Thursday, March 22, 2018

The Cavalier Daily Vol. 128, Issue 24

Thursday, March 22, 2018

SNOW WAY IT’S SPRING PHOTOS ON PAGE 11

AFFORDABLE PROFESSORS BUILD WHO NEEDS A HOUSING REPRESENTATIVE BOYFRIEND WHEN PANELS CONVENE SYLLABI YOU HAVE A JUUL? PAGE 3

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THE CAVALIER DAILY

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This week in-brief

NEWS

Maggie Servais | News Editor

The Villa Diner relocating to new Emmet Street location

TIM DODSON | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The Villa Diner will be taking the place of Royal Indian Restaurant on Emmet Street

After 13 years of doing business next to the Cavalier Inn, Ken Beachley, owner of The Villa Diner, will be moving his business to a new location further up the road to 1250 Emmet Street, replacing Royal Indian Restaurant next to Zaxby’s.

The U.Va. Foundation — which manages real estate and financial services for the University — announced last year the decision to terminate the diner’s lease in anticipation of future redevelopment along Emmet Street and Ivy Road. The Cavalier Inn is also slated for demolition this summer.

The two-part plan is to shut down the current location May 28 and reopen the diner at its new location no later than July 1.

The Villa Diner is known for its family-friendly and comfortable ambiance, and its eclectic combination of Greek, Italian and American breakfast food. Beachley said the restaurant started off as a regional breakfast chain and was bought by a Greek man who specialized in Italian food. He and his wife decided to preserve this unique menu when they acquired the diner in 2005.

At its current location, The Villa Diner is situated in close proximity to John Paul Jones Arena, Klöckner Stadium and Davenport Field, which makes it a popular dining spot after sporting events. In addition, it is within walking

distance from residences for many students, which is another one of the diner’s most appealing attributes.

While many students are fond of the diner, the pending relocation will affect how often some students are able to frequent the restaurant.

Third-year Batten student Peyton Brooks said that, although he plans to continue eating at the diner, he will be unable to go as often as he had before.

“I am an RA, and a lot of the appeal of The Villa was its proximity to first-year dorms and my ability to walk there,” Brooks said.

In addition to being farther away, The Villa Diner will have less parking because it will no longer be next to the Cavalier Inn. The Inn used to allow Villa customers to use its parking lot for parking.

Now, the Villa will be limited to the 28 spaces the new location includes.

Beachley said he hopes to maintain this welcoming and friendly atmosphere that students and other members of the community have come to characterize the diner by.

“We want to make sure when you walk in you can say, ‘Okay you know what it’s not the exact same but everybody is still friendly and nice, and the food is hot, good and quick,” Beachley said. “Hopefully, we can reproduce all those things people like about us in the new location, even though we are not going to be the same greasy spoon.”

DREAMers on Grounds kicks off DREAM Week with general body meeting DREAMers on Grounds kicked off this week’s DREAM Week with a general body meeting Monday evening. The meeting featured Deepti Athalye, CAPS associate director of Counseling Services, who highlighted identity and mental health within the immigrant community.

DREAMers on Grounds is an organization driven by the mission to “create a more inclusive environment and an overall safe space for undocumented students through education and advocacy” according to

the group’s Facebook page.

The group is directly related to protecting students affected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA, which allows certain unregistered immigrants who entered the country as minors to have a renewable deferred action from deportation and be able to acquire a work permit.

In September, the Trump Administration took steps to begin phasing out the policy initiated by former president Barack Obama in 2012.

Athalye talked about the lack

of representation that exists for the immigrant and undocumented community at both the University and within popular culture, stating that underrepresentation is a real concern and has a deep impact on people of all identities.

Athalye also led a conversation on the culture existing in the minority community around the idea of seeking help. According to Athalye, many immigrant students are “growing up with this idea that you need to take care of yourself, and asking for help is difficult.”

Numerous students said there are barriers that prevented them from getting the mental or academic help they needed — including stress over legal concerns, the complexities of the health system and a family-encouraged mentality of resilience and pride.

The conversation was the first of the series of events slated to happen during DREAM Week. Other events during the week include a pan dulce bake sale to raise emergency funds for Creciendo Juntos — a local Latinx advocacy non-profit

group — an UndocuAlly training and the “I Am an Immigrant” event co-sponsored with Latinx Student Alliance.

The week culminates on Friday with the beginning of The Improving Dreams, Equity, Access and Success Conference, a conference welcoming immigrant students and related alliance groups throughout Virginia in the ongoing advocacy for equal opportunity in education.

The University will be hosting this year’s conference for the first time.

University Judiciary Committee elects third-year Kevin Warshaw as its next chair The University Judiciary Committee elected third-year Engineering student Kevin Warshaw as chair of its executive committee for the upcoming term during a closed meeting of the newly-elected UJC committee members Sunday evening.

Four executive committee vice chairs were also chosen in the closed session.

Warshaw currently serves as vice chair for first years and will be succeeding Law student Peter Bautz as chair.

In addition to Warshaw, Megan Routbort, who is a thirdyear College student and rising Commerce graduate student,

was elected vice chair for trials.

Second-year College student Sam Powers was elected vice chair for first years, third-year College student Jordan Arnold was re-elected vice chair for sanctions and Batten graduate student Stephanie Ibanez was elected vice chair for graduate students, a new position implemented as part of recent changes to UJC bylaws.

The UJC executive committee will have 12 members beginning with the upcoming term.

The 12 members are comprised of five voting members, five non-voting members, and two ex-officio members. The

chair and vice chairs comprise the voting members, while the senior counselors, senior investigator, senior educator and senior data manager comprise the non-voting members. The chair and vice chair of the First Year Judiciary Committee are the ex-officio members.

Bautz said in an email to The Cavalier Daily that non-voting members would be appointed by the new voting members within the next several weeks.

The next term will begin April 1, with ex-officio members beginning their term Oct. 1.

COURTESY KEVIN WARSHAW

Third-year Engineering student Kevin Warshaw currently serves as the University Judiciary Committee’s vice chair for first years

www.cavalierdaily.com • NEWS

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

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Panelists talk affordable housing at conference Speakers included national, local experts on housing policy Geremia Di Maro and Jake Gold | Associate Editors Nearly 100 community members and stakeholders joined the University, members of the Charlottesville Public Housing Association of Residents and other advocacy groups in CitySpace on the Downtown Mall Saturday for a full day of discussion about public and affordable housing. The conference consisted of four panels of local and national experts who highlighted the importance of activism and community involvement in affordable housing.

This was the first large conference coordinated in Charlottesville, where the “cost burden,” or number of citizens putting more than 30 percent of their income towards housing, is the second highest in the state, according to a report cited in a 2013 C-VILLE Weekly article.

Laura Goldblatt, a conference organizer and postdoctoral fellow at the University, said a primary impetus for the event was to start the dialogue between previously-separate groups to address the issue of high costs.

“One of the real goals of inviting people is trying to find a mix of organizers, academics and activists who may be different pieces of the puzzle,” Goldblatt previously told The Cavalier Daily.

The event’s organizers — the University, PHAR, the Legal Aid Justice Center, the Charlottesville Low Income Housing Coalition and the Grassroots Humanities Collaboration — invited several speakers from out-of-town organizations, including the National Housing Law Project, the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign and the Chicago Housing Authority. Local representatives from the University, PHAR and the Charlottesville Housing Authority were also invited to participate.

The day’s first panel, “PHAR and the Positive Model of Redevelopment,” discussed local successes and challenges in guaranteeing affordable housing to Charlottesville residents. The forum was moderated by former Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris.

A primary barrier, speakers noted, was a lack of new construction: The last Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority location was built in 1995, according to the CRHA website. One audience member asked the group about the number of new public housing units currently being built. Nick Yates, a Housing Authority resident commissioner, PHAR board member, and Charlottesville Area Transit operator, responded that there are currently no projects underway.

“There is none,” Yates said.

“When developers come to Charlottesville, they have two options:

they can either put some money in the pot [the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund], or they can build units.”

Contributing to the CAHF — at two dollars per square foot of gross floor area — is one of two options developers have when building high-density housing, according to City codes. The other, which Yates said developers rarely choose, is to build new affordable housing units in Charlottesville with at least five percent the square footage of the primary construction.

The second panel, entitled “Recovering the Lost Roots of Public Housing: Job Training and Community-Based Learning,” focused on Section 3, a 1968 federal program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Section 3 helps low-income individuals find employment in local construction projects.

Cornelius Griggs was among the invited speakers and is the president and co-founder of GMA Construction in Chicago. GMA is a Section 3 business, meaning that it was either founded by low-income groups or its employees are at least 30 percent low-income.

“The program is supposed to allow you to hire folks from the community and give them opportunities they wouldn’t already have,” Griggs said. “If it’s effective, and it has been for us, businesses will grow. We’re not supposed to be a Section 3 business for 20 years.”

The conversation then turned to methods for Charlottesville residents to implement Section 3 and other affordable housing-friendly policies that don’t harmonize with state or federal agendas. Eric Dunn, a representative of the National Housing Law Project, said the chief long-term priority should be the elimination of Dillon’s Rule, a constitutional principle in states like Virginia where municipalities must ask permission of the state government to address certain issues, sometimes leaving local governments to feel restricted.

Willie “JR” Fleming, the president and co-founder of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign, also spoke at the conference and told the audience the fundamental dynamic for local change is activism.

“You gotta struggle if you want victory, you gotta push the envelope,” Fleming said. “It can’t be just the low-income people doing this.

My challenge is to the middle class folks … you gotta fight together.”

The latter two panels focused on the impact of student housing upon the availability of affordable housing in the local community and the overall effect of students in Char-

GEREMIA DI MARO | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Cornelius Griggs, president and co-founder of GMA Construction in Chicago, speaks at Saturday’s conference.

lottesville.

Mike Callahan, principal planner for the Charlottesville-based EPR design firm, said it was important to examine the racist historical context of limited affordable housing in the local community.

Callahan cited the destruction of the historically African-American Charlottesville neighborhood of Vinegar Hill to “revitalize” the area during the 1960s as an example of such history. In 1965, the City decided to demolish the homes of 139 African American families, 30 African American-owned businesses and a church in the Vinegar Hill neighborhood in an effort to redevelop the area as part of a larger plan for urban renewal in Charlottesville.

“As we’re diagnosing what's going in the community, it's important to keep some of the historical things in mind, it's how we got to where we are today,” Callahan said.

“We have a history of very unjust housing policies, laws and lending practices that have really created a bad situation.”

Andrew Kahrl, an associate professor of history and African-American studies at the University, said the financial goals of the City are often at odds with promoting affordable housing. Kahrl specifically cited property taxes as tools for the displacement of minority communities in favor of urban development as well as the City’s dependence on property taxes as a major source of internal revenue.

Kahrl added that the City’s reliance upon property taxes as a

source of revenue was also problematic due to the University’s exemption from property taxes.

“So much of the real estate here in Charlottesville is owned by the University and as a result is tax exempt,” Kahrl said. “The costs of those exemptions comes up to about $4.5 million each year.”

However, Kahrl said the University does pay a yearly service fee of $33,000 to the City or about one percent of the value it would otherwise be paying to the City through property taxes.

The University is currently moving forward with plans to redevelop Brandon Avenue to include a 300bed upperclassmen student housing complex that is expected be ready for occupancy by fall 2019. The University intends to redesign the street and its adjacent properties as part of a master plan to develop the area as a “green street” and connect the South Lawn complex to the U.Va. Health System.

In the final panel about the broader public role of universities in their respective communities, local attorney and activist Jeff Fogel said the University still owed the African-American slaves who built the the institution.

The University is currently in the planning process for the construction of a Memorial to Enslaved Laborers to honor the slave laborers who contributed to the construction and development of the University. The memorial will be located across from the Corner and East of Brooks Hall.

“The University has always been

willing, as the City has, to put up plaques, to put up monuments, to put up memorials,” Fogel said.

“That’s not going to do anything for the very people that suffered at the University or their progeny.”

Fogel added the University could easily allocate funds towards racial justice causes with little financial impact upon the school but said that increased corporate funding has prevented the administration from pursuing these goals.

Don Gathers, former chair of the city’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Race and Memorials, delivered the closing address for the conference and focused upon the element of racial inequality in housing policy.

“We need to figure out how we translate what we've gotten today into actual action,” Gathers said.

“We sit … right on the precipice of this vast chasm of racism here in the City, and we've got figure out how to bridge the gap.”

Gathers said that even though overt racism is no longer legal in modern day housing policy, racism often manifests itself through more indirect means which he called “backdoor gentrification.”

“Open housing discrimination is no longer legal,” Gathers said.

“Overt land takeover would raise too many eyebrows and suspicions.

Now the course calls for buying up property in vastly minority populated neighborhoods under the auspices of revitalization and urban renewal.”

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THE CAVALIER DAILY

NEWS • www.cavalierdaily.com

IFC, history department host panel on Greek life and race The panel aimed to facilitate conversations regarding race relations between faculty and students Sam Lisner | Staff Writer The Inter-Fraternity Council partnered with the Corcoran Department of History to host a panel Tuesday to discuss the history of Greek Life and race at the University. The panel consisted of Ervin Jordan, an associate professor and research archivist at the Special Collections Library, B. Cameron Webb, an assistant professor of medicine, and fourth-year College and Education student Jasmine Zollar. The panel was moderated by Ashwanth Samuel, a third-year College student and IFC President.

Samuel said the purpose of the event was to educate members of both the IFC and University communities about the racial history of the University.

“The IFC wants to open a discussion and corresponding dialogue that will allow us to assess how we can ​continue progressing and growin g as an institution that is reflective of not only our history, but the current

context within which we are situated,” Samuel said . “The IFC hopes this will be an educational experience for its members and the University comm unity more broadly.”

Jordan began the discussion with a brief overview of the racial history at the University.

“Throughout most of its history, the Greek system here has accepted African Americans as entertainers and service providers, but not as members,” Jordan said. “Racial academic and social traditions remain heavily influenced by Greek organizations, although its members are about 30 percent of the student population.”

Webb spoke about his experience in a black fraternity at the University from 2003 to 2005.

During Webb’s second year, his fraternity was the first African-American Greek organization to have a house of their own.

“From a business standpoint, it made a lot of sense,” Webb

said. “The University took that and called it something completely different … they called this post-racial U.Va. That’s not what this was, it’s not what it is.

We’re not there.”

Zollar, a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council sorority Delta Sigma Theta, spoke about her personal experience with race in Greek Life.

“The trend has been that the NPHC knows the IFC exists, and the IFC seems to not know the we exist,” Zollar said. “That, to me, speaks to the relationship between the IFC and NPHC, that there is no relationship by and large.”

During a question-and-answer session, the audience asked several questions concerning the steps University Greek Life could take to be more transparent. Both Zollar and Webb emphasized the importance of using existing systems, such as social media and newsletters, to reach out to different Greek councils

at the University.

“You guys should look around, this is a very white room and it shouldn’t be,” Webb said. “That’s my hope for the University — that it continues to evolve and continues to change to be more inclusive.”

Tuesday night’s panel was among a series of events being hosted by the history department in response to the white nationalist events of August.

During the fall 2017 semester, the history department also organized events on racial justice at the University, Civil War remembrance in Charlottesville and the recent history of the white nationalist “alt-right.” The department is planning several more events to follow Tuesday’s panel, including an event on athletics and race at the University.

“The emphasis this semester on Greek Life, on athletics, is an effort to reach out to all parts of the University and the Charlottesville community, where

questions of race and even white supremacy are important as well, ” Balogh said.

Webb said the current student body of the University has a unique opportunity to address racial inequality after collectively experiencing the events of Aug. 11 and 12.

“At the end of the day, our society has to turn and face race at some point in time and not just line up on our respective sides,” Webb said. “I think this is possibly the generation of U.Va. students to really move the needle on this issue and make some important progress, because of the shared experience you have all had this year.”

Perjury charge dismissed against Kessler The prosecution failed to establish the alleged crime occurred within Albemarle County Jake Gold | Associate Editor Jason Kessler, a local white nationalist and organizer of the deadly Unite the Right rally last August, had the perjury charge he was facing dismissed in Albemarle Circuit Court Tuesday.

Perjury charges are typically filed against an individual when a legal oath has been voluntarily violated by swearing to a false statement. Kessler had previously claimed under oath he was assaulted on the Charlottesville Downtown Mall while collecting signatures to recall City Councilor Wes Bellamy.

Prosecutors, however, have pointed to video evidence of the incident to allege that Kessler lied under oath.

Judge Cheryl Higgins ruled that the prosecution — the Commonwealth of Virginia represented by the elected Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Tracci — failed to prove that Kessler made his statements within the court’s jurisdiction.

Charlottesville attorney Timothy Read said this is a legal concept widely known by even junior lawyers.

“Mr. Tracci failed to elicit evidence that would've shown that this complaint was sworn out in the County of Albemarle,” Read said. “The fact that it's true doesn't

mean that it was proven in court …

When he had the magistrate on the stand, he could've said, 'Where did this happen?' and the man would've said, ‘At my office in Albemarle County.”

A grand jury indicted Kessler of felonious perjury Oct. 2 for dishonestly alleging he had been assaulted. Under Virginia law, perjury is a Class 5 felony, carrying a sentence between one and ten years in prison. If the judge or jury decided to treat a Class 5 felony as a misdemeanor, the charge holds a maximum of one year in prison and, at most, a $2,500 fine.

Tracci told the jury in opening arguments that he found the case to be simple.

“The statements were not true and not accurate,” Tracci said. “They were false and the defendant knew they were false. That’s perjury.”

Defense attorney Michael Hallahan initially said that Kessler sees his statements as true, while the Virginia statute for perjury requires knowingly making false statements.

“People, when they are in the heat of the moment, may not perceive each thing as it was,” Hallahan said.

Perjury is normally a difficult

charge to prove, Tracci noted, but the prosecution had a key piece of evidence — security footage from the incident. With the aid of the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, Tracci was able to enhance the video and play it for the jury.

But, even with the video evidence, Tracci failed to extract the location of Kessler’s signed complaint, which brought the case to an abrupt end.

“I am disappointed by the court’s ruling in this case, and we are examining potential steps at this time,” Tracci wrote in an email statement to local media outlets. “This defendant is entitled to a presumption of innocence and the same due process under law accorded to all other defendants.”

Despite Kessler’s local notoriety as an activist for Charlottesville’s Confederate statues and failed efforts to remove Bellamy from office, Higgins forbade witnesses and counsel in the trial from discussing the events of Aug. 11 and 12, the statues or the topic of Kessler’s petition.

The charge began with a criminal complaint filed Jan. 22, 2017 by Kessler to an Albemarle County magistrate, stating Charlottesville

resident James Taylor had assaulted him during a combative exchange over the petition. The case was quickly dropped when the video footage revealed Kessler punched Taylor — Taylor had neither initiated nor reciprocated. Kessler then plead guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in April 2017 and was sentenced to 30 days in prison — all of which were suspended — and to 50 hours of community service.

Kessler tried in January to move the case out of Albemarle County, claiming the City’s residents held an unfair bias against him for his role in organizing the Unite the Right rally, citing local media coverage. The motion filed by his attorney says Kessler would like the trial “as far away as possible to a county with a similar demographic of potential jurors, so that would result in this defendant having a better chance at receiving a fair trial.” Higgins denied the request.

During the juror selection process, Hallahan requested that jurors be chosen only from the pool of potential panelists who did not know of Kessler. Higgins denied this request as well.

The trial cannot be repeated due to Kessler’s Fifth Amendment pro-

tection from double jeopardy.

Kessler is also currently involved in a number of ongoing local legal disputes. The City of Charlottesville, along with a number of other plaintiffs, joined a class action lawsuit filed by Georgetown Law Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection against organizers of the Unite the Right rally, including Kessler, in October 2017.

The suit aims to prevent the mobilization of white nationalist militia groups in Charlottesville.

Moreover, Kessler filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Charlottesville and City Manager Maurice Jones earlier this month for denying him a permit for a Unite the Right anniversary rally planned for Aug. 11 and 12, 2018. Kessler is seeking injunctive action to force the City to allow the protest, as well as compensatory damages and a judgement that declares the City violated his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights — specifically, his rights to free speech, assembly and petition.

www.cavalierdaily.com • NEWS

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

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Slaughter to be renovated for Outdoor Recreation Center move A new climbing center will take the place of existing squash and racquetball courts Sophia McCrimmon | Staff Writer

CHANDLER COLLINS | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Slaughter Recreation Center, located off of McCormick Road behind Alderman Road first-year dorms, was constructed in 1978.

Slaughter Recreation Center is set to undergo renovations starting March 26 in order to make room for an upcoming relocation of the Outdoor Recreation Center. Slaughter will house expanded climbing and rental centers as part of the new ORC, as well as a functional training facility.

This move is part of the University’s Ivy Corridor Renovation Plan, an effort which will incorporate public green space and new facilities into the 14acre area at the corner of Emmet Street and Ivy Road. The plan also involves the demolition of the Villa and the Cavalier Inn. Slaughter Recreation Center is located just off of McCormick Road behind Alderman Road first-year dorms. This is the facility’s first major renovation since its construction in 1978.

Intramural-Recreational Sports, U.Va.’s administrative department overseeing athletic facilities and student recreation, plans to demolish all three of the facility’s squash courts and two of its eight racquetball courts to make space for the additions.

The current ORC has occupied a former gas station on Emmet Street since the 1990s.

Because the facility is leased instead of owned, the University has been limited in its ability to make improvements.

“One of the issues we had along that line was the office space in that location is very limited,” said Scott A. Reed, associ-

ate director for Facilities and Resource Management and project manager for the ORC relocation.

“Also, the climbing and bouldering aspect of that facility is very limited from a space perspective. The capacity of that climbing surface is small compared to what the demands are for that type of activity here at U.Va.” IM-Rec administrators chose to relocate the ORC to Slaughter primarily because of the gym’s age and convenient proximity to first-year dorms.

“Slaughter is one of our facilities that is probably less utilized than our others,” Reed said. “It also is a facility that is one of the older ones that we have in our inventory, so we’ve actually been looking at trying to upgrade or renovate that facility for a while, even without specifically having to move the Outdoor Rec Center.”

In addition to the climbing center and training facility, Slaughter will be renovated to include expanded office space and repaired heating, ventilation and air conditioning. The planned climbing wall will be about 2,000 square feet — an improvement to the 400 square feet available at the current ORC. “The climbing surface would go from essentially being able to serve maybe 10 people at a time to as many as 40 actually on the wall at one time,” Reed said.

A functional training facility will take the place of Slaughter’s weight-lifting area, creating

a more open space that focuses on core stability and functional movement patterns rather than machine-based training.

In November 2017, IM-Rec began reaching out to student groups like the Climbing Team, Outdoors Club and Racquetball Club for input on the renovation.

With two of its courts set for demolition, the Racquetball Club — a Contracted Independent Organization that practices at Slaughter two to three nights a week — negotiated full access to all six of the remaining courts.

“At our first meeting [with Facilities Management], they basically told us ‘you’ll still have access to these six courts but you can only reserve four,’” said George Moss, a second-year College student and internal president of Racquetball Club. “We’re already at max capacity when we have six courts, some days we’ll go over to seven or eight courts … so ultimately we got a concession and agreement that we’ll still be able to reserve all six courts.”

“We have a new set of officers who are really looking to expand and grow the club and drive engagement, and by taking away two courts, it makes it a little bit difficult,” Moss added.

Moss said the Racquetball Club also hopes to negotiate a revision to the fire code, which would allow more visitors in Slaughter’s above-ground viewing area. The current capacity for that space is 15 people.

“That was really detrimen-

tal because we could never host a tournament or even a very lowly scrimmage with another team even though we had eight courts,” Moss said. “If we get that fixed, the loss of two courts will be mitigated.”

Finally, Racquetball Club leaders hope to lobby for minor facility improvements, like the installation of lockers and two glass-backed courts.

As the renovation begins and meetings continue, Moss said Racquetball Club and IM-Rec have a positive relationship.

“We really appreciate them listening to us as pretty much the primary stakeholder in this and hearing our concerns and actually addressing them and meeting with us, so far, once a month,” Moss said. “It’s been fruitful and at first we were sort of lost on what to do back in November … but we’ve really improved that.”

At a public input session Tuesday evening, Outdoor Recreation Center director John McCall presented plans for the center’s relocation.

McCall also opened the floor up for questions and suggestions, where attendees asked about the specifics of the new climbing wall and outdoor center.

McCall said adding a tread wall to the climbing area is an option, to which attendees offered varied opinions.

“Within Charlottesville, there’s no option for endurance training,” fourth-year College student Peter Malander said. “I

think a [tread wall] is a necessary thing to have.”

Third-year College student Bill Talley said he was concerned the tread wall would not be used.

“There’s a lot of failed ideas in the world of exercise equipment,” Talley said. “It’d be a shame if this turned out to be a bad investment.”

Director of Recreation Programs Erica Goode also presented information on the functional training facility, after which attendees filled out surveys about the planned changes.

The renovation will be a phased project, with demolition of the squash and racquetball courts beginnin g next week and construction likely concluding at the beginning of the fall 2018 semester.

THE CAVALIER DAILY

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Is dairy-free Halo Top worth the hype?

LIFE This may be old news to some Halo Top enthusiasts and dairy-free ice cream fans, but a few weeks ago the popular low-calorie, low-sugar, high-protein ice cream brand released dairy-free versions of a few of their most-liked flavors. The list of dairyfree options includes flavors such as Birthday Cake, Candy Bar, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Oatmeal Cookie and Pancakes & Waffles, among others. Though these dairy-free pints were released earlier this year, they have now made their way into a few grocery stores in Charlottesville. I decided to try out a few flavors to see how they compare to their original counterparts and to confirm whether or not they are worth the hype and anticipation surrounding their release.

First of all, ever since the original Halo Top ice creams came out, much discussion and debate surrounded the dessert. Each Halo Top pint’s shockingly low-calorie count and promise of tasting like real ice cream has led many to try it and decide for themselves whether or not they are a fan.

Even amongst people I know, some absolutely love Halo Top and some are not able to find it comparable to more traditional ice cream.

Personally, I am fairly impressed with Halo Top’s original ice cream and think it is a quality product that tastes good while containing easily identifia-

Halo Top’s new dairy-free ice cream is as good as their original milky counterparts Emily Kalafian | Food Columnist ble ingredients. Therefore, I had pretty high expectations going into my taste test of the dairy free flavors.

When I heard that Halo Top was releasing dairy-free flavors, I was excited. Since not everyone consumes dairy for various reasons, it is wonderful that there is now another dairy-free ice cream option in the market and one that offers Halo Top’s low-calorie, low-sugar, high-protein promise.

Halo Top’s dairy-free ice creams are made with coconut milk as the dairy alternative. They are all low-calorie and low-sugar. Truthfully, the dairy-free versions do not offer as much protein as the original pints.

They contain 12g of protein per pint versus the original’s 20-24g per pint.

Still, 12g per pint is more protein than other leading non-dairy ice creams offer. On average, Ben & Jerry’s nondairy flavors and other dairy-free ice cream brands like So Delicious offer only 8g of protein per pint.

My first stop on the hunt for the elusive dairy-free pints was Kroger in Barracks Road Shopping Center where I was able to track down a few dairy-free flavors stocked away in the organic freezer section. There I picked up a pint of dairy-free Chocolate Covered Banana ice cream. Next, I went to Whole Foods where I found a much wider variety of flavors in stock. After hungrily looking at all of the options,

I selected a Sea Salt Caramel and an Oatmeal Cookie pint.

Having now tasted all three flavors, I would rate the Chocolate Covered Banana pint 3.5 out of 5 stars. When I opened it up it looked like chocolate ice-cream with a very tiny swirl of chocolate syrup ribboned throughout.

I was initially very impressed by the texture. It was creamy in a light and fluffy sort of way. The taste was also good overall. The banana flavor was not overpowering although it did have a bit of a sweet, artificial banana taste to it even though it is made with natural flavors.

The banana was definitely secondary to the chocolate flavor which was tasty and not too sweet. I would give it only a 3.5 rating because the chocolate syrup ribbon was just not substantial enough to even really be included as part of the ice cream flavor and while the flavor and texture were good, I do not know that I would want to eat the whole pint in one sitting.

Next, I would rate the Sea Salt Caramel pint as a 4 out of 5. This was the most creamy of the three flavors I tried. The ice cream had a good amount of caramel swirled throughout and tasted subtly of caramel. Though this pint was very good overall, it was not quite the same as the original Sea Salt Caramel version. The original Sea Salt Caramel is my favorite flavor that

Halo Top sells and while the dairy-free version is definitely a good product, it differs slightly in taste from its original counterpart. I think the fact that this pint was made with coconut milk instead of dairy was more clear to me than it was in the other two flavors I tried. It still tasted great but just not the same as the original version.

Finally, I would give the Oatmeal Cookie pint a solid 5 out of 5 stars. You would never know that this ice cream was dairy-free — the taste and texture were absolutely great. Like the original oatmeal cookie flavor, this ice cream tastes like cinnamon and cookies and

contains little bits of chewy oatmeal throughout. It was just as good as its original dairy version — if not better.

I am not surprised that it was the last pint of its kind available at the store when I went. Additionally, it would be easy to eat this whole pint at once — at least for me.

There are still many other dairyfree flavors to try and based on these three, I would absolutely be interested in trying more. If you are dairy-free or if you are a fan of the original Halo Top ice creams, dairy-free Halo Top is definitely worth a try.

EMILY KALAFIAN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The list of dairy-free options includes flavors such as Birthday Cake, Candy Bar, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Oatmeal Cookie and Pancakes & Waffles.

The magic of small towns — and rattlesnakes A road trip to Rattlesnake Roundup shows off the best of small town America Sean Rumage | Life Columnist Like many other college students, my friends and I headed south to find warmth during spring break. Less typically, however, we did not seek out any beaches — we drove to Sweetwater, Texas in order to experience the world’s largest Rattlesnake Roundup.

What is a Rattlesnake Roundup, exactly? Well, 60 years ago a small town in western Texas had a rattlesnake problem. In an attempt to control the area’s rattlesnake overpopulation, some locals organized a festival encouraging visitors and townsfolk alike to venture into the wilderness and catch some snakes. This tradition was repeated year after year, continuing to this day.

Although the Roundup is now a lot more sophisticated and largescale than it used to be — over 4,000 pounds of rattlesnake had been caught by noon on the first day of this year’s festivities — it was clear from my short visit that it is still undoubtedly a small town affair.

Growing up in a close-knit community myself, I am all too familiar with life in small town. I hail from Tillamook County in Oregon, which holds more cows than people — my high school mascot was aptly named the Cheesemakers. Out of each graduating class of over 100 students, you only need to use one hand to count the number of students leaving the state of Oregon for college. Of course, on the flip side, if you ever need to find someone in particular, all you need to do is go to the grocery store and you’re sure to run into them.

For people unfamiliar with them, small towns are hard to understand or even scary. They are characterized as backwards, close-minded and simply lesser, in some sense. There is no doubt that small town life is different from that of the suburbs or a city — the same group of 10 people seem to somehow run everything, everyone knows everyone and “success” does not necessitate a college degree or six-digit sala-

ry. But one thing that I think everyone can understand is the absolute magic that many small communities are able to produce.

In Sweetwater, this magic is the Rattlesnake Roundup. The day before the event officially began, my friends and I attended the opening parade and the Miss Snake Charmer Pageant — which had a disappointing lack of snakes. At the parade, all of the town’s businesses, teams and students pulled out all the stops to show of their little slice of Texas off to the world. But it was at the pageant that the Sweetwater natives’ bonds were on full display.

From the sounds of the audience throughout the pageant, it was very clear that a majority of the contestants were homegrown stars. The women talked about growing up in the community, volunteering at local dance studios and running every club imaginable at their high school. It reminded me a lot of my hometown.

If I’m honest, I didn’t love Tillam-

ook when I lived there — most of my appreciation for my upbringing has come in retrospect. I associated the area with a lack of opportunity and chose to focus on this aspect of small town life as opposed to the uniquely positive community that came with it.

Now, I look back at traditions like Charity Drive, in which a high school with less than 700 kids comes together with the community for 10 days to raise almost $200,000 for a children’s hospital and local charities and scholarships, with complete awe. If that event isn’t extremely powerful, then I don’t know what is.

Rattlesnake Roundup — and Sweetwater as a whole — reminded me of the greatest aspects of growing up and living in a small town. Perhaps because I’m moving to the big city of Chicago after graduation, I have found myself nostalgically longing for those types of community bonds in recent weeks.

Sure, there are glimpses of it in col-

lege, especially now that I am a fourth year and have frequented many of the same places a great deal throughout my time in Charlottesville. But there is an undeniable difference between a community built for permanence and a community with an inherent relationship to transition and change.

However, that being said, I am extremely thankful that I have had the chance to experience and become a part of this different type of community, for it has allowed me to better understand and appreciate my roots in a manner that otherwise may not have been possible. It’s easy to take what you currently have for granted, so when you no longer have it, you may find that you miss it more than you expect.

Of course, that golden rule doesn’t apply in all situations — something tells me Sweetwater might not miss its rattlesnakes.

www.cavalierdaily.com • LIFE

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

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Determining U.Va. Dining’s menus Dining says it considers student feedback and freshness when determining what to serve Meagan O'Rourke | Feature Writer Deciding what to serve up in the University's dining halls is more complicated than Miss Kathy choosing which foods would be the most "butt-kicking" for that day.

Rather, the University Dining staff — comprised of marketing teams and executive chefs — plan menus far in advance.

The University Dining Marketing Manager Scott Aebersold explains the multi-step procedure.

"This process allows the culinary teams in the locations to develop the menus based on historical preferences, student feedback, seasonal availability and culinary trends," Aebersold said in an email to The Cavalier Daily.

The time of year determines which ingredients will be the most fresh and flavorful. With the arrival of spring, the University Dining will be incorporating strawberries in their menus as they become more locally available. Additionally, University Dining considers the individual resources of each dining hall — such as Runk's wood stone pizza oven and international station, Newcomb's Virginia Local Station and O’Hill's house-made pasta dishes — when creating menus.

"We take a lot of pride in the individuality of our dining rooms,” Aebersold said. “The fact that the menus in each dining room [are] as different as the environment is a very important aspect of U.Va. Dining.”

Although menus are pre-determined, the chefs in each dining hall are given liberty to modify dishes.

Most of the teams start with dishes that have been historically well received — layer in student feedback and sprinkle on top some creative trends," Aebersold said.

Aebersold said the main determinant of dining hall menus is student feedback.

He encouraged students to reach out to University Dining over social media or email and to talk to any of the dining hall managers in person.

There is an online survey website — yourdiningvoice.com — which allows students to rate their meals and provide suggestions.

However, students are not always satisfied with the dining hall options, especially those with dietary restrictions.

First-year College student Dakota DeLong-Maxey cannot eat dairy or gluten and is a vegetarian

by choice. As a first-year on a meal plan, she typically eats at the dining halls for breakfast, lunch and dinner. DeLong-Maxey usually eats salads, but she wishes there were better prepared options for those with her eating restrictions.

"You kind of have to be very innovative to get a good meal and most of the dining halls have salads, but sometimes they aren't very good,” DeLong-Maxey said. “There is always food, but the quality of it is questionable.”

DeLong-Maxey recognizes that her eating habits are unique and the dining halls are working to accommodate the diets of all students.

“One of the things that I have liked recently is Newcomb has started doing like a sauté station, and I really like that because it is generally food that is allergen-friendly, and it is pretty good generally,” DeLong-Maxey said. "People have to adapt I guess."

To accommodate students with allergies, the University's Register Dietitian Paula Caravati works closely with a number of students and managers to make sure that students with restrictions can obtain nutritious meals and works

with the Food Allergy Research and Education program to educate students about allergies. However, students must schedule appointments and register to utilize such services.

First-year College student Joseph Snitzer also mainly eats at the dining halls for convenience. He was a vegan before coming to the University and switched to being vegetarian by September due to the lack of variety in the vegan options. "[Making vegan food] is just one more thing for them to do, and I totally understand that," Snitzer said.

For now, he finds it easy to be a vegetarian — his favorite vegetarian dish is the vegetable sandwich in O’Hill — but he would most likely still be vegan if he was not bound to a meal plan.

Both Snitzer and DeLong-Maxey were unaware of the University Dining's platforms for student feedback.

While individual feedback from students may not be as widespread, University Dining works with student groups in creating themed nights. For example, the Latinx Student Alliance teamed up with the University Dining staff to guide them in serving authentic dishes

from Latin American countries.

Second-year College student Katarina Naworol Kanayr is a University Student Dining educator, who promotes meal plans and themed dinners by handing out free items and flyers. Naworol Kanayr notices how students are typically very receptive to the themed dinners.

"I think there is usually a higher volume of students,” Naworol Kanayr said. “People are excited because it is different food.”

University Dining attempts to maintain a variety of options each semester, even in their day-to-day meals and claims to gauge student responses based on direct contact or by noticing which plates were sent back to the dish rack uneaten.

"You can add in a creative menu and see it fall flat because you didn't listen to what your guests were asking for, and we develop and select menu items based on student feedback," Aebersold said.

Baby steps for the patience-impaired How to let go of immediate gratification for a longer journey Sarah Ashman | Life Columnist There’s no hiding the fact that we’re a generation of instant gratification. If you want to ruin a millennial’s day, slow down their Internet.

Watch them stare at their loading Instagram feed with disgust, closing the app and then reopening it again in frustration.

Unlike the critics and haters from past generations who are perfectly okay with waiting for the mail to come, I don’t think this frustration with slow is all bad. Part of this intolerance for patience is actually quite amazing. We don’t want to wait until later to improve, challenge and support what should be done now.

We are a generation that has witnessed real change — we saw the first black president inaugurated, the internet explode with endless sources for connection, the Supreme Court rule on same-sex marriage and Google take over the information world. I think part of why we are so impatient with elongated processes is that we’ve seen change, we know it’s possible and

we’re less comfortable with passive waiting. We are a generation that wants to do something to bring about the future we desire.

I don’t want to be patient with racism. I don’t want to be patient with sexism. I don’t want to be patient with sexual assault in the workplace or the school-to-prison pipeline and systematic incarceration of youth. I want those things to change now.

However, while I don’t think our impatience is a vice, I think it’s a complicated virtue that has to be managed with care. Because when we apply the desire for instant gratification to ourselves — our own bodies, minds, appearances, hearts — we can use our world-changing power in damaging ways. I believe that self-inflicted impatience is something our generation is really wrestling with.

I’ve seen our impatience with ourselves develop in two ways — each harmful in their own right. I’ve seen us run to quick fixes, whether they’re meant to fix our fat or our

loneliness, as we try to accomplish in a single night or a month at the gym what might take us a year to complete through healthy means.

On the other hand, I’ve seen us give up on parts of ourselves, discouraged that we will never be able to change and try to simply accept aspects of our lives as fact. The culture of self-love can be wonderful, affirming our inherent beauty, worth and humanity, but it can also be an easy route to try to accept the things that we could overcome. We are a generation that either wants to fix something fast, or just accept it as part of “who we are,” when it doesn’t have to be.

How can we kindle the impatient fire that demands more — of the world, of society, of this country, of this University and ourselves — while developing patience for the best way to get there?

Last year, my schedule was running my life. I ate Cheerios and pasta and never allowed myself to workout — much less just walk and breathe. The thought of trying to

change everything about the way I was living was overwhelming, but the impatience for settling when I knew this wasn’t the best way I could live churned inside of me restlessly.

I knew I couldn’t change it in a week. I also didn’t want to accept that version — the overworked, undernourished and anxious version — of me as simply “who I was.”

What no one ever tells you is that it takes a lot more courage to change things little-by-little than it does to change everything instantly. It’s not one moment of grand bravery — it’s the kind of bravery that has to get up and keep working slowly, consistently, every day.

It takes a lot more courage to try to learn a new recipe every month than it does to just go vegan and live at Juice Laundry. It takes a lot more courage to start lifting five-pound weights, then work up to 10, then 20, than it does to sprint four miles out of the blue because you don’t feel fit. It takes a lot more courage to slowly build rest, adequate sleep

and play into your schedule than it does to drop everything on a dime for a crazy adventure or irresponsibly sleep for 15 hours. It takes a lot more courage to mourn the loss of a relationship, slowly allowing yourself to grieve and heal over months, than it does to attempt to instantly rebound.

We came into the University impatient dreamers, fast movers and experts on quick fixes. We love Band-Aid solutions because they can be applied instantaneously.

They just don’t work when we really need a cast.

I think we are a generation that believes things can be better, and we want them to be better now.

This propels us into grand, instant action. But what if we allowed it to propel us into evolution and onto a path of personal transformation?

Imagine what we could change if we harnessed the mentality of possibility and let it drive us down longer roads, the roads of our own lives — our own grief, wounds and bad habits.

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THE CAVALIER DAILY

LIFE • www.cavalierdaily.com

MidiCi at Stonefield is perfect for a pizza date With a great atmosphere and a great selection of ‘za, MidiCi is the place to go for a fun day out Lindsay Smith | Food Columnist For most University students, pizza is a staple food. Rain or shine, spring or fall, pizza is a good way to end the day. And with the addition of MidiCi to the Shops at Stonefield, Domino’s stores all around Charlottesville are quaking in their boots.

MidiCi is known for using only four ingredients in their doughy — yet still light — crust. Neapolitan flour, water, sea salt and yeast are mixed together and hand tossed into a circular shape. The sauce is made of crushed Italian peeled tomatoes, and their creations taste the way they are made — like a light and healthy treat.

When I walked in, I was greeted by an airy space full of booths, tables and chairs. I ordered a margherita pizza and a bottle of water, then went to wait for my food. It was brought to my table by the same person I ordered it from, and I later learned that my waiter was also the person who tossed, constructed and fired my pizza.

With a basic 12-inch margherita pizza costing only $8.50, there

was plenty leftover in my budget for some of their appetizers or desserts.

The signature Nutella calzone is their best-selling dessert, which is clear from a set of shelves by the front that house several massive tubs of Nutella.

The Italian gelato is another option during warmer weather. Almost all the desserts on the menu are less than $6, so while they may be breaking your diet, they won’t be breaking the bank.

Most of the classic Italian dishes are represented on the menu. Appetizers include meatballs, meat and cheese boards and burrata dishes, and the entree list features 20 different pizzas.

Salad is also available. The bases for most pizzas can be substituted with gluten-free crust — a $2 addition — or vegan cheese.

What makes the place particularly intriguing is its interior design. The glass counter blocks off part of what seems to be a preparation area, and the rest of the space is left for ample seating. There is a live olive tree growing in a pot in the center of the restaurant,

and award-winning Italian films are played on loop against the back wall.

Two shining, golden pizza ovens are also featured behind the counter.

The space was designed for college students, and its open, bright layout is suitable for large group meetings around steaming mounds of dough.

However, it is not within walking distance of Grounds and is difficult to reach without a car or access to the Route 8 CAT bus. To the right of the entrance is a board displaying polaroids of many of the restaurant’s patrons — which include several University students already — and the doors are open every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. There is also a happy hour every weekday from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m.

The atmosphere of the place was very calm, and the movie posters on the wall were a nice conversation starter. There were only a few other customers present, but at 3 p.m.

Thursday, the place was quiet and perfect for a late afternoon lunch.

When the pizza was brought out,

it was piping hot. The sauce was visible beneath the fresh rounds of mozzarella, and the thick outer edge of the crust acted as a border between the basil and the plate. There was a single circle of olive oil visible beneath the cheese.

The crust was crisp on the outside, but on the inside it was chewier than I expected. The tomato sauce was neither sweet nor salty, but tasted solely of tomato. It was not overpowering — in fact, the pizza wouldn’t have been hurt by a little more sauce in the sauce-tocrust ratio — and the dispersed pieces of mozzarella were melted and tasted very fresh. While there was almost too much outer crust, the dough on the bottom was just right. It was thin but not overcooked.

This was a refreshing break from the cardboard, fake-cheese flavor of the myriad chain pizza places around Charlottesville. The pizza was true to the Neapolitan style it was attempting to emulate and really tasted as good as it looked. It was the best I have had in a long time, and it didn’t leave me feel-

ing heavy or unhealthy after I finished eating.

The 12-inch pizza was the standard size of most personal pizzas, although the six slices were enough to split with a friend. After trying my first slice, I was almost willing to order and eat a whole second pizza all by myself. Had I done so, I may have tried the chicken and pesto pizza — which caught my eye on the menu — or perhaps the double pepperoni pizza.

The Stonefield MidiCi is located at 2550 Bond St., sandwiched between the Regal movie theater and Altar’d State — an upscale clothing boutique — making it the perfect spot to stop in for some grub after a fun day out with friends. Next time you have a hankering for wood-fired Neapolitan style pizza, be sure to check out MidiCi.

Pie that is greater than 3.14 Celebrate Pi Day all year long at The Pie Chest on the downtown mall Maddie McNamee | Food Columist To some, March 14 may just be another spring day, but for math geeks and dessert lovers, it is a day of great relevance. Known as Pi Day, March 14 is an excellent excuse to binge on pie, rather than celebrate the numerical value of pi — 3.14. The Pie Chest, a pie shop on the Downtown Mall, extended the holiday this year and made the week of March 12-18 “Pie Week.”

Each day included different giveaways or specials, so I decided to treat myself and indulge in some sweet treats.

The Pie Chest offers full pies for $25-28 as well as single slices for as low as $4, but popular flavors typically sell out mid-afternoon. Most of the pies are more cream or custard based, other than their apple or pecan options. All pies can be topped with bourbon vanilla ice cream for $1 or fresh whipped cream for 50 cents. They also have savory hand pies for $5 and pot pies for $6.50. While pie is obviously their specialty, the shop also sells coffee from Milli Coffee Roasters, a popular roaster in Charlottesville.

Being the indecisive person I am, I had quite the dilemma deciding which slices to sample. All of their selections looked enticing, but I ended up trying a slice of

the coconut cream, dark chocolate cream and cinnamon crumble apple. I have a slight obsession with coconut, so I had to try that one, and the woman working told me the dark chocolate cream and apple pies were customer favorites.

Other options included bourbon pecan, whiskey chocolate chip, banana rum cream, peanut butter and chocolate hazelnut. The savory pies were intriguing as well — however, when I am in the mood for pie, it is difficult to pass up something sweet.

The slices are rather large portions, but the dessert lover in me was up for the challenge. I first tried the dark chocolate cream, and it was extremely filling. The pie has an Oreo-like crust, a dark chocolate, extremely thick and creamy center — all piled high with a layer of whipped cream, topped off with chocolate shavings. The dark chocolate filling is incredibly rich and resembles a thicker version of pudding. While my sweet tooth adored this pie, it was almost too filling and the multiple layers of cream were heavier than one might expect.

Next, I tried the cinnamon crumble apple pie. This one had a buttery, flaky crust and was filled with numerous layers of apples

that were coated in cinnamon. The apples were topped in a layer of sweet crumble, which was my favorite part of the pie. I am not typically the biggest apple pie fan, but this one was a winner. The crumble brought out the cinnamon flavor of the apples extremely well, and gave the dessert some texture contrast — something the chocolate pie was lacking.

My last bites of indulgence were on the coconut cream pie. As aforementioned, I adore anything coconut, so it would be hard for me to not enjoy this slice. However, for non-coconut fans, this pie may be too much, as the thickness and layering is similar to that of the chocolate cream pie. The crust is the same delicious one as the apple pie, and it is then filled with coconut cream and coconut flakes, topped with a large layering of whipped cream and finished off with more coconut flakes. The obvious word to describe this slice would be creamy.

While the pies at The Pie Chest were undoubtedly enjoyable, it was a bummer there were not as many fruit pie options. One can imagine this is because of the season, so hopefully there will be more of a variety soon when the warmer weather arrives.

Since the slices are so substantial, The Pie Chest makes for an optimal shared dessert, but there’s no judgment in the shop if one decides to devour them alone. The setting of The Pie Chest is quaint and comfortable. It’s an ideal place to read a book or accomplish some homework with a cup of coffee and some delectable dessert, rather than a crowded library. The yellow paint and white wood walls are eye-catching and each table has a miniature vase of flowers, making

the whole experience in the shop adorable.

Pie can, and should, be celebrated more than just one day of the year. The Pie Chest creates exceptional pies for a reasonable price. Pie has always been one of my mother’s favorite desserts, so I grew up around an immense amount. My standards of good pie are high, but The Pie Chest did not disappoint and would be a great option for any holiday, or even just a treat yourself type of day.

MADISON MCNAMEE | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The dark chocolate cream pie has an Oreo-like curst and a dark chocolate, extremely think and creamy center.

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

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FORECASTING MEN’S TENNIS

SPORTS Last Sunday, the Virginia men’s tennis team achieved their first victory over a ranked team this season. The Cavaliers (9-5, 2-1 ACC) defeated the then-No.18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-8, 2-1 ACC) in a 6-1 blowout that included impressive wins on courts that the Cavaliers normally lose. Virginia began the match by beating the highly esteemed Notre Dame doubles lineup, with junior Aswin Lizen and freshman Gianni Ross teaming up to take down the #55 ranked Fighting Irish team of freshman Tristan McCormick and senior Brendon Kempin on the No.1 Court. Both Lizen and Ross would go on to win their matches on the No. 3 and No. 2 courts respectively, with Ross dispatching Notre Dame’s freshman Richard Clamarra at a breakneck speed.“Gianni has been

Cavaliers faced a challenging start to the season, but have much to look forward to in conference play around some of the best coaches since and best trainers since he was 14 or 15 years old, and on top of that he’s a really hard worker,” Virginia Coach Andres Pedroso said. “The guy has worked really hard and been through some brutal workouts since he was very young, so I don’t see that kid getting tired anytime soon.

The progress from Ross and other freshmen on the team, has been instrumental for the incredibly young Cavalier team. Virginia lost almost all of its starters after last season, and the previous coach Brian Boland departed for the United States Tennis Association after last year’s championship season. The lack of experience from this Virginia team means that the few experienced upperclassmen, such as Lizen and sophomore Carl Söderlund, add a lot to the team.

The recent return of Carl Söderlund to the No. 1 court for the Cava-

liers has been an advantage for Virginia. Söderlund has gone 5-1 on the No. 1 court so far this season, and has beaten several Intercollegiate Tennis Association ranked players just this year.

From being unranked in February, he has climbed back into the top 100 and is currently No. 38 in the nation.

“He’s a really good tennis player.

Defensively, I mean, he’s got to have some of the best defense in the world for players his age. At the end of that second set there, he showed that he could be offensively minded as well,” Pedroso said, referring to Söderlund’s four-game run during the second set of a 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 victory over Notre Dame’s No. 33 Alex Lebedev. “That’s scary when he’s doing both.”

One of the biggest problems for Virginia this season has been the inability to win matches on the No. 6 court. Before the victories this weekend, the Cavaliers had only won one

match out of 10 on the lowest ranked court — two of whose losses have only been by a single game. Söderlund’s return to the court has allowed Virginia to shift it’s usual No. 5 singles player, freshman Kyrylo Tsygura, down to the No. 6 position — giving Virginia a better chance to pick up more matches in that position. Pedroso, however, still thinks that the lineup is not set in stone yet.

“No, we’re not settling,” he said.

“It’s always a day to day kind of thing, and this group out here did a great job today, they did a good job yesterday, so we’ll see.”

Virginia’s recent hot streak could not have come soon enough. Moving forward, the men’s tennis team faces fierce competition in one of the best conferences in the sport. On Thursday, the Cavaliers will begin a tough stretch of four road matches, including stops at No. 5 North Carolina (12-

3, 3-0 ACC) and No. 18 18 Duke (11-7, 2-1 ACC). The Cavaliers also have a home matchup against No. 1 Wake Forest (11-0, 1-0 ACC) looming in the near future. However, the Cavaliers are excited to begin outdoor play in the ACC — especially since they feel that their style of play fits better on outdoor courts.

“I think it suits us, “ Pedroso said.

“We are not a team that’s going to blow teams off the court with power, we’re going to have a lot of finesse, and a lot of fitness, and a lot of variety and grit, so I think it suits us.”

LUKE BEASEY is a Sports associate editor for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at sports@cavalierdaily. com.

THE BIRTH OF A WINNING CULTURE Coach Joanne Boyle revived Virginia women’s basketball with a promising year Outgoing Ten games into the Virginia women’s basketball team’s season, it seemed as though the team’s hope for a statement year was basically faded. An early December loss at Rutgers in which the Cavaliers put up only 43 points left the team sitting at 4-6 with ACC play looming. Even with a pair of talented sophomore guards and a six-foot-nine defensive stalwart, this team didn’t have the look of one that could bring Virginia Coach Joanne Boyle a big year that was long overdue.

Almost four months later, that same team won the first NCAA Tournament game it had played in since 2010.

With their backs against the wall and tournament window closing early in the season, Boyle regrouped her team for a memorable run back to relevancy. The Cavaliers started ACC play 9-1 to insert themselves back into the tournament conversation.

Though there were setbacks as the competition grew harder, the team showed impressive growth in a very short time.

The season may not have ended the way they wanted it to, but the loss to South Carolina showcased just how far the Cavaliers had come since that December loss to Rutgers. Playing against the defending national champions on their home court, the Cavaliers came within three points the Gamecocks in the final quarter — a non-trivial sign of a spirited team.

Leading the charge against South Carolina was sophomore guard Dominique Toussaint with 16 points.

Last year at this time, Toussaint did not even take the floor in Virginia’s WNIT first round game due to a suspension from the team. The Staten Island, N.Y. native responded to a tough end to last season with a strong 2017-18 campaign that saw her lead the Cavaliers in points per game, showing tremendous maturation along the way.

Though she only scored two points against the Gamecocks, sophomore forward Felicia Aiyeotan also developed into a key contributor for Virginia following a quiet freshman year. Boyle found a way to tap into Aiyeotan’s six-foot-nine frame to fix her struggles from last season. The Lagos, Nigeria native upped her scoring average by almost three points and nearly doubled her rebounds per game while remaining a matchup nightmare on the interior.

Boyle’s ability to develop her two promising sophomores into key pieces leaves little doubt that she has been leading the women’s basketball program on the right track. While the team did not find much success against the elite teams on their ACC schedule, its key string of conference victories show the process of building a winning program is in full swing.

Though this was their first crack at the NCAA Tournament, Virginia’s seniors showed they were not finished laying the groundwork for a winning culture with solid seasons. Senior guard Aliyah Huland El bounced back from a regression last season to average the second most points on the team. Meanwhile, senior forward

Lauren Moses showed great leadership poise throughout the year in big moments. Her 14 points led Virginia against Indiana in a crucial non-conference overtime game that helped spark the team’s major run in ACC play. Finally, senior guard J’Kyra Brown continued her tremendous year-by-year growth since her transfer from East Carolina, increasing her scoring average to 9.5 points after averaging five two years ago.

The continued investment from her seniors gave Boyle the means to turn the program around mid-season. Able to feed off their leadership, Boyle inspired her team to not give up on what looked like a lost season and to work hard in getting back to winning ways.

That expectation of winning is the key to a winning culture.

That expectation of winning is what helped lift the Cavaliers in a thrilling 68-62 upset over No. 7-seeded California in the NCAA Tournament this year. Aiyeotan starred off the bench with sixteen points and six rebounds, while four other players joined her in double figures.

It was a true team effort between a group of women that had battled through adversity together all year.

And for Boyle — who had fought through that adversity for years in trying to build up the Virginia program — her efforts mounted in the biggest win of her career.

That win over California will stand — unexpectedly — was Boyle’s final victory as Virginia’s head coach.

Boyle announced her retirement

Tuesday for family reasons, ending her seven-year tenure at the helm of the program.

Though she will not be the coach that will lead the Cavaliers’ effort to build on this season, it’s safe to say Boyle has left Virginia women’s basketball better than she found it.

Her mid-year turnaround will not be forgotten as the next Virginia coach looks to compound the momentum she has brought the program.

Sustaining success will be no easy task for Boyle’s successor, but the winning culture she helped revive will certainly make it easier.

ALEC DOUGHERTY is a Sports editor for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at a.dougherty@cavalierdaily.com or on Twitter at @aduggs96.

ANDREW WALSH | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Though she is leaving her position as head coach of Virginia women’s basketball, Joanne Boyle leaves the foundation of a winning culture for her successor to build on.

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SPORTS • www.cavalierdaily.com

THE CAVALIER DAILY

CONTEXTUALIZING EARLY TOURNAMENT EXIT Disappointing loss shouldn’t take away from all the success of Virginia basketball this season For most of the season, Virginia found itself on the good side of making history. However, in the NCAA Tournament, that wasn't the case, as the Cavaliers (31-3) became the first No. 1 seed in tournament history to lose in the Round of 64 when No. 16-seeded UMBC pulled off a stunning upset.

To say Virginia merely lost the game to UMBC (25-11) would be an understatement. The Retrievers absolutely dominated the Cavaliers, holding Virginia to 18.3 percent three-point shooting while they shot 50 percent from beyond the arc themselves. The shocking result left people questioning, how does a team predicted to have a 98.5 percent chance of winning, according to the ESPN BPI, end up losing by 20 points?

Simply put, it’s March Madness, and that kind of stuff happens.

Is it disappointing? Yes. Confusing?

Yes. Does it make Virginia's 2017-18 season a failure? Absolutely not.

If you need a reminder of what Virginia accomplished this season, the Cavaliers were the outright conference champions, dropping only one game in all of ACC play. They went 9-0 in ACC road games, which made for a new conference record. Also during the regular season, Virginia held Syracuse to the fewest points scored by a Syracuse team at the Carrier Dome,

and the Cavaliers beat Duke at Cameron Indoor for the first time in 23 years. When Virginia was named No. 1 in the AP poll on Feb. 12, it was the first time since 1982 that the Cavaliers had climbed that high in the national rankings.

After the regular season, Virginia went on to win the ACC Tournament, which was just the third time that the program had achieved that feat. They had five different players pick up AllACC honors, along with Coach Tony Bennett being named the ACC Coach of the Year. All of this made Virginia unanimously the the top-ranked team in the country heading into the NCAA Tournament.

But, of course, what’s on people’s minds is that Virginia just got humiliated by a team who was ranked the 111th-best team in the country going into the tournament. The loss will be in the record books, it’ll be the headline for a while and people will call it one of the biggest chokes in sports history.

However, it can’t be forgotten that this was one loss in a season in which Virginia won over 90 percent of their games. So let’s make it clear that it was terrible loss, but Virginia was by no means a terrible team this year.

Virginia overwhelmed their opponents with incredible defense this season, which certainly didn’t go

unnoticed. Opposing coaches were often quick to say that Virginia was one of the most difficult teams to play against. One of the teams that couldn’t contend with Virginia was North Carolina – who the Cavaliers convincingly beat twice this season. The first matchup was a 61-49 win at John Paul Jones Arena, and the other win was in the ACC Tournament final.

“It's a big ol' butt-kicking, is all it was,” North Carolina Coach Roy William said of the regular season game.

“Their defense was a million times stronger than our offense … Their defense was really good. I told Tony it's about as good of a defensive game as I've had anybody play against us, and maybe ever.”

Many other coaches expressed similar sentiments about the quality of Virginia this season.

“Tony is one of the best coaches in the game, probably in college and pro, and their program obviously speaks for itself,” Georgia Tech Coach Josh Pastner said after falling to Virginia for the second time in the season. “They continue to stay healthy, they will have a shot to go to the Final Four and win a National Championship."

Well, the Cavaliers didn’t end their season with the National Championship that many expected they would.

But the best teams frequently don’t.

Plenty of the greatest teams in college basketball history never won the NCAA Tournament. The 2014-15 Kentucky team, Houston during the 80’s, and Virginia with Ralph Sampson are just a few examples.

There have also have been topnotch programs, like Virginia, that have gone out in the first weekend.

Among those teams are Michigan State, Georgetown, Arizona, Syracuse and others.

Even Duke — one of the most decorated programs in college basketball history — has made early exits more than once. In 2012 the No. 2 seed Blue Devils lost in the first round, and just two years later, No.3 seed Duke lost to Mercer in their first contest of the tournament.

What did Duke do the year after that loss to Mercer? They won a national championship.

Could that be Virginia’s fate? It certainly might be.

The Cavaliers will lose two phenomenal captains and players in senior guard Devon Hall and senior forward Isaiah Wilkins, as well as lose graduate transfer Nigel Johnson. But they will have a great mix of talent and experience returning for next year, including sophomore guard Kyle Guy, an All-ACC First Team selection, and redshirt freshman guard De’Andre

Hunter, who was the ACC Sixth Man of the year.

Perhaps the best way to move on from this season is to think about what Bennett said after Virginia’s heartwbreaking loss to Syracuse in the final moments of the 2016 Elite Eight matchup.

“Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning,” Bennett said. “We will have some tough nights because you're so close you could taste it, but absolutely joy will come in the morning for what these guys have established for Virginia basketball.”

While the Cavaliers and their fans may currently be upset over this loss, when Virginia plays in John Paul Jones Arena next season, they’ll do so with banners recognizing the 2017-18 ACC regular season and tournament championships hanging above them — serving as a reminder of all the joy that this season brought.

EMMA D’ARPINO is a Sports senior associate editor for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at e.darpino@ cavalierdaily.com.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

www.cavalierdaily.com • PHOTO For the first time since 2016, the University cancelled classes Wednesday due to winter weather. Winter Storm Toby dropped about four inches of snow on Charlottesville beginning early Wednesday morning.

Students were notified that classes had been cancelled by email shortly after 5 a.m. Dining halls operated on a modified schedule while other University buildings, such as Alderman Library, Brown Library, Memorial Gym, Slaughter Recreation Center and Student Health, were closed.

Many students made the most of their snow day by taking pictures, building snowmen and having snowball fights on the Lawn.

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For the first time since 2016, the University cancelled classes Wednesday due to winter weather. Winter Storm Toby dropped about four inches of snow on Charlottesville beginning early Wednesday morning.

Students were notified that classes had been cancelled by email shortly after 5 a.m. Dining halls operated on a modified schedule while other University buildings, such as Alderman Library, Brown Library, Memorial Gym, Slaughter Recreation Center and Student Health, were closed.

Many students made the most of their snow day by taking pictures, building snowmen and having snowball fights on the Lawn.

By CD Photo Staff

THE CAVALIER DAILY

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LEAD EDITORIAL

Address Charlottesville’s wireless disconnection

OPINION

Bellamy’s proposed subsidies would help shrink the digital divide

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ity Councilor Wes Bellamy recently proposed during a City Council meeting to provide public housing residents of Charlottesville with high-speed fiber optic internet service at a significantly reduced cost. The plan calls for an allocation of $150,400 to subsidize installation and hardware costs, with public-housing residents paying only $10 a month for fast internet. The service would most likely be provided by Ting. The Council should take the steps needed to address the inequality crisis in Charlottesville and approve this subsidy.

In the digital age, internet access is no longer simply a luxury,

but a necessity for success, particularly in education and the workplace. Low-income families are at a formidable disadvantage when it comes to internet access.

A 2015 survey showed that over half of U.S. adults have searched for job information online, with 45 percent having applied for a job online. Almost 80 percent of Americans who searched for jobs in 2013-14 utilized online resources during their most recent job search. This evidence makes it clear that a lack of proper internet access limits job opportunities for low-income residents.

Students are another group negatively affected by low internet speeds. Because of this

reality, they often have difficulty completing assignments that require internet access — resulting in a so-called “homework gap.”

In one study, nearly 50 percent of students were unable to finish an assignment due to lack of Internet or computer access and 42 percent of students reported received a lower grade on an assignment from no Internet access. Internet access should be a right, not a privilege.

Albemarle County faces this divide as well, with about onethird of its residents, particularly those in rural areas, unable to access high-speed internet. There, citizens have already seen negative results stemming from slow

speeds, which is only exacerbated as more people try to connect their devices. As a result, many must go to other locations with more reliable connections, such as the library. During the same meeting, Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker brought up having a public internet service available to whole communities of public housing. Bellamy’s proposal differs in that it calls for service for individual housing units. Bellamy reported that previous efforts to provide a public internet service in public housing communities resulted in slow internet speeds from too many users.

Subsidizing high-speed in-

ternet for residents in public housing is a necessary step the Council must take in equalizing opportunity for City residents.

The rampant income inequality that persists in Charlottesville leaves low-income residents

creasingly

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

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

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

The Cavalier Daily is published Thursdays in print and daily online at cavalierdaily. com. It is printed on at least 40 percent recycled paper. 2016 The Cavalier Daily Inc.

HAVE AN OPINION? The Cavalier Daily welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns. Writers must provide full name, telephone number and University affiliation, if appropriate. Letters should not exceed 250 words in length and columns should not exceed 700. The Cavalier Daily does not guarantee publication of submissions and may edit all material for content and grammar. Submit to opinion@cavalierdaily.com or P.O. Box 400703, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4703

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS To better serve readers, The Cavalier Daily has a public editor to respond to questions and concerns regarding its practices. The public editor writes a column published every week on the opinion pages based on reader feedback and his independent observations. He also welcomes queries pertaining to journalism and the newspaper industry in general. The public editor is available at publiceditor@cavalierdaily.com.

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MANAGING BOARD Editor-in-Chief Tim Dodson Managing Editor Ben Tobin Executive Editor Jake Lichtenstein Operations Manager Avishek Pandey Chief Financial Officer Nate Bolon EDITORIAL BOARD Jake Lichtenstein Tim Dodson Jacob Asch Niki Hendi Katherine Smith JUNIOR BOARD Assistant Managing Editors Alexis Gravely Gracie Kreth (SA) Bridget Curley (SA) Alec Husted (SA) Alix Nguyen (SA) Aaron Rose (SA) Anne Whitney

News Editors Kate Bellows Maggie Servais (SA) Geremia Di Maro Sports Editors Alec Dougherty Jake Blank (SA) Emma D’arpino (SA) Zach Zamoff Life Editors Julie Bond Natalie Seo Arts & Entertainment Editors Dan Goff Thomas Roades (SA) Darby Delaney (SA) Ben Hitchcock Health & Science Editors Tina Chai Ruhee Shah Focus Editor Abby Clukey Opinion Editors Brendan Novak Jacob Asch (SA) Katherine Smith Humor Editor Veronica Sirotic (SA) Ben Miller Cartoon Editor Mira du Plessis (SA) Gabby Fuller

in-

further behind with regard to internet access. By appropriating funds towards creating an affordable option for high-speed internet access for public housing residents, the City can take an active measure towards bridging the digital divide in our community.

Production Editors Mark Felice Sonia Gupta Zach Beim (SA) Elizabeth Lee Print Graphics Editors Matt Gillam Aisha Singh Photography Editors Christina Anton Sarah Lindamood (SA) Chandler Collins Video Editors Aidan McWeeney (SA) Raymundo Mora Engineering Manager Katie Vinson Social Media Managers Ashley Botkin Libby Scully Translation Editors Burgard Lu Yuqi Cheng (SA) Felipe Buitrago (SA) Natalia Chavez Marketing & Advertising Managers Avantika Mehra Sales Representivies Lydia Kim Abhi Opesh Business Manager Kelly Mays

www.cavalierdaily.com • OPINION

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

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WALKING OUT CREATES AWARENESS, NOT CHANGE In order to realize the possibility of reform, it is important that students do not get complacent.

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undreds of students gathered on the Lawn on March 14, to urge lawmakers to make the current gun laws more restrictive. This walkout was part of a nationally coordinated campaign in response to the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. While these walkouts have driven the national conversation and demonstrated a level of solidarity unlike what our country has seen following previous shootings, especially among young people, they are not enough to enact the requested political changes of the protesters on their own.

Achieving success in political battles requires considerable amounts of unity, fortitude and determination. The current movement to strengthen gun control laws, spearheaded by the Stoneman Douglas students, has certainly shown the first two qualities. With tens of thousands of students from all over the country participating in the National School Walkout day, there is a clear sense of unity in its purpose. Furthermore, many stu-

dents walked out in spite of the punishments they would receive for doing so.

What is still an open question is whether or not the campaign will continue to have such a strong sense of purpose in the weeks and months to come. It is one thing to get a movement started, but it is an entirely different thing to continue it with the sustained intensity that is necessary in order to make a change. For example, Occupy Wall Street created a spirited movement against economic inequality, but ultimately sputtered out without accomplishing its initial goal. So, when the national focus shifts to another topic, as it inevitably will, will activists continue to forcefully press legislators to pass laws or will they be content with what they have done and move on? If it is the latter, there will almost certainly be no more gun control measures implemented in the near future.

However, if the former occurs, I believe that a great amount of reform can be accomplished.

While it seems unlikely that there will be any serious change

at the national level given that Republicans control all parts of the federal government and that national politics has been ineffective, especially on highly-par-

many new restrictions on guns including raising the legal age to buy a firearm to 21, limiting the purchases and possession of bump stocks and lengthen-

Achieving success in political battles requires considerable amounts of unity, fortitude and determination.

tisan issues, there is a significantly higher chance of shaping the gun control laws at a state or local level, due to the difference in responsiveness. Politicians at lower jurisdictions have smaller voting constituencies. As such, a smaller number of voters decide future election results, making each voter more valuable. Local politicians will be more responsive to a group of 20 constituents compared to a federal politician.

Already since the Stoneman Douglas shooting, Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature passed a law that will enact

ing the waiting period to buy a gun to three days. Furthermore, Gov. Scott, prior to approving this law, had an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association.

This may not be an aberration either, as many other governors, including Republicans, have said that they are willing to consider new gun safety measures following the shooting. Thus, there is an opening at the state level for gun control advocates to make a meaningful push for new laws that is wider than perhaps it has ever been.

The biggest adversary to the implementation of these poten-

tial gun reforms is not the Republican Party or even the NRA. While both of these will be challenging institutional obstacles for the movement to overcome, they can be surmounted given enough pressure from those who seek change. Because of this, I believe the biggest enemy to reform is complacency. Students must continue to stand up and take action on this issue, even as other matters garner more attention. They must write letters to their representatives, call their governors and, most importantly, vote. They must support candidates that will vote for stronger gun measures and send a message to their politicians that if they do not advocate for stronger gun safety measures, they will be voted out of office. For if these actions are not taken, the current call for action will fall largely unanswered.

GAVIN SCOTT is a Viewpoint writer for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.

WHY U.VA. STUDENTS SHOULD CAUCUS Students have a unique opportunity to make their voice heard in the Democratic nomination process this April

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our qualified candidates, Leslie Cockburn, Ben Cullop, R.D. Huffstetler and Andrew Sneathern, are currently vying for the Democratic nomination for the 5th Congressional District election, each with a unique platform, personality and career path. That each of these individuals pose a potential challenge to Rep. Tom Garrett (RVa.) in November speaks to their strengths and the fortitude of the Democratic Party here in the 5th District. But a choice must be made, and University students must seize the opportunity to determine the eventual candidate.

By participating in the Charlottesville City and Albemarle County caucuses en masse, we young voters can send a signal to the 5th District that our perspectives must be taken into account.

We are a significant portion of the constituency of the 5th District, and participation in the caucus process is an important way to make sure students’ priorities are reflected by the Democratic candidate.

Individual votes matter, particularly in a caucus setting.

While everyone’s vote certainly carries influence in any election — see Virginia’s own experience

with that last November — this is even truer in a caucus in which delegate allocation depends on a handful of votes. Due to the voting rules and intimate nature of local caucuses, it is likely that individual votes could be a

influence can extend beyond their individual votes.

Additionally, caucuses always promise to be exciting political experiences. The event will entail speeches and intense debate about the individual candidates

Individual votes matter, particularly in a caucus setting.

deciding factor in increasing a particular candidate’s delegate count as they head to the May 5 district-wide convention.

In the Charlottesville City Caucus, for instance, 19 delegates will be elected proportionally and then go on to represent one of the four individual candidates at the convention. Regarding turnout, several hundred caucus-goers are expected to attend.

With so few people electing 19 delegates, each participant clearly wields a significant amount of voting power. In addition, since there is the opportunity to persuade others to support a particular candidate, participants’

and their platforms, which makes the caucus a great opportunity for students to actively articulate their own ideas, speak on behalf of the University community and groups they identify with and learn new perspectives. Participants are bound to meet fellow engaged citizens in the Charlottesville community and experience an atmosphere of enthusiasm. Much like the Iowa caucuses that catalyze excitement in every presidential cycle — the Charlottesville and Albemarle caucuses have the potential to shape the contours of the race and hint toward the final results.

Some believe the 5th District

is unwinnable, arguing that the district is so rural, white and historically Republican that Democrats should not focus our energy on the race. The results of a special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional district that took place this March, however, cast doubt on that reasoning.

In that race, Democrats won a district that President Donald Trump won by nearly 20 points, indicating a very strong national environment for Democratic candidates. Given that President Trump won the 5th District by a comparatively small 11 points, there is no reason Democrats could not be victorious this year. This potential makes it that much more important to get involved in the election process early by showing up to caucus. Greater participation means Democrats can elect a candidate that better reflects the political preferences of the district — setting the party up for success this November.

Students can learn how to get involved in the caucus process in several ways. Firstly, we encourage everyone to check out this caucus-explainer, which provides a good summary of the process.

Secondly, we highly recommend

the University Democrats’ “Caucus & Convention Crash Course,” in early April. At this event, UDems and two members of the Albemarle Democratic Party will explain the ins-and-outs of the caucus proceedings and answer any questions students may have about the process. As for transportation to the caucus, UDems is working on providing rides to students on the day of the caucuses, with more details being released about this soon. All in all, taking advantage of these resources will help prepare students to participate in the caucuses and help them feel ready to make their voices heard. If students want to see our priorities recognized and have a more progressive and responsive representative, caucusing is absolutely imperative.

THE UNIVERSITY DEMOCRATS are a Contracted Independent Organization at the University of Virginia. They can be reached at democrats@virginia.edu.

THE CAVALIER DAILY

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HUMOR After the historic 20 point loss by the No. 1 overall seed Virginia to the No. 16 seed satellite campus of the University of Maryland, most U.Va. fans are scrambling for answers. Some have argued that De’Andre Hunter was the team’s playmaker, that the team should never have flown Southwest or that the starting five tried shrooms in the locker room. However, these claims are baseless and should be disregarded by any rational basketball enthusiast. No, the truth is simple: a genie purposefully misinterpreted a wish by Tony Bennett to make basketball history.

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BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR Purchased for $35 at local Charlottesville antique shop Circa, the lamp seemed a traditional Arabian oil lamp with an original body and a restored handle — the kind of lamp that would be a proud centerpiece to any NCAA Division I basketball coach’s coffee table. When Tony Bennett first acquired the lamp, it was as a gift for his wife on their 10th wedding anniversary. However, once he accidentally rubbed it three times while wrapping it in Aladdin themed paper, a cloud of smoke began to trail out of the nozzle, and he heard music filled with the sounds of the Far East. After a thunderclap rang out and the room shook, a blue man with angel’s wings and the chiseled jawline of a young Bill de Blasio stood before Tony.

His voice had a timeless quality

to it. “Behold, I am known as Anqui the Cranky. I am spawn of Kaasin the Silent, the feared demon of ancient Babylon. Who dares awaken me from my slumber?” Not to be outdone, Tony replied, “I am Tony Bennett the Not the Famous Singer. I am spawn of Dick Bennett the Mighty, the feared coach of the Badgers.” After introductions were made, Anqui explained the terms of his bondage. Any three wishes Tony might have he would have granted. No do overs. No substitutions. Basically, late night drive thru rules.

Tony knew his first wish immediately, “I wish to have hair that would make even Brad Pitt froth with envy.”

Any casual observer can see that his first wish went off without a hitch.

Spurred on by the success of his first, Tony placed his second request, “I

wish for everyone’s Facebook feeds to be filled with U.Va. sorority girls sharing articles about my no-nonsense coaching style.” Mission accomplished. Finally, after much thought, Tony placed his final wish. The genie clapped three times. Then, just as quickly as he arrived, he vanished, leaving only a small comment card for Tony to fill out at his earliest convenience.

As his Hoos played throughout the season, Tony knew the genie had done just as he promised. His Cavaliers played with a fervor unparalleled.

Their footwork divine. Their reflexes inhuman. Their hairstyles impeccable. Enemies fell before them as if they were nothing. The championship game seemed almost as good as theirs.

Their fall was as great as their rise.

They were defeated by a team whose

mascot is basically a low-rent Air Bud. The night of the loss, Tony returned home broken and defeated. He found the lamp, still resting on his coffee table. Angrily, he rubbed it three times, and same as before, Anqui appeared.

Tony was furious; his wish had not been granted. “How could this have happened? I asked you to let UVA basketball make history in the tournament.” Anqui smirked and replied, “This is the first time a No. 16 seed has ever defeated a No. 1 seed. Now that’s what I call making history.”

WILLIAM TONKS is a Humor columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at humor@cavalierdaily.com.

HUMAN LIVER FOUND IN O’HILL VEGAN BEEF STROGANOFF You know what they say: “You are what you eat!” Unfortunately, this does not bode well for the vegan students who swiped into U.Va.’s Observatory Hill dining hall last Thursday.

At 7:06 pm on Thursday, March 15, an entire human liver was found at the bottom of a student’s ~vegan~ beef stroganoff.

The unlucky first-year, who refused to give their name for fear of being ostracized by their suitemates for cannibalism, told investigators that they were at first puzzled, then completely horrified at the discovery: “I was wondering why the person gave me such a huge portion because my bowl felt weirdly heavy. It was only until after the fifth or sixth bite that I was convinced that the taste was not just the usual O’Hill funk,

and that in fact something was seriously f*cked up with my noods.”

While some may question why it took so long for the student to comprehend O’Hill’s egregious error, the facts make sense when one considers the average portion size and median yuck factor of the typical O’Hill meal.

A survey of students during the Thanksgiving dinner rush, or roughly 80,000,000 students, found that the majority of students, including those whose body metrics fell close to the national averages of their gender — 5’4’’ and 140 lb for women, 5’9’’, 5’’, and 195 lb for men — felt that they struggled to get enough daily sustenance through dining hall cuisine alone.

One does not even have to delve into the stats to register that this sentiment is not uncommon. “I’m sorry,

but who in their right mind considers two ravioli as a legit meal?” said everyone ever when they made that butternut squash ravioli that one time.

Not only does the meager portion size poses a serious annoyance, it also creates a significant potential health concern. Students, driven by hanger and stress, frequently compensate for the Buzzfeed Tiny Kitchen-sized portions by devouring multiple “meals” simultaneously. The amount of calories consumed in one sitting can therefore become exponentially more ambiguous. Furthermore, all those seemingly unthreatening small-a** plates legitimately pose a serious tripping hazard. Students can often be observed on their way to the dish drop-off area teetering around whilst

balancing more than three dishes at a time. Every one of O’Hill’s regular patrons knows too well the sound of metallic tines clattering to the floor and the exorbitant amount of embarrassment that accompanies it.

As for the yuck factor, there is an established scale that every U.Va. student subconsciously utilizes. Following the standard 1 to 10 point set-up, the yuck factor scale measures the amount of disgust experienced during a dining hall meal, with 1 being, “these previously frozen Mrs. T’s pierogies are pleasant and mildly satisfying,” and 10 being, “this is 100 percent going to give me the s**ts in about 20 minutes, and oh, wait, this might be human.” On a fantastic day, an O’Hill regular will typically encounter a 2 or a 3 with some minor

indigestion. Cannibal Carl, as the pledge brothers of the anonymous plaintiff will now call him even after his daughters are all married, just happened to nab the only perfect 10 of his life. Poor Carl.

A few last biting questions remain. To whom did the liver belong and how did it pass the test for vegan beef stroganoff? Are any O’Hill employees known to be especially partial to some fava beans and a nice Chianti? Finally, how will the University respond to these food safety allegations? An investigation is currently underway.

OLIVIA BUCKLE is a Humor columnist for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at humor@cavalierdaily.com.

WHO NEEDS A BOYFRIEND WHEN YOU HAVE A JUUL?

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There I was, sitting around the dining room table at family dinner. My relatives had already bombarded me with the usual questions about my major and distasteful comments about my ripped jeans. There was only one topic left, and I could almost smell their curiosity wafting around the room.

“So Katie, are there any special guys in your life?” My whole family leans inward, breathes held in anticipation.

“No, Mom. Still no.” Then, I pause.

“Actually, now that you mention it, there is this guy Juulian.”

Juulian, sweet Juulian. I met him at Sheetz one day after a long, fruitless night at Trin. When I woke up

with him the next morning, I thought it was a drunken mistake. Little did I know that he would be the most right thing that’s ever happened to me.

Of course, I was hesitant at first.

Juulian has a bad reputation with some people, and I was worried about what they would think. In fact, some of my friends even called our relationship unhealthy! But, in the words of Selena Gomez, “the heart wants what it wants.” So, I jumped head first off the metaphorical bridge my mother had always warned me about and never looked back.

I don’t mean to brag, but our sex life is great. He’s always turned on when we’re together (well, as long as I remember to charge his battery). Most

guys only last about five minutes, but he can go for upwards of ten hours! I know I should be upset that he doesn’t reciprocate, but I always feel fantastic after.

Don’t even get me started on his emotional capacity. Most guys refuse to talk about their feelings, but Juulian wears his heart on his sleeve. He can be a little moody at times, but before shutting down completely, he always warns me by turning yellow first, then red. Plus, when he’s having a lot of fun, he goes into party mode! It’s so nice to finally be with a man who can express his emotions!

My friends are always complaining about how their boyfriends don’t want to go out with them or hang out with

their friends, but Juulian is always down for whatever. I just stick him in my pocket and go! Plus, he loves my friends. They’re always asking to see him. If I had a real boyfriend, I might be worried about how my friends are always all over him. But with Juulian, the more the merrier! Well, as long as they don’t drain his pod.

I get so sad when I hear girls complain about their boyfriends ignoring them to play Fortnite. Juulian doesn’t know what Fortnite is. Or even have thumbs. I’m his whole world. How did I get so lucky?

Honestly, none of the other guys I’ve met here even compare to Juulian.

There are so many Juul flavors: mango, mint, cool cucumber! All of the boys

I’ve met here have come in one flavor: jerk. I don’t want to say I’m in love with him but … I’m definitely falling, and fast. It’s been two weeks and now I can’t bear to be apart from him. It’s like I’m addicted to his love.

Honestly, my life has been changed for the better since he’s come into my life. I just hope my mom doesn’t freak out when she meets him for the first time.

KATIE MCCRACKEN is a Humor Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at humor@cavalierdaily.com.

www.cavalierdaily.com • HUMOR/CARTOON

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

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HOPKINS: MY OPINION ISN’T GROUNDED IN FACT On Tuesday, March 13, The Cavalier Daily printed an opinion column claiming that there is not a problem with guns in our country. The Cavalier Daily once published an article written by the same writer which stated that President Donald Trump’s frequent trips are good for the health of the country. The Cavalier Daily also published another article by the very same writer which suggested that the way to save endangered species is to domesticate them. Now, I believe in freedom of speech. I understand the importance of freedom of speech. I am currently taking advantage of my freedom of speech!

But freedom of speech has seemingly given way to freedom of lunacy. Maybe we should slap this baby up in the News Section instead of the Humor Section, because I feel like the notion that people should not say whatever

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CARTOON

they want to just because they can might be a novel concept.

Allow me to elaborate. I have a lot of hot takes. One such hot take is that Phineas and Ferb is the greatest piece of television to grace our screens since the turn of the century, challenged only

by Planet Earth and The Great British Baking Show. This opinion, though valid in that it is my true belief, is simply not worth publishing. I have done absolutely no research. I legitimately only watch three TV shows, and those are all of them. Honestly, the last time I chose to watch a program other than Phineas and Ferb was at least a year ago. But it’s 2018, baby, and dearth of experience and perspective mean nothing in the realm of journalism! I can see that piece now: “HOPKINS: Phineas And Ferb is the only television show we need and everyone who thinks differently will be

the ruination of this country and also it’s wild that one of the central characters was a mute, highly skilled platypus-combatant-family pet.” People could read that article. In fact, with such a spicily worded headline, many people would probably read that article.

But those 600 words would constitute a cursorily researched and copy-edited piece of flaming hot trash, carelessly tossed into the hands of a readership who relies on this paper to be a worthwhile source of news for them.

Now, I know what you’re thinking — Lucy! You can’t just go around calling people out like this! It’s not right of you to say inflammatory things without carefully researching all sides of the situation, and building a clear, thoughtful argument! And you know what? I used to agree.

But, here’s the thing: if history is any indicator, I can. Yeah, after

about a year and a half of careful research at Mr. Jefferson’s University, I’ve realized I can actually say pretty much whatever I want — creditable or not — and, if it’s wild enough, it will be printed.

I don’t think it’s fair to fault a newspaper for trying to expand their readership. So I won’t. I also don’t think it’s fair to fault newspaper for publishing opinions of a wide variety. So I won’t. I don’t think it’s fair to fault someone for holding an opinion. So I won’t. But I do think it’s completely fair to fault someone for not thinking before they speak, for being careless with their research and for willfully ignoring the messages they send in publishing such nonsensical pieces. I just want people to think for like, two seconds before they open their mouths or pick up their pens. That’s all.

I am certain that this article will incense some people if it’s printed. They might ask how The Cavalier Daily could publish something as reactionary and off-the-wall as this. They might think that this piece is a prime example of exactly what I’m decrying. To them, I say you might very well be right, but that my article was published is proof of the phenomenon itself. You go have fun with your domesticated Galápagos tortoise and handgun, I’ll just be balling out on someone’s couch watching a children’s TV show.

LUCY HOPKINS is a Humor columnist for The Cavalier Daily.

She can be reached at humor@cavalierdaily.com.

SUVIVOR: WHITE HOUSE EDITION

By Walter Sharon

THE CAVALIER DAILY

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WEEKLY CROSSWORD PUZZLE Dan Goff | Arts and Entertainment Editor

PUZZLES

EVENTS

Thursday 3/22 Hope & Sacrifice: A Conversation with Khizr Khan, 8 pm, Martin Luther King Performing Arts Center Friday 3/23 Women’s Tennis vs. Miami, 3 pm, Snyder Tennis Courts UPC Presents: The Shape of Water, 7 pm, Newcomb Theater 2nd Annual Elliewood Farmer’s Market, 10 am - 2 pm, HackCville Saturday 3/24 Men’s Lacrosse vs. Johns Hopkins, 11:30 am, Klockner Stadium UPC Presents: The Shape of Water, 9 pm, Newcomb Theater ISA at UVA Presents: India Day 2018, 3 pm, Martin Luther King Performing Arts Center Sunday 3/25 Women’s Tennis vs. Pittsburgh, 12 pm, Snyder Tennis Courts Tuesday 3/27 Baseball vs. Longwood, 4 pm, Davenport Field Angela Davis - Excellence Through Diversity Series, 6 pm, The Paramount Theater Wednesday 3/28 Women’s Lacrosse vs. Canisius, 5 pm, Klockner Stadium Softball vs. George Mason, 6 pm, The Park

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

Across 1. Mother-of-pearl 10 6. Festival of the Book special 13 guest Khizr ___ 10. Kanye track dissing Taylor 15 Swift 19 11. Conversation between two or more people — alternate spelling 23 13. Greek island, or New York college 14. Irritated skin condition 15. Score or earn — two words 17. Suddenly changing direction 40 19. CW series “___ of Dixie” starring Rachel Bilson 45 20. What Kendrick Lamar does 48 22. Dave Matthews lyric “Crash ___ me” 53 23. Type of Eastern Eurpoean 55 Christianity 25. Column in a paper recording a death 26. Type of gambling card game that focuses on the order of cards 27. Rubber shoe brand with holes 29. Dignified, majestic 31. The alphabet has 26 of these 33. Type of “lake” that has shrunk over time, but seems to be reappearing — two words 36. Paralysis-causing weapon which fires barbs 40. Horizontal passage leading into a mine 41. Small action with scissors 43. Produce, make a sound 45. Native Egyptian in Roman periods 46. Sheet of glass, as a window 47. Spanish word meaning “I lived” — with accent on last letter 48. Tested out shirts at a store, maybe — two words 50. One who smirks, in a contemptuous way 53. Lyric from Eminem track “Lose Yourself” — “You only get ___” (two words) 54. Eastern Indonesian island 55. Types of properties which are only let for certain periods of time 56. You could be dim-___ or quick-___ 57. One more than “uno” 58. Watched closely with interest Down 1. Festival of the Book featured author ___ Englander — he wrote “What We Talk About

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Frank” 32. Residents 2. Official language of Ethiopia 33. Made more beautiful, deco3. Thick liquid produced by the rated (with) distillation of coal — two words, 34. Body of instruments in bathe first of which is “coal” roque concerto 4. Tightly packed crowd of people — when “-us” is added, it 35. Provides as evidence of something means disturbance / emotion 37. 20 years older than 50 5. Twin brothers of Genesis Jacob and ___ 38. Rank, lands, reign of emir 6. Start a motorcycle’s engine — 39. Completed engrossed two words 40. One who performs in a play, 7. Jimi Hendrix track “Purple movie, etc. — male ___” 42. A gnat or another annoyance 8. Type of herring 44. Beatles track “I’m So ___” — 9. Existing in name only relatable to college students 10. Small triangular shawl 49. Omega-3 fatty acid that is primary component of brain and 11. In spite of skin 12. Sinclair Lewis novel “Elmer 51. Not old ___” 52. New York canal 16. Someone with a career, especially in terms of sports *THIS IS THE SOLUTION TO 18. ___-Gone — LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE cleaning product N U D E S B I B L E to remove sticky stuff D O N A T O R U N R E S T I D E A T E I N T R U D E 21. Refrain, as from alcohol or L O A F E D M A W K I S H sex A B E D T I E E M I R 24. You might R E N E W B A L I H E M have to give up E D I T R A N T E R S your spare change C O P I N G S at one of these, found on the T A K E R S A R M highway A M O S N O T E R E A P S 28. Disgusting A W A Y D R A M S O L I place, literally E R O T I C A C O U N C I L sewage containD E B A T E R O N E I L L ment P O P A R T T E N N I S 30. Homeland D E E P E E L S Security agency

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

A& E ARTS &

In conversation with Kim Schifino The drummer of the indie-pop duo talks recovery, returning to the road, upcoming album

ENTERTAINMENT For indie-wannabe kids who came of age during the late aughts and early 2010s, the name Matt and Kim might conjure up a sudden rush of nostalgia. The duo, vocalist and keyboardist Matt Johnson and drummer Kim Schifino, have been known for their intoxicatingly cheery, electronica-flavored pop tunes and equally energetic stage performances for almost a decade. Even when listening in 2018, the syncopated beats of their 2009 single “Daylight” still feel like the sonic equivalent of sunshine.

But if it feels like Matt and Kim have fallen off your musical radar lately, there’s good reason — after Schifino tore her ACL while performing in Mexico in 2017, the band took a year off from touring. They used her recovery time to create “Almost Everyday,” — an album due out in May that’s filled with their most intensely personal and vulnerable work yet — and will be stopping at Charlottesville’s Jefferson Theater March 24 for the second stop on their first tour since the hiatus.

The Cavalier Daily’s Arts and Entertainment section recently got the chance to chat via email with Schifino about the duo’s evolving artistry, the newfound vulnerability of their

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Aline Dolinh | Senior Associate upcoming album “Almost Everyday” and what it feels like to be back on tour.

Arts and Entertainment: Your songs are so notable for their energy and unforgettable exuberance — I remember hearing “Daylight” and “Lessons Learned” for the first time in high school, and I still associate them with that boundless, painfully earnest longing to take in the whole world that comes with being a teenager. So, listening to your newest work feels like growing up all over again. How would you say your work has evolved or matured in the nine years since releasing “Grand” to “Almost Everyday?”

Kim Schifino: I am stoked that you feel like it is growing … I think we would get pretty bored if we were writing the same songs over and over again. Our songs come out of what we have been doing and living.

AE: You wrote the songs for “Almost Everyday” in the wake of Kim’s ACL injury, and so far, this album seems a little more vulnerable and emotionally explicit than your previous work. Was that your intention going in when you first began crafting the album?

On that note, the chorus of your

single “Forever” features the lines “don’t want to live forever / in this world of s—t” — while the song is still unmistakably driven and upbeat in the way your work always is, it also seems to speak more urgently to the kind of anxiety and political uncertainty of American culture right now.

What’d you have in mind when you wrote those lyrics?

KS: This last year was an intense year for us personally and, well, just all the s—t that has been going on in the world seemed to be magnified in 2017. This definitely made its way into our music. The personal side was me getting injured on stage and having to put a halt to our life. We have been so lucky that for so many years we put out an album and then tour … We do that over and over again. So when I tore my ACL and meniscus, we weren’t expecting that change … I am a very active person and definitely do not like sitting still so this pause in our life affected me tremendously. I also got super depressed during the beginning of the recovery. This was also when we thought we would start writing the album because what else do you do when you are stuck in bed?

So I guess you can say that some

of the darker material in the album is based on that but also on the climate of the world right now. What we write is very honest to how we live and we couldn’t pretend that everything was okay. It actually became very therapeutic to get it out and into our music. In “Forever,” we do write about not living in the world of s—t in the chorus, but the verses are very optimistic and about coming together to overcome all that s—t! You know we are still Matt and Kim, and while it’s dark, we will figure out a way to get through all this s—t together.

AE: How does it feel performing on a national tour after a yearlong break? Did you feel like you found any new challenges or breakthroughs on returning to the road?

KS: I am so excited to get back on the road again. Because of this injury, it was the longest amount of time we’ve taken off from touring. I f—king love to tour and bang away at the drums. I think because we were touring so much that felt more like normal life than being at home. I told Matt that I just want to go back to waking up not in my own bed! Ha, that sounds kinda scandalous. Let’s say not waking up in my own bed

with Matt still right by my side!

AE: Lastly, what artists are you listening to right now? Are there any artists — musical or otherwise — that have influenced your writing and performing lately?

KS: As far as what we are listening to … I listen to a lot of hip hop or punk … anything that has energy. I don’t do slow … I always listen to Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares” right before I go on stage. This has been one of my superstitious things I do before hopping on stage.

And while I was in physical therapy, I had to get the bend back in my knee. So everyday my therapist would have me lay on my stomach and crank my ankle towards my butt. This was absolutely so painful. So after about a week of this I realized I just needed “Dreams and Nightmares” playing while she did it. It still hurt like crazy, but it got me in that head space and reminded me that I just needed to get through this and then I can get back on stage and do what I love!

Matt and Kim will play at The Jefferson Theater on March 24 alongside Cruisr and Twinkids.

‘There’s a Riot Goin’ On’ provides subtle sounds for escape Yo La Tengo delves deeply into the ambient Lou Malmgren | Staff Writer “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” is an album title as applicable today, as it was when it was first used

by Sly and the Family Stone in 1971. The modern world is a torn and divisive place — the Syrian Civil War continues to complicate foreign policy, ethnic cleansing marches on in Myanmar and international espionage wracks the governments of the world’s superpowers. There is a common sense of uncertainty and uneasiness across the world’s nations, as if the normal lives we live are teetering on the edge of an incredible fall. Every day a new tragedy arises. Every day a part of our lives we once thought concrete and understandable dissolves beneath our feet.

This is the climate that the latest album from Yo La Tengo finds itself within, playing to an audience of haggard and disillusioned protesters. Though for all the connotations of explosive aggression its name might invoke, “There’s a Riot Going On” is

more meditative reflection than it is protest music.

Sonically, the album heavily leans on the ambient genre as a source of inspiration. In songs like “Above the Sound,” soft drums pitter and patter as delicate chimes dance through the air, never staying in focus for longer than a short glimpse at a time. Pairing these arrangements with a steady, low-riding bass line, the track seems to pull the listener upward until its own low-key melody lies at their feet, insulating them from the world beneath. The mood is completed by bassist-vocalist James McNew’s soft-spoken yet firm vocals, appearing fleetingly yet with immediate presence among the subdued instrumentation.

Other songs like “Ashes” work with elements of meditative ambience but in a slightly more direct manner. Here, sliding guitar chords swing along the instrumental, streaking in across the listener’s face before panning

off into the distance once more.

Accompanying these strikes of sound is a plodding synth beat and delicate bass line — never venturing too far into the foreground, yet remaining omnipresent as it chugs along to the movement of the song. Guitarist-singer Ira Kaplan rounds out the track with crooning vocals delivered in soft balance, remarking that “ashes blow away,” as the instrumentation continues to drift along. The song gives the listener an immediate feeling of calm, matching the push and pull of their own breaths to the streaking motion of its guitar chords.

Meditation music is truly the best way to describe the feelings evoked from “There’s a Riot Goin’ On.” Long, subtle drones and vast stretches of low key instrumentation allow the listener plenty of room to simply slip away from the world around them, as they float along in thought, subtly directed by the

speech of McNew and Kaplan.

“There’s a Riot Goin’ On” certainly doesn’t mirror the aggressive and vengeful approach that many of Yo La Tengo’s indie-rock

contemporaries have taken in response to the movements and tragedies of the world today. But it is certainly welcome, if only as a place for weary souls to rest.

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Yo La Tengo’s latest LP “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” addresses many political topics, but through the filter of the band’s classic subtlety.

F

FOCUS When composing syllabi for humanities courses, professors evaluate each text based on the potential to inform and challenge students and enrich their overall learning experience. However, when choosing texts, a professor is also choosing which historical, philosophical, and literary perspectives to share and which to exclude.

In the past, humanities syllabi have focused primarily on the works of white, male authors and historical figures, and consequently have disregarded contemporary voices from underrepresented groups. Now, University professors are attempting to amplify these previously neglected voices by incorporating works from a diverse assortment of authors into their classes. Though progress is being made, many professors in the humanities departments believe that there is more work to be done to integrate a more comprehensive and globalized perspective into each class, and to ensure that all students are represented in the texts they read.

Breaking the pattern Because the push for highlighting different perspectives within humanities classes is fairly recent, some professors completed their undergraduate studies without encountering many diverse voices. This lack of familiarity poses a challenge to focusing on globalized narratives, as the humanities have long been overwhelmingly Euro-Centric.

“Your first thoughts in any topic are the people that you know about,” said Ross Cameron, professor and Director of the Undergraduate Program in the Corcoran Department of Philosophy.

“So if I’m thinking I want to teach something about the history of philosophy, the first people that spring to my mind are the people that I learned about as an undergraduate. And why was I taught them? Because they’re the people that my teachers learned about, and going back. And those are all white men, so of course those are going to be the first people that come to your mind.”

Cameron says that breaking this pattern of teaching hegemonic narratives is the first step to creating a more representative course. However, once a professor decides to incorporate different voices, there remains the issue of how to do so effectively.

“Some of these voices are kind of forgotten, so you need to put in a lot more effort just to track them down,” Cameron said. “And

THE CAVALIER DAILY

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Broadening the canon How U.Va. professors make course syllabi more diverse and representative Abby Clukey | Focus Editor broadening the kind of issues you’re talking about, there it’s even harder still, because then you’re really talking about, to some extent, retraining — learning about a whole different set of issues. The good thing about that is that it’s really interesting to do, but it’s hard and it’s time-consuming.”

One reason why diverse perspectives have been overlooked in the past is that people of nonelite status did not have either the freedom or means to publish their works. Their thoughts were not always in wide circulation and therefore have a tendency to fall through the cracks of history.

“The most important thing is to simply to be mindful of the fact at every turn that the works we have, particularly from the past, are by and large by elite writers who had access to tools that were denied many working people, most women and almost all people of color,” English professor John O’Brien said in an email.

When teaching eras with a lack of published works from women and minorities, professors can enhance their syllabi with more modern criticisms and interpretations to give these groups a voice in the classroom.

“It also means incorporating contemporary scholarship that’s written from broader perspectives than just the typical textbooks that tend to be written by white, male scholars, but also opening that up to more recent works written by women, written by people of color,” said Karl Shuve, associate professor and Director of Undergraduate Program in Religious Studies.

Diversifying the canon Though some core texts in literature, history, philosophy and religion have been highlighted for centuries, different writers are constantly being recovered and introduced to the academic canon. People become fascinated with different texts depending on how they relate to the current historical moment.

“There are a lot of authors who weren’t taught or put in the anthologies twenty years ago at all,” said associate English professor Elizabeth Fowler. “People hadn’t even heard of them, but we want to teach them now. It changes in history - at certain times, certain writers become much more important because they’re speaking to us, and we’re different.”

Some people believe that bringing different perspectives to the surface is an essential part of

teaching the humanities because failing to acknowledge these groups would cause students to miss out on crucial points.

“To some extent, ignoring other parts of the world is like saying that inquiry just started in the twentieth century right?”

Cameron said. “If we wouldn’t ignore a whole stretch of time, why would we ignore part of the world?”

Though many professors agree that a diverse syllabus is key, some say that it is important to continually weave the narratives of underrepresented groups into the overall narrative of the class, rather than singling out these issues and moving on from them.

“Still, often subjects like gender or sexuality are put into a box,” said Chris Gratien, assistant professor in the Corcoran Department of History. “And what I’ve been trying to do in my lectures is integrate all of these things together more, not make the non-elite perspectives seem exceptional or alternative to the dominant narrative. We don’t have a week in my class where we talk about women, it comes up all the time. We don’t have a week where we talk about ethnic minorities or race, it’s something that’s always in the back of our minds.”

Ultimately, the canons of literature, philosophy, history and religion are fluid. They shift and expand in relation to what intellectuals find compelling at the time, which is why professors believe diverse perspectives have a rightful place in University courses today.

“We need to give everybody a sense of what the canon is, even though it’s always changing and always evolving,” Fowler said. “So what the canon has been, I want you to see something of that, but I also want you to see what I think the canon should be, and where I think it’s going and what I think you guys will be most interested in.”

Effects of a globalized perspective “I think you definitely engage more students,” Cameron said. “I think definitely, to some extent, you’re reaching a group of students that you maybe wouldn’t have naturally reached. Just to pick an example, I’m just out of teaching Introduction to Philosophy and we’re doing the metaphysics of gender and race right now, and that’s a topic that I wouldn’t have thought about doing in Introduction to philosophy

ANDREW WALSH | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Many University professors are committed to diversifying their syllabi by including the works of previously underrepresented authors

ten years ago. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind. For women and minority students in that class, it gives them a way of seeing philosophy that’s directly relevant to their day-to-day life. There’s still plenty of traditional issues there right, it’s not like you’re ignoring that stuff. You’re supplementing it, and I do think that goes a long way to widening the kind of people that might be engaged in the class in the first place.”

“Coming at it from history, understanding that there are many narratives of the past, and these narratives often compete and contend and have different forms of legitimacy and different political implications but that when approaching the past, we need to be mindful of the fact that the same set of events and developments mean different things to different people,” Gratien said.

“In order to emphasize that, it’s really critical to be mindful of the diversity of voices that can speak to past experiences, in that regard.”

“I also think too that when you assign writings, scholarship, primary or secondary sources from people whose voices are not necessarily included, I think you do tend to get a broader buy-in from students, from students who might feel that this particular area is not necessarily for them,” Shuve said. “I think that helps connect with students are from a diverse range of backgrounds who might not have necessarily thought that this was material that they could connect with in some ways, that this does connect with my own experience.”

“In the humanities, what we’re seeking to do is understand people’s perspectives and their subjectivities,” Gratien said. “We’re not necessarily trying to achieve

an all encompassing or objective representation of the world or of the past, but rather understand the different ways in which people understand their past and present.”

A continual and conscious effort “I think that we want to have the full range of writing represented in some way in our histories of literature classes, and over the course of our whole curriculum too,” Fowler said. “And we’re always just showing tips of icebergs because there’s so much written and we can only get to some parts of it. But we want those tips of icebergs to really speak to people and to speak to what’s below the surface.”

“I think it’s just constantly being aware of who you’re putting on your syllabus, who you’re engaging with in class,” Shuve said.

“And that can mean looking for new perspectives every year, trying to find articles or books that are written from different perspectives. So, never just saying ‘Ok, I got my syllabus set up and I’m just gonna coast on this for ten years,’ but every year to be making those conscious decisions about what new scholarship is out there, what new voices might I be able to include.”

“I think there’s a lot of work to do. We’re becoming aware of it, but I think we’re still very far from where we need to be,” Cameron said. “It’s not enough for all of the faculty that there are to incorporate this stuff. That’s good and that’s essential, but we also need to be broadening the classes that are offered, and part of that is going to be broadening the faculty base as well, because we need people that are able to teach these classes. It still remains the case that there’s still work to be done.”

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018

H&S HEALTH & SCIENCE

An open data initiative is seeking to better understand how visitors to the Charlottesville Downtown Mall are using wireless internet.

The open data challenge, created by Daniel Bailey, co-founder and chief executive officer of Astraea — a local startup established in 2016 focused on machine learning and developing data science tools — is engaging the tech community in Charlottesville to collaborate and design predictive models that will analyze wifi usage on mall. Since March 12, the challenge allows registered teams of data scientists to create algorithms and statistically interpret pedestrian wifi use, ultimately with the goal of further developing the Downtown Mall’s infrastructure by understanding its flow of people.

With the presence of ubiquitous wifi, people constantly engage in the virtual world. This regular usage has created a plethora of easily accessible data stored in every economic sector known as “big data.” Due to the large storage size in terabytes or petabytes,

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Data scientists analyze Downtown Mall wifi Open Data Challenge encourages Charlottesville community to engage in data science Vyshnavi Pendala | Staff Writer variety in structures, complexity of format, as well as speed of creation and storage, this “big data” cannot be analyzed by the traditional data analysis methods, according to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Additionally, the rate at which this data is created and stored surpasses the rate at which this data is analyzed. The question remains, especially for many businesses, on how to analyze their data to “understand the market and customer behavior”, according to research conducted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

“I think as a business owner to understand how your customers are using [the wifi] but then also looking at … [the] weather and events [could] impact sales,” said Jason Ness, Business Development Manager for the City of Charlottesville.

Ness said analyzing the wifi usage helps public service industries to plan their maintenance and development of the mall during non-optimal business hours. Additionally, this

challenge will further help the city prioritize the developments of the mall based on pedestrian flow.

By partnering with the Open Data Challenge Advisory Group and artificial intelligence computing company NVIDIA, Astraea provided participants with a year’s worth of data from clients who connected to the Charlottesville Downtown Mall wifi. Ting, which provides internet service on the Downtown Mall, has anonymized and aggregated the data usage of pedestrians from nine access points throughout the mall.

According to Bailey, more than 40,000 customers connected to the wifi last year, accounting for a total of nearly 330,000 sessions.

In the Open Data Challenge, each team will design predictive models based on this data. So far, 20 teams have registered for the Open Data Challenge, totaling approximately 100 participants.

This challenge not only raises awareness of the open data initiative undertaken by the Charlottesville city, but also creates a pathway

through which the city and its various counties can engage with the growing tech community for the purpose of social good, Bailey said in an email statement.

Ness said that this challenge will leverage the private sectors in Charlottesville to engage in this contest.

He said he hopes the results from this contest will further develop the mall by “understanding what types of businesses go where and how that impacts the pedestrians and retail traffic.”

There are two categories of entry for this contest: best predictive model and best storytelling model.

The judging criteria for the best predictive models is based on how well these models generate a “one-week forecast for the following time series: clients per day, number of sessions over time, and usage over time,” according to Astraea.

On the other hand, the judging criteria for the best storytelling models is based on soundness, explainability, appeal, accessibility and engagement of the narrative and

visualization. According to Ness, the visualization aspect especially helps people without any data science background to understand these predictive models.

The winning team for each category will be awarded $500 and a Titan XP Graphics Processing Unit, which currently has a retail value of nearly $1,200. The winning teams will also present their models at the Tom Tom Founders Festival’s Applied Machine Learning Conference held at the Violet Crown Theater on April 12.

Ness said the results of this challenge will hopefully be implemented in future development of the Charlottesville Downtown Mall. He looks forward to seeing what teams come up with and how the algorithms and statistical analyses created will be implemented to improve the city’s services.

Engineering Link Lab explores cyber-physical systems U.Va. Engineering’s new Link Lab hopes to make the university a center for innovation in new smart technologies Nisha Dabhi and Rohni Awasthi | Staff Writers The School of Engineering and Applied Science opened its Link Lab Feb. 22 in hope of propelling the University to a premier position in the field of cyber-physical systems (CPS). Located on the top floor of Olsson Hall, the lab aims to research and develop systems that link the physical world with cyber components, in areas like autonomous cars and smart buildings.

The University took on this initiative in October 2015 with the total cost of renovation exceeding $4 million.

A type of engineering system, CPS integrates both physical and computational components. This system is usually designed as a network of interacting elements with physical input, such as detecting vehicles on a highway, and output, like preventing car crashes.

According to Craig Benson, Dean of the Engineering School, CPS will be an innovative part of the future.

“Just look around the world and around you,” Benson said. “The whole future — our economy and our lives — is cyber-physical systems, or the connection between the physical world and computing.”

Developing a smart home — a residence that uses internet-connected devices to enable the monitoring and management of appliances and systems — is one of the many technological innovations CPS attempts to tackle. For example, a sensor can detect the number of people in the home and change the system for comfort and energy conservation in ways such as adjusting the thermostat.

Another area that CPS is working on is in automated automobiles.

“The car propels itself down the road safely without you having to drive it, and it’s measuring everything about its surroundings,” Benson said. “[It’s] collecting data, processing that data through computing, and making decisions about trajectory and climate conditions all automatically.”

According to Benson, the advancements that CPS will bring about will also change the social and institutional components of society. For one, the demand for the workforce could change, in which a factory may now need highly skilled vocational people requiring more education and more responsibility than they do today.

In order to make the University a national leader in this innovative field, the Engineering School decided to construct the Link Lab. The lab has faculty from five different engineering departments along with their students. John Stankovic, director of Link Lab, hopes that the lab will inspire a new wave of Engineering students and serve as a center for CPS. “[The goal of the lab is to enable] state of the art research in the cyber-physical world with three new systems — autonomous, smart cities and intelligent health — while also retraining engineers to integrate the cyber and physical world with software,” Stankovic said.

The lab also was created to foster more collaboration among different disciplinaries working in similar areas, allowing the university to better evolve in the cyber-physical systems field.

“It was essential to create an ecosystem around this area of technology and education that is emerging so that we could integrate the diversity of the faculty and we could compete better,” Benson said.

The Link Lab is based on the idea that people in closer proximity

ANDREW WALSH | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Located on the top floor of Olsson Hall, the lab aims to develop systems that link the physical world with cyber compents.

are more likely to collaborate. The theory behind this is that it is easier to collaborate with others when they are physically near one another, as people can be brought together more quickly. The University is unique in this regard as most other universities are organized in a disciplinary system, where different labs of the same field work individually.

The Link Lab also hopes to educate students to become leaders in

the cyber physical world. Plans for developing a Master’s program in CPS is currently underway. Additionally, the lab offers courses in civil and environmental engineering, computer science and electrical and computer engineering.

“This is going to drive our future and hopefully serve as a model for the University about how to integrate collaboration in research,” Benson said.

THE CAVALIER DAILY

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JUNE 15TH

HIGH INTENSITY FOCUSED ULTRASOUND (HIFU)

MOVE INS AVAILABLE

CLINICAL TRIAL

The UVA Department of Surgery seeks women ages 18 or older with a breast lump that is a fibroadenoma for a research study involving an investigational nonsurgical treatment.

The purpose of the study is to test an investigational device to treat breast fibroadenomas in women. Fibroadenomas are benign (noncancerous) tumors of the breast.

The investigational device, using high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), aims to destroy tumor cells. The procedure is done on an outpatient basis and does not require general anesthesia. This study will require six study visits over 12 months. The HIFU study procedure will last four to six hours; each follow-up visit is expected to take about an hour.

Study related procedures will be provided at no cost: ●

●

Mammogram if you are 35 years old or older (if not done as a part of your routine care) Ultrasound (if not done as a part of your routine care)

●

Core needle tissue biopsy (if not done as a part of your routine care)

● ●

●

HIFU procedure Follow-up clinic visits at two or three days, one week, six months, and one year Follow-up ultrasounds at two or three days, one week, six months, and one year

SPOTS FILLING QUICKLY. CALL OR TOUR TODAY!

COMPENSATION: ●

You may be compensated up to $400 for finishing this study ($100 after each of the four required follow-up visits after your HIFU procedure).

For more information, call 434.243.0315 or email uvastac@virginia.edu.

IRB HSR #19437 Principal Investigator: David Brenin, MD

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