Thursday, April 3, 2014

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Vol. 124, Issue 52

Honor calls Congress

Students to join for group discussion about pressing issues facing Committee

Sodexo never submitted bid, Hogan says

Brendan Rogers Senior Writer

Kelsey Grant | The Cavalier Daily

University Chief Operating Officer said dining services provider protested by Living Wage Campaign is not one of two current bidders Senior Writer

Sodexo is not being considered as the University’s next dining services provider, Patrick Hogan, the University’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, announced last Friday to a small group of students and faculty members who are a part of the Living Wage campaign.

The University’s search for a new dining services provider garnered significant attention recently after the Living Wage campaign publicly objected to Sodexo, who they claimed was being considered for the contract. The multinational French food services corporation has come under scrutiny for reclassifying workers to avoid providing health insurance under guidelines established in the Affordable Care Act. Sodexo was never officially considered, Hogan said Friday, because the company never submitted a bid for the University contract. Hogan affirmed this earlier statement again on Wednesday.

“We put out a public request for

Hardy resigns from UJC PAGE 2

proposals, and Sodexo did not respond, so I presume they were not interested,” he said. “Sodexo is one of just a few companies that have the capability of providing service to a university the size of U.Va. It may well be that people just presumed Sodexo was in the bid process here.

That may have been what prompted all of this communication.”

The University is currently looking into two contractors, though the administration will not reveal the names of those corporations until a contract has been finalized. A committee comprised of members from the Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services Department will likely make its final recommendation to Hogan by the end of the month, he said.

The decision, Hogan added, will be based primarily upon the quality of dining and cost for University students, though additional concerns — variety of meals and facility conditions, for example — will factor into the deliberation process.

“We’re looking at things like that, first and foremost, with the students in mind,” Hogan said. “We don’t want to enter into a long-term con-

Bookstore to donate profits to AccessUVa PAGE 3

tract with a company who’s making promises that maybe only are good for a year or two. We are looking for long-term commitments around quality, around pricing, and around maintaining the quality of our facilities.”

The University is unable to strictly impose its own policies on dining

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Catherine Valentine

We are looking for long-term commitments around quality, around pricing, and around maintaining the quality of our facilities.

service corporations, Hogan said.

“These are national companies,” Hogan said. “We’ve had a ruling from the state attorney general on this — we cannot dictate our policies to contractors. We strive to provide, to our 15,000 employees, a really attractive benefits package, attractive

Meztinger: Looking forward on Va. basketball PAGE 6

wages, and so-forth, but we are not permitted to require contractors to adopt our policies.” Sodexo has been criticized in recent years for alleged poor treatment of workers. At least eight boycotts of the dining services corporation have occurred at colleges and universities across the United States.

“We received word from union organizers that Sodexo was a front runner, and that was what got us going,” said Living Wage spokesperson Caitlin Levine, a third-year College student, said.

Although Sodexo did not put forth a bid for the contract, leaders of the Living Wage Campaign hope their core message is relayed to the corporation which is selected.

“My hope is that the University takes some responsibility in terms of working conditions and worker treatment, and that they make that a priority when they’re choosing who to contract with and when they’re determining the language that goes into the contract,” Levine said. “Regardless of who it is, we’re just trying to urge the University to hold that contractor to high standards.”

Russo: Greek organizations and gender PAGE 10

The Honor Committee will host an open-forum for students and community members Thursday to address recent problems with the Committee identified both by committee members and fellow students.

The “Honor Congress” will be held at 5 p.m. in the University’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. The Congress will feature student small group discussions about various issues regarding the current state of honor at the University. Michelle Butler, outgoing vice chair for community relations, said she hopes this event will help guide the Honor Committee to improve the honor system going forward.

“We have had an idea to do an event like this for a while,” said Butler, a fourth-year College student. “We try and deal with [problems facing the honor system] the best we can, but at a certain point it’s not just up to the Honor Committee, it’s up to the students.”

Demographically-disproportionate report rates, inconsistent jury verdicts and faculty circumvention of the system by dealing with honor offenses internally raised major concern among Committee members, according to the Honor Congress’ Facebook event page.

“I see these as the high-level problems that lead to daily frustrations, such as the low reporting rate and inconsistent verdicts,” said incoming Honor Chair Nick

see HONOR, page 3 A-School students design Grundy teen center PAGE 13

news

Maddy Weingast Associate Editor

Employment of adjunct professors at universities is on the rise, sparking concern about the effect of this new hiring model on universities nationwide.

Bethany Nowviskie, director of digital research and scholarship and chair of the general faculty council, acknowledged the trend has had effects on the University.

“U.Va. and its peer institutions have not been immune to longstanding, global shifts in the academic workforce,” Nowviskie said in an email. “ The nationwide trend — at least since the 1970s — has been toward an increasing ‘contingency’ of academic labor — that is, a growth in reliance across all colleges and universities on part-time instructors, or on full-time faculty who work on fixed-term contracts rather than with tenure.”

In the strictest sense, the University has no faculty “known as adjuncts,” said Asst. Engineering Prof. Peter Norton, who was formerly an “adjunct” professor.

“Faculty at U.Va. who are not tenured or on the tenure track are called ‘non-tenure-track faculty,’” Norton said in an email. “The

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Tenure-track faculty on the decline National trends show increased reliance on adjunct professors, number of non-tenure track faculty at U.Va. rises by 40 since 2008

word ‘adjunct’ is not recognized in university policy. The distinction is important. An adjunct is a supplement, something not integral to the system it serves. Like its tenured and tenure-track colleagues, U.Va.’s NTTF are full faculty members, not adjuncts.”

Non-tenure track faculty can be both full-time and part-time workers. In 2013, nearly 300 faculty members at the University were classified as non-tenure-track instructors — 240 of whom work

University Professors, an organization that works to promote economic security for higher education employees. “And the drawbacks are you don’t want a school or university to be overly dependent on adjunct professors.”

Heinecke said non-tenured teaching and research faculty staff can create instability in the academic world. One potential solution to the problem is an “expectation of continued employment” contract, whereby in the sixth year of employment, following a major performance review and evaluations, non-tenure faculty can sign a contract offering increased job U.Va. and its peer institutions have not been security. But both immune to longstanding, global shifts in the Heinecke and Norton said the academic workforce ECE is not a perfect solution. full time. By comparison, in 2008, “There’s a strange misconcepthe University had 269 non-ten- tion that says that ECE can protect ure-track faculty, 201 working full underperforming faculty memtime. bers,” Norton said. “This is wrong.

“The benefits [of non-tenure- First, even with ECE, a faculty track faculty] are you get to draw member may be denied reappointon a really qualified pool of people ment on grounds of poor perforwho may not want to be full-time, mance. Second, to qualify for ECE, tenure-track faculty,” said Assoc. a faculty member must undergo Education Prof. Walt Heinecke, a major performance review. The who leads the University chapter review is just like a tenure review, of the American Association of except that the areas reviewed are

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adjusted to match the allocation of responsibilities of the particular faculty member.”

If professors are constantly worried about their contract being terminated — or if they don’t have an ECE at all — they may not have the ability to teach or research freely for fear of unpopular opinion, Norton said.

“Occasionally [there have] been cases in which a department refuses to reappoint [NTTF] so that [he or she] won’t qualify for ECE,” he added. “While this problem seems to have improved, the gains have been offset by the nowwidespread practice of compelling NTTF to sign waivers of eligibility for ECE as a condition of reappointment. This practice might possibly be justifiable in certain circumstances, but it has grown far too common.”

Norton said rapid faculty turnover, increasingly likely with the increase in non-tenure track faculty, may ultimately affect the quality of academic life at the University.

“By increasing turnover, it is a threat to the quality of U.Va. faculty,” Norton said. “It is also contrary to principles of academic freedom maintained by the American Association of University Professors.”

If two faculty members are essentially equal in rank, stature, teaching performance and other factors, but one is tenure eligible

and the other is not, one can assume with a high degree of confidence that the tenure eligible faculty member will be paid more, facilitating an arbitrary inequity, Norton said.

Efforts to respond to these concerns about non-tenure track faculty have been made mainly in coordination with the University Provost Office.

“Connections between the [General Faculty Council] and Faculty Senate are stronger and more productive than ever,” Nowviskie said, “and I anticipate many good developments emerging from the Provost’s Task Force on the Non-Tenure-Track Faculty.”

Heinecke said the AAUP sent a letter to the Provost Office asking for significant clarification regarding the roles of teaching and research faculty, professional research faculty and lecturers.

“What we’re looking for is … a task force to address problems with non-tenure track like hiring policy and to ensure that faculty who are essentially doing the same types of things as tenured professors have protections that come along with ECE,” Heinecke said.

As part of the University’s five-year strategic plan, about 400 professors new professors will be hired to replace a wave of retiring faculty as well as to anticipate enrollment growth.

Batten UJC rep. Hardy resigns vice chair for trials position Judiciary chair Timothy Kimble says election to be held to replace position, elect vice chair for first-years, Hardy declines to comment on decision Leopold Spohngellert Senior Associate Editor

Recently-elected University Judiciary Committee vice chair for trials Shanice Hardy resigned from the position Sunday. Hardy, a third-year, plans to stay on the committee as a Batten School representative.

Hardy declined to comment on her resignation.

“Shanice decided that it would be a better place in UJC for her to be a regular representative,” said UJC Chair Timothy Kimble, a third-year College student. “I seriously appreciate her critically thinking about her role in UJC and deciding that it was better for her to be a representative.”

UJC representatives suggested that after stepping into the role, Hardy may have realized she could not dedicate the required time to the

position.

UJC Batten School Representative Brendan Rijke, a third-year student, said in an email he did “not know the full explanation for why Shanice left her position. I look forward, however, to working with her as a fellow Batten School Representative.”

According to Kimble, UJC will follow bylaw guidelines to fill the vacant position and hold a new election among committee members.

He said he did not foresee filling the position being a problem.

“We had already arranged to have an election for [the Vice Chair for First Years vacancy],” he said.

“So now, we’re just going to elect the Vice Chair for Trials as well.”

Kimble emphasized that Hardy’s decision to step down is not related to the vacancies left by the recent UJC elections.

“What Shanice is doing and some of the [other] vacant spots are completely separate issues,” he said.

“I think Shanice’s decision was her own and that is completely divorced from the election issue.”

Kimble said the reason so many UJC positions are unfilled is because of a lack of effective communication and less interest in UJC than Honor.

“We’ve had some of these vacancies just because people didn’t know about [the elections], so it’s important that we advertise that these elections are coming up,” he said.

“Ask anybody — Honor is more recognized than UJC.” Hardy acted as a UJC support officer since her first year before being elected as Batten representative.

According to the Black Student Alliance website, she also serves as the publicity coordinator for the organization.

Marshall Bronfin | The Cavalier Daily

The University Judiciary Committee chair Tim Kimble (above, center) said he was not worried about filling the two empty vice chair positions.

NEWS

Thursday, April 3, 2014

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College Board revamps SAT, aims to increase accessibility Organization announces intention to offer fee waivers, changes test structure to better evaluate college coursework skills Maddy Weingast Associate Editor

Three weeks ago, the College Board announced plans to fundamentally restructure the SAT in tahe next two years. Though the changes are certain to affect how high school students study for the high stakes exam, admissions offices across the country have also been forced to weigh the potential impact.

“It is still too early to determine how the SAT changes will impact

our admission policies or the application review,” Dean of Admissions Greg Roberts said. “I am encouraged that they are focusing so heavily on college access and equity, and I like that they are partnering with Khan Academy to open up test prep to all students. We will be eagerly waiting to hear more details about the proposed changes to the test in the coming months.”

According to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions website, standardized testing is often viewed as a useful but imprecise instrument, and setting an absolute

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“obscure words, [forgotten] the minute they put their pencils down”

“relevant words, the meaning of which depend on how they’re used”

required essay

optional essay

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1,600

point scale

point scale

points deducted for wrong answers

guessing penalty eliminated Information courtesy collegeboard.org

minimum test score for admission would be asking these tests to do something they weren’t designed to do. Because of the highly-qualified applicant pool the University receives, however, most admitted students have scored well on the SAT. Key changes to the test will include replacing rare vocabulary words, such as “depreciatory,” with ones more pertinent to material covered in college courses, such as “synthesis” or “empirical,” according to a New York Times article.

Additionally, the essay portion of the exam — which has been required since 2005 — will become optional, and will now ask students to read and analyze a passage instead of posing an open-ended question.

Other changes include eliminating the guessing penalty and reverting to a 1600 point scale, which will be calculated by combining the verbal and math section scores, which each have an 800 point maximum.

The essay will have a separate score.

The math sections will now focus primarily on linear equations, complex equations or functions and ratios, percentages and proportional reasoning, with calculators being permitted only on designated sections.

The verbal section will consist of reading and writing portions, and will include source documents from a variety of fields, including science and social studies. Additionally, every exam will include a passages from the nation’s founding documents, like the Declaration of Independence, or an important text pertaining to one of these documents, like a speech from Martin Luther King, Jr. College Board President David Coleman also announced programs to help low-income students navigate the often-pricey college application system, including fee waivers, allowing students to apply to four colleges at no charge and providing free online practice problems and instructional videos through a partnership with the Khan Academy.

“They are also simplifying the SAT, and I believe will provide it at low or no cost to low-income students,” Education Prof. David Breneman said in an email. “These changes may make the test somewhat less of a barrier to low-income students. The changes may also undercut some of the test-prep companies, which mainly helped highincome students.”

Many of the proposed changes

will make the SAT more similar to the ACT, which for the last two years has outpaced the SAT in overall test-takers.

“My general sense is that SAT is responding in large part to increased competition from the ACT exam, which differs from the SAT in being more explicitly focused on testing educational achievement in high school courses than the SAT, which retains some of its earliest legacy as an aptitude test rather than an achievement test,” Breneman said.

Currently, the University accepts either SAT or ACT scores and strongly encourages first-year applicants to provide the results of two SAT subject tests. The Admissions Office also considers only the highest scores among those submitted by applicants, taking the best reading, math and writing scores in what is known as “super scoring.”

According to the “Notes from Peabody,” the admissions blog written by Jeannine Lalonde, senior assistant dean of admissions, unofficial statistics for 2013-14 admitted students show the middle 50 percent of SAT scores ranged from 1970 to 2240, while the middle 50 percent of ACT composite scores ranged from 30 to 34.

University Bookstore to donate all profits to AccessUVa Executive Director Jon Kates says store typically earns $250,000 per year, will no longer direct funds to general University projects

Virginia Clemo Senior Writer

The University Bookstore will donate all its profits directly to AccessUVa, the University’s flagship financial aid program, starting April 13.

“Because of our mission to support the students, as of Founder’s Day, all profits from the U.Va. Bookstore will be going directly to support AccessUVa and U.Va. students directly,” said Jeff Kennedy,

the bookstore’s marketing manager, in an email.

The launch — on Thomas Jefferson’s birthday, known locally as Founder’s Day — will coincide with an event to inform the University student body about the efforts being taken to support AccessUVa. Because the bookstore’s financial surplus is invested back into the University, it is technically a non-profit organization. For the past 20 years, the bookstore’s profits have been sent to an unrestricted endowment called the Endowment

for Excellence to be used at the University’s discretion, said University Bookstore Executive Director Jon Kates.

“I think some of [the bookstore’s] profits did go to AccessUVa,” he said. “It has been used for needbased scholarships, it’s been used for study abroad, it’s been used for enhancement of faculty salaries.”

Kates said after the large community backlash to the Board of Visitors’ decision to require all AccessUVa recipients to take out loans as part of their aid packages, he de-

cided to request permission to direct all of the bookstore’s profits toward the program.

“Based upon information that we all received about AccessUVa’s importance, I decided to request from the administration the ability to offer all of our economic surplus [profits] directly to AccessUVa because of the importance of the initiative,” he said.

Last summer, the Board introduced need-based loans to lowincome students for the first time, capped at $14,000 for in-state stu-

dents and $28,000 for out-of-state students.

The University Bookstore’s annual profit, according to Kates, has been roughly $250,000 per year.

“Rather than direct this into an endowment where there would be multiple uses, we really wanted to get behind AccessUVa, since it’s an initiative we so believe in,” Kates said.

Though permission for this project was granted more than a monthand-half ago, according to Kates, other details remain in flux.

HONOR Butler says Committee action will depend on student opinion Continued from page 1 Hine, a third-year College student, in an email.

Students can register to participate in the event online and indicate which issues regarding honor are most important to them, Butler said. Honor will compile the information to create small focus groups of students to discuss at the

Congress. An Honor Committee representative will sit in on each small group as an information resource during the discussion.

“The main part of the event [is] small, informal discussion groups,” Hine said. “I hope the discussions will produce ideas and solutions for some of these persistent problems.”

With the current Honor Committee less than a week away from

leaving office and transitioning to the next Committee, Butler says the Congress will offer an excellent opportunity for incoming officers to gain insight into what problems they will be facing in their upcoming term, as well as how they might address them.

“I think it actually comes at a really good time,” Butler said.

“This event will mark a really good transition point.”

Butler said the Committee will take action on any helpful suggestions made during the event. “[What we do] is really going to depend on what comes out of the Congress,” Butler said. “If it [requires] a constitutional change, for example, that would have to wait until the voting period next year.”

On the other hand, Butler said something such as a change in

the way the Committee educates students about the honor system could be implemented very soon.

The Committee anticipates 150 to 200 students will attend the Congress, Hine said, though the space can accommodate up to 500.

“I hope that we can work closely with students from the Congress when we implement any initiatives that come out of the Congress,” Hine said.

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Courtesy Mary Miller

5K fundraising season in full swing 5-kilometer races popular, successful fudraisers for charities, community scholarships

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Giving back

After overcoming the challenges involved in planning a 5K race, the University’s philanthropic events boast strong fundraising results.

In the past, the Zeta Run for Life 5K has had overwhelming success, raising more than $19,000 last year.

This year, the sorority expects to see donations surpass $25,000.

Despite the 5K being a new event, the Army ROTC hopes to have at least 300 participants in this year’s race. To date, they have raised almost $1,000 through registration and direct donations. Peck said he feels a realistic fundraising goal for this year is around $3,000, but is setting his personal hopes a little higher.

“My individual goal for the race

is $4,000 to $5,000, considering that in the early stages we made $1,000,” Peck said.

Students hosting 5K races at the University are rewarded with a strong sense of community, both with fellow students and citizens of Charlottesville.

“Our philanthropy is special, because we have student participants and participants from the community,” Walker said. “Seeing them all come out on race day and having the community participate in our philanthropy is awesome.”

University students are avid participants in 5K philanthropy events, both on Grounds and around Charlottesville. Students will often sign up as individuals or as a team with a CIO, sports team or Greek organization. The University’s club cross country team, for example, uses these 5Ks to stay philanthropically involved on Grounds and in the greater Charlottesville area.

“We’ll have at least a handful — usually more like 10 to 20 runners — involved in the races,” said third-year College student Erin Dougherty, the club cross country meet coordinator. “Any chance we get at competition, having that comradery and that chance to race, we take it.”

The runners use the events to train for their own meets while supporting other students and their communities. Callum Weinberg, second-year Engineering student and the men’s club cross country team’s workout coordinator, said the Zeta 5K is one of his favorite event.

“I’ve run it the past two years, and both years the club team had fun racing against the fraternity pledges,” Weinberg said. “By the end of the race, it was mostly just us, but we love it. It’s a race that’s competitive, fun. It’s a good course and it’s serious at the same time. I really enjoy doing it.” en

Planning the races

Planning and executing a 5K fundraiser is no small feat. After gaining approval from the University and Charlottesville police, those planning the fundraiser must book the location and route and then file the proper insurance forms. Route pro-

posals must be submitted in order to gain approval, and races held on Sunday are not supposed to follow a route that goes by churches.

Even before deciding on the route and location, choosing a date can be difficult. Because 5Ks are a popular form of fundraising in the Charlottesville area, races typically need to be planned months in advance to find an available date.

“Charlottesville is a community that is really passionate about running and fundraising, so pretty much every weekend there’s going to be a 5K that’s raising money for a different cause,” Palm said. “There are a lot of good causes out there, and there’s a lot of saturation in the market.”

With so many races, effectively advertising the event to potential participants can be a challenge as well.

Both student organizations and nonprofit organizations in Charlottesville utilize social media to keep avid runners and philanthropists aware of upcoming races.

“Trying to connect with the entire U.Va. community is probably our biggest challenge,” Maslink said.

“We’ve been trying to connect with all of the U.Va. organizations, and we’re really just trying to raise awareness about it to support this cause.”

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Proceeds from the run will support a scholarship fund set up by Hess’s family in his honor. Hess’s father plans to speak at the event, and his mother and sister will also be in attendance.

“We’re trying to help them out,” Peck said. “A lot of fourth-years this year knew RJ Hess, so it hits close to home.”

5Ks remain popular events beyond the University community as well — often on even larger scales.

Hospice of the Piedmont, a local non-profit organization, is hosting its 13th annual Run and Remember 5K May 10. The run was started by the Keswick Club and has been contributing proceeds to Hospice of the Piedmont for the past four years. The event raised approximately $34,000 last year, a 309 percent increase from the $11,000 raised in 2012.

“Every single year, we’ve grown in terms of the money that we’ve raised and the people who have participated,” Hospice spokesperson Rachael Palm said.

All proceeds from the event go toward caring for people in the community through Hospice of the Piedmont, which provides hospice care, community-based bereavement services and education about hospice principles.

“We provide all of our services regardless of an individual’s ability to pay,” Palm said. “For example, it would be just as likely that we would serve a homeless man dying of cancer as a state senator, and both of those patients and their families would receive the same level of care, regardless of their financial situation.”

This year, the organization has a fundraising goal of $50,000.

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Community fundraiser

In many ways, the Fourth Year 5K is typical of other road races on Grounds and in the University community, hosted by a diverse set of organizations.

A portion of the proceeds from the Fourth Year 5K, for example, go toward a larger charitable foundation — in this case, the Leslie Baltz Foundation. Baltz was a fourth-year student at the University who passed away in 1997 as a result of a high-risk drinking accident.

“The Foundation provides scholarships to students who wish to study art history abroad, as Leslie had done,” Barry said.

5K races prove a popular fundraiser among University student organizations and the greater Charlottesville area, with about 15 set to be hosted during this spring semester alone.

Zeta Tau Alpha’s 20th annual Run for Life, which took place March 22, is one of the largest 5Ks on Ground. This year, more than 1,000 people ran to support breast cancer awareness and education. The money raised by the 5K is given to the University’s Breast Cancer Center.

“Our money goes directly back into the community, and I think it really ties everything together,” said third-year College student Jan Walker, the sorority's director of philanthropy.

This year, the Army ROTC is joining the tradition by hosting their first annual RJ Hess Memorial 5K April 19. Hess, a member of the University’s Army ROTC program, passed away while on duty in Afghanistan April 23, 2013.

“We’re putting on this event to memorialize his passing and to continue the sense of honor and integrity that he inspired,” first-year College student Gene Maslink said.

Many upperclassmen still look fondly on their interactions with Hess during his time with the ROTC program.

“He was a leader in his class,” fourth-year Engineering student Kris Peck said. “He was a great guy.”

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This past fall, the Fourth Year 5K had more than 930 registrants, all able to enjoy the nice weather along with guests like Cav Man and Dean of Students Allen Groves. University President Teresa Sullivan recognized the fourth-year winners of the event at the home football game that night.

During the event, meanwhile, participants are provided with statistics and information about low-risk drinking through a combination of games and merchandise.

“Peer Health Educators wanted to offer a healthy alternative activity for students on the morning of the last home football game,” Peer Health Education Coordinator Hillary Barry said in an email.

Since its began 22 years ago, the Fourth Year 5K — hosted by the University’s Peer Health Educators — has gained recognition among students and the Charlottesville community alike. The event — whose name is a play on the “fourth-year fifth,” an informal University tradition wherein fourth years drink a fifth of hard liquor at the final home football game of the season — is used to promote alcohol awareness among University students and provide a safe alternative activity.

“Though the race has grown in size over the years, our mission remains the same: to provide a fun, healthy game-day activity for students and community members and spread information about low-risk drinking,” Barry said.

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Senior Writer

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Katherine Wilkin

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sports Matthew Morris Senior Associate Editor

Two years ago, Artie Lewicki was a fixture in the Virginia baseball team’s weekend rotation. The senior right-hander was the Cavaliers’ Sunday starter and pitched 77.2 innings on the year, the second-highest total on the Virginia staff.

That August, Lewicki had Tommy John surgery. While recovering from the elbow-reconstruction procedure, he barely played last season, pitching all of two innings for Virginia.

This year, Lewicki suffered an oblique strain while warming up for his start against Virginia Military Institute in the Cavaliers’ eighth game of the season. The injury dogged him in the days that followed.

“When I raised my glove to throw my last warm-up, I just felt a little bit of a pulling sensation, I guess, in my left side, and it turned into a sharp pain from there,” Lewicki said. “Just kind of debilitating, to be honest. I couldn’t really move that much.”

He made a cameo appearance against Princeton March 20, failing to record an out. Until Wednesday

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No. 1 Baseball blanks Colonials, 10-0 Senior Lewicki excels in return from injury, spurs Virginia to eighth consecutive win night, when No. 1 Virginia (25-4, 10-2 ACC) defeated George Washington (7-18, 1-5 A-10) 10-0 at Davenport Field for its eighth consecutive win, Lewicki’s talents had been veiled and restrained by injury.

Lewicki started for the Cavaliers Wednesday, and in his three scoreless innings of work, he reminded onlookers of the pitcher he once was and may be again. He retired Colonials freshman right fielder Andrew Selby on two fastballs — one zooming in at 90 miles per hour and the other at 91 — in the first at-bat of the game.

“It was definitely a big weight off my shoulders to go out there and get your feet wet a little bit — throw the first pitch, everything feels great,” Lewicki said. “I wasn’t favoring this side at all. I was just able to relax and go out there and pitch.”

Through two and one-third innings, George Washington had yet to reach base. Coach Brian O’Connor and pitching coach Karl Kuhn had set their starter’s maximum pitch count at 30 prior to the game, but Lewicki ducked under that figure with ease, throwing an efficient 25 in his stint on the mound. Only one ball left the infield against him as the Cavaliers improved to 18-1 at home.

“It looked like he was back to his old self with being able to torque his

n many ways, Virginia’s loss last done differently and willing to give week to Michigan State felt like anything to change it. a failure that wrought a premature Had Michigan State gone on to end to one of the best win the National Chamseasons in program hispionship, as predicted tory. On the national by many a pundit, perstage, Michigan State haps the game would suffocated the Cavaliers’ have been remembered offense and their Final as the unfortunate reFour dreams in the final sult of seeding error by two minutes at Madison the Committee. VirginSquare Garden. ia fans could take comThe final minute fort in having someone passed excruciatingly else to blame; first the ZACK BARTEE slowly, as Spartan after referees, for the no-call Sports Editor Spartan defended, rewhen Teven Jones endbounded and knocked ed up on the floor at the their free throws just end of the game, and well enough put the game out of now the Selection Committee. reach after giving Virginia fans the But the Spartans didn’t win it all. faintest, cruelest hope that a miracle They looked sluggish in the next might salvage their team’s tourna- round, hungover from the Virginia ment. win, and fell to the Shabazz Napier Tony Bennett implored his play- one-man show with a trip to the Fiers to remain focused all season, nal Four on the line. promising them that they could celThe Cavaliers didn’t lose to the ebrate their many successes after the grossly under-seeded, eventual NCAA Tournament was over.

National Champions — they just But when the final buzzer sound- happened to meet a good Michied in Midtown, I for one didn’t feel gan State team on a night where like celebrating. they couldn’t hit anything at times, A one-possession loss is the most while things just clicked for Branden painful of all. Undoubtedly every Dawson and the Spartans.

Virginia player replayed each posSo how do we remember this session in their heads over and over, season? dreaming of what they could have It won’t be recalled fondly by bas-

upper-body a little bit,” O’Connor said. “And so, I’m happy because, you know, that guy’s got a lot of experience under his belt and he can really make a difference for us here in the back half of the season.”

George Washington started sophomore right-hander Luke Olson, a six-foot-four Australian submariner.

Olson’s delivery did not bother the Cavaliers for long, as they jumped on him for four runs in the second inning.

Senior center fielder Brandon Downes led off the inning with a walk, and he came around to score on sophomore right fielder and reigning ACC Co-Player of the Week Joe McCarthy’s triple into the right-field corner.

Junior third baseman Kenny Towns doubled to left-center field three batters later, bringing home sophomore catcher Robbie Coman and freshman designated hitter Matt Thaiss, who reached base on a walk and a single through the right side of the infield, respectively.

Junior second baseman Branden Cogwsell made the second out of the frame on a fly ball to left field, but that was the only one he made all evening.

Cogswell finished 4-for-5 with two RBI and one run scored, one of his best offensive performances of the season.

Cogswell hit .346 for Virginia last year and earned second-team AllACC honors, but was slow out of the gate in 2014. The Cavaliers’ leadoff man did not allow his depressed batting average to lower his spirits.

“I was still hitting balls hard — just right at people,” Cogswell said.

“So, you get down on yourself, that’s just going to extend your slump. You know, you’ve got to take a positive thing out of every at-bat and keep a positive attitude toward everything because, eventually, in this game, things will come around and you’ll get rewarded for doing things right.”

Sophomore third baseman John La Prise and freshman shortstop Daniel Pinero showed off their glovework while Lewicki excelled on the mound.

La Prise hit the dirt to snag sophomore catcher Mattieu Robért’s hardhit groundball for the first out of the second inning, and Pinero barehanded freshman shortstop Kevin Mahala’s slow-bounding grounder before throwing to first on the move for the final out of the third. La Prise made another diving stop to keep senior first baseman Owen Beightol from scoring on freshman pinch hitter Joey Bartosic’s infield single.

Junior left fielder Mike Papi entered the game reaching base at a ridiculous .504 clip, and for the most

Kelsey Grant | The Cavalier Daily

Senior right-hander Artie Lewicki threw 25 pitches in three scoreless innings Wednesday.

part, George Washington elected to simply not pitch to him. Papi walked four times against the Colonials, and three of his free passes were intentional. The last of his base-onballs came in the Cavaliers’ four-run eighth inning, when La Prise doubled with one out and the next four Virginia batters reached base.

Sophomore left-hander David Rosenberger, senior right-hander Austin Young and sophomore righthander Cameron Tekker completed the shutout for Virginia. Tekker had his fastball humming between 92 and 94 miles per hour and also got swings and misses with his hard slider.

Virginia will travel to Pittsburgh for a three-game series this weekend at Chester L. Cost Field.

A lasting legacy ketball fans across America like the years of Ralph, where the team was consistently highly ranked and its star player was plastered on the covers of Sports Illustrated.

No, this Virginia team was our little secret — known by those in Charlottesville to be lethal to opponents, but dismissed nationally as an aberration that played an “unbalanced conference schedule” and lacked a true star player.

And it will remain that way. Ten years from now, few outside of those of us who were here will reflect on what dominant players Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell were.

“A simple look at the stats will tell you these guys weren’t any good,” they’ll say. “Harris averaged just 12 points per game his senior season — down more than four from the year before. There are guys who score twice that much!

“Mitchell, on the other hand, virtually forgot how to score after his junior season — his average down from 13 points per game to a paltry 6.8, while his rebounds per game also declined from nine to seven.”

Their numbers won’t tell the story, but those two should go down as two of the most important players in Virginia basketball history.

They were the two who stuck it out through thick and thin when

four others from their class decided they’d had enough of Bennett’s way.

They were the two who definitively showed that Bennett’s five pillars — humility, passion, unity, servanthood and thankfulness — could be successful in the era of astronomically hyped recruits and larger than life one-and-done players.

Harris, who Justin Anderson emphasized could easily lead the team in shots and scoring, sacrificed minutes and scoring to do whatever it took to win. Mitchell relinquished his almost equally sexy role as the team’s second-leading scorer to rebound, set screens and stick to opposing offensive players closer than a pack of first-year girls headed to Rugby Road.

But despite the sacrifices they made, the two never stopped being leaders. How many times did Harris step up to hit a timely 3-pointer, or Mitchell come up with a huge defensive stand or pump the team up in the huddle during the postseason run?

And arguably even more significant, they set the standard for the rest of the team. They gave the otherwise youthful roster a taste of success — a taste that will drive those who remain to work feverishly toward surpassing last year’s mark.

So we bid farewell to Harris and

Mitchell and recognize what the program is losing in terms of offensive and defensive production and leadership. But a thought that was likely not at the forefront of anyone’s mind while Harris and Mitchell discussed the end of their collegiate careers in the bowels of Madison Square Garden is how much those two will still be with us next season and beyond.

As I left a somber locker room that seemed dazed by defeat — who could blame them, they didn’t lose very often — that Saturday after midnight, I had to turn and thank Akil, sitting alone, for what he’d done for the program and the school — not just in his four years, but for the years to come as well.

No two players have been as vital in shaping Virginia basketball under Bennett — and maybe no other pair of players ever will be. And while Harris and Mitchell’s senior season may have been their last, it was just the beginning for the rebirth of the Virginia basketball program.

Armed with postseason experience, returning considerable depth and reloading with three talented recruits, the Cavaliers will again be a forced to be reckoned with in the next half-decade or more, I reckon.

Just don’t forget the guys who started it all.

6

SPORTS

The Cavalier Daily

Hoo knows?

I

t took 22 seconds in the second Whereas in previous second-half half for Virginia to win the game surges, sound offense had complelast Friday night. mented the suffocating defense — see As the tips of Joe Harthe 16-2 first-half run ris’ feet left the Madison against Memphis or the Square Garden floor just 19-9 and 33-14 gamebeyond the 3-point arc, ending flurries against his eyes fixed on the orDuke and Syracuse, reange iron and white nyspectively — the Cavalon contraption which liers missed the inside had welcomed more layups and open jumpthan 250 of his longers against the Spartans range attempts in four that helped them create college years, Michigan separation in previous State’s Branden Dawson games.

Fritz Metzinger drifted out toward the So when Michigan Sports Columnist Cavaliers’ ballyhooed State regained its bearsharpshooter. In an inings with around 10 stant, Harris’ eyes flickered away minutes to go, and the two-headed from the hoop toward a cutting, wide Hydra of Adreian Payne and Dawopen Akil Mitchell, who converted son began pillaging the Virginia front his fellow senior’s rifled jump pass line, the Spartans didn’t just claw into an emphatic two-hand slam. back into the game. They pummeled The Spartans mustered one point a Cavalier team that for the first time in the next 6:11 of game-time, miss- in months looked a few steps too slow ing their first seven field goals and and a few inches too short to get the committing four turnovers. The Cav- shots they needed and defend bigalier defense had by then engaged in ger, more athletic opponents. With full-on tyrannosaurus mode, trans- Virginia trailing 51-44 and less than forming once again into an insatiable five minutes remaining on the clock, beast, thrashing around its victims I could already hear Tony Bennett as if they were as much of a threat as and the players spouting off gracious Newman from Seinfeld’s character in quotes through damp eyes, fans starthe original “Jurassic Park.” ing in disbelief at ceilings and other And though we all knew plenty fans burning old furniture on local of game remained, and that anything avenues. Technically it wasn’t over — could technically happen, I couldn’t but then again, how could it not be? help but sense that Virginia had this.

I was wrong then, too.

I knew this team too well to suspect --otherwise.

To characterize last Friday’s I was wrong. crushing loss a microcosm of Virgin--ia’s season would neglect both nuance

and fact. Virginia shot 35.1 percent from the field, its most putrid offensive showing since Jan. 4, and faced a team with a blend of freakish talent and sound veteran leadership it had not yet encountered. They sputtered offensively at the worst possible time, an experience common to everyone from LeBron to the guy screwing up in “2048” in the few minutes before his class starts. Sometimes, no matter how hard and how long you’ve studied, the answers remain just beyond your grasp.

In fact, if the game did illustrate any larger theme of the Virginia’s season, it lies in that last point. As anyone who followed this Virginia season will tell you, all the research and basketball acumen in the world could not have prepared you for such a wacky, tortuous and ultimately thrilling ride.

It’s easy to reflect on Virginia’s 87-52 loss to Tennessee last Dec. 30 as a blessing in disguise, but at the time it felt more like a death. A team with four ugly losses — including one against Wisconsin in which it made connecting on a layup look like solving the Crimean crisis — and disturbing fluidity in its rotation hardly had a rational claim to ACC title contention.

Even after Harris’ now-famous New Year’s Eve pow-wow with Bennett and a renewed offensive focus on off-ball screens keyed a threegame win streak, the team’s wobbly start against Duke Jan. 13 suggested Virginia still lagged behind the cream of the conference crop. When they

almost stole that game, you had an inkling this team was onto something. And then they started winning again, clobbering opponents at home, surviving road tilts they would have conceded in 2013 and generally confusing the living hell out of ACC beat writers.

By the time Bennett and his players were cutting down their second set of nets in Greensboro after the ACC title game, Virginia had emerged as a legitimate national title contender. Virginia never became the team fans hoped for in November. It evolved into something far more powerful — a team that struck a peculiar balance between unselfishness and tenacity. The players doubled down on trusting Bennett’s plan when others would have sent that plan through the shredder.

Ultimately, the most startling thing about this squad might be the suddenness with which they started converting Bennett’s tenets of selfsacrifice and unselfishness into elitelevel results. “Unity, thankfulness, praise, humility and servanthood,” Bennett’s program pillars, may sound like they comprise the motto of one of the “Game of Thrones” families.

But they’re also concepts people refuse to embrace for entire lifetimes, buzzwords easy to parrot but excruciating to embody. That a bunch of college kids, burdened with many of the same insecurities and anxieties and character flaws inherent to such an age, seemed to deploy such values in the service of a basketball team is as astounding as it is admirable.

--After I knew the Cavaliers were doomed, Harris hit a driving lay-up.

After a stop, Malcolm Brogdon drew a foul and buried two free throws.

Another stop later, Harris shoveled a pass along the baseline to Justin Anderson, who nailed his first 3-pointer since March 9 to tie a regional semifinal game in the final two minutes.

The Cavaliers had battled back one more time, blowing my reasoning’s doors off their hinges once again along with the physical roofs off many Charlottesville establishments.

For at least one more moment, we knew nothing about what was going to happen, but were free to believe anything.

If all goes well, Virginia fans will ultimately remember 2014 as the watershed moment when Bennett’s program became a perennial powerhouse and started treating Final Four contention as an expectation.

They’ll remember Harris, Mitchell and Thomas Rogers as progenitors of a golden age, but not the main beneficiaries. In all likelihood, the good stuff is yet to come.

Of course, I can’t say for sure.

Nothing is inevitable when it comes to this game. Sometimes that just means disappointment. Every so often, though, something happens in defiance of all expectation that will take your breath away, leaving you perplexed and exhilarated and childish at the same time.

Thanks to the 2014 Virginia Cavaliers, I know that’s far from a bad thing.

Track & field hosts tri-meet

No. 24 California, Michigan visit Charlottesville, tri-meet brainchild of President Sullivan Matthew Wurzburger Associate Editor

Virginia President Sullivan impetus for tri-meetThe showdown between Virginia, California and Michigan in a tri-meet this Saturday at Lannigan Field will mark the second leg of a three-year series between the top-flight public universities — an idea which can be traced back to the first meeting between University President Teresa Sullivan, the former Provost and Vice President at Michigan, and coach Bryan Fetzer. “[Women’s basketball coach] Joanne Boyle was standing with us and she mentioned that I had coached at Cal,” Fetzer said. “So this idea pops in [Sullivan’s] head, and she asks if we’ve ever had a meet with Cal and Michigan.”

The collegiate track and field universe is quite small, with close ties connecting many programs.

For three years Fetzer was an assistant for the Golden Bears’ track and field team under coach Tony

Sandoval. Virginia assistant coach Pete Watson was also on the staff of current Wolverines’ coach Jerry Clayton during his tenure at Auburn. These connections are what ultimately set this meet in motion.

Once a mainstay in track and field, dual and tri-meets have fallen out of favor through the years. However, the excitement of direct team-to-team competition in which every position matters contributes to the format’s reemergence.

“This type of meet is exciting for the student athletes and for the institutions,” Clayton said. “Being a scored meet adds another element to it and I think the alumni identify with these types of meets as well.”

The level of competition at Lannigan Field will also heighten excitement at the event. The California men’s team is currently ranked 24th in the nation, and the Wolverines — who are now only beginning their season — also promise to be a high-quality opponent.

The Cavaliers learned firsthand how talented both programs are last year in Berkeley, Calif., where both the Virginia men’s and women’s teams finished in last place.

Lacking considerable depth, Virginia was unable to keep the competition close. The men finished 68 points behind the victorious No. 12 Golden bears and 52 points out of second.

The story was the same for the women, with No. 9 Michigan defeating the Cavaliers by 67 points.

“We got pounded,” Fetzer said.

“We didn’t field a lot of events, and both Michigan and California are great programs.”

The Cavaliers have since restocked their shelves with highquality — albeit young — talent.

All year long — from cross country to indoor track and finally into the outdoor season — it has been the freshman athletes who have stepped up when needed and performed beyond their years.

Facing elite athletes from California and Michigan is just the next step in the collective matura-

Courtesy Virginia Athletics

Coach Bryan Fetzer, a former assistant coach at California, credits University President Teresa Sullivan with the idea for the tri-meet between Virginia, No. 24 Cal and Michigan.

tion of the Virginia team.

“The only way to get better is competing against folks that can potentially beat you,” Fetzer said. “If we wanted to be an average program, we would only go against average teams.”

Clayton said he believes the three schools competing truly embody the spirit of collegiate athletics — excelling in both athletics

and academics.

“I think this type of meet defines what the NCAA was originally intended for,” Clayton said.

“You have athletes who are performing outstandingly in the classroom and now we're putting it all together on the track.”

Action is scheduled to begin Saturday at 3 p.m. at Lannigan Field.

SPORTS

Thursday, April 3, 2014

7

Cavaliers travel to South Bend Virginia, Notre Dame meet for first time, defense focused on containing Fortunato Robert Elder Associate Editor

Two weeks ago, the Cavaliers found themselves in a bind. Sitting at two games below .500, Virginia was essentially in do-or-die mode.

A pair of wins against Old Dominion and American were vital to the Cavaliers’ chances in making their 19th consecutive NCAA tournament berth under coach Julie Myers.

So far, the Cavaliers have pulled through.

Following Tuesday night’s win against American, Virginia (6-6, 0-3 ACC) has won two straight games — its first multi-game winning streak of the season.

Now, with four conference games remaining to close out the regular season, the team is looking to claim a much-needed third consecutive victory Saturday when it travels to South Bend to face ACC newcomer No. 6 Notre Dame (8-4, 2-2 ACC).

“We need a win,” Myers said.

“Right now we’re just looking at what we need — a minimum of nine wins to get to the postseason.

So we need three more here at the end of April.”

Virginia is hoping to prolong its recent momentum. After dominating Old Dominion at Klöckner Stadium last Wednesday, the Cavaliers dismantled their next opponent — American — Tuesday night to the tune of 18-4.

In the win, Virginia gained four points each from junior attacker Casey Bocklet and sophomore midfielder Mary Alati, while junior attacker Courtney Swan tallied her eighth hat-trick of the season. However, Myers said it

was the diversity of scoring — 11 different Cavaliers netted goals — that was so encouraging.

“It’s been a huge week for us,” she said. “We have played well and handled our opponents pretty nicely with everyone being able to contribute.”

Notre Dame boasts an impressive eight wins coming into the contest, defeating ranked opponents such as No. 5 Boston College and No. 7 Northwestern. The Fighting Irish went on a fourgame tear in early March, and have also gone on two-game winning streaks twice, though they lost their last game against Stanford Saturday.

The Irish have four players with at least 19 goals to lead an offense which averages approximately 13 goals per game, but they are clearly lead by freshman attacker Cortney Fortunato — the No. 1 class of 2013 recruit, according to Inside Lacrosse. Fortunato leads Notre Dame with 42 points — 12 more the next highest scoring teammate — on 31 goals and 11 assists.

“We’ll probably move a key defender on her to try to limit some of her touches — sometimes deny her the ball and other times just play her straight up,” Myers said.

“The more quiet we keep Cortney and the more pressure we put on their other attackers to score the goals, the better we’re going to do.”

The Cavalier defense only surrendered four goals — its lowest total of the season — against American. Virginia will need to bring a similar defensive intensity Saturday to have a chance at containing Fortunato and the Irish.

“We need to keep them under 10 goals,” Myers said. “I think we’ll be able to score our fair share.

Keeping them under 10 gives us a chance to win the game.”

As Myers noted, the Cavaliers will have opportunities on the offensive end. Virginia averages more than 14 goals per game and has two dynamic scorers in Swan and senior attacker Liza Blue, who are first and second on the team in points, respectively.

Contributions from upperclassmen Bocklet and junior midfielder Morgan Stephens, who are second and third on the team in assists, respectively, will also be critical for Virginia to leave South Bend with a victory.

The Cavaliers’ dominance on draw controls has been a key to their past two victories. Swan has won 63 on the season, including four against American and seven against Old Dominion.

Virginia averages 15 draw controls per game, while Notre Dame averages just 12, due in large part to the absence of All-American Notre Dame junior defender Barbara Sullivan — the team’s best draw taker — who is out for the season.

“She was their primary draw taker,” Swan said. “Now they rotate a few girls in. We just have to win those draws against those girls.”

A Virginia win would be just the second road win of the season — the team’s only other came against William & Mary — but there is even more on the line. A victory against Notre Dame would put Virginia one step closer to reaching the necessary nine wins to make postseason play.

The Cavaliers, though, have tried to prevent the pressure of making the postseason from becoming a distraction. This weekend will mark the first-ever meet-

Emily Gorham | The Cavalier Daily

Junior attacker Courtney Swan recorded her eighth hat-trick of the season Tuesday in an 18-4 win against American. Swan leads a Virginia offense that averages more than 14 goals per game.

ing between the two schools, which has the Virginia players excited at the chance to give the Irish a rude welcome to the conference.

“It’s fun to play someone you haven’t played before and to scout new people and new players rather

than the typical UNC and Duke,” Swan said. “[We’ll] just kind of give them a nice little showing of some ACC lacrosse.”

The opening draw is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. in South Bend, Ind.

Longwood sweeps Virginia softball

Courtesy Virginia Athletcs

Senior second baseman Marcy Bowdren hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning of the second game Wednesday to make the score 8-4 Longwood, but Virginia would not score again.

Virginia softball was swept aside by Longwood twice Wednesday afternoon, dropping the first game of the doubleheader 6-4 and falling 8-4 in the encore.

The Lancers (22-7, 9-2 Big South) pounced on sophomore pitcher Aimee Chapdelaine in the first inning to score three runs.

Chapdelaine took the loss in the complete game, five strikeout effort.

Aided by two errors, Virginia (4-29, 1-13 ACC) tied the game in the top of the third. Junior outfielder Heidi Velk singled to score junior Megan Harris. Both Velk and senior second baseman Marcy Bowdren would later score on an error.

In the bottom of the sixth,

Longwood broke a 4-4 tie for good. A throwing error allowed freshman right fielder Taylor Hedrick to score. Sophomore third baseman Carly Adams then scored on a sacrifice fly, and Virginia was subsequently held scoreless in the top of the seventh to end the game.

In the second game, the Lancers scored seven runs in the first two innings to pull away early.

Junior catcher Megan Baltzell hit a two-run bomb in the first and drove in two more with a double in the second.

Virginia managed to scratch out one run in the top half of the third thanks to a single by freshman third baseman Lindsay Mayer, which scored Bowdren.

The Cavaliers struck again in the fourth when Bowdren hit a three-run home run to left field, the 20th of her career. However, Bowdren’s shot was not enough to overcome the seven-run deficit. Neither team scored the final three innings as the Lancers completed the sweep, 8-4.

Chapdelaine was charged with the loss in game two. She went the full six innings, giving up eight runs — six earned — while striking out three. Her record is now 4-25.

Virginia will host North Carolina for a weekend series Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and at 12 p.m.

Sunday.

—compiled by Matthew Wurzburger

The Cavalier Daily

O

LEAD EDITORIAL

Support safety

opinion

Colleges should modify policies and practices to create a more friendly environment for transgender students

Comment of the day “Respect yourself and your body and just plain say no to the liberal anything-goes pop culture. Are the RA’s educated on this viewpoint?

Likely not, as it goes against the grain of the liberal college leadership. Apparently it’s a message of go wild, drink, party, put yourself out there — it’s ok just protect from disease. Many students are smarter than that.”

“Heather,” responding to Danielle Bernstein’s March 31 column “Get smart about sex”

At Central Piedmont Community College, a transgender student was questioned by security officers on her way into the women’s bathroom and subsequently escorted off the campus. The incident has prompted the Freedom Center for Social Justice to threaten to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education if the college does not change its policies regarding use of gendered facilities.

Jeff Lowrance, a spokesman for the college, said the school’s current policy is that students can use bathrooms which match their gender identity at their time of enrollment or use a gender neutral bathroom, but there are few of these available. Lowrance also defended the college’s handling of this particular situation, claiming it was “simply a case of our security officer who didn't want to allow a male into the female bathroom,” as cited in Inside Higher Ed. But both the college’s pol-

icy and its handling of the situation do not create an accepting and safe atmosphere for transgender students. The policy that students must use a bathroom consistent with their gender identity when they enroll ignores the possibility that students may decide to transition after they enroll in college. To mandate that these students continue to use facilities which now do not fit their gender identity denies them a significant degree of personal autonomy.

Ideally, universities should have as many gender neutral facilities as possible. Some students may not feel comfortable identifying as either gender, and institutions should be structured so that they accept this decision not to identify, as well as the decision to change identifiers.

As an example of an initiative to accommodate transgender students, Coordinator of LGBTQ Student Services at the University Scott Rheinheimer has campaigned to make a list of gender neutral

bathrooms around Grounds, and post the list the online so students know where they can find them. Additionally, on Monday the 31st of March, the LGBTQ Center hosted a panel on Trans* Visibility.

Central Piedmont Community College’s handling of this particular incident exacerbates their policies which already do not accommodate the needs of transgender or gender fluid students. Lowrance portrayed the security officer’s acts as appropriate, like she was responding to a potential threat — a man dressed in women’s clothing entering a women’s bathroom.

But simply not conforming to gender norms is not grounds for this kind of suspicion, and escorting the student completely off the campus was a gross overreaction to what should be a mundane, routine act — using a restroom.

Many transgender students already face bullying and harassment. A 2010 study found that 38 percent of transgender students, faculty

and staff have thought about leaving their institutions “because of the challenging climate.” Being escorted off a campus by security officers, which occurred in this case, may amplify these concerns, as anyone who witnessed the event may associate the student with deviant, shameful or even dangerous behavior.

All students should be able to feel safe on their college campuses. But profiling students like the security officers did in this case will only instill fear in transgender students. The same 2010 study found 43 percent of transgender students, faculty and staff “feared for their physical safety.” Colleges should attend to the needs of transgender students by changing their policies to allow for gender fluidity and flexibility with identification, and by training their staff to respond appropriately to situations like these. In this particular case, the right response would have been no response at all.

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8

OPINION

Thursday, April 3, 2014

9

Get smart about sex University resident advisors should be better trained to educate their residents about sex Senior Associate Editor

Resident Advisors, or RAs, are undeniably valuable resources for first-years. They are well-trained in University rules and can even fill a mentor-like position for students who are having difficulty adjusting to college life. This difficulty in adjustment can stem from a number of sources, one of which is the highly sexualized nature of college compared with some incoming students’ high schools. To better address this adjustment, the University should more thoroughly train RAs in sex education so they can pass this knowledge on to their residents.

In the beginning of the school year, RAs meet with their residents to facilitate bonding and go through basic housing rules. They can also touch on more serious topics — like drug or alcohol use — and many emphasize their willingness to be a resource for students. For incoming first-years, these conversations can be enormously helpful, especially for students who have never before been confronted with some of the

most prevalent aspects of college life (e.g. drinking and partying).

But for students in the process of adjusting to these changes and to what has been deemed the “hookup culture” of college, safe sex can fall by the wayside. To combat this, some RAs have condoms in their rooms for residents to take, but safe sex and general knowledge about sex extends far beyond condom use, especially since there are many other methods of contraception, and condoms themselves are not 100 percent effective.

Most high school students take sex-ed classes, theoretically making safe sex conversations unnecessary and redundant in college; but these classes are often inefficient and, depending on when they are taken, can be quickly forgotten. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a 2006 School Health Policies and Programs Study found that only 28 percent of high schools in the U.S. taught 11 key pregnancy, HIV or other STD prevention topics, leaving 72 percent of schools with sex education classes that don’t cover aspects of sex education considered

essential. Most shockingly, only 39 percent of sex education classes taught how to correctly use a condom, a skill many college students need to have.

The ineffectiveness of previous sex education is further supported by the lack of safe sex practices on

tute for decent sex education in high schools, and improving those courses should be a general policy goal. But given the sexual climate of college, RAs should be a resource for some of this information, or at least more of a resource for it than they are now. Of course, RAs cannot take the place of a trained educator, but a preliminary meeting with their residents that covers the basics of sex education and According to CDC, of the 20 million STDs diagnosed safe sex and outnecessary every year, half of them are found in people aged lines resources — such 15 to 24, overlapping with the exact age ranges of as information on identifying STDs, most college students. locating emergency contraception university campuses. According to and where the nearest clinics are — the CDC, of the 20 million STDs di- can only serve to benefit all entering agnosed every year, half of them are students. found in people aged 15 to 24, overFourth-year College student lapping with the exact age ranges of Taylor Locks, an outgoing Co-Chair most college students. Moreover, an of Housing and Residence Life who estimated one in four college stu- oversees first-year areas, wrote in dents currently has or has had an an email that when training RAs STD. prior to the start of the year, “StuRAs should not be a substi- dent Health is asked to coordinate

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Dani Bernstein

presentations related to a number of topics in Health and Wellness. These trainings help connect our staff members to the many resources and tools provided by Student Health and how to utilize them effectively throughout the year.” However, she did not specify to what degree RAs are trained in sex-specific health topics or whether or not these presentations even cover sex.

A strong relationship between RAs and Student Health is certainly laudable, but RAs should still have enough of a foundation in sex-related issues to lead discussions about it in the beginning of the year, for the benefit of students who are either uninformed about or inattentive to these issues. The lack of sex education is a national problem and has a direct effect on the lives of University students, and better-equipping RAs to help their residents prepare themselves is one way to combat this issue.

Dani’s columns run Tuesdays. She can be reached at d.bernstein@cavalierdaily.com.

Invest in education The ideal model for higher education is government-subsidized public four-year colleges Opinion Columnist

Tennessee Governor William E. Haslam recently proposed a bold new policy: to provide two years of free community or technical college for all the state’s high-school graduates. A February 4 editorial expressed support for this policy and described the plan as a “step towards alleviating the cycle of poverty that low-income Americans face.” To take the argument a step further, I believe Tennessee’s progressive new education policy should represent a step towards a free public four-year college. There are several arguments — economic as well as ideological — for this “radical” policy.

Free public higher education is exactly what it sounds like: high school graduates (from any socioeconomic background) would apply to various public colleges and universities throughout the country and, if accepted, they would pack their bags and enter the college community in the typical fashion, except without paying the various fees. This could be accomplished through government subsidies.

The types of expenses subsidized would likely depend on the state.

Haslam’s community college proposal, for example, covers all tuition and fees. In order to most fully realize the fundamental goal — i.e. to ensure financial background is no longer a barrier to attaining a college degree — then all the living essentials (housing, food and — dare I say? — a student health care plan) should be provided alongside tuition and textbook expenses. Clearly free public higher education would

opportunity). Let us take a look at the educational system we currently subsidize: K-12 public schooling.

Granted, this does not provide room and board, but its purpose undoubtedly serves to advance equality of opportunity. We decided that basic education was important enough — because it creates a more informed, responsible society and provides all citizens with the basic competencies to pursue success — to warrant people making an economic investment in their neighbors.

As a recent Pew Research study describes, “on virtually every measure of All this suggests that America not only has good economic well-being career attainreason to subsidize higher education — it has an and ment — from perobligation to its own national ethos. sonal earnings to job satisfaction to the share of employed full not be inexpensive for taxpayers, time — young college graduates are though as we will see, it is less expen- outperforming their peers with less sive than commonly believed. education.” The study goes on to At this point in the argument, it describe how the disparity of ecois easy to picture some generic con- nomic outcomes between those with gressperson passionately denounc- a college degree versus a high school ing free public higher education as diploma continues to increase. All “un-American.” Interestingly, such this suggests that America not only a policy is highly consistent with the has good reason to subsidize higher “American dream” (i.e. equality of education — it has an obligation to

“

George Knaysi

its own national ethos.

If the angry congressperson who earlier denounced free public college as “un-American” now decides to sit down, then surely another would take the floor. This next politician might decide to focus on economic cost — the plan is irresponsible, he argues, because it would require either the government to add to its debt or increase taxes, both of which would be considered unacceptable.

In response to this congressperson, might it be the time to discuss the intrinsic value of a more educated society? Of free intellectual inquiry?

Of a liberal arts education? Probably not, considering our House of Representatives is on track to cut National Science Foundation funding for social and behavioral research by 22 percent in order to promote “areas of science and research that are crucial to economic growth.”

In our current political climate, the language of economics seems more persuasive. And as Josh Freedman details in a recent Forbes article, “we also have to consider the cost of our current semi-private, semi-public system.” Free public higher education, he observes, pools the risk across the population, making schools less susceptible to turbulence in the economy. He also de-

tails how publicly funded college is actually one of the most direct ways of capping the rising costs of higher education — a college cannot keep raising the cost of tuition if tuition doesn’t exist.

For any large-scale public policy, there is the risk of unintended consequences. Could free public higher education reduce the pressure on private universities to provide financial aid? If so, the net result could be that the poor go to public schools while the well-to-do go private. To combat this effect, the government could uphold certain financial aid standards for private institutions (whether by economic incentive or by law).

To be sure, fully subsidized public higher education is politically implausible (one might even say impossible) in our current political climate. But as we are seeing in Tennessee — a solid red state adopting an essentially “progressive” policy — attitudes may be changing. Perhaps this “radical” idea is better understood as a pragmatic one.

George’s columns run Tuesdays.

He can be reached at g.knaysi@cavalierdaily.com.

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OPINION

The Cavalier Daily

The greeks and gender Disparities in treatment of Greek men and women should be questioned

Opinion Writer

Greek life is a central feature of many American colleges, our university included. Roughly 30 percent of students at the University are involved in Greek life. Those who are not Greek are still likely to interact with Greek organizations and attend Greek parties or philanthropic events during their time at the University.

Greek chapters are accountable to the Inter-Fraternity and InterSorority Councils at the University as well as to their national organizations. When scrutinizing the Greek system, we often imagine it as an unchangeable institution, and focus on addressing the effects of “Greek culture,” particularly in relation to the Greek system’s treatment of women. However, our discussion of Greek life should begin with the comparison of institutionalized practices at the core of the system — in particular by examining differences between regulations placed on fraternities and sororities regarding alcohol and the rush process.

One of the most obvious — and yet most overlooked — gender dif-

ferences in the Greek system is the should be permitted to do so as fact that most fraternities at the Uni- well. While concerns about alcohol versity throw parties in their hous- that stem from safety are valid, it es. Meanwhile, sororities are for- is important to consider the safety bidden — usually by their national risks of entrusting only fraternities organizations — from even having with the ability to throw parties. alcohol in their houses. There are The differences in the rush procertainly valid reasons for this rule, cess for boys and girls provides many of which involve safety and legal concerns.

However, this imbalance of power over social events can have negative ramifications. In my experience, fraternity parties often involve crowds of A system in which girls are used to achieve a people blocked from entering by a few brothers. certain ‘ratio’ is objectifying, by definition.

Oftentimes, girls are given priority and allowed to enter before boys. While many female students may see this another example of a discrepancy as an advantageous situation, it ac- in procedure that should be questually is not. A system in which girls tioned. Formal sorority recruitment are used to achieve a certain “ratio” requires that each potential new is objectifying, by definition. In fact, member attend rush events at all it speaks to how slanted the system sixteen sorority houses for the first is and emphasizes the power that round, and return to each house fraternities yield because of regula- to which they are invited back. tions placed on sororities.

This is an extremely daunting proTo clarify, my argument is not cess for potential new members as that fraternities should no longer be well as for sororities that host rush permitted to throw parties. I only events; almost 1000 female students mean to point out that if fraterni- rushed this spring. On the other ties can have parties in their houses hand, when boys rush fraternities, without consequences, sororities they are allowed to attend events at

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Mary Russo

whatever fraternity they would like and are not required to return to fraternities even if invited back.

To be sure, the system of sorority rush as it exists now has its benefits, namely ensuring that every rushee is able to meet women in each chapter at the University and be exposed to chapters that they may not have considered otherwise. However, it also means that rush events are fast-paced and overwhelming. At the same time, people participating in boys’ rush who are unsure about which fraternity is the right fit for them may miss out on certain chapters due to the fact that they are not required to visit them. The difference in number of fraternities (32) and sororities (16) may explain this difference in policy to some extent, but is not necessarily adequate justification. It is hard to be sure which form of rushing more effectively places students in chapters that are right for them. However, the fact that the processes are so dramatically different still indicates that the two entities are subject to a completely different set of standards and regulations from the get-go.

Delta Kappa Epsilon, the first fraternity at the University, was established in 1852. The University did not fully enroll until women until 1972, and the Inter-Sorority

Council was not established until 1975.

This history, while it may explain why fraternities and sororities developed separately and are governed by separate regulatory bodies, does not justify a continued acceptance of institutional differences that may not be warranted or fair, and that may contribute to the perpetuation of inequalities between fraternities and sororities.

The point of this column is not to convince readers that our current system of rush should be completely revamped, or that fraternity parties should be banned. Greek organizations provide students with the chance to form friendships, participate in worthwhile philanthropies, become part of a national network and enjoy social events.

Rather, I only mean to encourage students to question why differences between fraternities and sororities exist and question whether or not these differences are valid.

Greek life is steeped in tradition at the University, and in the country.

However, this tradition should not exempt these institutions from criticism and discussion, especially if changes can be made that will make Greek life more fair and welcoming to women who chose to participate.

Don’t knock Derby Days Derby Days do not degrade women, they foster bonding for sorority sisters Elaine Harrington Viewpoint Writer

For anyone who managed to miss the spectacle of sneaker-clad sorority women chasing Sigma Chi pledges up trees in pursuit of crazy hats, this past week was “Derby Days,” the competition between sororities that is Sigma Chi fraternity’s national philanthropy. This year at the University, the week consisted of a coin drop, merchandise sale, house decorating contest, eating contest, hat grab, pledge lip-synch, blood drive, obstacle course, powder-puff football game, dance skits and online donations to support the Children’s Miracle Network.

Nationally, Derby Days has received much criticism. In fact, the philanthropy has ended on many campuses when sororities withdrew due to concerns about the treatment of their members.

In 2009, the sorority presidents at Duke wrote, “We cannot in good faith ask our women to participate in an event that, in our opinion, mars the reputation of the Greek community.” A survey by William

and Mary’s Inter-Sorority Council found Derby Days was considered “degrading to women.” The event has also been criticized at the University. A 2008 Cavalier Daily editorial claimed “Sigma Chi is essentially getting sorority members to raise money and awareness for them.” If anonymous Yik Yaks are any indication of sentiment on grounds, such thoughts are present today: “Shout out to Sigma Chi for creating the years [sic] biggest girl fights and coming out unscathed.

For the kids.”

Yet I believe Derby Days does not exploit women, cause them to be unflatteringly competitive or degrade them, at least not at the University.

The structure of Derby Days is genius. Sure, the majority of the week’s activities do not directly raise funds. Without the ridiculous competitions, though, there would be less incentive to donate money due to less free publicity for the event, a reduced competitive environment and fewer people wanting a commemorative tank. When else does someone have the opportunity to overcome her team’s loss in a

competition with a donation to recover the points a win would have earned?

At the University, it is also perfectly timed. Derby Days allows nine-week-old sorority pledge classes to bond over shared experiences, get acquainted outside of a party environment and assert their collective personality. Sororities are not being used by Sigma Chi to fundraise; rather, they are using Sigma Chi’s fundraiser to garner pride. The variety of competitions allows for positive experiences and victories, giving women something exciting to share about their new sorority with friends and family, and something to discuss during next year’s recruitment.

While the donations come from sorority women, Sigma Chi brothers put in considerable effort. All philanthropies seek to garner donations from outside the group, a tough sell among cash-strapped college students. The brothers deserve recognition for their efforts because they planned the weeklong event, visited sorority houses promoting it, coached each sorority, counted coins, tabled daily,

publicized updates over Twitter and Instagram and maintained a complex Google Document of rankings to keep the point system transparent and encourage donation from those behind.

The competitiveness during Derby Days is mostly for show. As women — unlike men — do not “rush” with their friends, friends from first semester likely belong to a variety of sororities. Therefore, they play up the rivalry in jest. Unlike athletic competitions, sorority teams lack the true fervor resulting from lifelong training. Rather, they have had about one week to brainstorm decoration themes, decide who is best at “Chubby Bunny,” choreograph a dance and learn some football plays. This quick planning also creates an atmosphere of excited confusion conducive to forming bonds between sororities.

As to criticism that Derby Days is demeaning, I will not deny some women turn to sex appeal in hopes of garnering points. In context, though, sex appeal is optional: unlike other competitions of women such as the television show The Bachelor, the prize is a title, not the

affection of men. When included, sex appeal is often tongue-in-cheek.

Sticky notes saying “Pi Phi has an itch only Sigma Chi can scratch” and casual gyrating during rainy noontime dance skits seem less of an attempt to solicit Sigma Chis and more of a joke about how men are simple-minded and swayed by seductiveness. The potentially embarrassing tasks would be demeaning and qualify as hazing if mandated, but can be enjoyable when women embrace them by choice because they are excited for the opportunity to be ridiculous. In fact, as an exercise of choice, several sororities opted not to perform a dance skit this year.

The integrity of Derby Days is precarious because it rides on that ability for sorority women who wish not to partake to opt out.

Therefore, sororities should foster an open dialogue about optional participation. While Derby Days was a positive experience for me, in future years I and others must be conscious not to force younger women into situations they find uncomfortable in hopes of giving them the fond memories we have.

OPINION

Thursday, April 3, 2014

11

On the importance of outreach The University should continue and increase their recent efforts to recruit low-income students

Opinion Columnist

Recruiting low-income students is becoming a more persistent problem for the University. Despite recent administrative efforts, the percentage of low-income students has remained relatively low over the past few years, contributing to the University’s status as one of the least socioeconomically diverse colleges in the country. With the fundamental purpose of the University at stake, the issue of recruiting more low-income students will be critical for the future. Though the University has already taken significant steps in this regard, more can be done.

When the University had both low tuition rates for in-state students and generous financial aid in the form of AccessUVA, the need for rigorously detailed plans for recruiting low-income students was not very high. For high achieving, low-income students in the state, the University was clearly an attractive and — more importantly — accessible option. In recent years, however, the rises in tuition and alterations to AccessUVA have complicated the picture.

Addressing this issue, President Sullivan told the Kiwanis Club of Richmond last Monday that she had personally written letters to the principals of 80 high schools in low-income areas in an effort to recruit a more diverse student body.

This strategy is certainly a positive and encouraging start. With this action, the University administration has demonstrated an acute understanding of the socioeconomic dilemma here. A written letter from a university president is a persuasive means of encouragement, yet support from a distance will never be as effectual as direct contact and attention. There are more substantial ways in which the University administration can reach out to high achieving, low-income students across the state who increasingly feel that the University is out of reach for them.

To be fair, the University has already taken a crucial first step in both expressing its support for improvements in low-income student recruitment and engaging in special efforts to reach out to students who are unfamiliar with the admissions process.

But comparatively few programs are specifically designed for direct outreach to high achieving, low income students at the middle

school, junior high and high school levels. A summer bridge program that specifically targets such students and provides them with SAT preparation and other resources not normally available to them would be particularly constructive.

The key for the future will be engag-

achieving, low income students, even if counselors and admissions staffers honestly do all that they can for these them. It would be more prudent to organize recruitment in a way that recognizes the routines of low-income students and their families.

In order to increase its socioeconomic diversity in the long-term, the University should also consider direct recruitment The key for the future will be engaging in activities in nonrecruitment activities that go beyond traditional traditional setmethods such as college fairs and high school visits. tings such as community centers and church youth ing in recruitment activities that go groups. Recruitment efforts at combeyond traditional methods such as munity centers in low income areas college fairs and high school visits. will be more likely to reach highFor one, the tactic of recruiting achieving, low-income students at a college fair or a similar event is who attend schools that struggle inherently biased towards students to attain the resources necessary to who are better situated economi- hold traditional recruitment events cally and socially. As important as such as college fairs. Though the such efforts are to overall student University may not consider such recruitment, low-income students a strategy to be cost-effective, early can rarely afford to even attend outreach in these environments such meetings, as they often work would help high-achieving, low-injobs after school in order to support come students to recognize the full their families. Traditional informa- array of college opportunities availtion channels may bypass high- able to them. They would receive

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Conor Kelly

crucial information — especially the fact that list prices are often considerably different from the net costs of selective colleges — which would increase the probability that these students will apply to selective colleges such as the University.

Expanding College Opportunities, a program pioneered in part by University professor Sarah Turner, aims to increase overall enrollment of low-income students by providing application guidance and semicustomized information about the net cost of attending different colleges. The use of non-traditional methods such as these will be critical in the future. Promisingly, Dean of Admission Greg Roberts has said that the University is contemplating pursuing a related strategy of sending students customized text messages on the financial aid process.

This issue will prove to be critical as the University moves forward; the University’s initial steps are an encouraging start. Nontraditional methods of recruitment should receive more attention as the University moves forward.

Conor’s columns run Tuesdays.

He can be reached at c.kelly@cavalierdaily.com.

More than “voluntourism” Alternative Spring Break programs foster fulfilling and rewarding community service experiences John Connolly Opinion columnist

This spring break, I had the good fortune to attend an Alternative Spring Break (ASB) trip to San Juan, Texas. My experience was phenomenal. And I was not alone in this assessment; each person I asked told me that his or her ASB trip was exceptionally fun and worthwhile. I would highly recommend the ASB experience to any University student.

But ASB and other comparable service trip experiences are not without controversy. Critics deride them as “voluntourism,” implying that the impact of these trips is quite ephemeral. Many volunteer trips “serve the egos of the tourists more effectively than they serve the locals,” according to J.B. MacKinnon, a writer for Explore.

Voluntourism can also cause unintended side effects in the local communities that travelers seek to serve. For instance, in places like Cambodia, where foreigners visit to play with orphans, voluntourism has actually increased the

demand for orphans to the point where parents establish fictitious orphanages to rent their children to foreigners. And as CNN writer Richard Stupart asked, “are you really contributing? Does the presence of volunteers really contribute to a community’s well being, or are outsiders simply doing work that could have helped local breadwinners earn a living?”

These are valid criticisms of the service tourism industry, and address many of the ethical inconsistencies involved with traveling to a poor country or area with the intention of fixing it. Not to mention the arrogance associated with Rudyard Kipling’s famous “White Man’s Burden,” which refers to Western aspirations of dominating the developing world under the guise of economic improvement and a desire to do good.

However, these broad criticisms of the service tourism industry do not apply to ASB. The ASB model is far superior to ordinary volunteer trips in that it emphasizes “service-learning” while generally participating in projects that serve a genuinely good purpose. Unlike

some similar trips, ASB volunteer projects do not detract from the local community they are attempting to help.

ASB’s “service-learning” model stresses the education of trip participants. For instance, my trip to San Juan featured meetings with the Executive Director of Proyetco Azteca, an organization supporting fair housing for low-income residents in South Texas. The meetings addressed some of the issues that poor residents of South Texas face, and opened my eyes to the interconnectedness of poverty, health care, education, housing, crime, race and immigration in an area of the country with which I was totally unfamiliar. If nothing else, the trip made me a better and more informed American citizen.

Of course, this does play into the criticism that the trips serve the interests of trip participants and not local residents. I would counter this by pointing out that ASB has no pretensions about its mission; it makes no secret of the fact that the trips focus heavily on education, and even sponsors participant research projects. On a personal lev-

el, the trip was rewarding in that it improved my understanding of issues which drastically affect the lives of millions of Americans.

The trip was also rewarding because of the work my group completed in South Texas. While some of our work could have been done without us — sidewall construction and playing with local children come to mind — we did undertake assignments that we were uniquely positioned to complete.

Throughout the course of the trip, we taught classes on personal finance to groups of impoverished middle school children, and provided them with educational materials on how to start saving and planning for college. We were able to speak about our own experiences paying for college, and stress the importance of doing well in school and staying out of trouble.

This is not necessarily life-altering work, but my group certainly presented a unique perspective to these kids. As college students, we were able to give them some idea of educational opportunities that they might not have been exposed to otherwise, as many of the kids

I met had no educational aspirations beyond high school. Volunteers might not bring unique physical or mental skills, but they can offer an atypical viewpoint to denizens of poor communities in America and around the world.

ASB trips are very rewarding.

And importantly, they are also very fun. Every single person that I have spoken with about his or her ASB experience has offered up nothing but high praise. Adam Ghazzawi, a participant on ASB’s Atlanta trip, called his experience “the most rewarding of his time at UVA,” and said that he plans to look into leading a trip next year.

As an alternative (no pun intended) to a traditional sunsplashed spring break on a beach, ASB trips are a valuable resource to the University community, and I would encourage every University student to consider participating.

John’s columns run Thursdays.

He can be reached at j.connolly@ cavalierdaily.com.

G

The Cavalier Daily

THE ADVENTURES OF THE AMAZING <THE> A-MAN

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NO PUN INTENDED BY CHARLOTTE RASKOVICH

MORE AWKWARD THAN SOME

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Thursday, April 3, 2014

A-School designs Grundy teen center

A&E

13

University architecture students plan, draft meeting place in struggling Virginia town

arts & entertainment

Students plan for new teen center to begin construction in Grundy, Va. in summer 2015.

Courtesy Asher McGlot

Madeleine Gates Staff Writer

Each year, Architecture School students draft plans for buildings in locations they have never visited — the designs of which will only ever be seen by a few members of the faculty.

These exercises, which take place in studio classes, give students a helpful opportunity to practice their skills, but lend few real-world consequences. Until that all changed.

Yet when third-year Architecture student Asher McGlothlin saw students designing buildings in Uganda and Nicaragua, he thought, “Why not [a building] in Grundy?”

With an economy centered around the declining coal industry, McGlothin’s hometown of Grundy, Va. — population 1,010 — has fallen on hard times of late. As part of an ongoing $200 million flood-proofing project, the Virginia Department of Transportation is expanding the highway through the center of Grundy, tearing down about 80 percent of the downtown area in the process.

Grundy’s teen center is one victim of this project. McGlothlin grew up hearing stories about the center from his two older brothers.

“The teen center was torn down when I was really young,” McGlothlin said. “There was a lot of nostalgia for it.”

He said one of Grundy’s problems

is that, besides sports, there is little for teenagers to do. Between his generation and his brothers’, McGlothin noticed higher rates of drug use and teen pregnancies, as well as fewer students going on to four-year colleges.

McGlothlin said with the loss of the teen center and the historic downtown, there was also a loss of local identity. Revamping the teen center, he thought, might help restore some of the town's sense of community.

McGlothlin approached Architecture Prof. Peter Waldman about designing a new center for a studio project. In fall of 2012, Waldman and McGlothlin visited Grundy to look at sites, when Waldman ultimately decided the Architecture School would take on the project.

Throughout the next few months, Waldman and McGlothlin sent out surveys to Grundy locals about what they wanted the center to look like and started drumming up excitement among the University’s student body.

Meanwhile, Suzanne Moomaw, associate urban and environmental planning professor and academic lead of the Appalachian Prosperity Project, also got involved with the project.

According to its website, the APP is a “university-community-industry project that uses a systems approach to integrate education, health and business development.”

As academic lead of APP, Moomaw was able to help McGloth-

Courtesy Jordana Greenberg

lin secure a grant from the organization which facilitated site visits. The project also received a Jefferson Public Citizens grant and money from the town of Grundy itself. They are still in the process of applying for more grants to help fund construction.

Moomaw, whose primary area of interest is communities — especially small town revitalization in areas hit hard by structural economic changes — is familiar with the problems facing Grundy. Young people in towns with few jobs and a loss of the sense of community often leave and never come back, according to Moomaw.

“It’s really about reconnecting the community again,” she said of the center.

This type of project, Moomaw said, offers a new model of teaching and learning.

“Our students get the opportunity to see how their ideas play out in a real situation,” she said.

To integrate the project into a class, Moomaw, Waldman and Assoc.

Architecture Prof. Seth McDowell designed a seminar for the fall 2013 semester. McDowell said the seminar was mostly about surveying and doing research about Grundy and the site to prepare for a spring semester studio class where students would actually begin to make designs.

Students in the seminar worked to gather community feedback on the center’s construction, visiting five

different high schools and holding conversation with groups like the Boy Scouts, the Boys and Girls Club, and the town council. The class also attended a church service. Both McGlothlin and McDowell said it is important to involve the community in projects like this.

“I see the people of Grundy as the real designers,” McGlothlin says.

“We’re just facilitating what they want.”

Using the information collected in the fall, McDowell currently leads a small studio class where students work in teams of two or three to come up with possible designs for the teen center. Designing for a real project has taught students a new set of skills, he said.

“In the A-School you develop a language of talking about your work that’s very internal,” McDowell said.

“You’re usually only presenting to other architects. Students had to develop the ability to talk about their work to a variety of ages and backgrounds.”

McDowell said this kind of work also makes students consider constraints not always present in theoretical exercises, like budgets, constructability and the feasibility of certain building materials.

“It limits how much experimenting you can do,” he said, “Because there are real aspirations for the project.”

One of the goals of the project is

to create a building whose design and materials reflect the region while employing local contractors.

“We want the building to emerge from the context and the people [who] are there,” McDowell said, encouraging his students to become “citizen architects” who design projects which will ultimately become catalysts for a community.

To this end, McGlothlin said the center will not only be a place for teens to go after school, but will also provide a variety of educational opportunities. One such opportunity will be Playing Instruments Changes Kids, an after school program that teaches kids to play traditional bluegrass music.

At the end of the semester, students’ designs will be evaluated by faculty and by outside architects, as well as by the town of Grundy. McDowell said it’s most likely that no single design will be selected.

“We’ll probably end up taking all that feedback and taking aspects of every project to make a proposal that incorporates the best aspects of all the projects,” he said.

McGlothlin and four other students plan to put the proposal together during the summer, and students will begin working on construction documents in a small seminar next year. The group hopes the project will be ready for construction by summer 2015.

Spectrum Theatre debuts ‘Arabian Nights’ Storytelling meets spectacle in latest production of spring drama season

Jamie Shalvey Senior Associate Editor

Spring theater season is in full force around Grounds, with the casts of the drama department’s “Museum” and Shakespeare on the Lawn’s “Titus Andronicus” having just taken their final bows, and First Year Players’ “Kiss Me Kate” a few weeks away. But coming out of one of the University’s smaller theater groups is another student-run effort to help round out the season — Spectrum Theatre’s “Arabian Nights,” the Mary Zimmerman play that opens this Thursday in the Student Activities Building. “[‘Arabian Nights’] is a show with music and dance in it that’s not what you think of as the traditional musi-

cal,” said fourth-year College student Stephanie LeBolt, Spectrum’s artistic director.

Based off of an ancient Arabic tale “A Thousand and One Nights,” Zimmerman changed the original poetry into an enriching, narrative-based show.

“It’s a lot more free form,” LeBolt said. “The actors are on stage for the entire show because it’s a lot about storytelling. [The main characters] will start telling a story, and every time they [do], the story will come to life, so there’s no scene changes or transitions in and out of scenes because it all happens in this kind of dreamlike state.”

The show also offers a unique technical challenge for the organization.

“There are props, but the stage is going to be very static,” said third-year

College student Melissa Collins, the technical director. “It doesn’t move around a lot, and everybody is on stage the whole time.”

Collins said the specially-made costumes also weave into the fabric of the show.

“The costumes are going to be very elegant and beautiful, … very specific to the culture, and a lot of it is created by hand,” she said.

The show’s rich feel is difficult to achieve in a generic venue like the SAB, Collins said, adding that the technical crew often tries “thinking outside of the box a lot” to use the space effectively.

“We don’t have a very complex sound system,” Collins said, “so the actors are in charge of bringing sound to the stage on their own, so it’s going

to very individualized and specific to the scenes that they’re in.”

Second-year college student Alexis Cooper, the orchestra pit director, is working with only a percussionist, a cellist and a guitarist for the show, but she said she expects the small band of musicians to pack a powerful punch during the performance.

“It’s going to be really interesting for everyone to see the dynamic of the musicians kind of interwoven throughout the show rather than as a separate entity,” Cooper said.

The artistic staff is working hard to promote the show as a celebration of cultural diversity, hosting a special event before the Friday night show with performances from different cultural groups on Grounds.

“We really want to make sure that

people aren’t saying ‘this is a Persian show,’ because it’s a show that, at it’s heart, is about storytelling,” LeBolt said.

For members of the organization, the show will serve as a reminder of the endurance of the Spectrum Theatre.

“It just has sort of had a bumpy ride in renewing and sustaining itself,” said fourth-year College student Lauren Lukow, Spectrum’s executive producer, on the recent history of the organization. “I really think this is going to be a sort of new start for Spectrum, and I think it’s going to be great for people to be there for its sort of ‘unveiling.’”

The play will be performed April 3-5 at 8 p.m. in the Student Activities Building.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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‘Titus’ delivers new ex’speare’ince for student troupe Shakespeare on the Lawn performs violent tragedy ‘Titus Andronicus’

Candace Carter Senior Writer

Shakespeare on the Lawn, a group of actors, designers and tech crew members dedicated to performing Shakespeare’s historically vibrant and emotional works, excelled at breaking down the barriers between actor and audience in their rendition of “Titus Andronicus” this past weekend.

“A lot of people say [Titus Andronicus] is Shakespeare’s Tarantino phase,” said director Charles Eckman, a fourth-year Engineering student, referring to the play’s heavy violence and action.

One of Shakespeare’s less popular plays, “Titus Andronicus” is a statement on the volatility of human nature, justifying acts of sex, violence and madness under overarching themes of revenge, honor and deceit.

The title character, a great Roman war hero, returns home to find political turmoil has sent the Roman nobility into an uproar. The new emperor Saturnine

wants to marry Titus’ only daughter, Lavinia, but is rejected by the lady herself. Meanwhile, war prisoner Queen Tamora of the Goths mourns the sacrifice of her eldest son at the hands of the Andronici. Both searching for revenge against Titus’ children, Saturnine and Tamora marry and plot their destruction. Violence commences, bringing with it much death and grief.

Eckman said he finds the violence to be one of the most interesting aspects of the show, and that his cast and technical crew portrayed the violent scenes straight from the source material.

“All of the violence in the play is textual,” he said.

The rampant use of sticky red blood and makeup was startling, but not overwhelming. It was clear that Shakespeare on the Lawn found the inclusion of gratuitous gore integral to the performance. The first and most shocking show of violence arose when Lavinia appeared to the Andronici with her tongue cut out and her hands chopped off.

Special effects makeup was

impressively applied to her balled fists so as to resemble scabbed stumps. She doesn’t respond to the pleas of her family asking what happened to her. Instead, she opens her mouth and allows a stream of blood to trickle down onto the stage floor dramatically, much to the anger of the Andronici and the horror of the audience.

Fourth-year College student Robert Richards played one of a few antagonists, the vindictive Emperor Saturnine. Instead of a bulky, Goliath-esque evildoer, Richards portrays an intellectual who creates madness with conniving cleverness rather than brute physical force. Richards put a modern twist on his performance by speaking with an ironic inflection.

Eckman said there is no historical basis for the events in “Titus Andronicus,” creating uncertainty as to when the play is supposedly set. However, he said, the show serves as a “reminder of the fragility of life [and] how a different culture and time deals with justice and honor.”

Gigglin’ with Mike Birbiglia Ali Jawetz Senior Writer

Comedian Mike Birbiglia has gained critical acclaim from past standup tours “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” and “Sleepwalk with Me” — the latter of which was transformed into a film of the same name, which Birbiglia both starred in and directed.

With critics and Birbiglia himself both deeming his latest routine, “Thank God for Jokes,” the funniest he has ever performed, Charlottesville is ready to welcome the funny man, along with special guest Chris Gethard, to the Paramount Theater Saturday.

The Cavalier Daily got a chance to ask Birbiglia about his tour, awkward encounters and his best bits. And if you’re laughing by the end, you’re in luck — tickets are still on sale for the show.

Arts & Entertainment: Do you like performing [in front of ] college students more or less than adult audiences?

Mike Birbiglia: One of my favorite shows of my career was actually at U.Va. in 2006 with John Mulaney. It was a college tour and one of my favorite shows of my whole life. It was in a recital hall, the crowd was super excited, super smart. Everyone who we dealt with was so nice, and the campus is just breathtaking. I’m very excited to be coming back to Charlottesville.

A&E: What makes the best type of audience?

MB: I like all kinds, to be honest. I like doing international shows. I liked doing “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” in London and Canada. All audiences are different, and it’s the same material, but it’s heard in a different way, because everyone has a different experience of the stories.

It’s interesting for me as a storyteller to hear people respond in different ways. I have a bit about the movie “Top Gun,” where I think of the movie “Top Gun” as, like, “this is who I am.” Some of them get what “Top Gun” is, and some of them don’t. Different types of shows are important in

Kelsey Grant| The Cavalier Daily

Latest Shakespeare on the Lawn installment impresses with bold acting and design.

An avid theatre-goer and experformer, there was only one aspect of this performance that I took issue with: the shoes. I’m positive the ancient Roman aristocracy did not wear Toms, Sperrys or shiny dress shoes. Sandals would have been a more appro-

priate and less distracting choice of footwear.

Nevertheless, the talent of the performers, designers and production crew was impressive. As Eckman said, “it’s not something that you see in the modern-day” very often.

A&E sits down with comedian before his weekend at the Paramount

order to understand what’s most humorous about your stories — or not — to most other cultures.

A&E: What’s different about this tour compared to your other shows?

MB: My goal was for [“Thank God for Jokes”] to be the funniest show that I’ve ever made.

With “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend,” it’s really about the narrative. I have a story to tell. But with this one, I want to make the show as funny as it can be, and if there is a narrative, that’s cool too. It’s secondary to the jokes, though. A typical response is that, “I’ve never laughed so hard for so long,” and that’s the biggest compliment I could have asked for.

A&E: What’s your favorite thing about being on tour?

MB: Traveling makes your mind stir. It makes you think about a lot of your life, because you can’t get fully [settled]. I made a mistake about college — I should have gone abroad.

I think everyone should go abroad. It gives you perspective.

A&E: Have you had any particularly rough shows?

MB: No, most are great.

Though I toured a casino, which is like, fine. Some people are there to see you, and some people are there to gamble and drink, and you’re there too.

You’re the break in between the gambling. You’re telling people stories and they’re thinking about how they just lost $95,000 and how their kids aren’t going to go to college.

A&E: How often do awkward encounters happen to you? How do you know when a situation can become good material?

MB: I have this theory about jokes that you can’t tell jokes to anyone other than your friends.

It never goes well to tell a joke to a stranger because either they’re offended by it, or they think you’re flirting with them.

This weekend, actually, I was at a restaurant in Charleston, [and] this girl said, “I want to come to your show tonight but I couldn’t afford a ticket.” I wanted to smooth it over, so I said,

“This conversation we’re having is funnier than a show anyway.” And she said, “Well, I have a boyfriend.” And I said, “That is not a response to anything I have said.” So that happens a lot.

Life is a never-ending well of comedy.

A&E: You have recently appeared on the talk shows of Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien. Between the three of them, marry, f***, kill?

MB: Oh, man, that’s a tough one. Well, I love Conan and I would never do anything to hurt him. You have to print that or I will sue you. But you have to kill Conan, because he would die so humorously, with his hair and his long arms, he would look like a Halloween horror movie character. And, of course, [then f***] Jimmy, ‘cause he’s the best looking. And Seth just seems like a good domestic partner.

If you would like to fully experience the self-described combination of Matt Damon and Bill O’Reilly for yourself, I suggest you head to the Paramount on Saturday.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Thursday, April 3, 2014

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A U.Va. star is

MADE:

An interview with Khalilah Joi

Courtesy Khalilah Joi

Khalilah Joi, a 2001 College graduate, scored a one-year contract with ABC and is expected to make her television debut in the near future.

Flo Overfelt Associate Editor

Arts & Entertainment: Did you always foresee yourself becoming an actor? What sparked your interest in acting?

Khalilah Joi: When I was at U.Va., I had no intention of going into acting. It had always been this whimsical notion that I kept in the back of my mind, but it seemed so far out of reach that I just didn't give it much credence. I was an English major at U.Va. and planned to go into broadcast journalism.

But while I was there I decided to join the Paul Robeson Players.

It was a drama group started by a friend of mine and I joined for fun. It was really my first time acting since elementary school plays.

We did scene study together and eventually went into rehearsals for the play, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf," but the production unfortunately never came together. I think that experience is what piqued my interest. I got such great feedback. I figured, “Hey, this is pretty cool.”

After that I took a couple drama courses, one with Gweneth West and another with Ishmail Conway.

I got to explore acting in a way I never had before. And while it still wasn't something I envisioned pursuing as a career; I had definitely been bitten.

After graduation, I took more acting courses at a community college and eventually at Studio Theatre Conservatory in D.C. That’s when it bloomed into something bigger and I realized acting was what I wanted to do professionally.

A&E: You’ve already acted in several movies (“Apollyon,” “Jonestown” and “He Can Get It,” to name a few) and a few plays as well. Could you tell us about your

experience on set?

KJ: Outside of theater, my first gig was background work on the film, "Head of State." I remember my call time was something like 10 p.m. I didn't leave set until 5 a.m., and work the next day was a serious struggle. My other earlier projects were all super low-budget, which is very different from working on a professional set in L.A. Back then, it was more of an “everybody pitches in” mentality.

The hours were long, pay was little or non-existent and you were just happy to be working.

A professional set is quite different. I usually get the call time a couple days before we start shooting.

An actor's point of contact on set is usually the first or second assistant director. Wardrobe fittings are typically done ahead of time so everything you need is there in your trailer when you arrive. First stop is hair and makeup. Once that's done, if they're not ready for you on set, you wait. There’s a lot of waiting as an actor. If the lighting's not right or the set design needs tweaking, these things can take hours. So as actors we hang out in our trailer or with each other, maybe run lines, and just wait until the director is ready for you.

A&E: What happens after you’re done waiting?

KJ: Once you’re on a “hot set,” it's all about the lighting and camera angles first. You kind of stand there while things happen around you.

This is also a good time to check in with the director and make sure your intention for the scene and the character is on track with his or hers. Television, though, happens a lot faster and you sometimes don’t have as much opportunity for those kind of artistic discussions. Once the technical stuff is taken care of, it's your turn to work. It may be for three or four takes or it may be 20 takes or more. There are so many

factors that go into getting a take that the director is happy with. My goal as an actress is to stay focused, remain true to my intention for the character and the scene and deliver a good take every time.

Days on set are usually 10 to 12 hours, sometimes more. Even if you’re only shooting two or three pages of script, because of all the angles and setups and takes, it’s going to be a full day. There can be hours of downtime some days as well. It changes with every shoot.

That’s one of the lovely things about being an actor: you never have the same workday twice.

A&E: How did you hear about ABC’s “Make Me a Star” competition?

KJ: I heard about the competition through Bechir Sylvain, a friend of mine who entered and won last year. He told me they were holding the competition again and lovingly demanded that I enter. I have to say, he was far more confident in my chances than I was. I figured it was a long shot and refused to get my hopes up. I actually procrastinated so long that I made the submission deadline with about 24 hours to spare.

A&E: What was the initial audition process like?

KJ: Once you registered for the competition online, ABC e-mailed us several audition scenes. I had to select a scene from those and put the scene on tape along with an introduction, which included answering one of four questions. My question was, “If you could be anyone in the world, who would it be and why?”

I submitted my first audition video around Thanksgiving 2013.

A little less than a month later, I was informed that I was a semifinalist and that I had 72 hours to submit a second audition video choosing from just two scenes.

This was a serious time crunch

Arts & Entertainment sits down with Khalilah Joi, a University alumna and recent winner of ABC’s “Make Me a Star” contest. A native of Hampton, Va., Khalilah now has a one-year contract with ABC. for me because it was just before Christmas and I was flying home two days after I received the notification. I got it done and submitted my second audition video just in time. I second-guessed my performance for weeks. I wondered if I had made strong enough choices; I wondered if I should have chosen the other scene. Everything. Then came more good news, just after New Year’s. I received an email informing me I was a finalist.

A&E: What about the final process?

KJ: First I had to fill out about 20 pages of paperwork. Once you get to the third or fourth callback and are testing for a studio, you typically have to fill out the contract before hand, so the executives won’t have to deal with it after they’ve decided that they want you.

But even after filling out the paperwork, I knew it wasn’t over. I was told the executives would be selecting a winner from the pool of finalists in the coming weeks.

After about three weeks of not hearing anything, I had given up the idea altogether. I knew that the winners were to be announced by the end of January. So by Jan. 29th, I had resigned myself to the fact that it wasn’t me. Then came a phone call at 8 p.m. on Jan. 30th. I was informed that the casting executives had narrowed down the finalists and wanted to do one last interview with me the following morning via Skype. I was given several questions to prepare and needless to say, was a nervous wreck.

A&E: How did they tell you that you had won and how did you feel?

KJ: There were three people on the Skype call including the executive vice president of casting for all of ABC, Keli Lee. The conversation was casual enough. They asked me a few questions. Then Keli said, “Well, we just wanted talk to you

and let you know that we really enjoyed your work and that YOU WON!” A&E: What was your reaction to the incredible news?

KJ: To say that I was a deer in headlights is pretty accurate.

There was a lot of babbling on my part, thank-you’s, and then tears.

I was a complete mess...shock, joy, gratitude, relief...in a word overwhelmed. I cried like a baby when I got off the Skype call. It was so nice to have my work validated in that way. It was one of the happiest moments of my life so far.

A&E: Winning the competition means a year-long contract with ABC. Do you have any idea where you’ll be placed or what you’ll be acting in?

KJ: At this point, it’s just a matter of finding a show that’s the right fit for me. I went out on some great pilot auditions I probably would never had gone on otherwise and I’ve built some really good relationships with major casting directors.

So, for now I just have to wait and see where they think I’ll fit in their programming. But it’s an incredible feeling to know I have an entire network on my side, pushing for me and helping make my dreams come true.

A&E: Following that, if you could act with anybody in any show or movie, who would it be?

KJ: This is a pretty long list.

My number one is Meryl Streep, though. Although, I’m not sure I could stop staring at her long enough to actually be in a scene with her. She is everything I’d like to be as an actress, in terms of her talent and longevity. I have never seen a performance of hers that was not absolutely captivating.

Be sure to check Joi out in “Apollyon,” a thriller set to be released this summer. Until then, you can follow her on Twitter with the handle @KhalilahJoi.

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Courtesy Sara Durham

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Marshall Bronfin | The Cavalier Daily

Marshall Bronfin | The Cavalier Daily

Kelsey Grant | The Cavalier Daily