool to have a job on Grounds and work for the University,” Jennings said.

As recruitment numbers have fluctuated over time, White — once a student driver herself many years ago — relies on the effective tool of having great student drivers recruit other great student drivers, hinting at the responsibility and opportunity that comes with the job.

“Not a whole lot of students know that you can drive the bus,” Weitzman said. “Everyone tries to look for the library job and some easy desk job, but it's nice to drive a bus, because you get away from doing your school work … you can't really do a math problem and drive [the] Inner Loop at the same time — it’s nice and it’s a completely new skill you learn and you have it for life.”

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THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019

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Top 10 places to go if you don’t have a break destination A helpful guide for when your flaky friends forget to book the Airbnb on time Paige Waterhouse | Top 10 Writer

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Whether you and your friends just couldn’t decide between Cancun or the Bahamas or you spent too much money on Roots this year to scrape together enough travel funds, you’ve decided to go home — there’s no shame in that! Spring break could not have come at a more brilliant time than now. Just finishing up midterms? Perfect, enjoy a nice week of relaxation in your comfy childhood home.

Outraged because all your professors decided to conspire against you and schedule your exams for after break? No worries, there’s nothing like a familiar setting to give you peace of mind and help you focus. Whatever your situation, revel in the fact that you will be chilling at home with your pets while your classmates are suffering from sunburn.

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Inevitably, at some point during break, you’re going to be itching to get out of the house.

May I suggest, a trip to your local cafe? It’s relatively nearby, quaint and has … mediocre coffee. You can’t complain because it does give you an excuse to go somewhere, and it’s always fun to people-watch. But, the coffee and atmosphere will never compare to the sweet, college-town vibe of Grit or Starbucks on the Corner.

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2 Another break from school means another chance to catch up with high school friends.

Unfortunately, spring break is not as long as winter break, so the likelihood of having overlapping time off with your buddies could be slim. You can always drop by to say hello to their parents though — that’s not weird, right? Or maybe your high school friends probably got their stuff together in time to book an Airbnb, so they are off partying without you, too. Sorry.

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If scanning a QR code and riding around on a motorized green scooter brings you any joy, you need to check out the skate park. Your friends are going to expect you to share something awesome about what went down during your spring break. What better way to impress them than to show off your newly earned scooter skills? Bust out your old Razor scooter and hit up the skate park to perfect your 180 jump and triple barspin.

Yeah, they might have just had the “most totally epic week of their lives,” but only you can hit a nollie.

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Most major spring break destinations are centered around a body of water. If your home is near one of these college-student magnets, you’re in luck! Go to your local beach or find a hidden lake with a conveniently placed tire swing. However, if your hometown is not based in a coastal area, maybe your bathtub will suffice?

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Now that you’re home, you might as well take advantage of all the fun places your hometown has to offer, such as — drumroll please — the grocery store! Back at school, Barracks is pretty inconvenient if you don’t have your own form of transportation, and C’roads has limited options. But the grocery store — your local grocery store — has it all. I recommend stopping by for a good hour-or-so tour to stock up on all your snacking necessities.

If midterms gave you the munchies, prepare for the stress eating to come during finals season.

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Whether you have those post-break midterms or not, the public library definitely has a spot on the “must visit before you die” list. The best thing about the public library is that it’s — get this — public. That means you can just walk in! And read books!

Crazy right? Spending a few hours amongst the musty shelves won’t kill you, and you will have the great opportunity to get ahead — or catch up — on some work. Does that make you the nerd who’s doing homework over spring break? Yes. But does that also make you the productive and hardworking student your parents would be proud of?

Well, that depends how much studying you actually get done.

This is the bonus feature of “The Home” destination. The kitchen is its own unique travel spot because there is so much to do and smell. Now is the time to break out all those Buzzfeed Tasty videos you’ve been saving on Instagram and try your hand at cooking or baking. You have an entire week and three meals a day — plus dessert — to experiment with! If you’re not feeling the culinary creativity, just take a pit stop at the pantry.

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A thrift store is one of the most magical places on this floating rock we call Earth.

This is because in a thrift store, you can be anyone, anywhere. Slip into a vintage flapper dress that’s missing a few strings of beads — suddenly, you’re sipping champagne with Jay Gatsby. Find a tie-dye shirt and some extremely flowy pants — now, you’re jamming out to rock music at Woodstock. Besides exploring your unique fashion sense, you may just find hidden treasures to take home. Just remember to steer clear of weird stains.

9 ANGELA CHAN AND PAIGE HILLMAN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

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Spring break makes you realize just how fast summer break is approaching. So whether you are going home willingly or your plans just fell through, it’s never too early to start planning your next vacation.

For summer break, travel somewhere distant and foreign or maybe explore some local hiking trails and camp out with friends. Whatever your preference, an adventure can be found in any destination, even at home.

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Athlete spotlight: Jordan Scott and Bridget Guy A look at the lives of two Virginia track and field stars

SPORTS

Alex Maniatis | Senior Associate Junior Jordan Scott and senior Bridget Guy have been essential to the success of Virginia’s track and field program. Both Scott and Guy, along with junior transfer Brenton Foster, recently qualified for the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala. Both superstars are unique individuals who have ambitious goals for their future, which they are positioned to achieve. Here is a glimpse into their backgrounds, track careers, interests and motivations, along with a review of their incredible accomplishments thus far.

Jordan Scott Born and raised in Jamaica — a country known for producing elite track athletes — Scott immersed himself in track culture at a young age. He began his career as a sprinter, but soon realized that he was “not as good as everybody else.” As a result, Scott decided to switch to jumping, a decision that proved to be beneficial for his career.

In his early teens, Scott began competing in both the high jump and the long jump, but during the equivalent of his sophomore year of high school, Scott’s coach introduced him to the triple jump. This was a game changer for Scott. Seeing almost immediate success, Scott recognized his ability and passion for the event. In his first meet competing as a triple jumper, Scott made a huge leap forward by achieving a mark that was, at the time, the thirdbest jump in the world for junior athletes.

“Starting triple jumping, my first year was okay being just introduced to the event,” Scott said. “When I started my second year, I found a major breakthrough.”

Always wanting to attend an American university, Scott’s triple jump success allowed him to attend Virginia on a track scholarship. He credits his coach back in Jamaica for developing him and giving him the opportunity to jump at the D1 collegiate level.

“My coach, from age seven all the way through high school, became a father figure, always looking out for me,” Scott said. “He, along with another mentor who also triple jumped at my high school and went to Princeton for track and field, exposed me to track scholarships and my capacity to use track to pave the way for my future.”

Coming to Virginia and leaving his Jamaican life behind, Scott found it hard at first to train without his two childhood coaches.

However, he quickly was able to adjust, a testament to the Virginia coaching staff. Scott quickly became comfortable under the tutelage of assistant coach Mario Wilson and volunteer assistant Wayne Northover. Wilson and Northover continue to communicate with Scott’s foundational coaches, creating a cohesive team approach, allowing Scott to perform to the best of his ability.

“I have two coaches here, being Mario Wilson and Wayne Northov-

COURTESY VIRGINIA ATHLETICS

Jordan Scott became immersed in rhe track culture in Jamaica at a young age.

er, who use a good cop, bad cop approach,” Scott said. “Coach Wilson is the one who gives me instruction, telling me what to do, and then I have Wayne, who breaks my jumps down into simpler terms.”

Off the track, Scott studies computer science and spends the majority of his free time bonding with his friends on the track team. Scott is kept constantly busy by the rigor of his track commitment, making track and academics his life here at Virginia.

Scott gets ready to race by going through his routine of warming up and listening to music, but never races without a special bracelet made by his sister. Scott wears it on his right ankle in honor of his friends and family back in Jamaica.

Looking ahead to the future, Scott’s immediate goal is to jump 16.95 meters, the qualification standard for the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, this upcoming summer. After winning the Jamaican National Championships last summer, Scott plans on extending his collegiate season for the second year in a row by competing on the professional circuit in meets such as the 2019 Pan American Games.

Wilson is highly optimistic that Scott’s training plan will serve him well throughout the remainder of his season.

“At the beginning of the fall, we came up with a plan that would include the World Championships as a possibility,” Wilson said. “We delayed the start of his training and limited his competitions. So far, the results have been very rewarding.

Jordan is healthier than previous years at U.Va., which has allowed him to compete to his full potential.”

Bridget Guy Guy comes from much closer — Greensburg, Pa. She started track and field in the seventh grade as a pole vaulter, which remains her main event.

Previously, Guy had been a gymnast and competed in both sports until her freshman year of high school. What led her to give track and field a try was the example of a few more senior gymnasts who had made a similar transition entering middle school. Despite her gymnastics pedigree, Guy’s pivot to pole vaulting was not easy.

“I think I was a late bloomer to the sport, only jumping around nine feet in middle school and not hitting 12 feet till my senior year of high school,” Guy said.

Despite her slow progression, Guy still believed her gymnastics prepared her well for pole vaulting.

“In the big picture, my background enabled me to jump big when I need to,” Guy said.

COURTESY VIRGINIA ATHLETICS

Bridget Guy did gymanastics in high school before becoming a highly successful pole vaulter.

A part of the program for five years now, Guy has formed a special relationship with Coach Wilson. He has grounded Guy in the technical aspects of pole vaulting and, outside of athletics, has become invested in her personal development.

“Coach Wilson sets a good example of how to be a good leader and you can tell he just cares,” Guy said.

Unfortunately for Guy, she sat out most of her junior year with a back injury. Not seeing major success until her senior year, Guy reflected on the difficult transition she made in competing in the indoor season.

“I felt like I was behind and needed to catch up,” Guy said. “I went into indoor with a lot of expectations. I was able to work with Dr. Freeman from sports psychology and Coach Wilson to re-work my frame of mind. Letting go of the fear of thinking that you were not going to be as good as you were before injury really helped.”

Outside of competition, the senior completed her undergraduate degree in May of 2018 with a major in French and minor in entrepreneurship. Currently, Guy is doing a oneyear masters program at the Curry School of Education, focusing on intercollegiate athletic administration. She is also interning with the Curry Foundation and co-directing a student giving campaign with her former teammate, Carter Green.

In her free time, Guy loves to get her nails done, eat good food and

spend time with family and friends.

As a pre-race ritual, Guy always jumps with braided hair. Mostly, Guy conducts a mellow pre-race routine, wanting to remain calm, relaxed and confident, without hyping herself up too far in advance.

Heading into NCAA Championships this weekend, Wilson believes that Guy is ready to make a big jump, shown from her consistency this indoor season.

“Bridget has continued to progress from her outstanding outdoor season from 2018,” Wilson said. “Her consistency has been key to multiple meets above 14 feet during the current indoor season.”

Heading into outdoor season and beyond, Guy is setting her sights on breaking 15 feet. She hopes the mark will propel her to become the individual ACC and NCAA outdoor pole vault champion.

For both Scott and Guy, their work ethic and commitment to trusting the process, as well their embodiment of what it means to be a great teammate, have built the foundation for their successes both on and off the track. Their consistent approach to training and their development from young athletes to the point where they are today is something for all aspiring track athletes to admire and emulate.

Up next, look for both athletes to represent Virginia March 8 and 9 at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala.

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SPORTS • www.cavalierdaily.com

Inside Tony Bennett’s offensive revolution Virginia men’s basketball is winning not just with defense but with a wildly efficient offense Alec Dougherty | Sports Columnist A team coached by Virginia Coach Tony Bennett will always be known for its tenacious, suffocating defense. As I wrote several weeks ago, Bennett once again has his team atop the scoring defense rankings — one he has owned over the past half-decade.

Offense hasn’t come as easily for the beloved Cavalier coach.

Ever since a Malcolm Brogdon-led Virginia team put up 71 points per game during the 20152016 season, the Cavaliers have endured a long road to finding an offensive identity. A very poor offensive season in 2016-2017 looked to be corrected last season, until an untimely injury exposed the team’s major offense flaws during the NCAA Tournament.

Now healthy and loaded with scoring options, Bennett has arguably his best offense ever at his fingertips.

No. 2 Virginia (26-2, 14-2 ACC) averages 72.1 points per game this season — the highest since the Bennett era began in 2009. Despite playing at a slow pace, the Cavaliers have been incredibly efficient, ranking second in the nation in KenPom.com’s adjusted offense metric.

Last season, Virginia failed to score 80 points in an ACC game.

They’ve done it four times this year — twice on the road.

After the graduation of double-digit scorer Devon Hall following last season, multiple players have stepped up to fill the void, while Bennett’s new scheme wrinkles and player rotations have largely paid off. Let’s break down some of the catalysts driving such improvement.

A legitimate “Big Three” Bennett’s greatest long-term accomplishment since Brogdon’s departure has been the development of three bona fide stars in his system. Junior guards Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome and sophomore forward De’Andre Hunter have all shown they can run Bennett’s offense, with each having a versatile set of tools and a knack for smart, efficient play.

According to Virginia sports blogger Danny Neckel, the trio are three of only 13 players in the country that average at least 13 points, 4 rebounds and two 2 assists while shooting over 40 percent from three and turning the ball over less than twice per game.

In every one of Virginia’s conference wins, at least one of Bennett’s studs have stepped up to initiate offense in different ways.

On the road against then-No. 8 North Carolina, Guy torched the Tar Heels’ defense by making five

of his nine three point attempts — many in crunch time to close a 69-61 victory. Finally looking healthy after a mid-season back injury, Jerome broke Georgia Tech’s zone with crafty drives and floaters as he put up 19 points in an 81-51 blowout.

Hunter turned in arguably the performance of the year in a 64-52 comeback road win at Louisville, scoring 26 points. His ability to score at all three levels — getting to the rim, two-point jump shooting and spot-up threes — has been key in opening up the floor for the rest of Virginia’s scorers.

Pounding the paint and shot selection Where past Virginia teams have often doomed themselves by relying on jump shooting, this year’s squad has found success by getting the ball inside the paint and scoring at the rim. Compared to last season, the Cavaliers take about five percent more shots at the rim and eight percent fewer two-point jumpers, which they historically make at a lower percentage.

Junior forward Mamadi Diakite’s increased role in the rotation has been a major driver of this trend. While his shot selection remained essentially the same as last year, his increased time on the floor has been a boon to inside scoring since he makes 74.7 percent of hit shots at the rim.

He has been called upon to create offense inside when threes aren’t falling for Virginia’s guards, most recently chipping in 14 points against Louisville on a day where the team shot 11.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Arguably no player has benefited more from this scheme change than Hunter. Hunter has increased his percentage of shots at the rim to almost 40 percent — around a seven percent jump from last year — and his shooting percentage at the rim has bolstered by 10 percent. His increased driving aggressiveness allows him to get to the free throw line often — his 4.2 attempts from the stripe lead the team, and he converts almost 80 percent of them.

This trend rings true for most of this year’s Cavaliers, as their collective free-throw attempt to field-goal attempt ratio has gone up almost six percent. Whereas drawing fouls used to be a chore for the offense, free buckets are now easier to come by. The trend has allowed Virginia to finish some grind-it-out victories, one being a home thriller against Notre Dame in which the Cavaliers converted 14 free throw attempts

EMMA KLEIN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Sophomore forward De’Andre Hunter’s versatility has been key in the Cavaliers’ highly efficient offense this year, scoring by getting to the rim and shooting a team-high 48.6 percent from three-point range.

on a very poor shooting day.

Three-point marksmanship Virginia has been nothing short of dangerous from beyond the arc this season, ranking fourth in Division I at a 41.1 percent clip as a team.

Look no further than a 79-53 comeback road win against Syracuse — one of the greatest threepoint shooting games in Virginia history — to see this. The Big Three made 18 threes collectively as they whipped the ball around to each other constantly on the perimeter. Guy was an astounding 8-10 on his attempts, and Jerome was the main distributor of them with 14 assists.

While Bennett usually has a couple knockdown shooters in his lineup year to year, the amount of players who have shown their range this year has been a pleasant surprise.

Beyond the Big Three, Diakite and sophomore forward Jay Huff have both shot over 40 percent from deep, albeit in a limited amount of attempts. Furthermore, though freshman guard Kihei Clark and junior forward Braxton Key have hit shooting slumps this season, both are beginning to heat up and have knocked down some big-time shots when called upon.

The sheer amount of players who can stroke it from deep have sunk even the best defenses Virginia has played this season.

Georgia Tech has the 33rd ranked defense per KenPom.com and the seventh best three-point defense in the country, but the Cavaliers shot the lights out against the Yellow Jackets, making over 50 percent of their 17 attempts. Clark and Key both hit two each, with looks opening up for them as Georgia Tech was forced to play more aggressive on the higher percentage shooters on the floor like Guy and Jerome.

Jay Huff logging more minutes After what seemed like an eternity of anticipation, Huff has finally been unleashed as a key rotation player for the Cavaliers. He has one of the most versatile skill sets of Bennett’s big men, with an ability to shoot the three, handle the ball and come off screens for thunderous dunks. Though his minutes have been limited, he is currently second behind Hunter in all rotation players in points extrapolated to 40 minutes of playing time.

As Huff’s minutes continually increase, senior center Jack Salt has seen his playing time dwindle, though in part due to injury. Salt

is a very limited scorer that usually functions as a screen-setter and isn’t best fit to break the zones Virginia has seen from many ACC opponents this year.

The addition of playing Huff over Salt gives Virginia a player at the five who can stretch the floor and create more driving lanes and perimeter openings for the guards while feeding into the interior scoring the last few Virginia teams have severely lacked.

Salt never re-entered the Louisville game after being substituted for Huff, with the sophomore’s 12 points changing the momentum of the game in Virginia’s favor.

Not all is perfect in this Virginia offense yet — increased turnovers have been an issue — but Bennett has much less to worry about with his most versatile offense team ever. With superstars that can get pivotal buckets and role players who take smart shots and stretch the floor, this team’s offensive ceiling leaps and bounds above the one that mustered only 54 points against UMBC in last year’s infamous defeat.

Efficient offense is no longer just insurance for Bennett’s defensive genius — it’s been winning games for the Cavaliers for the first time in years.

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LEAD EDITORIAL

Jim Ryan was wrong to accept Northam’s appointment

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Considering his recent condemnation of Northam’s actions, it is disheartening that Ryan would accept the governor’s appointment

othing has defined contemporary Virginia politics quite like the events that have transpired over the past few weeks. At the beginning of February — which also was coincidentally black history month — racist photos emerged on Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D-Va.) page of his medical school yearbook depicting two men, one dressed in a Klan costume and another in blackface. The fallout from the picture and subsequent reaction by the Governor’s office deepened an already very serious political crisis and plunged the Democratic establishment in the Commonwealth into chaos.

Northam has faced calls from across the political spectrum to step down — including from University President Jim Ryan. In a statement to the University community, Ryan described how troubled he was by the image, recognizing the “hurt that can come from reopening wounds, many of which remain to be fully healed.” Ryan went on to emphasize the importance of trust in a leader, stating, “If that trust is

lost, for whatever reason, it is exceedingly difficult to continue to lead,” and ultimately concluded, “It seems we have reached that point.”

This is a strong statement from Ryan, and any reader would reasonably conclude that he believed Northam should resign. However, in the weeks following the release of this statement Ryan accepted a nomination from the governor to Virginia’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority.

Originally authorized in 2009, the 17 member IEIA is an executive agency made up of a diverse group of individuals. In addition to the secretaries of technology, commerce and trade and education, two presidents from major research public colleges, one president representing the other public colleges and three non-legislative citizen members are appointed by the governor. The rest of the non-legislative citizen members are appointed by the speaker of the House and the Senate Committee on Rules. The agency’s mission is “To promote the economic development of the

Commonwealth by attracting and retaining high technology jobs and businesses in Virginia.” Since its inception, it has engaged in some interesting initiatives including Virginia’s selection by the Department of Transportation to participate in in the Federal Aviation Administration Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program — which is essentially a pilot drone program.

The IEIA seems to be engaging in interesting and innovative work for the Commonwealth, so it is understandable that Ryan would like to be involved with it, especially since the law authorizing it calls on two presidents from “major research public institutions of higher education” to serve. However, his acceptance of the position is troubling because it suggests that Ryan does not believe the governor should step down and that his statement calling for him to do so was a hollow one. If Ryan truly believed that the governor should no longer remain in office, he should not grant him legitimacy by serving

as one of his nominees to the IEIA — especially as Northam has continued to resist calls to resign.

Unfortunately, when pressed on the issue, Ryan side-stepped any concerns that arose due to his appointment. When asked about the position in an interview with The Cavalier Daily, Ryan said he had not been to a single meeting and was not “entirely sure what this group was going to do,” though he was interested in the subject matter.

This answer is concerning for a number of reasons. Primarily, it seems odd the president would accept an appointment to the IEIA when he was not informed of its purpose. But it was also troubling that he publicly brushed off any concerns about his acceptance following his condemnation of Northam.

As it stands now, there are two paths forward for Ryan. He can either rescind the acceptance of his appointment until Northam finally leaves office, or he can reverse himself and affirm that he now be-

lieves that Northam should remain Virginia’s governor — we sincerely hope he chooses the former. Make no mistake, Ryan’s actions facilitate Northam sweeping this controversy under the rug and his unwillingness to address the concerns that arise from his acceptance only compounds the issue. If Ryan truly believed that Northam had lost the confidence of the people to lead, he would not have accepted any appointment from him. As Ryan said himself, trust in a leader is important, so he of all people should understand that the University community deserves a more complete explanation on why he felt it would be appropriate to accept this nomination.

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www.cavalierdaily.com • OPINION

THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019

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U.VA. IS TOO ELITIST The University has cultivated a culture of elitism, secluding itself from the greater community while buying into the mythical prestige of being a “public ivy”

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urrently sitting on a $9.5 billion endowment, the University earns a spot in the top five wealthiest public colleges in the United States. This outrageous wealth has fostered an environment of elites with a silver spoon in their mouth, believing the community owes them more than they owe it.

As a result, the institution, its money and its students are failing to give back to the greater Charlottesville community and to itself. Thus, with nothing to lose and everything to gain, the University has allowed students to bask in their own imagined glory.

Like cavaliers riding in on their high horse, University students are aware of this status, as is the rest of the world. Referencing several posts in Urban Dictionary, the environment of exclusiveness and sophistication found at the University is no secret, nor is it amusing. Described as students who posses the mindset of “we’re better than you and we think we know it,” the University is not painted in the best light. While Urban Dictionary is commonly used to create comical, dramatized descriptions of the world, there is a frightening amount of truth underneath the descriptions. The fact of the matter is that the University

does sit in a bubble of exclusivity that has had disheartening repercussions.

Most of this elitism culminates on the already existing stereotype surrounding Greek life and its participants, which constitutes approximately 35 percent of students at the University. This becomes ever so apparent with the most-valued mixer between fraternities and sororities — the spring Foxfield

rape, sexual assault and hate crimes on Grounds, but the rate of disciplinary sanctions remains the same.

Ranking fifth in the nation for reported rapes, it is unacceptable that the University has the lowest expulsion rate for sexual assault in the Commonwealth — but that is the reality. Thus, students are taught that life really can be all fun because no one will ever be punished — at least not here. And with this

the power and position to facilitate change at the school, in the greater Charlottesville community and throughout the state. Yet, it seems extremely hard — if not impossible — for students to look past the amount of opportunity presented to them. Even still, it is essential to understand that the University and its students do not make the Charlottesville community — they exist within it. Additionally, it is equally

The fact of the matter is that the University does sit in a bubble of exclusivity that has had disheartening repercussions.

Races. An exclusive, high-priced derby exists at the heart of spring drinking at the University, simultaneously celebrating and reinforcing the sophisticated level of privilege students indulge in. However innocent this day of Lily Pulitzer, sun hats and bus rides may appear, a deeper level of glorified prestige exists within it, and it is taking over student life.

Students have lost accountability and responsibility to themselves, their school and their community.

There has been a steady increase in

level of posh, can you blame them?

Students are continuously told that a U.Va. degree will take them anywhere they want to go in life. It’s as if the elitism of the University translates beyond the school, onto a piece of paper and into the world, following students wherever they go. Thus, the question arises, is it too late to change?

While this level of elitism is both expected and praised, students must realize that a certain level of responsibility is also demanded.

Students at the University do have

important to note that attending the University is not a right — it is ironically a privilege within itself.

However, none of this criticism is to discredit the University or the hard work of the students who attend it because I do believe this institution has earned some of its reputation within its own right.

With that being said, I urge the University and its students to put their money where their mouth is. The economic and physical growth of the University monopoly in Charlottesville calls for an

increased sense of responsibility towards the community, the school and the students. We need to hold ourselves and our peers accountable, and checking our own privilege is a good place to start. In addition to adjusting some our norms around U.Va., the University needs to consistently sanction students when they violate codes of conduct, and likewise, students should not tolerate misconduct and brush it off as the norm. This change may not solve the problem entirely, but we must use the institutional mechanisms available to address it. Students, faculty, staff and members of the University community need to take off their rose-colored glasses and stop letting the prestigious culture blind them from giving back and upholding the basic values the University aims to represent. There is much more to the University than finals, Franzia and Foxfield, and I think it is time we show it.

HAILEY YOWELL is the Senior Associate Opinion Editor for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at h.yowell@cavalierdaily.com.

REMOVE THE WHISPERING WALL It may allow you to whisper to a friend but it speaks volumes about our University

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etween Monroe Hall and Brown College there is a relatively inconspicuous curved wall and fountain — more known for its unique ability to carry whispers than for its tarnished history.

The inscription on it reads “A MEMORIAL TO THE HONORABLE FRANK HUME — A DEVOTED VIRGINIAN WHO SERVED HIS NATIVE STATE IN CIVIL WAR AND LEGISLATIVE HALL.” With some deduction, one will soon realize that Hume fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Leaving D.C. and crossing through Union lines in July 1861, Hume made great effort to join the Confederate war machine. He fought in a total of 11 battles against the Union Army in addition to his service as a spy — all to defend the Confederacy’s ideals of slavery and white supremacy. Following the war, Hume moved back to D.C., started a successful grocery business and became active in Virginia politics. He held multiple reunions for his Confederate unit at his home, Warwick estate, and adorned the property with cannons from the war.

Some may say that Hume’s ca-

reer following the war in business and politics effectively nullifies his service to the Confederacy — I vehemently disagree. Hume romanticized the war, even after its conclusion, through social events that he held with his unit and the purchase of war memorabilia such as can-

Today, we rightfully call for politicians who wear blackface to resign and we rightfully shame those who wear the confederate flag with pride, but, strangely enough, we allow memorials to stand for those who would put their life on the line to uphold institutional racism.

cation. About a decade before the construction of the Whispering Wall, University President Edwin Alderman dedicated the Robert E. Lee statue in downtown Charlottesville at its installment. The statue’s proximity to the predominantly black community of Vinegar

We must attempt to create a more inclusive environment, and we must attempt to heal the past. A great place to start — removal of the Whispering Wall.

nons. These actions illustrate that he was anything but ashamed of his service to support slavery.

Almost 30 years after Hume’s death in 1938, the Hume Fountain — now the Whispering Wall — was dedicated for his service to the Commonwealth. The fountain was designed by Edmund Campbell, then dean of the Architecture School, and illustrates the connection between the University administration and admiration for the Confederacy. However, the history of the monument has been relatively forgotten.

Other localities have been taking different steps to reverse the exclusion that these memorials inherently impress. Alexandria — the city where Hume conducted much of his business following the Civil War — has removed the street signs named after him. These signs, representing a more discreet form of memorialization have been removed while our own more blatant form still stands.

Historically, the majority of confederate memorials in Charlottesville have been devices in an attempt to intimidate black communities — a way to spur gentrifi-

Hill sent an unwelcoming message to those living there. Other monuments and memorials related to the Confederacy in Charlottesville have this same history — one of intentional oppression. And although the Whispering Wall may not have this same underlying motive of intimidation due to its location inside the University Grounds, we cannot deny the similarity and the connections it holds.

We must attempt to create a more inclusive environment and we must attempt to heal the past — a great place to start would be the re-

moval of the Whispering Wall.

Some may dispute the removal as they feel the memorial should just be “recontextualized” through the placement of a plaque identifying Hume’s role in the Confederate Army. However, I feel this fails to grasp the placement of the memorial — one could simply miss a plaque clarifying Hume’s role in the confederacy or bother not to read it. In order for something to be “recontextualized,” it must be placed in an environment that supposes context, such as a museum or exhibit.

At a University where unmarked enslaved people’s graves are commonplace, where eugenics was funded and furthered, where fraternity brothers continue to appropriate cultures, we must ask ourselves, how do we want to remember our history? Do we want to memorialize those who marginalized or those who were marginalized? I choose the latter.

HUNTER WAGENAAR is a second-year student in the College and a Student Council Representative-elect.

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HUMOR I’ve been skipping through my regular playlist for hours now, trying to find the right background vibe for the hours of homework I have ahead of me, but the same dumb songs coming on repeat are starting to piss me off. When I give in and click on one of those lofi hip hop streams, it isn’t a victory — it’s a last resort — and almost certainly a trap. The beats from my regular study playlist are usually better than any coffee or energy drinks are convincing me that I’m still lucid and able to write coherent sentences, but at this point it’s a lost cause. Lofi hip hop is useful in one specific aspect — it’s not silence.

For whatever depressing side

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THE CAVALIER DAILY

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A night with “lofi hip hop beats” effects working in dead quiet with only the sound of my own company would cause, there are equivalent ones for listening to lofi hip hop beats. They’ll market themselves as ways to chill out, but the unintended consequences of lofi hip hop streams don’t take too long to take effect. These streams on Youtube are recommended for studying, but I can’t focus on my work because now I’m busy. Busy being emo.

There’s something existential about lofi hip hop, and now I keep writing paragraphs tinged with the inherent sad, contemplative nature of these songs. I can’t stop getting distracted by staring out of my window thinking I look really philosophical, but at least I’m “chilled out,” I think. The little anime girl on my screen has probably written more than me at this point, but

staring at her writing nothing but squiggles for hours is much more aesthetically pleasing than writing my essay.

At 4 a.m., I’m definitely leaning towards giving up on this assignment. It’s just not worth losing so much sleep over. With the melancholy way I’m feeling now, though, I am willing to give up sleep to stare out my window and think about the one who got away. Even though I’m still an angsty teenager, and I’m wondering if I would be good at that one kind of poetry where the words make shapes. I’m not sure if I’ve actually had a bad day, or if lulling bass and 80s synth are just convincing me that I did. But damn if it’s not going to convince me that I need a “me day,” even though needing a “me day” isn’t a very good excuse when I don’t have a paper to turn in tomorrow

morning.

Forging on, I vaguely consider the benefits of giving up student life and living permanently as the person that lofi hip hop makes me feel I could be. A quiet, simple life. Maybe in a tiny village in rural Japan, where I only wear loose linen clothing and drink tea out of speckled ceramic mugs.

There I am in a perpetual state of chill or vibes or something else similarly indescribable but equally pretentious.

At the end of a very long night, my paper is petering off into a half-hearted conclusion that’s perhaps a little more pessimistic and existential than I would have usually written, but at least it’s finished. I have to resist my mood urging me to finish off the paper with “but what does it matter, nothing is real,” and shut my laptop. While I might

be finished with schoolwork for the night, lofi hip hop isn’t done.

The anime girl writes on, and the livestream waits for me for another “chill” night.

GABRIELLA CHU is a Humor Columnist at The Cavalier Daily.

She can be reached at humor@cavalierdaily.com.

Recycling priorities of jellyfish Sam Dulin | Cartoonist

www.cavalierdaily.com • PUZZLES

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WEEKLY CROSSWORD PUZZLE Dan Goff | Puzzle Master

PUZZLES

* THE SOLUTION TO THIS PUZZLE CAN BE FOUND IN THE NEXT ISSUE

Across 1 Capital of Zambia 4 Whitman's best-known work "___ of Grass" 9 Often paired with Aztec, in history lessons 10 The state of being intricate or complicated 11 Informal British phrase meaning "very much" — or, "Slaughterhouse-5's" protagonist with an extra letter 12 Tissue that connects bones 14 Whitman's poem in which he discusses his "barbaric yawp" — three words 16 Three-word Oceanian country containing 852 languages among its people 20 State of temporary disuse or suspension 22 Surging movement forward 24 Treating wood with a preserving dark oil 25 Quiet lack of activity 26 Form of Hebrew God found in the Bible 27 16-across has this in its description, as does 11-across and 15-down — and now it's shown up three times here Down 1 Liver spots 2 Couple after which Special Collections is named 3 Marks the start of a football game 5 Short, classical poem, usually with a pastoral subject 6 Annoy, frustrate 7 Like Lucifer 8 If you get an "of the month" award for this, you might get a framed photo on the wall 13 Muslim legal expert 15 Two-word nocturnal, nomadic bug 16 "Big Mouth's" subject 17 Mammal, bird or reptile 18 We have Lawn room nominations for this sort of person — two words

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CORRECTIONS In the Feb. 28 issue of the Cavalier Daily, two questions in the interview transcripts for Student Council President were misprinted. The question, “Why do you want to be Student Council President?” was printed three times instead of once. The third question should have been, “What makes your platform unique from years prior?” and the fourth should have been, “If elected, what will be the first goal you hope to achieve as Student Council president?” The correct version of the transcript has been posted online.

19 Fifth letter of the Greek alphabet 21 Let off, produce 23 Author ___ Waldo Emerson whose book "Nature" was a major influence on Whitman

27 * SOLUTION FROM LAST ISSUE

S T Y P R O A L E W A N

E E F S

P A R A N O I A

S B H S O L I O F S K I T Y

T M Y D A P I C H E R U E N S O C U T B I N L U S T A I P U D I N O R C T I S H T

W I L D C A R D N A R R O W

T Q U I R I X A R E A M Y D I R O N B O G T A G O C E D T C E T H E R N I I I L C A N D

THE CAVALIER DAILY

A& E

Uniting students for critical conversations

ARTS AND

Workshop utilizes theatre methodology for conflict resolution

ENTERTAINMENT In an environment constantly struggling with issues of social injustice and oppression, conversation is vital. Leaders of student organizations on Grounds have struggled with how to facilitate meaningful and fair conversation in which each voice is heard, recognized and understood. Fourthyear College and Curry student Emily Schmid found a creative approach to tackle this issue — using theatre methodology in conflict resolution. Her simplistic approach of movement and interaction provides clear formulas to begin these difficult conversations.

Schmid hosted six people in a workshop at the Drama Building on Sunday March 3 titled “Creative Tools for Community Conversations” as a part of her distinguished major program thesis. She drew on her background of training from Theatre of the Oppressed — a school of techniques created by Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal — which encourage education and social change.

“I wanted to bring the methodology to student leaders at U.Va. because I believe it has a profound potential to activate social change,” Schmid said. “The goal of the workshop was to bring together people from diverse organizations to have a conversation about identity, agency and systems of oppression on Grounds.”

Apart from the Theatre of the Oppressed methodology, Schmid also drew from the student organization Sustained Dialogue on Grounds to

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Loree Seitz | Staff Writer formulate her “agreements” for the workshop, including making sure participants “assume best intentions.”

To break the ice, students participated in a Name Gumbo. Two participants introduced themselves to each other and switch names with a handshake. Participants continued to switch names with whomever they met and used the last person’s name whom they shook hands with as their own. The activity ended in giggles and confusion, which Schmid encouraged her participants to welcome. She applied this activity to broader situations of conflict resolution, explaining that when dealing with conflict, it is beneficial to begin with confusion. In such a starting place, it is easier to set out objective facts and obtain a better understanding of the situation.

Despite a lack of time to truly get to know each participant, Schmid’s exercises encouraged openness from the beginning of the workshop, allowing discussions to flow seamlessly. In order to achieve a sense of vulnerability, participants took part in an Identity Walk, in which they shared their thoughts and experiences in regard to their personal identity. This honesty opened participants up to share personal stories and listen to their peers with respect and interest — another necessity for creating a productive dialogue.

In the Hand of Power exercise, participants were asked to pair up and one partner was prompted to follow the other’s hand with their nose,

always maintaining the same distance. After the first round, partners switched roles. Following this activity, discussion surrounded the responsibilities of both leaders and followers in a group setting. Participants shared a variety of reactions, some finding themselves feeling more in control as a follower and others realizing that in following one person, they were leading several others. At this point, Schmid prompted participants to consider how they might be able to apply this new understanding of responsibility to their involvements on Grounds. Students shared situations in which the lines of leadership were disrupted and new roles of leading or following were introduced.

Most all of the workshop’s activities utilized movement and interaction between participants and with the space. Schmid embraced this movement, explaining that interacting with information to create embodied knowledge leads to a more comprehensive understanding of the topic. She succeeded in helping participants apply this skill to their outside involvements and leadership positions by encouraging participants to utilize these activities in their involvements on Grounds, giving each student a written explanation of each exercise to implement later.

Moreover, the methods Schmid used to foster such an open, honest space served as an inspiration to students leaders. Taking an active role in her workshop, Schmid participated in

LAUREN MOHAN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Fourth-year College and Curry student Emily Schmid brings people together to start conversations through theatre methodology.

most activities, creating a vulnerability in herself which increased participants’ ease in being vulnerable as well. While facilitating conversation with guiding questions, she welcomed others to contribute their own perspective in discussions, inviting participants to propose guidance and pose their own

questions to the group. Through her workshop, Schmid gave student leaders an example of what it looks like to be a thoughtful leader — conscious of when to step in and when to back off.

Celebrating female creativity

The local artistic talent showcased at the Batten Institute is as impressive as it is varied Leah Erwin | Staff Writer A new exhibit opened Feb. 28 at the Batten Institute at the Darden School of Business entitled “Celebrating Creativity: Works by Local Women Artists.” The exhibit was housed throughout the Darden Art Gallery, Alumni Lounge and the second floor of the Camp Library and Batten Institute suite.

Several of the 27 artists from the local Charlottesville area who were included in the exhibit attended the opening. Many women featured are professionals in the art world — many are not. The art pieces all had different aesthetics, mediums, messages and color schemes. The exhibit’s space, too, seems an unusual choice to display art — the pieces are spread out in between office entrances and across two different buildings, provoking the feeling that it’s almost a scavenger hunt as

much as it is a showcase of Charlottesville talent. At first glance, the space, the artists and the pieces seem to have no cohesive similarity.

For example, one artist, Brielle DuFlon, created a 3-D canvas piece of collected trash in the Charlottesville area using a red color scheme titled "Clean and Serene for Ninety Days.” When asked about the inspiration and goal of her piece, DuFlon largely had a consumerist message in mind.

“Sort of making people more aware of the trash we produce,” DuFlon said. “I also wanted to personally become more aware of it and it’s something that’s super easy to walk past on a daily basis if you’re not looking for it … It made me really hyper aware of consumerist colors and what we use to appeal to people in advertisement.”

In contrast, artist Sam Gray created a charcoal piece titled “Bryophyte” that she says was largely inspired by her own relationship with the environment and her goals for it in the future.

“Speaking more to the idea of singing back into the Earth — compost — and more about the cycle of human life in that we are not separate from nature,” Gray said.

“I think a lot of people think the best thing we can do is take our hands out of nature, [but] we need more people who are engaging with growing food and hiking and understanding forests and how to care for them.”

The messages of these pieces are completely different, as are the physical aesthetics of many of the pieces in the rest of the exhibit, and the effect should feel discordant.

These pieces have very little in common other than the fact that their creators all identify as women, and it would be reasonable to expect the exhibit to suffer from this lack of unity in theme.

For some reason though, it just works.

All of the pieces included are knock-outs in their own right, of course, but the truly remarkable and impressive thing about “Celebrating Creativity” is the way that these pieces interact with each other in such a separated space and empower each other’s messages rather than clash with them. The dark aesthetics of one piece enhance the colors in another. The abstract brush strokes of one highlight the detailed line work of the one beside it. This is exemplified by “Blue Ridge Aerial” by Christen Borgman

Yates and “Tide Pool” by L. Michelle Geiger. The two would never find themselves side by side in a formal museum, but their incredibly different aesthetics enhance each other for a more unified experience of Charlottesville’s art scene.

There’s no other way to say this — the exhibit as a whole is fun.

It’s fun to take in all the pieces as a whole and to experience the contrast of different forms of creativity that were created by local women of equally disparate, unified experiences. It’s a tasteful hodgepodge of incredible Charlottesville talent that everyone should attempt to see for two reasons — each individual piece is independently impressive and breathtaking, and the overall experience is a cohesive interplay of all the varying artistic talent this city has to offer.

www.cavalierdaily.com • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019

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Charlottesville band Gold Connections releases new EP Lead singer Will Marsh discusses the sentimental and progressive EP Katie Kenny | Staff Writer

COURTESY GOLD CONNECTIONS

Marsh. the lead singer and guitarist, grew up in Charlottesville and cites his inspirations as Bob Dylan and Velvet Underground.

Gold Connections, the Charlottesville indie rock band headed by Will Marsh, released their second EP, “Like A Shadow” Friday, March 1. The EP comes after their 2017 debut album “Popular Fiction.”

Marsh, the lead singer and guitarist, grew up in Charlottesville and cites Bob Dylan and the Velvet Underground as his inspirations. Forming Gold Connections while attending the College of William & Mary, Marsh relied on friends to act as band members and play on the recordings of his early music. Some of the songs ended up as rerecords on “Popular Fiction.”

“Like A Shadow” was recorded in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Marsh was able to collaborate with his fellow band members — unlike “Popular Fiction,” for which he used professional musicians. Gold Connections was more specifically inspired by Nirvana and the Jesus and Mary Chain as a “more alternative and less classic rock” release.

Though “Like A Shadow” is perhaps not explicitly political, Marsh examines “the politics of relationships,” saying “the way you look at a relationship can reveal how you look at the world or … mirror it in some way.” Marsh

acknowledges the way recent American politics has influenced his “experience in the world” and “the way [he] looks at everything.”

The cover of the release features a hazy and ethereal yellow and black image, which Marsh says is meant to portray a shadow. It’s a continuation of the symbols on the “Popular Fiction” cover, which features a rose and a clock “obscured in some way.”

As for his creative process, Marsh says his method is dependent on his personal circumstances at the time. He describes making up the lyrics for the final track on the EP, “Turn,” as he recorded it, solely working on the music and tracking the guitars in the few days leading up to recording. Songwriting for Marsh begins with “strong emotions” and a process of reflection about those feelings.

For Marsh, Charlottesville is not just the place where he lives and records music — he grew up here. He started playing violin at a young age and began writing songs at age 12. He learned to play guitar in his parents’ basement, where he recently recorded more demos.

“There’s still a feeling there that I can connect to,” Marsh said.

Marsh said making music in Charlottesville is “a very personal experience.… There’s a feeling to every place — the campus, bookstores and record stores and culture and different people.”

Marsh grew up surrounded by the folk scene, which he remembers as a larger presence a decade ago. For his band today, Marsh said Charlottesville provides “plenty of venues to play.” Based on performance history, it’s clear that The Southern Café and Music Hall is one of these venues, with Gold Connections having performed there several times since their debut.

While Marsh continues to make and perform music in the town where he was born, he acknowledged the “particular feeling and history and people” in Charlottesville has not remained constant but has changed with the world around it.

Marsh says this EP is “harder hitting” and “more psychedelic” than his last album “Popular Fiction.” He hopes listeners will feel “energized in a way or … invigorated,” or perhaps even “a physical reaction to good music.” Gold Connections presents itself as an example of an up-and-coming band committed to making raw and personal music.

The EP opens with the single and titular track “Like A Shadow” with a strong guitar introduction, instantly peaking interest and creating a strong hook. The band brings a more alternative sound, but maintains their lo-fi quality. Marsh sings, “Don't cry if it's not dead yet / Everything's gotta break some time.” Gold Connections remind their listeners that all things, even hard things that feel permanent, truly do end.

On the wistful “Locust Days,” Marsh asks, “Do you ever feel like the last man standing / Or the girl who fell to Earth?” Marsh seems to remember a lost love, both fondly remembering happier times and sadly reflecting on the absence of innocence and serenity. Though the end of the song includes the building and repeated line, “We want summer all the time,” the melancholic quality suggests a period of time with specific people and feelings are permanently over. “Locust Days” succeeds in portraying the inevitable feeling of nostalgia, where appreciation is only possible after the fact and the “singing trees” are only accessible as memories.

The third track, “Don’t Tell Me Your Dreams,” is more poppy,

with a high-energy and catchy chorus. The separate drums, guitars, and vocals are discernible to the listener and all support one another to ultimately create a layered sound. The EP closes with the track “Turn,” where Marsh’s vocals are more restrained and guarded. Marsh’s description of the band’s move away from classic rock is evident on this track.

While Gold Connections’ lyrics and music begin from the emotions experienced by Marsh individually, the tracks on “Like A Shadow” are both musically and lyrically relatable, expressing sentimentality for the past and a refusal to stop moving forward. Future widespread success almost seems inevitable for the Marsh and his band, whose promise comes from his individual talent, apparent lack of regard for conforming to fleeting trends and commitment to simply making music. As his lyrics suggest, Marsh and Gold Connections refuse to be complacent, refuse to exist as shadows.

H&S HEALTH & SCIENCE

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National Geographic explores climate, culture National Geographic offers workshops and panels in an event on Grounds as part of their On Campus series Zoe Ziff | Health & Science Editor

National Geographic visited Grounds Friday and Saturday to offer workshops and lectures focused on scientific and cultural topics, environmental resilience and storytelling. These events gave students the opportunity to practice forming and sharing stories, as well as learn about the impacts of climate change.

This event was National Geographic’s second On Campus event, a collection of programs tailored specifically for university audiences. The first National Geographic On Campus event was held at the University of Miami in Nov. 2018.

All lectures and workshops during the event were free of charge to students, faculty and staff.

Friday’s main event was called the “Science and Storytelling Symposium” in Old Cabell Hall. The symposium was comprised of a series of panels and conversations on a variety of cultural and environmental subjects led by National Geographic explorers and University faculty.

The first presentation shed light on various waterway conservation projects in Virginia, New England and Peru, as well as phenomena that pose threats to bodies of water, such as deforestation, fertilizer runoff and sea levels rising. The speakers also emphasized cultural

ties communities have with waterways. Photographer Greg Kahn spoke about people who live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland whose homes are flooding due to rising sea levels.

In addition to the panel on waterways, faculty and explorers discussed how to make cities environmentally sustainable and cultural resilience in the face of climate change.

There was also a performance of an opera that digitally and musically portrayed changing communities and landscapes in the Arctic.

The large focus of the event was environmental resilience. Lillygol Sedaghat, a panelist in the talk “Resilient Cities for the 21st Century,” shared her story of documenting waste management in Taiwan. Now as spokesperson for National Geographic’s Planet or Plastic? campaign, she is trying to bring people’s attention to their relationship with waste — especially plastic — to make a difference at home.

"The most important thing is that I really want people to recognize that every single decision that they make has an impact on someone, somewhere or something," Sedaghat said.

The final event of the symposium was a conversation titled called “Picturing Race at National Geo-

graphic and UVA,” between Susan Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the National Geographic magazine, and Assoc. Prof. of History John Edwin Mason. The conversation focused on the power of the image and how certain photographs and captions from both the University’s and National Geographic’s past portrayed people of color in a degrading light, as well as the way those images contributed to harmful perceptions of people of color from the United States and abroad.

“Just as our pictures are lasting, the pictures from University of Virginia and from Charlottesville here are incredibly lasting with the messages they tell and what they say about the society at the time,” Goldberg said.

Such images were projected behind the speakers and included photographs from National Geographic’s archives and from the University’s past yearbooks.

“At National Geographic, up until really the time of the Civil Rights Movement, people of color in other countries were exoticized or other-ized … and people of color in the United States were ignored or sometimes demeaned,” Goldberg said.

Mason and Goldberg also discussed the ways in which the University and National Geograph-

ic have changed to address their damaging past. Goldberg explained that National Geographic has changed by hiring a more diverse staff. Mason said that one change is the University’s offering courses that explore inequality in the United States. However, he emphasized that the University should be pushed further and mentioned specifically that the University does not offer a living wage to its lowest-earning employees and has a powerful impact on the housing market in Charlottesville.

“How do we become — instead of a bastion of white supremacy — a bastion of justice?” Mason said. “The University has been very good recently at confession … The conversation around atonement has barely even begun.”

Christian Jung, first-year Engineering student, attended the talk and said that while the University and National Geographic certainly acknowledged their controversial pasts with regards to race, both still struggle with understanding the full extent of its consequences.

“In certain respects, they're pretty similar in that they both kind of have this past that they're ashamed of, and they kind of struggle with how they can talk about it so that they can improve,” Jung said.

After the conversation, Presi-

ZOE ZIFF | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The symposium was comprised of a series of panels and conversations on a variety of cultural and environmental subjects.

dent Jim Ryan gave the closing remarks to Friday’s symposium.

"My hope is that you leave here today looking to build new bridges and inspired by the spirit of fearless exploration and discovery, including of our own past," Ryan said.

That evening, astronomy professor Edward Murphy led a tour of the Leander McCormick Observatory, in which he discussed the history of the observatory and showcased its historic telescope.

The following day of the On Campus event was devoted to workshops. University faculty and National Geographic representatives led seminars in Newcomb Hall, Wilson Hall and Clemons Library. These workshops were more intimate than Friday’s symposium — some allowed only 10 participants — and ranged in ecological, artistic and literary topics, including journalism and climate change simulations.

Lara Musser, doctoral candidate in the English department, attended the morning seminar titled “Writing the Nat Geo Way,” led by John Hoeffel, executive editor for science of National Geographic Magazine. This workshop examined how National Geographic chooses and reports on its topics for stories.

She said she enjoyed the intimacy of the five-person seminar and learning about specific articles from the editor’s perspective.

“It was such a treat to hear all the inside story of some of this incredible journalism,” Musser said.

“It's kind of inspiring because you're like, ‘Oh, this is like a person, I'm also a person. Maybe someday I could do this.’”

Jennifer Kingsley, a National Geographic explorer who was a speaker in the panel about cultural resilience and led a journalism workshop, builds her work around individual people. She specializes in telling personal stories and emphasizes the importance of conversing with those who have different perspectives. Although she works all around the globe, she said that engaging stories can be found even in our own communities.

"It's not necessary to travel a big distance geographically in order to travel a big distance emotionally or psychologically,” Kingsley said. “For people who are storytelling, some of the most amazing stories are just at arm’s length."

www.cavalierdaily.com • HEALTH & SCIENCE

THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019

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U.Va. lab finds link between OCD drug and sepsis treatment University researchers find a new potential treatment option for sepsis Cecily Wolfe | Staff Writer Researchers from the Gaultier Lab in the University School of Medicine published a paper Feb. 6, in the journal Science Translational Medicine on their recent finding that the drug fluvoxamine, ordinarily used as medication for those with obsessive-compulsive disorder, may have the ability to treat sepsis as well.

Sepsis is the immune system’s overactive inflammatory response to infections. This inflammation can ultimately damage tissues and organs, potentially resulting in death. According to the World Health Organization, over 30 million people worldwide suffer from sepsis, and potentially as many as 6 million deaths a year can be attributed to the condition. Furthermore, Dr. Alban Gaultier, head researcher in the Gaultier Lab and assistant professor of neuroscience, noted that although approximately 270,000 of the 1.7 million people in the United States that contract sepsis each year die, there is no effective treatment for sepsis.

The Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit organization for medical education and research, cites intravenous antibiotics and fluids, medications to raise low blood pressure, oxygen and surgery as methods of care.

They also state that although those with less severe cases often recover, patients who go into septic shock have a mortality rate of 40 percent.

“Sepsis is a very dire condition,” Gaultier said. “Once you get diagnosed with it, the risk of dying from it is pretty high, around 25 to 30 percent. There is no cure or good treatment, so if [our] findings were extrapolated to humans, to us, then they could have huge impacts.”

The discovery comes as part of the work the Gaultier Lab does to investigate and explain the intrica-

ABBY SACKS | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The antidepressant fluvoxamine is commonly used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder.

cies of multiple sclerosis. MS is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system destroys myelin sheaths — the fatty nerve coatings that enable quick and efficient transmission of neural signals throughout the body. Specifically, the immune system destroys myelin and nerves through unnecessary inflammation.

While studying certain pathways that lead to inflammation, the Gaultier Lab found that the sigma-1 receptor, a protein that detects chemical messengers and relays information to cellular structures and cells as a whole, plays a large role in limiting the production of an in-

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flammatory protein secreted by the immune system.

This was of particular relevance to sepsis because the S1R receptor may inhibit uncontrolled inflammation. Over a four-year period, Gaultier and his team found that dysfunctional or absent S1R receptors lead to a heightened swelling response in mice, during which an abundance of inflammatory proteins are produced.

“We identified that there was a certain molecule that seemed to be really important in sepsis,” said Dorian Rosen, medical graduate student and researcher in the Gaultier Lab. “Then we wanted to see if there were any drugs that were safe, effective, already in clinical use that might target this molecule.”

They explored several different models of sepsis, and when testing several drugs known to target molecules in inflammatory pathways, they found that the antidepressant fluvoxamine would readily associate with the S1R receptor and enhance its ability to temper the immune system’s exaggerated reaction to infection.

“We basically looked for drugs that like to associate with our molecule of interest,” Rosen said. “We found that actually there are a lot of them, but fluvoxamine was just the best target in that it’s very widely used and pretty safe. It’s old so there is a lot of historical data on it, and so that’s why we decided to try the fluvoxamine, and it ended up working.”

Following these results, the team is now looking to extend their conclusions to their investigation of other autoimmune disorders and other available drugs that, while not traditionally used to treat sepsis, might prove beneficial. Gaultier mentioned that, as part of the overarching focus of the lab, they are conducting a follow-up project in which they will study the ways in which the inflammatory pathway and S1R receptor function in MS. In addition, the Gaultier Lab hopes that a clinical partner will be willing to investigate the effects of fluvoxamine use in human patients with sepsis. According to Rosen, some data already exists in hospital records about how people who have sepsis and are taking fluvoxamine fare. The next step in the process would be for someone to gather the data and analyze it, as well as collect additional data during a widescale clinical trial.

“We obviously hope that someday, a large prospective clinical trial could be conducted to try and actually move into using fluvoxamine as a treatment for at least a subset of sepsis patients, but that’s a long way down the line and requires a lot of work,” Rosen said.

There may also be difficulty in even reaching the stage of clinical trials. The fact that fluvoxamine is already an approved drug can have its downfalls, Gaultier pointed out.

“The main challenge is the fact that the molecule we have found is already approved,” Gaultier said.

“It’s a known molecule… [so] it’s an economic challenge because ultimately companies want to make money, and making money on a known molecule is difficult.”

Nevertheless, Gaultier believes that, with fluvoxamine already on the market as a brand name drug and in generic form, the cost of sepsis treatment might be reduced.

This would then make care more widely available to low-income patients.

“That is the beauty of repurposing drugs that are already known,” Gaultier said. “They are there, they are out of patent protection and so they can be affordable.”

In detailing the major impacts of their research, both Gaultier and Rosen stressed providing a treatment for sepsis that can be applied to different models of sepsis around the world and accessible to people in need.

“When you have a drug that is repurposed … you can get this drug for a lot cheaper, and you can often get it in generics,” Rosen said. “My hope is that under-insured, uninsured, vulnerable people can get access to high-quality, novel sepsis therapeutics that will hopefully improve their outcomes.”

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