Thursday, April 18, 2019

The Cavalier Daily

Vol. 129, Issue 27

EMMA KLEIN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Thursday, April 18, 2019

THE CAVALIER DAILY

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This week in-brief

NEWS

CD News Staff

Take Back the Night hosts vigil for sexual assault survivors The Take Back the Night Vigil was held in the Amphitheater Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m. to help raise awareness for and support survivors of sexual assault and was attended by approximately 100 people. The event included stories from survivors, musical performances by Wendy Repass, a local Charlottesville musician, and Michael Schulte, a second-year College student.

This year marked the 32nd anniversary of Take Back the Night at the University. Throughout the past decade, the vigil has traditionally been held in the Amphitheater. Occasionally, it has been at other locations on Grounds, such as the Rotunda steps in 2002.

“The vigil is really geared towards empowering survivors, and just kind of creating a sense of community for them that you’re not alone, you can survive this, you really have a place

here, we hear you and we’re there for you,” said Sarah Nolan, third-year College student and one of the co-chairs of Take Back the Night.

Survivors of sexual assault from the University and the larger Charlottesville community were encouraged to share their stories at the vigil. Survivors were given an array of options to share their stories — speaking themselves, standing behind a tent so they remained anonymous or having a member of the vigil committee read their story for them. It was made explicitly clear that any survivor who signed up to speak could drop out at any time if they felt uncomfortable.

Kathryn Williams, a second-year in the College who attended the vigil, said that community members can learn a lot from survivors.

COURTESY TAKE BACK THE NIGHT AT UVA

Take Back the Night U.Va. painted Beta Bridge last week in preparation.

U.Va. community hosts remembrance event for Rehan Baddeliyanage

FATEME TAVAKOLI | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Dean Allen Groves opened the event with a few remarks on Baddeliyanage.

The University community hosted a “Celebration of Life” event Sunday morning in Old Cabell Hall for Rehan Baddeliyanage, the fourth-year Engineering student who unexpectedly passed away in an accident over spring break.

The remembrance event was followed by a reception in the McIntire School of Commerce’s Art Gallery and Courtyard.

Approximately 200 people were in attendance.

Baddeliyanage was majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Business Engineering. He was the vice chair for professional expectations and promotions in Housing and Residence Life. He was a member of the University Guide Service, Theta Tau professional engineering fraternity, IMP Society, Madison House, The Virginia No-Tones and Virginia Men’s Ultimate Club Frisbee.

Dean Allen Groves opened the remembrance event with a few remarks about Baddeliyanage’s accomplishments and positive impact on the community. Groves mentioned that the community should focus on celebrating who Baddeliyanage was and the memories he left behind.

Baddeliyanage’s girlfriend, 2018 University graduate Emily Ewing spoke at the end of the event and asked the audience to donate to The Rehan Baddeliyanage Memorial Fund — a scholarship that has been created to honor Rehan’s legacy. The scholarship will be awarded to an engineering student who best resembles Baddeliyanage’s personal character and is committed to servant leadership, kindness, generosity, integrity, community service and loyalty to friends.

Muslim Students Association holds annual Islam Awareness Month This April, the Muslim Students Association is hosting their annual Islam Awareness Month to share the faith and traditions of Islam with the University community. Islam Awareness Month at the University features a variety of activities ranging from open prayer to moderated dialogues that will be held throughout Grounds. The MSA kicked off the month by painting Beta Bridge on April 7 and will end the month’s activities on April 29 with a Mindfulness in Islam discussion held in the Multicultural Student Center.

According to the MSA’s Facebook event for the month, everyone — regardless of faith tradition — is welcome to participate in the events. Al Ahmed, a fourth-year Curry student and MSA president, said the events were planned with a goal of community outreach at the center and hopes that students will be re-

ceptive to these efforts. “Every year the MSA at UVA hosts Islam Awareness Month to engage with the larger UVA community,” Ahmed said in an email to The Cavalier Daily. “We hope that this month and our efforts make an impact on the community and that anyone who attends our events enjoys them, grows, and comes away with a different more informed perspective.”

Mazzen Shalaby, a second-year College student and MSA member, said the events have historically been received favorably

by University students. “When it comes to choosing events, we try to balance our goals of educating others about Islam and its tenets, and showcasing the rich and diverse traditions and cultures and traditions that Muslims belong to (both in our community and around the world),” Shalaby said in an email statement.

COURTESY MUSLIM STUDENTS ASSOCIATION

MSA worked to educate and celebrate Islam with the U.Va. community.

University Democrats host Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke

EMMA KLEIN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

O’Rourke spoke to hundreds at Nau Hall Tuesday evening as part of his Virginia tour.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke spoke twice Tuesday — once to 250 University students and community members in Nau Hall’s auditorium and afterward to hundreds more people tightly packed throughout the building’s three story atrium. According to University Democrats President and third-year College student Jackson Samples, Nau Hall was the only available space on Grounds for the event to occur.

O’Rourke — who served in the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019 — formally announced his candidacy for the 2020 presidential election March 14. Rather than running for re-election for his seat in the House of Representatives, O’Rourke decided to run for U.S.

Senate in 2018. He was defeated by about two percentage points against incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

During the event, O’Rourke spoke briefly about what he hopes to do if he becomes the Democratic nominee and potentially the president. O’Rourke covered many prevalent policy issues including gun control, immigration rights, marijuana legalization, health-care, abortion rights, criminal justice reform and climate change. “I hope decide to expand healthcare even further than we did last year to enact common sense gun legislation and gun safety reforms and take the steps necessary ... to connect with not just Democrats, but Independents and Republicans alike,” O’Rourke said in an interview with The Cavalier Daily.

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THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019

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Latinx student groups document history on Grounds LSA historian Natalia Heguaburo led the research after finding a lack of information on Latinx/Hispanic groups’ histories Jennifer Brice and Rachel Zentmayer | Staff Writers The Latinx Student Alliance and Latinx Leadership Council kicked off the first ever Latinx Alumni Weekend last Friday by commemorating the launch of a historical website, which documents the development of Hispanic and Latinx student groups at the University. The website provides a directory that contains links to an explanation of each organization’s mission, history and work on Grounds.

Natalia Heguaburo, a fourth-year College student and LSA historian, led the project and said it will act as “a living repository” to serve generations of students with a more accurate and representative history.

Heguaburo said she was inspired to explore this history when she found a “disheartening” lack of information about Latinx student groups in the University’s Special Collections Library archives. Instead, Heguaburo connected with alumni and compiled much of the information on the site through interviews and any materials that had been saved over the years.

For example, Heguaburo said she learned from her own research that the history of the LSA dates back to its creation in 1992 under its original name — La Sociedad Hispánica. The LSA website lists its founding year as 2009, which Heguaburo attributes to the fact that the group underwent mergers and name changes, which resulted in files and history being lost and misinterpreted. When Heguaburo looked for information in the University archives, she found only a single folder of documents relating to any Latinx and Hispanic student groups.

“For a group that has struggled and succeeded, as well as contributed to the make up of this University so much so, to only have one folder was extremely disheartening,” Heguaburo said. “So I came up with this idea … because it’s quite evident that our history is not going to be recorded properly or accurately without our help.”

Heguaburo said that Gina Flores, a graduate of the College from the Class of 2000, was one alumna who was especially helpful throughout the project. Flores was in Charlottesville for the alumni events and spoke at Friday’s website launch party. She reflected on the lack of Latinx representation in the winter 2018 issue of the Virginia magazine.

Flores said that the notable alumni section of the commemorative bicentennial edition did not adequately acknowledge Latinx history at the University in the past 200 years, as she noted that there was not even mention of Simon Bolivar — the Venezuelan military and political leader who led the liberation of Latin American countries from the Spanish empire in the early 19th century and enrolled in the University in 1822. Flores mentioned that the magazine did recognize Juan Torruella, who graduated

JACOB DEANE | THE CAVALIER DAILY

from the Law School in 1984 and serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals.

“I really am touched by your words because in the winter I received my alumni magazine, and it was the bicentennial and kind of commemorative, and they were very upfront, and they were like, ‘This is not perfect,’” Flores said. “There was only one mention of Latinidad in this publication, and I looked at the online version. I did an online search, and there was only one mention.”

Although progress has been made in the representation of the Latinx community at the University — with 17 organizations being documented on the archival site — Flores urged students to consider how they want to shape their legacy here at the University.

The timeline of Hispanic/Latinx organizations at the University begins in 1992 with the creation of LSA under its original name — La Sociedad Hispánica. In 1997, Bolivar Network was formed to create an alumni and networking base, and the organization provides La Bolivar Network Book Scholarship for leaders in the University’s Latinx community. Bolivar Network was named for the Bolivar family — Fernando Bolivar’s nephew, Simon, attended the University in 1827, demonstrating early connections between the University’s history and the Latinx community.

The Omega Phi Beta and La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda were formed in 1998 and 1999, respectively. The Hispanic/Latinx Peer Mentoring Program, which facilitates relationships between new and returning undergraduate students, was also created in 1999. Since the year 2000, 12 other student groups dedicated to aspects of the Latinx culture and com-

munity were established for a range of specific interests, such as for the Engineering and Batten academic schools, cultural activities and the promotion of unity, leadership and political involvement.

In October 2018, Latinx students and organizations addressed an open letter to the University community calling for institutional support and inclusion on Grounds. The letter noted that the Latinx population comprises six percent of the student body and only 24 faculty members in the College — with fewer than 10 working outside of language departments. The letter also used the University’s Bicentennial celebration slogan, #OursToShape, when calling for inclusivity and representation.

“Looking around the room here and seeing that, what, there’s 19 organizations or so? I mean this is really impressive,” Flores said. “So hopefully with that presence the next time they make one of these commemorative reports, think about how you want to be featured, or how you want your legacy to be here at the University.”

Heguaburo said launching the website during alumni weekend was meant to allow alumni to see their contributions to the University receive recognition.

“Ultimately we decided to have it be it the kickoff event because we wanted alumni to be here to see that all the efforts that they did did not go unnoticed,” Heguaburo said. “Because a lot of alumni are highlighted.”

Second-year College student Pilar Jimenez attended the launch party and said the website is an important tool to boost recognition of the impact of the Latinx community at the University. Jimenez is the incoming LSA president and is also current-

ly involved in the Latinx Leadership Institute, which recruits 30 first and second-year students for a six-week development program. Jimenez noted the significance of programs such as the historical website and having a weekend dedicated to Latinx alumni.

“I think it’s about visibility,” Jimenez said. “I think that often times Latinx history, as has been previously mentioned, is often forgotten, and I think that this event and the launch of this website marks the fact that we are indeed here, and we’re here to stay, and we’re here to be known that we’re here.”

Other students in attendance came to support and learn more about the Latinx community on Grounds.

Third-year College students Nathan Abraham and Vilas Annavarapu said the website is a much-needed educational tool that the entire University community can benefit from.

“I think for students like me, who don’t have as a much of a background with cultural organizations, it’s an awesome educational tool to let people know what awesome work is being done,” Abraham said.

Annavarapu added that the student-led historical website compensates for the University’s lack of representation in the telling of its past.

“I think U.Va. really struggles with buried histories,” Annavarapu said.

“There’s certain stories that get told over and over again, and that frequently comes at the expense of marginalized communities. And the onus is on student groups — unfairly so — to do that work, but it was done very beautifully and elegantly.”

Heguaburo noted that the central goal of her research and the release of the project was to bring these “buried histories” to light, and to make the

history of Latinx organizations on Grounds comprehensive and accessible through a newfound source of information.

“The one thing that I do want to leave people with is that archiving our history, as well as any history of a minoritized group, matters,” Heguaburo said. “Because it serves to support the creation of new knowledge, as well as provide a platform to understand human experience that we would otherwise not be able to gauge.”

Newly appointed Special Collections Library archivist Bethany Anderson and her colleague, instruction librarian Krystal Appiah, have recently received a grant from the University Bicentennial in the spring to better archive and document various student organizations on Grounds.

The University Bicentennial Reward is supported by the Alumni Board of Trustees, and each proposal for the monetary awards has to align with the critical goals of bicentennial planning. These areas include engagement and promotion of alumni, parents and friends and raising public awareness of the University, commemoration of University history including its relationship with slavery and envisioning the future of the University.

“I recently received a grant from UVA Bicentennial this spring to begin identifying gaps in our holdings with respect to student organizations, conduct outreach to student organizations, and host a workshop for CIOs and student groups on donating and preserving their record,” Anderson said in an email statement to The Cavalier Daily. “Moving forward we are hoping to more inclusively acquire records from student organizations.”

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Student groups respond to ACRJ ICE notification policy DREAMers on Grounds, PLUMAS and UDems mobilize in response to policies of Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail Sydney Herzog | Senior Writer In response to the upcoming Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail Board meeting May 9, which will discuss Immigration and Customs Enforcement Policy at the jail, student groups such as DREAMers on Grounds, Political Latinxs United for Movement and Action in Society and University Democrats have mobilized to raise awareness and rally against the jail’s ICE notification policy.

Currently, the policy of the ACRJ is to call ICE, upon request from ICE, at least 72 hours prior to when an undocumented immigrant is going to be released from the jail. The jail does not hold any person longer than scheduled for ICE, which is a policy that was put in place in 2017. Prior to this decision, the jail would hold people for ICE, even after the time they were supposed to be released.

DREAMers on Grounds and PLUMAS hosted an information session last Friday in the Multicultural Student Center to discuss the current policy at the ACRJ and the changes the groups hope to see in the future.

The groups are advocating for abolishment of the current policy, following the slogan “ICE OUT of Cville.”

The #ICEOUTofCville campaign was started by a community of organizers, including graduate Arts & Sciences student Andrea Negrete, in connection with the “ICE OUT of RVA” campaign in Richmond, Virgina.

“What we feel is immigration status should never be used to target people no matter their criminal background, but this is exactly what ICE is doing at the ACRJ,” Negrete said.

“The decisions that we make here locally can either support undocumented community members or aim to make their live harder and in fact aim to terrorize that community and that is exactly what the ACRJ policies is doing to undocumented folks.”

Last Friday’s event presented general information about ICE, the issue at the ACRJ and how students around Grounds can help the cause. According to Katherine Soba, four-year Curry student and president of DREAMers on Grounds, the purpose of the presentation was to “get more students to be involved” as they advocate for the removal of the ICE notification policy.

DREAMers on Grounds has been advocating for the removal for the notification policy for the past two years.

PLUMAS has also worked closely with them — and recently University Democrats as well — to support the advocates within the Charlottesville community through actions including attending board meetings, participating in call-in campaigns and painting Beta Bridge.

“As U.Va. students in Charlottesville I feel like our voices matter a lot to local government,” Soba said. “If we

don’t show interest or care or anger towards this inhumane policy than it’s likely they may not do anything about it.”

According to Albemarle County Board of Supervisors member Diantha McKeel, of the 4,000 to 5,000 people released from the jail every year, only an average of 25 to 44 of those people are undocumented. In addition, McKeel said no one is ever arrested only for being undocumented, only for commiting crimes.

“The policy is not helpful to anybody because it’s attacking people who have already been released, cleared by the local court system or have already served their time or paid their bonds,” Soba said. “So to release them and then to notify ICE to come and detain them is kind of ironic in a sense because they haven’t done anything wrong… it’s just an inhumane policy.”

According to Melissa Borja, fourth-year College student and government relations chair for DREAMers on Grounds, the ICE notification policy is an example of the inequality in the justice system for undocumented community members.

“People that support notifications are failing to see the greater system that treats undocumented people fundamentally in a different way,” Borja said. “You can face a fundamentally criminal justice system as a undocumented person than a permanent resident. And a lot of the things that make it so varied are done voluntarily by localities.”

The ICE notifications are done voluntarily, by decision of the jail and it’s policies. However, anyone brought to jail is required to scan their fingerprints, which are also sent to ICE. According to McKeel, this means that ICE already is aware of any undocumented people in the jail, before a call is made.

“The voluntary phone calls are a secondary notification,” McKeel said.

“ICE already knows who is in the jail based on the finger prints. Matter of fact, 30 percent of the inmates that ICE removes have not even been to court for their trial, much less had a release date that we could even call about. That alone shows you that they are following who’s in our jail based on those finger prints.”

ICE decides when and if they will detain people from the jail on a caseby-case basis. There are cases where they never come retrieve an undocumented person, and there are times when they get them before they even are seen by a judge.

According to McKeel, although this policy has been declared optional in Virginia, federally the government looks for how well jails are collaborating with ICE. The optionality of the policy has “never been held up in court.”

“All other jails in the state of Virginia, including Washington D.C., call ICE,” ACRJ Superintendent Martin Kumer said. “If we chose to tell them that ‘the notification procedure has changed, you may get the notification information from Vine,’ we would be the first jail in the state of Virginia and the District of Columbia and potentially in the country to do that.”

The jail currently uses a public automated database system called Vine Link, which stores the information of the people in the prison. They have been working to update the system so that it can be used for ICE to find out when prisoners are released, rather than the jail having to call.

“The system is already there, already in place for 23 to 25 years already, and the information is already out there, so it’s not something in our control,” Kumer said. “Vine is a necessary component for victims… There will be no getting rid of Vine ever — there will always be a victim notification system.”

Vine Link updates every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, and would possess the information about release dates that ICE usually obtains over the phone.

“The idea that this technology will be sending notifications... allows people, I think, to be detached from the process,” Borja said. “I think it’s a cop out and makes people feel like they aren’t actually a part of what’s going on. So I would in general caution people to involving technology in this way in terms of funneling people from detention to deportation. I think that’s really scary and a little bit dystopian.”

According to Negrete, being the only jail to stop notifying ICE, is an opportunity for the City, not a cause for concern.

“The ACRJ has the opportunity to become the first local jail in the state of Virginia to end ICE notifications which is huge,” Negrete said. “The jail board has the opportunity to lead with courage of doing the right thing rather than the fear of how the white supremacists may respond. The meeting in May is an opportunity for them to do the right thing and end this policy that is terrorizing local communities.”

At the ACRJ Board Authority meeting May 9, the Board will be deciding on if the policy will change moving forward. However, according to McKeel, the decision is not if they stop notifying ICE — which is what DREAMers and PLUMAS is advocating for — it is just to potentially change how ICE is being notified.

The agenda for the Board meeting will be available May 3 and has not yet been finalized. However, according to McKeel, the Board will not be conducting a formal vote because this decision is a matter of policy, not law.

Leading up to the Board meeting,

AARIANA GUERANMAYEH | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The University Democrats and DREAMers on Grounds held a phone-in event April 17 in front of Garrett Hall protesting the current ICE notification policy in place at ACRJ.

PLUMAS, DREAMers on Grounds and UDems are also sponsoring other events to spread awareness about the potential policy change. They will be conducting call-in campaigns, bringing people together to attend the Board meeting and creating a petition to send to the jail board.

DREAMers on Grounds and UDems held an event in front of Garrett Hall for the second day of their call-in campaign in support of ending ICE notifications at the ACRJ April 17. The groups gave out scripts to use on the campaign phone calls and sheets with information about the goal of the campaign, the numbers to call and details about attending the May Board meeting.

According to Steven Radilla, a second-year College student and the secretary for DREAMers on Grounds, the goal of the campaign is to flood the lines of the Board members that are involved in making this decision.

“Essentially what we want to do is make this is easy as possible,” Radilla said. “We want people to be able to call, so we printed out both these flyers so people can call from wherever they want. [We’re calling] the jail board members because it’s them — they’re the ones making the decision.

They’re not elected to that position, so it’s messed up how this is all working out.”

The groups have also been circulating an open letter to the members of the ACRJ authority Board demanding the end of voluntary ICE notifications.

“Recent political developments have made ending ICE notification here in Charlottesville even more imperative,” the letter read. “HB2270, a

State bill which would have required that localities like Charlottesville cooperate with ICE, was vetoed this past session — as a result, the Board has full reign to end voluntary notification on its own.”

Currently, the petition has been signed by 19 organizations — including Student Council and Latinx Student Alliance — and 99 individuals.

The University activist groups continue to demand that voluntary ICE notifications end altogether, and that switching to Vine Link — and thereby continuing to notify ICE — does not help the undocumented community.

“As a local jurisdiction we should say no to an agency [ICE] that over and over again is committing human rights violations,” Negrete said. “I won’t choose between the two of less evils [Vine Link and direct calls].”

The open letter also states that Attorney General Mark Herring (D-Va.) has declined to make legal comments on the current notification policy and has effectively echoed McKeel’s statement that the board decision is a matter of policy and not law.

“It is time for our local representatives to end their complicity with a force that demonizes and terrorizes immigrant communities across the country,” the letter said. “ICE’s violent, military-style raids have maimed thousands of people, torn families apart, and instilled fear among immigrants and people of color.”

THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019

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LIFE There are many things you expect to happen once you get to college. I heard rumors that college would mean ramen noodles and the beginning of a coffee addiction. I was also led to believe that I would instantly find a big group of friends, a major and never miss my parents. Few of those things actually played out as imagined. One of those few? The coffee addiction. Although I still don’t drink coffee, I know far too many people whose lives have been taken over by this caffeinated beverage.

There may be nothing inherently wrong with coffee, besides the caffeine addiction and hole in your wallet that results from drinking it. But if you have read some of my other articles, like my healthy double chocolate chip cookie recipe, you know that I tend to preach everything in moderation, coffee included. By this I mean I believe that all foods and drinks can fit into

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The healthy replacement for morning coffee With only four ingredients, this apple cider vinegar drink is both easy to make and nutritious Isabel Salken | Food Columnist your diet, no matter their nutritional quality, as long as they are consumed in moderation and are things that make you happy. But what if I told you that you could get the same energy boost and more positive health effects from a different drink, minus the addiction and cost? Yes, there really is such a drink.

After seeing a few bloggers in the health and wellness scene start making apple cider vinegar drinks, I began to research myself. I’m usually the person that struggles on “coffee dates,” because I stick to ordering chai teas, water and kombucha.

Tea is great, but you can only really drink so much tea. Needless to say, I wanted my own original option to fill a Hydro Flask.

I decided to come up with my own recipe as a healthy alternative to the addictive drinks consuming college students’ lives.

There aren’t any real limits on this wellness tonic. To be honest, it

doesn’t even really have a name. But at the base of every different recipe I have seen for it are four vital ingredients — apple cider vinegar, ginger, lemon and water — that all pack their own nutritional benefits.

You might be wondering how it is possible to drink even diluted vinegar, but hear me out. Unfiltered apple cider vinegar helps maintain healthy pH balance, which aids in digestion. It also works to helps with detoxification and protects against harmful bacteria by being composed of acetic acid, which can help prevent bacteria from spreading.

Lemon, particularly lemon water, also helps maintain pH balance, detoxifies the body and maintains digestive health. Lemons themselves are a great source of vitamin C and also contain anti-inflammatory properties.

Ginger is just as powerful, with lots of antioxidants and vitamins.

Ginger is great for digestion, which

is why it is common in traditional herbal medicine for calming the stomach and gut.

All of these ingredients work together to have stimulating effects, like coffee, making this drink a natural energy booster. I know nothing about this combination screams “tasty,” but my sister likes to add honey whenever she makes it, and it makes the drink comforting and sweet. You can also add cinnamon

for a pinch of spice.

Not only will you be doing your body a service by helping regulate your digestion, you will even save a few dollars after the initial cost of buying these ingredients. No more coffee or K-pod budget necessary — just wholesome ingredients.

Morning Mix Recipe Ingredients

1 mug of warm water 3-4 thin slices of ginger root 1 quarter of a lemon 1 capful of apple cider vinegar — you can increase this amount once you get used to the effects (Optional) 1 tbsp honey or a shake of cinnamon

Instructions

1. Heat the water 2. Mix all ingredients.

3. Enjoy!

Professor bridges the divide between STEM and the arts From the stage to the emergency room: The many hats of Tim Cunningham Anna Grace Chang | Feature Writer Each page in the story of Asst.

Prof. of Nursing Tim Cunningham’s life is more surprising than the last.

Starting his career as a professional actor and volunteering across the world with Clowns Without Borders, Cunningham broke into the world of nursing, now holding an assistant professorship in both the drama and nursing departments at the University.

Cunningham discovered a love for the theater during his years as an undergraduate student at the University of William and Mary.

While he did not plan to pursue acting in a professional capacity, Cunningham says that he was encouraged to take a leap of faith into the arts world by his mother, herself a talented musician. Cunningham traveled across the world as an actor and taught acting as a guest artist at The Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, Va., from 2002 to 2005.

In addition to his work as an actor and teacher, Cunningham has been volunteering in countries such as Colombia, Mexico and Turkey with Clowns Without Borders since 2003. He was the executive director of Clowns Without Borders from 2010 to 2015.

“Clowns Without Borders has a mission of sharing laughter in zones

of crisis,” Cunningham said. “We go wherever we’re invited, when we’re invited. We don’t define the zone of crisis because that’s not our place to judge. If a community group wants us to come in and perform for kids, we do it.”

Cunningham spoke to students at the International Residential College about his work with Clowns Without Borders April 4.

Second-year College student Grace Medrano, an attendee at the dinner, was impressed by his passion for the mission to bring laughter to those around the world facing adversity.

“I thought it was really interesting to hear about Professor Cunningham’s work with Clowns Without Borders,” Medrano said in an email to the Cavalier Daily. “He was very animated and upon hearing him speak, you could tell that it was a cause that he cared deeply for.”

However, Cunningham’s work with Clowns Without Borders eventually led him to re-evaluate his career path. While working in Haiti, Cunningham and his fellow volunteers performed in the hospital room of a little girl who was sick because her mother was malnourished during her pregnancy. Soon after the performance, Cunningham learned that the little girl had

passed away.

Upon receiving the news, Cunningham was horrified at the struggle to find adequate nourishment in Haiti when people in the United States have the opposite problem, requiring medical help because of overconsumption. He resolved to do something about the perceived inequality.

“When I got that news [regarding the girl’s death], I literally felt something shift in my body — like I was struck by lightning from the tips of my toes to the top of my head,” Cunningham said. “There was a jolt through my body, and I decided that I needed to do something different with my life, and it was either nursing, medicine or law.”

Cunningham ultimately chose the nursing field, getting his degree from the University’s Clinical Nurse Leader program — the program in which he now teaches. He worked in the University’s Health System for a year after acquiring his degree. However, when the 2010 earthquake hit Haiti, Cunningham left his job at the University in order to go provide relief.

His humanitarian efforts did not stop there. Cunningham spent nine weeks working in Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis of 2013

to 2016 and most recently, worked with Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar due to the ongoing genocide.

Throughout his nursing career, Cunningham has continued to integrate his work as a clown into his practice.

“When I work as a nurse, I always sort of carry some magic tricks in my pocket … If someone's just freaked out to be in a clinic, sometimes doing a little magic or juggling or something can change the mind and someone might laugh in a moment of stress,” Cunningham said.

Since returning to the University as an assistant professor of nursing and drama in 2016, Cunningham has worked to balance his passion for both the arts and medical fields. He rejects the tendency of academia to separate the arts and STEM studies.

“STEM and the arts — I believe it’s all one,” Cunningham said. “Academia really likes to create silos … but I think we do a disservice to the students that we work with if we act as if this is the one and only, the most important field, or if we don’t allow students to have a full liberal arts education.”

Cunningham’s unique approach to academics has not gone unno-

ticed by his students. Second-year CNL student Laurel Geis described Cunningham’s multi-faceted approach to teaching, saying that he often begins class by reading a poem or providing some sort of thought-provoking exercise. Geis also made note of Cunningham’s “running office hours,” during which he encourages students to run with him and discuss class material.

“He’s dynamic … he’s very willing to kind of get the tone of a class and say, ‘I’m sensing this class really needs to do this,’” Geis said. “It’s exciting — I always feel like there’s something interesting we’re going to do there.”

In addition to his professorship, Cunningham is the director of the Compassionate Care Initiative, a project started in 2009 to build resilience among future health-providers through self-care initiatives.

He and his peers believe in the potential of resilience to make healthcare providers more compassionate in their practice.

It is safe to say that Cunningham is involved in a little bit of everything, and as Geis noted, passionate about the work he does. The University’s only nurse and clown has left his mark on Grounds in more ways than one.

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THE CAVALIER DAILY

LIFE • www.cavalierdaily.com

Top 10 ways to celebrate Earth Week Be green, keep the Earth clean

1

Check out Sustainability U.Va.

2

Plant something

3

Walk to class

Happy Earth Week! In honor of Earth Day, Sustainability U.Va. is putting on a week’s worth of green-themed events April 22 to celebrate clean living. Want to get involved? Check out their website for the official calendar of events. PSA — there will be food! Too busy with end of the year assignments? Don’t worry!

Here are some simple ways you can show our planet some love. Warning — some minimal effort is required.

Find some dirt, a handful of seeds, grab that half-empty water bottle that’s been sitting on your desk for a month and boom — you’re growing something. Planting doesn’t have to be difficult, basically any plot of land and type of seed will do. Still unsure on how to go about raising your seedlings? Observe how the pros are doing it at the U.Va. Community Garden. Once your crops are flourishing, everything in life will fall into place.

You probably already do this everyday, so good job! For those that take the bus or ride a moped, shame on you. Yes, sometimes it is unavoidable — your destination is far away or you woke up at 7:55 a.m. before your 8 a.m. class. But if you have enough time and don’t mind stretching your legs, try walking to class for the whole week. You’ll get fit and cut down on those greenhouse gas emissions — a double score.

4

Smell a flower

That’s it. Just take a study break, walk outside and sniff one of the vibrant blossoms that adorn the multitude of flora found around Grounds. Sometimes showing off your green thumb means just having an appreciation for nature. This one probably takes the least amount of effort and automatically earns you a nature nymph badge.

5

Donate some clothes

As the school year winds down, it's time to start thinking about packing up your room. As you throw your clothes and possessions into suitcases and boxes, take a moment to set aside anything you don’t want to lug home with you.

Maybe get rid of that extra sweater that you never really wear or that pair of shoes that you brought to school but never used. You’ll be practicing sustainability by donating your gently used garments and saving your back by having less to carry out on move-out day.

6

Paige Waterhouse | Top 10 Writer

Eat locally

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again — Charlottesville has good food. One of the things that makes it so delicious is a lot of the restaurants and dining halls are supplied with food from local farmers. It’s fresh, it’s green and it’s yummy, so why not eat locally?

Your stomach, the farmers and Mother Nature will all thank you.

7

Recycle

8

Compost

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Take a five minute shower! Turn off the sinks! Don’t leave the hose running! These words are courtesy of the mandatory puppet show on water conservation my elementary school sponsored each year. Was it fun? Sure, I enjoyed it the first time, but by the third year, I had the script memorized. In case your school wasn’t fortunate enough to see the show, see above for the basic rundown. Though repetitive, the show was effective, and shaving a few extra minutes off your shower time doesn’t seem like that big of a deal.

Another very low-effort, environmentally-conscious activity you can participate in is recycling. The blue bin is almost always right next to the trash can. Simply check the label on your wrapper or bottle, and toss it into the appropriate bin. Boom. You’re a nature warrior.

Composting is a great way to thank the planet for feeding you — all you have to do is basically return the favor. Fruit and veggie scraps, coffee grounds, natural tea bags and egg shells are all great options for things you can bury in the dirt. Fertilize the garden you planted earlier or look for green bins around Grounds to toss your leftovers in. Sometimes, the earth gets hungry too.

9

Save some water

Turn off the lights

Need an excuse to take a nap or go to bed early? Use the “I’m trying to be environmentally conscious” card.

You’ll be saving electricity and adhering to the recommended amount of sleep time for your age — which I guarantee most of us do not actually follow. So flip the switch and sleep soundly, knowing that you’ve yet again single-handedly saved the planet.

ANGELA CHAN AND LAUREN MOHEN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

S

SPORTS

www.cavalierdaily.com • SPORTS

9

The best of 2018-19: Virginia men’s basketball Highlights from Virginia’s historic 2019 national championship season Akhil Rekulapelli | Associate Writer

For the first time in the team’s 113-year history, Virginia men’s basketball is the NCAA National Champion.

After going 29-3 in regular season and ACC tournament play, the Cavaliers went on a magical run in the NCAA Tournament.

They reached the Final Four after a game-tying buzzer beater by junior forward Mamadi Diakite, the national championship game after three game-winning free throws by junior guard Kyle Guy and brought the championship home thanks to a game-tying three-pointer by sophomore guard De’Andre Hunter and more clutch free-throw shooting in the overtime period.

After the best season in Virginia men’s basketball history, here are some of the moments and players that truly made this season special.

Most Valuable Player: De’Andre Hunter, sophomore guard With the outstanding twoway play by Hunter, the innate abilities of junior guard Ty Jerome to either finish on the glass or thread the needle with a bullet pass and the leadership and lights-out shooting of Guy, all three are deserving of the team MVP. Nevertheless, I went with Hunter — soft-spoken but a killer on the court.

After a season-ending wrist injury during the 2018 ACC tournament, Hunter decided to return to Virginia for his sophomore season despite the draft buzz around him — a decision that has contributed significantly to his development as a player and to the accolades he has won.

Hunter was invaluable in Virginia’s national championship season, providing versatility on offense — shooting 43.8 percent from the three-point line while also providing an adept ability to get inside. It was on defense, however, where Hunter proved to be most valuable. He used his 7-foot-2 wingspan to lock down quick guards, long wings and big men, leading to ACC and NABC Defensive Player of the Year awards.

His defensive prowess was on full display in the national championship game. Hunter held fellow projected lottery pick and Big 12 Player of the Year sophomore guard Jarrett Culver to just 5-22 shooting from the field. Furthermore, Hunter had a career-high 27 points and 9 rebounds in the game, just one of the many performances that helped propel the Cavaliers to their first national title.

Honorable Mention: Ty Jerome Most Improved Player: Mamadi Diakite, junior forward This season, Diakite, the always-smiling 6-foot-9 forward out of Guinea, Africa, burst onto the national scene after his game-tying basket against Purdue in the Elite Eight. His emergence is even more remarkable given where he was just a year ago. Diakite saw little progression in his minutes from his first year to second year and remained largely a role player in his sophomore season, often coming in for veteran forward and fan-favorite Isaiah Wilkins.

This year, however, Diakite grew by leaps and bounds.

He found himself in the Cavaliers’ starting rotation early in the year, helping senior center Jack Salt fill the defensive gap caused by Wilkins’ departure.

Despite bouncing in and out of the starting lineup for much of the rest of the season, his play down the stretch earned him a starting spot in the last five games of the NCAA Tournament, in which his play was outstanding. He had 17 points and 9 rebounds off the bench in Virginia’s win over Gardner-Webb, had a game-high 14 points in the Cavaliers’ win against Oklahoma and of course, came up with the miraculous buzzer-beater against Purdue.

In addition to expanding his offensive repertoire — Diakite has become more comfortable with his mid-range shot, as well as expanding his inside game — he has become a presence defensively. His shot-blocking ability has made him an eraser for Virginia in the same way Wilkins was. He averaged a career-high 1.7 blocks per game and had a whopping 16 blocks in the NCAA Tournament.

Diakite averaged 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game this season, improving substantially from averaging 5.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game last year.

Honorable Mention: Hunter Biggest surprise: Kihei Clark, freshman guard Throughout the season when Virginia found themselves in tough situations, Clark often took the brunt of the criticism because of his size and perceived lack of offensive production. Yet this season, although Clark may not have had the most outstanding numbers, he surprised pundits and casual fans alike with his exceptional court vision and relentless defense against top de-

CHRISTINA ANTON | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Coach Tony Bennett had a hard time concealing his joy as the Virginia men’s basketball team won its first national title in program history.

fenses like Texas Tech and Wisconsin and dynamic offenses in Duke and North Carolina.

Clark was lightly recruited coming out of Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills, Calif.

Prior to his senior year, he had committed to UC Davis. But after an outstanding performance in Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League, he decommitted and decided to go to Virginia. That said, he still came into Virginia as a largely unheralded prospect.

However, it’s safe to say that after 33 solid minutes in the national championship game and 20 total starts in his first year, Clark has emerged as a dynamic two-way player for the Cavaliers.

There is perhaps no play that better shows Clark’s abilities and maturity than his one-handed, crosscourt pass to save Virginia’s season against Purdue that will go down in college basketball history.

Honorable Mention: Junior transfer guard Braxton Key Best moment: Coach Tony Bennett celebrating after the

championship When Diakite converted what is now cemented in Virginia sports lore as “The Play,” it seemed like it was as dramatic an ending as a game could possibly have. That said, the tournament wins Virginia had were certainly not lacking in late-game drama and had their fair share of great moments — the Guy free throws and Hunter three-pointer are notable among these. Despite these individual clutch moments, however, what truly culminates these experiences is Bennett slapping a Virginia sticker on the line marked “National Champion” on the NCAA Tournament bracket, a moment 113 years in the making.

The joy that Bennett felt is one that many Virginia fans haven’t seen from a man known for his calm composure in whatever he does. After the devastating loss to UMBC and last year’s ACC Tournament victory over North Carolina, Bennett has always stayed composed and classy, never failing to acknowledge the

opposing team, as well his own players, coaches and staff.

This time around, though, the pure elation on Bennett’s face after Virginia defeated Texas Tech could not be concealed. His excitement spoke for senior center Jack Salt, for Guy, who publicly detailed the anguish he experienced after the UMBC loss, and for all Virginia players and staff, past and present and for each and every fan that stuck with the Cavaliers during their climb from the lowest of valleys to the highest of mountains.

Honorable Mention: “The Play” This past year has undoubtedly been the best in Virginia basketball history. After years of disappointing early-round exits, untimely injuries and relentless critics, Virginia fans will enjoy and cherish this season for years to come.

10

THE CAVALIER DAILY

SPORTS • www.cavalierdaily.com

Men’s lacrosse is a legitimate national title contender Cavaliers are one of the most well-rounded teams in the country Vignesh Mulay | Senior Associate After years of difficult seasons and disappointing results, Virginia men’s lacrosse has transformed into a true ACC powerhouse this year.

Top to bottom, the No. 6 Virginia men’s lacrosse team is one of the most talented squads in the nation. The Cavaliers (10-3, 3-1 ACC) are physically and mentally gifted and seemingly prepared to take on any challenge.

With the end of the regular season nearing, let’s dive into exactly why Virginia can win its first national title since 2011.

Multidimensional offense A common thread between top lacrosse teams in 2019 is the dominance of a single offensive star.

Penn State has junior attackman Mac O’Keefe, Loyola relies on sophomore attackman Kevin Lindley, and Duke is led by sophomore attackman Joe Robertson — all three players contribute significantly more goals than any of their teammates.

Virginia however is one of the few teams that bucks against this trend. The Cavaliers are led by a dynamic quartet who have each provided at least 25 goals this season.

No other top-10 team in the most recent USILA coaches’ poll boasts four players with that level of scoring production.

Sophomore attackmen Ian Laviano and Matt Moore lead the team in goals and assists, respectively.

Junior midfielder Dox Aitken is producing extraordinary numbers for a midfielder, while junior attackman Michael Kraus is in All-American form with 24 goals and 17 assists over his last eight starts.

The Cavaliers uniquely don’t have to rely on just one or two stars to attack their opponents. The ability to produce offense in a number of ways will be pivotal for Virginia moving forward.

Resilient defense Defensively, Virginia depends on a trio of terrific individual defenders and an in-form goalkeeper.

Each of the Cavaliers’ starting defensemen offer something unique. Armed with a high lacrosse IQ, sophomore defenseman Kyle Kology has gone from hopeful walkon to a consistent starter. Senior defenseman Logan Greco serves as the leader of the defense and provides much-needed experience. Finally, freshman defenseman Cade Saustad — a top recruit out of high school — is a technically talented and physically imposing pillar in Virginia’s backline.

On top of that trio, sophomore goalkeeper Alex Rode has been playing tremendously well as of late. When all four of the afore-

mentioned players are firing on all cylinders, Virginia’s defense is the equivalent of a brick wall.

Extra possessions The Cavaliers are offensively clinical and defensively solid, but when the team is picking up extra possessions left and right, Virginia is a truly a menace to play against.

Virginia’s high-pressure ride often allows the Cavaliers to win the all-important turnover battle, limiting the other team’s goal-scoring opportunities and giving Kraus and company more chances of their own.

With an emphasis on relentless hustle, the Cavaliers also lead the country in ground balls per game, averaging 41.45. Senior midfielder Ryan Conrad has been pivotal here with 57 ground balls so far on the year.

In addition, freshman midfielder Petey LaSalla has stepped up recently at the faceoff X, especially against top teams. Against North Carolina, LaSalla dominated the X and won 17-23 faceoffs, single-handedly keeping Virginia in the game.

When Virginia is securing additional possessions at a rapid rate, the already tough Cavaliers become nearly impossible to beat.

Clutch factor Last, but not least, the “Cardiac Cavs” have demonstrated their ability to win close games time and time again in 2019.

During Virginia’s eight-game winning streak, the Cavaliers won half of their games by a single goal including three consecutive overtime victories.

Moreover, the Cavaliers don’t fear deficits in the fourth quarter, consistently erasing their opponents’ late-game leads with flurries of offense.

When the game is on the line, Virginia doesn’t panic. The Cavaliers trust the principles Coach Lars Tiffany has drilled into them during practice and are confident in their ability to play their up-tempo style of lacrosse.

To make a deep postseason run and even have a shot at the national title, Virginia is going to have to keep winning close games and, so far, the team has been up to the task.

After several tough years, Virginia men’s lacrosse has turned a page this season. From 2013 to 2018, the Cavaliers won just two games in conference play and never advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

This season, Virginia already has three ACC victories — against No. 9 Syracuse, No. 11 Notre Dame and North Carolina — under its belt and will be the top seed in the

ACC tournament. With an impressive resume, several star players and a propensity to win big games, the 2019 Virginia Cavaliers look poised

to return to championship-winning form.

Best of all for the Virginia faithful, the young squad has at least a

two-year window to capture an elusive sixth NCAA Tournament Championship.

DOROTHY WANG | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The No. 6 Virginia men’s lacrosse team has won more ACC games this season than they did from 2013 to 2018.

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O

LEAD EDITORIAL

Increase oversight of Opportunity Zones

OPINION

G

12

Though this program could be used to revitalize disadvantaged areas, we need to be sure they are working as intended

overnor Ralph Northam recently announced a new initiative that will include developing an online marketplace and providing tools and investment resources for the federal Opportunity Zones Program.

This program, passed as part of President Donald Trump’s tax bill, seeks to provide tax incentives for companies to invest in projects located in economically disadvantaged locations — so called “Opportunity Zones” — to spur growth there. While this plan may be an important tool to economic revitalization, this can only be so if it is implemented in a way that curbs potential abuses.

In order to talk about how this policy may be exploited, we must first go further into the specifics of the initiative. It allows investors to create funds in which they can put capital gains with the perk of tax deferment.

These funds must be used for investing in the Opportunity Zones, which are designated by the governor of each state. With few exceptions, the investment can be used for nearly anything, from real estate to startups to infrastructure and more. The longer investors choose to keep their money in the funds, the more their tax obligations

are continually reduced. If they keep the funds going for 10 years or longer, they will not have to pay any taxes on the profits earned on the fund. This tax relief structure provides a real impetus for investors to bankroll projects in downtrodden areas. As Derek Uldricks, president of Virtua Capital Management, noted, “We’ve never seen anything like this before. That’s a really massive incentive for an investor to come in. It’s probably the biggest one.” This enthusiasm is borne out by the fact that there are more than 90 funds created already.

However, as with any major policy program, the devil is in the details and this is no exception. First is the issue of how Opportunity Zones are selected. Census tracts are qualified to be an Opportunity Zone either by their poverty rate or their median family income. However, only roughly a quarter of those that qualified were selected, and it was up to governors to decide which ones receive this designation. Worryingly, 28 percent of the tracts that were ultimately selected were either not poor, college campuses or areas where nobody lived.

Furthermore, some of the selected tracts are currently in the process of

revitalization and are seeing increased investment without the tax incentives.

It is clear from this evidence that a new way of picking which tracts are Opportunity Zones is necessary. If we are to spend $1.6 billion on this program over a decade, as it is estimated, we must be assured that it is doing what it is intended to do — help the most distressed communities. If it is instead helping already well-to-do areas, then it constitutes nothing more than another unnecessary tax loophole for the wealthy to take advantage of.

As such, we urge that the metrics used to qualify census tracts for this program be made more stringent so that they only include areas most in need of help.

Another significant problem with the current structure of this plan is the reporting requirements. As of right now, the Treasury Department, which oversees the program, demands very little information from investors. It requires the basic information necessary to verify that investors are in fact investing their money in the funds, but it does not compel any transaction-level data about specific tracts or projects. However, this more specific data is crucial in evaluating the

effectiveness of the program. As Nick Fritz, an official at the Sorenson Impact Center at the University of Utah, puts it, “This limits the ability of municipalities and funds to learn from others' best practices and make sound, impactful investments.”

Nonetheless, there are worries that enacting more rigorous reporting requirements will chill the incentives of the program and undermine its intended purpose. Yet we do not believe it is asking too much of investors to provide this information. The extremely analytical nature of investing means that much of this data is readily available.

With respect to concerns on the confidentiality of certain types of data, the Editorial Board of Bloomberg News was correct in saying the “Treasury already has procedures in place for a different program that grants tax credits to investors in low-income communities, making sufficient information public while taking care to protect necessary confidentiality.” As such, there seems to be great benefits and no legitimate concerns with more demanding reporting requirements.

All in all, we hope that the Opportunity Zone Program works as it

is intended and lifts underdeveloped communities out of poverty. But given the issues with how census tracts are selected, we are skeptical that it will have the outcome its supporters envision. Instead, it seems more likely that this will channel money to areas that already have investments and provide tax breaks to those who may not need them. These issues are especially important to keep in mind given that the Charlottesville area is home to several Opportunity Zones. Regrettably, it is unlikely that we will ever know whether we are right or if the supporters are correct due to the lack of proper data collection by the Treasury. Therefore, we implore not only that Opportunity Zones get selected more carefully but also that reporting requirements are made more strict.

THE CAVALIER DAILY EDITORIAL BOARD is composed of the Executive Editor, the Editor-in-Chief, the two Opinion Editors and their Senior Associate. The board can be reached at eb@ cavalierdaily.com.

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

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www.cavalierdaily.com • OPINION

THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019

13

NEWCOMB’S CUTBACKS ARE JUSTIFIED The mission of Newcomb Operations is not to turn a profit, but it must not become a financial sink for the University’s resources

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tructural changes at Newcomb Hall have recently led to hiring freezes and increased workloads for a shrinking number of employees. The student workers at Newcomb have voiced their discontent, especially surrounding the perception that students have not been adequately involved in the decision-making process. According to fourth-year Engineering student Christian May — who who received 377 pages of email correspondence via an FOIA request — the fundamental issue is the budget deficit facing the administration at Newcomb. From May’s perspective, the administration plotted to create a hostile working environment and institute a hiring and promotions freeze, which caused increased turnover in Newcomb Hall student jobs without adequate replacement or relief for the remaining workers. These austerity measures for Newcomb Operations, according to May, have produced “abuses, large and small” of the student workers on staff.

While I sympathize with the many students who need to work and study at the same time to make ends meet, there are few grounds for most students to expect minimization of the recent changes. Most students are not entitled to work and should not rely on employment there as such. Students on the job receive the various perks of on-

Grounds employment and according to the petitioners’ literature, enjoy a community that could not have existed without employment at Newcomb Operations. These attributes formerly made their jobs highly desirable. Yet, they likely hired and promoted too many students, resulting in the current deficit. As a result, the reasonable act for the administration was to tighten its belt and begin to shed its excess practices, however understandably

evitably contribute to the ever-expanding expenditures of the University by leaving budget shortfalls unaddressed, to the detriment of all students.

The responsibilities of employment surrounding Newcomb’s student labor have, from my observation, had little to do with managing small events, and the complainants have not said anything to the contrary. Their letter says that “menial, unpleasant tasks” were assigned to building managers

yet implemented those self-service changes. Still, the expectation for student workers to maintain wages and conditions beyond what value their employer believes their work has for the wider community startles me. It strikes me as strange that students who are truly financially unable to leave Newcomb’s staff are not covered by financial aid policies or could not seek off-Grounds employment. It’s certainly difficult to find work as a University

Maintaining artificially high employment expenditures at Newcomb Hall creates a sort of financial aid system that undercuts the wider system.

painful for the part-timers.

The mission of Newcomb Operations is not to turn a profit, but it must not become a financial sink for the University’s resources. To meet its goals of “operational efficiency” and “innovative thinking,” finding a more cost-effective and fluid procedure for its activities should be its priority. To that end, Newcomb Hall Operations has indicated a desire to overhaul the event space usage in order to increase efficiency and decrease costs. I believe failing to make these changes would in-

but contains no actual description of said tasks. Additionally, altering employee responsibilities is inevitable, since switching to a more streamlined process for organizations seeking to use University spaces is the goal.

May says that is impossible, citing the “physical constraints of the space.”

That seems unlikely, seeing as a primary role of Newcomb Operations staff is to move furniture, a task that likely could be done by those seeking to use the communal space. Though, as May has asserted, the administration hasn’t

student, but if the need is there, there are resources available to students for aid while searching for new jobs.

At the end of the day, the University’s uncanny ability to create budget deficits has put the employees and the employer in an awkward position. Newcomb’s budget could likely have been remedied without causing the strife and discomfort that student workers currently face, mostly by being more direct about layoffs and proactive provision of transition resources.

The best solution would have been

for the administration to not have expanded employment and working hours to the degree that they became a significant fiscal drain. Still, now that the mistake has been made, the budget must be corrected. Wish as student workers might, the administration does not owe them transparency.

The unfortunate reality that students employed by the Office of the Dean of Students are now in excess of a reasonable budget does not change the fact that work on Grounds is not a right for students. Maintaining artificially high employment expenditures at Newcomb Hall creates a sort of financial aid system that undercuts the wider system. In light of President Ryan’s promises to drastically cut the expected family contribution for low-income students and to raise the on-Grounds full-time minimum wage to $15 an hour, something has to give. Making budgets more efficient is the best way to minimize disruptions to overall service. Consequently, labor at Newcomb and in the Office of the Dean of Students must make way for larger structural changes or run the risk of costing the larger community more than it’s worth.

BILGE BATSUKH is a Viewpoint Writer for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.

U.VA. MUST PROTECT FEDERAL WORK STUDY The University must defend the programs that aid low-income students

I

n late March, Secretary of Education Betsy Devos went before Congress to defend the Education Department’s new spending proposal.

While the proposal includes cuts to a number of departments, culminating in a $7.1 billion slash in spending, the Federal Work Study program may see only half the funds it has recieved in the past. The 2018 Education budget allotted $1.13 billion for the program, while the 2019 budget aims to reduce the funding to only $500 million by the year 2020.

The University is one of approximately 3,400 postsecondary education institutions that participates in this financial aid program. Federal Work Study is a financial aid award granted to those with demonstrated need, which allows students to work for an approved employer to help fund the cost of their college education and living. Individual work study awards are then determined and handed out by an institution’s financial aid office. At the University, undergraduate students may receive between $1,000 and $4,000 in the form of wages from an approved work study employer, while graduate students may receive up to $5,000. The University funds this program with money from the U.S. Department of Education. The Department of Educa-

tion decides how much money to give an institution based on the “aggregate need of eligible students in attendance in the prior year.” Significant cuts to this program such as the one proposed could significantly reduce the aid that Federal Work Study provides to low-income students.

“it’s simply not possible to cut the program in half without sharply reducing access” for low-income students at public institutions. Instead, the institute recommends that the Department of Education spends time “innovating, experimenting, and rigorously evaluating” the program.

Fortunately, student advocacy has the chance to ensure employment opportunities. For example, students have created and circulated a petition to oppose proposed changes to Newcomb Hall, which could decrease the number of student employment opportunities. This petition portrays

Cuts to spending here at the University have already negatively affected student employment opportunities, and therefore work-study positions.

Devos provided legitimate criticisms of the Federal Work Study program when defending the budget cuts.

She noted that the funding typically goes to “elite institutions” rather than those that serve more low-income students. This is a common criticism of the program, especially since community colleges, which serve a larger proportion of low-income students, only take in 15 percent of Federal Work Study funding. Nevertheless, many argue that continuing to limit the amount of funds for this program will only perpetuate this issue. In a comprehensive analysis of the FWS program by the Brookings Institute,

Thirty-four percent of students at the University receive need-based financial aid, which includes aid from the Federal Work Study program. At a school in which the majority of students are in the top 20 percent of the federal income bracket, it is imperative the University take steps to ensure that low-income students are able to have a place on Grounds. As the Board of Visitors approved tuition and fee increases for the 2019-2020 academic year, and President Ryan’s tuition promise enacts no significant change in financial aid, protections for low-income students who must navigate an increasingly expensive college life are essential.

the importance of convenient employment for students who have to work in order to pay their rent, groceries and other academic costs. The petition description claims that these structural changes, brought on by a budget deficit, have already caused many employees to quit, forcing a “systemic overworking of those who choose to stay or, for financial reasons, cannot choose to leave.” It is important to note that many of those who work at Newcomb Hall are low-income and/or minority students.

Though work-study students are not guaranteed a position through the program, work study employers prior-

itize these students’ applications. However, it is still difficult for work study students to quickly and simply find other jobs around Grounds. Although work-study positions are available at other places around the University besides Newcomb, a reduction in the number of spots for these students makes available ones more competitive, thus making work-study aid less accessible to qualified students.

Cuts to spending at the University have already negatively affected student employment opportunities and therefore work-study positions. Without the funding that the University receives from the federal government to help pay work-study students, the ability of low-income students to afford life in in the community could become increasingly threatened. Even if the significant cuts to the Federal Work Study program disallow the University to provide the same financial aid awards, they must continue to provide students with ample employment opportunities in places that already hire students.

VICTORIA MCKELVEY is an Opinion Columnist for The Cavalier Daily.

She can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.

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HUMOR As you all know, the Hoos won the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship last weekend. The whole affair was a tremendous showing of athleticism — both on behalf of the players themselves and the students who stormed the streets. Palm to Psalms, I saw a man pick up a full trash can and just throw it. That thing probably weighed about as much as a whole person, and he yanked that puppy up like it was nothing.

The post-game scene was awe-inspiring. I stood entranced, mouth agape, as students stormed the bridge over University Avenue. I gasped as a sea of hands crowd-surfed ecstatic fans across the street. I felt fire flood my pupils as I watched a couch get soaked in Burnett’s and set aflame.

As I gazed upon the chaos, my heart swelled and my mind bent. More unbelievable than the scene in front of me was the thought stewing in the back of my mind — people really paid $75 to sit inside Trinity Irish Pub and

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Trinity asked people to pay a $75 cover fee watch a basketball game.

Bottles shattered and cans hit the ground nearby, but I barely paid them any mind. My entire consciousness was consumed by one question — in what world would anyone be foolish and financially irresponsible enough to spend the better chunk of $100 just to walk inside a bar? My confusion was compounded by the reality of Trin’s existence — the only thing that differentiates Trin from every other bar on the Corner is that it has a higher percentage of people who I either do not know or actively avoid. Trin? That three-leveled nest of debauchery, complete with a little balcony from which stumbling, bleary-eyed fledglings sometimes unintentionally take flight? Why would you spend $75 just to enter?

As I wondered, my eyes wandered — only to eventually land on a man in the process of removing his shoes and throwing them into the crowd. That’s $100 right there, I thought to myself.

Apparently this world is the foolish place wherein people are irresponsible enough to pay seventy-five dollars to watch basketball in a sticky,

sweaty bar. For just $4.99 more, you could grab a 24-inch Insignia™ LED HDTV from Best Buy. I am not being paid to promote Best Buy* but I must say, this deal is pretty incredible. You could literally buy a TV and watch the game in the comfort of your own home, with cheaper drinks, cheaper food, and none of the social pressure to react appropriately to the game.

Imagine — 90 uninterrupted minutes you could use simply for noshing on nachos and whispering sweet nothings into the pixelated ears of the Men’s Basketball team. That experience? Priceless. Actually no, it costs only about $5 more than the significantly less pleasant experience of entering Trinity Irish Pub to watch the game with blackout strangers.

But wait! Are we not brilliant, logical University students? Are we even capable of making irresponsible financial decisions? That doesn’t sound right. It isn’t like this school equates conspicuous consumption with a higher social status.

Oh, what? Oh, what’s this? You mean the red Gucci belt I wear every day? Oh, you know, it’s just … so

much smoother than my other belts.

Really. My choice to wear it has nothing to do with the wealth you will associate with me as I wear it. No, no, no. NO! Oh, my Cartier bracelet?

The one that looks like a really shiny construction nail just bent around my wrist? Let me be perfectly clear.

I wear that three thousand dollar trinket around my wrist to remind myself of my deep connection to the construction industry. Every day, I spend most of my time in constructed places, and I think that’s amazing.

Our whole world was built by people underpaid for their skilled labor and looked down upon for their choice in careers, and you won’t even recognize that by dropping three stacks on a hunk of metal? You are disgusting, did you know that? Like really. That’s horrible, you selfish, unlovable gremlin.

To avoid belaboring the point, let me just cut straight to the chase.

Every Sarah with a teeny tiny Longchamp bag and every Michael with Yeezys that he continues to wear even after all the wack sh*t Kanye West has said and done — this arti-

cle is for you, so listen up. I am glad you have money. I am glad you can afford to live comfortably and I am happy for everything going well in your life. You should not feel shame for buying yourself things you want and need. At the same time, you should definitely feel shame for buying into U.Va.’s materialistic social culture and for spending $75 just to sit inside Trin. Recognize how lucky you are to have all that you need, and try to share that comfort with others when you can. Before you make like the Riot Man and yeet your shoes into a crowd for the fun of it, ask that crowd if any of them would like your gently worn size 10 asics, and THEN hurl the shoes in the direction of the respondent. Student activism, baby.

Be the change. *I am not, nor have I ever been, paid to promote Best Buy, but I am extremely open to it. Gotta stay hustling.

LUCY HOPKINS is Humor Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at humor@cavalierdaily.com.

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The University needs the ‘Black Monologues’

ARTS AND

Unique, unforgettable production just keeps improving

ENTERTAINMENT It’s that time of year again — the time of year when the Helms Theatre opens its doors for six performances over the course of two weekends. The time of year when those six performances consistently sell out days in advance, and students swarm the box office for the chance of snagging spare tickets. The time of year when an unembellished stage is transformed into platform to proclaim black love, bemoan black injustices and celebrate every facet of black identity. The Black Monologues have returned.

Although the actual time of year has changed, moving from the usual October date to April — neither the cast nor the audience were deterred by the switch. Students still came out in droves each night of the Monologues, ready to experience the latest round of immersive, impactful black essays and skits.

The theme of this year’s Monologues, the production’s fourth iteration at the University, was “This is a Black Space.” The presentations were broken into three parts, or “Peaces” — Powerful Consciousness, Loss of Power and Where Do We Find Empowerment? As the titles suggest, the overall trajectory of the performance is coming to terms with blackness, feeling helpless as a result and finding a way to overcome that helplessness.

Fourth-year College student Tiara Mai Sparrow directed the Monologues and alumna Branika Scott assistant directed. Both Sparrow and Scott have been involved with the theater tradition since its start at the University four years ago.

Aside from the switch to the spring semester, the Monologues also employed a different setup in Helms. In previous years, the audience was arranged in rows bordering a stage centered in the room.

For this year’s production, the rows of chairs were more elevated and uniformly arranged, facing the stage on the opposite side of the theater.

The layout felt more isolated, less intimate than the old, in-yourface setup — but, as always, the Monologues found a way to innovate. From opening performance “What Does It Mean To Be Black?,” in which actors planted in the audience burst forth to give their varying answers to the titular question, to multiple skits in which the audience was encouraged to dance, sing or participate in call-and-responses, the space became just as jocular as ever.

It wasn’t all fun, though — in keeping with the spirit of the Monologues, at least a third of the content involved deadly serious,

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Dan Goff | Senior Writer sometimes heart-wrenching material. The heavier tone was exemplified in pieces such as “For Black People Who Don’t Swim” and “Try Me,” both of which dealt with the violence, discrimination and suppression black people have historically experienced in America.

In “Try Me,” fourth-year College student standout Rianne Mitchel described her “people being used as targets in a nationwide shooting range.” In “For Black People Who Don’t Swim,” first-year College student Alexander Benjamin and second-year College student Kayla Hess dove into the myriad implications that water could have for a Black American, drawing creative connections between Emmett Till’s water-bloated body and segregated water fountains.

Some of the most powerful pieces, though, were the ones which managed to blend the humor and horror. In “I LOVE It Here,” hilarious second-year College student Tanner Phipps donned an orange hoodie — breaking from the blackand-red wardrobe of his peers — and gave a glib, over-the-top tour to prospective students, glossing over the racist details of the University’s past. Only when the tour ended could he remove the hoodie and with it the cheery act, emotionally acknowledging the University’s enslaved construction workers whose remains are literally under his feet.

Phipps’ performances were highlights, brilliantly toeing a tragicomic line. In “The Hood,” he made the Freudian slip of calling urban renewal “Negro removal.” To every monologue he was featured in, he brought an infectious energy — whether positive or negative.

The same can be said of Mitchel, whose relentlessly intense stage presence was furthered by an incredible singing voice, to be used at choice moments in the Monologues.

While last year’s program featured dance segues, this year Mitchel led her castmates in powerfully harmonious songs — the most unforgettable being a rendition of the “Good Ol’ Song” which ended with, “Let’s all join hands and thank the slaves / That built old U.Va.” One of the greatest strengths of the Black Monologues — and the aspect that makes it most difficult to write about — is that every speech, every cast member deserves praise. This production, while already a renowned tradition in the University arts community, defies traditionalism whenever possible.

From year to year, nothing feels recycled, borrowed or redundant.

This isn’t some Shakespeare production in which a new twist attempts to revive a tired tale — although

COURTESY BLACK MONOLOGUES

This season’s production of Black Monologues centralized around the theme of power and the exploration of black identity at the University and in the broader nation.

there is an excellent “Othello” joke tucked into one of the sketches.

These are the Black Monologues — a genuine, vibrant representation of an overlooked demographic at the University.

In the final presentation of the night, “Our Blackness Is…,” thirdyear College student Brittney Ogbonna defined her blackness as the “force that inspires me to be unapologetically authentic.”

The Black Monologues are unapologetically authentic. They transform a space in which, if you’re an audience member, speaking or making noise of any sort is traditionally taboo. At what other theater production can you snap, shout encouragement, sing along and dance in the aisles? The inter-

active nature of the Monologues lend them the force of a religious experience, something that was capitalized on this year in penultimate performance “God Instilled Messages.” Benjamin donned black robes while the actresses laid bonnets in their laps, and he preached to the congregation — the congregation being both his fellow cast members and the audience.

Not only are the Monologues unapologetically authentic — they are also unapologetically black. “To be black in America is to have your speech ripped from your throat,” said one cast member in the opening skit. The Monologues are a reclamation of speech. They aren’t meant to pander to a larger, white community, even though the demo-

graphics of a typical Monologues audience tend to mirror the skewed demographics of the University.

They are created to celebrate the identities of their authors and actors.

Authentic and black — two unusual descriptors in a setting which feels more contrived and artificial by the day, and which is very obviously white. For anyone dissatisfied or bored with the University’s artistic offerings, the Black Monologues are essential.

The Black Monologues, located in Helms Theater, took place April 4 - 6 and 11 - 13 at 7 p.m.

THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019

www.cavalierdaily.com • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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Race, gender and the construction of black womanhood Dr. Ayana Flewellen discusses the everyday wear of emancipated African American women at Tom Tom Founders Festival Darryle Aldridge | Staff Writer Ayana Flewellen — co-founder of the Society of Black Archaeologists — delivered a presentation Thursday titled “A Black Feminist Archaeology of Adornment” for the eighth annual Tom Tom Founders Festival. The presentation took place at Common House and centered around the research question, “How did race, gender, and class operations of power and oppression shape African American women’s identity formation during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Texas?”

Flewellen specifically looked at “African American’s construction of black womanhood as a process of self making that reinscribes and debunks ideologies of the body that speak to and push against histories of oppression that position black women outside common notions of femininity and womanhood.” Such an interesting topic should lead to a thought provoking conversation on the topic, however, there were a few drawbacks.

One of the most interesting points made during the presentation was about how African American women of the time donned their everyday dress in an attempt to push against images of hypersexualisation through modesty, and how this fed into the the mammy stereotype. Part of the reasoning behind this style of dress was because plantations were unsafe environments where white men

sexually abused African American women.

This is especially engaging considering how dress is regarded for women in the black community today. Black girls are often told to dress modestly when going out in public, or when certain male family members are over to avoid sexualization and sexual abuse. Is this way of thinking carried over as a form of protection from ancestors, or a notion developed from a society which tells women their bodies are inherently sexual and thus must be hidden? Perhaps both.

Despite the stimulating information, the format of the presentation was disengaging. Flewellen spent almost the entirety reading from her iPad. This made the presentation feel flat, as though she were just regurgitating information. Veering from her notes would have helped to liven up the presentation — if the audience wanted to receive the information word for word, they could have read her dissertation or wait for the publication of her book.

In addition to the formatting of the presentation, the information itself was somewhat inaccessible.

Throughout her presentation, the presenter used language from academia without stopping to break down terms or meanings for listeners who might be unfamiliar.

With such a niche and specific topic as this one, it is expected those

in attendance will have some interest or knowledge. However, being that this was a free event, anyone could attend, so anyone should be able to access and understand the information presented.

The conversation livened when the presenter broke from the script during the question and answer session. The audience expressed particular interest in the stereoviews Flewellen had paused around. A stereoview is a picture that when examined through a specific lense, gives the illusion of a three dimensional image. She discussed how she initially went about looking for stereoviews to learn about everyday dress practices of the time. However, she discovered much more. She went over how there exists stereoviews which capture images of emancipated African Americans in mourning attire.

Many were used as teaching tools when being disseminated to the public as their backsides contained information about agricultural reproduction, in which “the black bodies that are in them [the stereoviews] become canvases for that knowledge.” Additionally, some were not pictures but rather comic strips which revealed the racialized beliefs of the time.

Flewellen gave an eye-opening albeit somewhat disengaging talk on the “Black Feminist Archaeology of Adornment.” She possesses

COURTESY AYANA FLEWELLEN

University of California, Berkeley President Postdoctoral Fellow and co-founder of the Society of Black Archaeologists Dr. Ayana Flewellen was featured this year at Tom Tom.

plenty of knowledge on the topic at hand, and it showed both when she read from her iPad and when she went off script. At the beginning of her presentation, Flewellen called her work an “ode to the maternal lives of my mothers.” Seeing how well she accurately details

how emancipated African American women dressed, why these women did so and how this intersected with oppressions of race, class, gender etc., one finds this description fitting.

A comedic sense of community in ‘Scared Scriptless’ Mochrie and Sherwood’s set at Tom Tom revealed unique, quirky nature of Charlottesville residents Ananya Suram | Staff Writer Avid fans of improv comedy and viewers of The CW Television Network that stick around past 9 p.m. on Monday nights are likely familiar with the antics of Wayne Brady, Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles and a rotating fourth player on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” a revival of the 1990s comedy television show “where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.” Mochrie was accompanied by fellow comedian Brad Sherwood at the Paramount Theater on April 13 for the duo’s “Scared Scriptless” Tour, a headlining event at this year’s Tom Tom Festival.

The two-hour long performance consisted of various games both from the television show and unique to the set, all in an effort to prove that the comedians truly do make up everything the audience sees on the spot. While the pair

succeeded in proving their improv ability in the zaniest way possible, the real highlight of the show was learning about unsung comic minds living right here in Charlottesville.

The duo began the show by preparing the audience, who would go on to provide the comics with all of the suggestions in the remainder of the set. Questions like “What is your favorite color?” and “What is your astrological sign?” started the night, as Sherwood aptly noted that the latter always garnered a response of garbled noises ending with Aries, since the Sagittariuses always take too long.

The pair then launched into a skit about Serbian tourists visiting Charlottesville and seeing Monticello — “It looks like the back of a nickel!” — for the first time. A high point in the night was during a sketch involving two plumber spies

infiltrating the home of an archduke to fix the toilet, a matter of national urgency. Stuck outside the gate of the palace, Mochrie asked an audience member to identify the object lying on the ground that would help the comedians break in.

Upon being informed that it was a condom, Mochrie announced that they would use the “Trojan Horse method” to get in, before unrolling the fictional contraceptive around Sherwood and himself. Bizarre suggestions like these revealed the wackier sides of seemingly ordinary individuals.

Still, some participants in the show were just plain crazy. In an instrument-less orchestra conducted by Mochrie, audience members were told to make a noise representing the emotion they were assigned when the conductor pointed at them. Naturally, one of the sug-

gestions for an emotion was horny, sung by a man in perhaps his early 60s named Vinny. While an uncomfortable experience for the rest of the audience, Vinny surely had a good time grunting “ooh-ah” when directed.

Alternatively, the audience learned a lot about dietician Jolene and her husband Sam when Sherwood and Mochrie were tasked with creating an impromptu Broadway number exploring the woman’s life. Of most importance was the pair’s invitation to Jolene to leave behind her spouse and join them instead.

The crowning moment of the night, however, was when Sherwood looked to the audience for a suggestion of the wackiest occupation any of their family members held. The comedian refused to believe that a Charlottesville man

had an uncle who threw birds at airplane windshields to test their resilience — a role dubbed “chicken chucker” by the comic, since the relative didn’t know if it had an official title. If anyone entered the theater that night expecting to hear jokes about frozen poultry hitting a Boeing 737, they must be psychic.

Instances like these meant Mochrie and Sherwood were able to cultivate a sense of shared eccentricity among viewers, who delighted in a night of humor with touches of Charlottesville accessible only to themselves and their neighbors. The inside jokes about local sites such as the Rotunda and Thomas Jefferson’s legacy allowed the duo’s set to extend past a night of simple fun to unite individuals from all across the city through their love for Charlottesville.

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Reading Garden helps mothers and babies This program shows promising results for treating postpartum depression and improving mothers’ and babies’ health Cecily Wolfe | Senior Writer

Based on new research conducted

by Susan Almarode, neonatal nurse practitioner at the University Health System, something as inexpensive as reading can decrease postpartum depression for mothers with babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Almarode created and piloted a program known as the NICU Reading Garden in an effort to promote maternal and infant wellbeing and bonding.

“I thought that reading would be a pretty innovative intervention for moms to help them develop some sort of self-efficacy in parenting and help them bond with their baby, and it would be a task that only they could do for their baby while they were in the NICU,” Almarode said.

Postpartum depression is a condition that arises in mothers after giving birth, manifesting as increased anxiety, fatigue and melancholy. Signatures of postpartum depression closely mirror those of general depression, with the added stress of feeling distant from one’s newborn and inadequate as a caretaker. Such symptoms persist for an extended period of time and have a significant effect on daily life.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 10 to 11 percent of women suffer from postpartum depression. However, the percentage for women with babies admitted to the NICU is approximately four times that, around 40 percent. Such women are at a higher risk for developing postpartum depression, meaning this particular demographic requires medical and psychological interventions more often than the general population.

Current treatments for postpartum depression include cognitive behavioral and interpersonal therapy, as well as antidepressants. In addition, the Federal Drug Administration approved the first medication specific to postpartum depression in March.

The treatment regimen, estimated by manufacturer Sage Therapeutics to cost $34,000, requires mothers

remain in a hospital for 60 hours of constant intravenous administration of the drug brexanolone. While brexanolone has helped eradicate patients’ postpartum depression as quickly as 48 hours after drug administration begins, there is also the risk of side effects such as sedation and loss of consciousness.

In response to glaring statistics and the lack of an effective, accessible treatment plan, Almarode decided to explore alternative solutions to the distress and detachment experienced by mothers with postpartum depression. As part of her capstone project for the School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program, Almarode developed the Reading Garden for the NICU, a program that enables mothers to read to their babies in the NICU. “In my doctoral program, in trying to determine what sort of research I wanted to do in one of my public health courses, it was quite shocking to me to learn how significant postpartum depression was in women in the NICU,” Almarode said. “I felt like I wanted to do something that would be impactful to the mothers for whom I was taking care of their babies, and the NICU Reading Garden was an innovative intervention.”

Kristina Berg — a child life specialist at the University Hospital — affirmed Almarode’s endeavor to incorporate reading into a child’s environment and a family’s routine.

She discussed the presence of books throughout the children’s wings of the University Hospital, noting that she and others who help children cope with hospitalization regularly encourage reading as a tool for interpersonal connection, communication and growth.

“Reading is wonderful for a child’s development,” Berg said. “I always encourage children under the age of two not to enjoy screen time, but provide them with books and so they can use their imagination and physically turn the pages.”

RILEY WALSH | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The NICU Reading Garden, the first study of its kind, was designed as a means to investigate whether or not reading would provide emotional and physiological benefits for mothers and children in the NICU.

The NICU Reading Garden, the first study of its kind, was designed as a means to investigate whether or not reading would provide emotional and physiological benefits for mothers and children in the NICU. To implement the project, books from the Soho Center — a national nonprofit for families with children — were made available to the mothers of NICU patients. Almarode created six different levels, each with its own whimsical name, that corresponded to appropriate periods of reading time and volume, as well as physical contact, based on each baby’s condition. Ranging from a caterpillar as level one — the level for children in the most critical medical state — and a bluebird as level six, mothers would progress from level to level as their baby recovered.

Over four weeks, Almarode conducted a brief trial of the NICU Reading Garden with 14 mothers and 15 infants. Mothers were screened for depression at the beginning and end of that time. Throughout those weeks, mothers would regularly read, tell stories or simply talk to their babies, recording the date and duration of their reading sessions for Almarode. Physical measures of health such as heart rate and oxygen saturation levels were monitored for both mothers and infants before, during and after reading together.

“My initial intent was to just look at the postpartum depression component and use the NICU Reading Garden to impact maternal self-efficacy and promote maternal-infant bonding,” Almarode said. “But as I began to discuss my proposal, a lot of people encouraged me to not only look at maternal outcomes but to also look at infant outcomes. That’s when I started to think about how maternal voice exposure actually impacted the baby as well.”

Results showed that the percentage of women experiencing postpartum depression decreased from 53.4 percent to 15.4 percent — 93 percent of women reported that reading helped connect them with their children, and 100 percent said that they would continue to read with their children at home. In terms of physical responses, according to Almarode, infant oxygen saturation levels on average were elevated after reading sessions.

“I found there was a statistically significant improvement in how the babies were oxygenating,” Almarode said. “That showed me that maternal voice exposure was actually better tolerated than I expected.”

Berg affirmed Almarode’s interest in reading as a means for nurturing the connection between children and mothers and children’s healthy development. She indicated that reading can play an important role even early on in a child’s life “I think that program is absolutely amazing,” Berg said. “I personally encourage reading and literature for all of my patients, so I think it’s really important for those families and parents. Sometimes they aren’t able to hold their babies, but to have those books provided, the babies can get to know their voice and have a different way of connecting with their parents.”

In the coming months, Almarode aims to conduct more research, expanding her sample size and refining her experimental process. She plans to approach the Virginia Department of Health about integrating the NICU Reading Garden into hospitals across the state, especially since her work has generated interest from other universities and hospitals nationally. As such, Almarode has been in conversation with the University’s Licensing and Ventures Group about trademarking the NICU Reading Garden.

www.cavalierdaily.com • HEALTH & SCIENCE

THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019

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Curry implements CS in elementary school curriculum Professors in the Curry School create project-based computer science curriculum for fifth graders Ilyas Saltani | Staff Writer

SOPHIE ROEHSE | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Over the past year and a half that this project has been in effect, the students addressed problems surrounding water runoff in their local environment.

Educational curriculums nationwide are beginning to incorporate computer science into classrooms due to its prevalence across various career disciplines.

Recognizing this growth, Curry School Assoc. Prof. Jennifer Chiu and her teammates — including Assoc. Profs. Sarah Fick and Leidy Klotz — sought to integrate computer science into the fifth grade classrooms of Walker Upper Elementary School with funding from the National Science Foundation.

“It really comes out of a national push for science classrooms to look more like what scientists do,” Chiu said. “A large part of what scientists do is model the natural environment using computer models, and so we really wanted to push on that aspect and provide opportunities for students to be able to engage in the world of scientists.”

Chiu was initially inspired when working with researchers from Scientific Research Institute International and Vanderbilt

University, who were already conducting studies in computational modeling at high schools. Chiu explored the idea of expanding to upper-elementary and middle school levels, particularly fifth grade.

Over the past year and a half that this project has been in effect, the students addressed problems surrounding water runoff in their local environment. Last year, the first project involved students designing a playground that wouldn’t flood. This year, students are looking at runoff within the scope of various surfaces and their absorption properties.

“They are engineering different surfaces that still meet the needs of the school and them as students but reduce the amount of water that’s running off through increasing the absorption into the ground,” Fick said.

The team felt that water runoff was a comprehensive theme for the project, as it would initially be a challenge for the students but was ultimately relatable.

“Students would be able to investigate water runoff in their local environment,” said Chiu. “We want to make sure students feel like science has a place at their school, like in their immediate environment. It’s not something that only people at universities or scientists in science labs do — they can actively be a part of it.”

While this project is formative for the fifth grade students of Walter Upper Elementary School, it also serves as a crucial research study for Chiu and her team to assess methods of pedagogically integrating science, engineering and computer science into an elementary school classroom.

Chiu said that this project will engage students in a way so that they are not only familiar with the content knowledge but are also able to plan an investigation or generate some kind of computational solution to a problem of human impact on the environment.

“How can we be able to not only support students to engage

in science more authentically, but then actually create the assessment to hopefully say students are making gains towards performance expectations?” Chiu said.

The performance expectations she refers to are the new national standards which are set by the Next Generation Science Standards. The team ensured that by integrating this project into classrooms, the curriculum was still aligned with the fifth grade expectations for the Virginia Standards of Learning but also met the high performance standards expected by the NGSS, which Virginia is in the process of adopting.

As a part of the integration process, the teachers who would be incorporating this computer science component into their classrooms needed to undergo professional development training to ensure they met the students’ learning goals for the year.

“Part of the professional development I did with the teachers was helping them work through the problems of coding and learn

the coding environment — [to] figure out what are some of the pitfalls students are likely to have and what are some strategies for helping them to debug,” said Fick, who took the lead on the professional development aspect of the study.

The team hopes to explore ways to productively incorporate authentic science experiences into classrooms.

“We want to help students see environmental problems in their local community and start to think about … ways to engineer solutions and really think about their role as citizens and users of the environment,” said Fick.

“Then also in terms of a research focus, we want to help create some ideas about how you integrate science, engineering and computer science into upper-elementary classrooms and middle school.”

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