September 5, 2013

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Vol. 124, Issue 5

Groves busts world record

Marshall Bronfin| The Cavalier Daily

Dean of Students Allen Groves gathered on the Lawn Wednesday evening along with almost 3,000 students to break the world record for most highfives in an hour. By 8 p.m., he had notched about 2,470 high fives.

The event, organized by Student Council, was first considered in May. “The first thought was just that it would be very cool to break a world record in general, and very shortly the idea of high-fives came up,” said fourthyear College student Michael Promisel, fourth year in the College and chair of the representative body.

“It was something inclusive that all students could participate in, and Dean Groves has been such a willing participant in students activities.”

The previous record for high fives was 1,739, set last year by a high-school student in New Jersey at a pep rally.

“Dean Groves brought up the [concern for pain] when we told him he could only use one hand,” Promisel said. “During the [event] he did say his hand felt clammy and his shoulder was sore, so it was no easy feat. We had hand sanitizer there ready for him and the students.”

Kristi Vandygriff, a second year in the College participated in the high-five event. “It was great to be part of such a unique experience,” she said.

“Dean Groves made it special because he personally thanked each person as he walked by.”

Rutherford Institute pushes Virginia ABC reforms University student’s April arrest inspires local advocacy group’s call for creation of state oversight committee Jordan Bower Kelly Kaler News Writers

Following the April arrest of a University student attempting to buy sparkling water at a local grocery store, a Charlottesville-based advocacy group, the Rutherford Institute, is encouraging a series of large changes to the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Third-year College student Elizabeth Daly was walking to her car on April 11 when a group of plainclothes ABC agents, who believed she was carrying a case of beer, surrounded her car, one of them drawing a gun. Frightened, Daly and two friends fled the parking lot, grazing two of the agents with her vehicle as she did.

After the incident, Daly was arrested and charged with three

felonies, all of which were later dismissed.

“The incident that took place

with the ABC was extremely troubling and disturbing for me personally,” Daly said in an email. “I support any action to help ensure that this would not happen to anyone again.”A press release on the institute’s website said the incident was dismissed as an embarrassing mistake on the part of the agents and has not led to substantive changes.

The agency did announce in July they would now require at least one uniformed officer to be involved in similar operations.

“When conducting these types of operations, there is now at least one ABC Agent in a police uniform to act as a contact person once the plainclothes agent has developed reasonable suspicion or probable cause to approach individuals they believe have violated the law,” Vir-

ginia ABC spokesperson Valerie Hubbard said in an email. “We believe that this change will further clarify the nature of the stop by law enforcement and help put citizens who are approached at ease regarding the identity of the officer or officers.”

Rutherford Institute President John Whitehead said the April arrest constituted a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens “against unreasonable searches and seizures.”

“Given that the ABC usually uses a reasonable suspicion standard, that doesn’t work constitutionally,” Whitehead said.

“Any time the government does surveillance on you and you are a suspect like these three young women were in that car that day, you have to have probable cause, which means that they had to have some evidence, which they didn’t, obviously.”

Current jurisprudence disagrees with Whitehead, however.

In Terry v. Ohio, the Supreme Court upheld the “reasonable suspicion” standard undercover ABC agents use.Instead of the ongoing internal review, being conducted

by Virginia State Police, Whitehead proposes a review board for oversight of the ABC. The board would call for input from legislators, citizens and Constitutional experts and would propose substantive changes to ABC policies, Whitehead said.

The organization is also calling for changes to the training process of agents, including education in personal privacy rights taught by constitutional lawyers, rather than fellow police officers, Whitehead said.

Though this institute’s press release focused specifically on problems related to the ABC, White-

head said this case is symptomatic of a large-scale dissolution of personal privacy rights.

“Unfortunately, most of the people I work with across the country — and I work with a lot of constitutional experts — they feel that the Fourth Amendment is … some would say on life support, some would say dead,” he said. “I’d say more on life support, unless we can turn that around, but I’m not sure we can do that now.”

The Virginia ABC department's ongoing review by state police was requested by ABC Chairman Neal Insley. “[Virginia ABC] agreed to conduct an independent administrative review of the facts surrounding the incident,” Hubbard said.

“We are waiting for the results of this review before making any comment about enforcement in the Charlottesville area.”

N news

NEWS in

BRIEF Gov. Bob McDonnell awarded $6 million in School Security Equipment Grants on Tuesday, an endowment which will provide improvements for 459 Virginia schools. The grants will provide security equipment such as video monitoring systems and metal detectors to provide the schools a direct line of communication with law enforcement in case of an emergency.

After President Barack Obama announced he would seek congressional authorization before launching missile strikes against Syria, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-VA, cancelled a Tuesday speaking engagement at the Batten School. Kaine is scheduled to appear on Sept.

10 to officiate a debate of the War Powers Act between six collegiate debate teams.

Fourth-year College student Liz Minneman, chairman of the College Republicans, appeared on "Hannity" on Fox News Monday evening.

She was featured in a panel with students from other universities across the nation.

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New federal program reshuffles university funding Affordability, student access to loans may determine schools’ eligibility to receive government support by 2018 Andrew D’Amato, Meg Gardner, Jordan Bower and Alia Sharif

, Under a new ranking system proposed by President Barack Obama last month, the federal government would rate universities on three independent criteria: access, affordability and outcomes By 2018, those rankings would impact the amount of funding and financial aid awarded to schools and students, respectively.

According to a White House press release, school performance would be evaluated based on the “percentage of students receiving Pell grants ... average tuition, scholarships, and loan debt … and advanced degrees of college graduates,” among other metrics.

University students were awarded $7,916,355 in Pell Grants for the 2011-12 school year, averaging slightly less than $4,000 per recipient, according to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. The University has one of the lowest percentages of students receiving Pell Grants – 9 percent of students compared to a 19 percent average among public insti-

tutions, according to the Century Foundation based on data from the Department of Education.

The new federal rating system will be developed by the Department of Education as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act sometime before 2015. According to the proposal, the rating system will help students decide which colleges give the best value and offer the most opportunities for disadvantaged students.

By 2018, high-ranking colleges would receive a greater amount of state funding and students attending those high-performing schools would receive affordable student loans and Pell grants.

The cost of attending the University has risen sharply in the past few years, totaling $26,276 for Virginian undergraduates, and between $53,942 to $54,922 for out-of-state undergraduates.

In 2003-04, the average cost of tuition, room and board, and required fees was $12,560 for instate undergraduate and $28,660 for an out-of-state undergraduate.

Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, said that this upward trend in the cost of attending the University is typical of a danger-

ous spike in the cost of higher education across the country.

“The whole reason we have a public system of higher education is to create a middle class, to lift people up out of poverty or out of the lower middle class, to give them a chance to really live the American dream," he said. "That dream is very much in jeopardy today because of the rising cost of higher education.

From my perspective, it’s the right thing to do in principle; how it’s going to be implemented and what effect that’s going to have remains to be seen.”

Third-year College student Liz Minneman, chairman of the College Republicans, said the proposition is a largely unnecessary show attempting to distract people from more important issues.

“I’m not sure if the ranking of the colleges is necessary, because there are so many private institutions who do a good job of it, and they do look at things like average salary for graduates and student debt,” she said. “So I think that Obama needs to be focusing more on policies that are going to help students get jobs after college and policies that will help with students reduce debt, but I don’t think that

this is something that’s going to do that.”

University President Teresa Sullivan said the rating system could help students assess the return on investment of attending a certain college.

“We support the idea that students and families should have a wealth of information about their higher education choices,” Sullivan said in a press release.

“And that includes information that helps them gauge the value of a degree.”

But there are other metrics that students and families need to consider as well when selecting schools, University spokesperson McGregor McCance said.

Key grounding principles at the University, such as student selfgovernance and the honor code, are not part of the calculus in Obama's proposal.

“We can’t put a price on how important [the honor code] is to so many students who decide to come here,” McCance said. “It’s important for us to continue to stress that, yes, our metrics tell a strong story about the value of an education here. But we want students and families to know the full story about U.Va. and what distinguishes us from others.”

Batten faculty discuss drone warfare, wiretapping Hitz, Warburg debate unmanned terrorist response strikes’ potential to create international backlash, civilian casualites

Katherine Britton Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Batten School faculty member Fred Hitz spoke Thursday evening about the recent political controversy surrounding the United States’ drone use. The former intelligence officer presented an insider’s views on the legitimacy of America’s drone usage and the government monitoring of social media.

Hitz said drone use is symbolic of “relentless non-humanity.” Drone technology, which allows military action without putting military personnel in direct danger, has a serious risk of harming innocent bystanders in addition to terrorist targets, he said.

To combat this danger, the United States needs to focus on specifying targets, he said, or else it runs the

risk of drone strikes becoming terrorist acts themselves.

Batten School Prof. Jerry Warburg, who debated Hitz for part of the event, countered that drone warfare was not as divergent a war tactic as Hitz made it seem.

“How is launching a cruise missile or drone different from more traditional warfare, which also kills innocent people,” Warburg asked.

Drones, Hitz said, may weaken the United States' international reputation — where Americans risk being seen as "the big bully" on the international stage. Hitz said there needs to be a “recognition that we are not trying to play God here.”

Hitz also briefly discussed the NSA's data collection and the potential Fourth Amendment issues associated with that practice. “Welcome to the world of fewer secrets,” he said.

Marshall Bronfin | The Cavalier Daily

Casualties of sometimes innocent citizens during drone strikes makes the concept of drones equivalent to “relentless non-humanity,” Batten faculty member Fred Hitz said Wednesday.

NEWS

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Virginia politicians speak out on Syria debate

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What do Virginia lawmakers have to say about President Barack Obama’s recent request that Congress authorize military intervention in Syria?

Maggie Ambrose Cavalier Daily Senior Writer

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. – NOT TAKING A SIDE “I commend the President for the decision to seek authorization from Congress. The decision about whether or not to use military force in response to the Syrian atrocities raises significant issues that should be considered and debated by Congress. This debate will help define how America views its role as a world power.

"The tone we use while having this discussion also is vitally important. These are issues that should not break down along typical partisan lines, and the debate will provide an opportunity to demonstrate America's elected leadership can come together to resolve serious issues. People across the country and indeed around the world will be watching closely as the world's greatest democracy debates, and then decides, these important questions."

Sen. Kaine, D-Va. – SUPPORT “[Wednesday] I voted for a limited authorization for the use of military force in Syria to respond to Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons to kill civilians, including more than 400 children. A failure to respond to such a blatant violation of longstanding international norms not only signals an acceptance of this atrocity, it also jeopardizes the lives of our service members in combat both today and in the future. For years, countries have refrained from using chemical weapons on our servicemembers because of this international standard and for their safety, we must continue to defend this principle."

Rep. Robert Hurt, R, VA-5 – WAITING FOR MORE INFORMATION "The recent tragedies in Syria have been devastating. Details regarding what has transpired continue to surface, and once we have all of the information, we should evaluate the situation and act accordingly. Before any action is taken, it is imperative that the President clearly articulate our national interest in doing so, as well as the outcome he intends to achieve, the way in which he plans to achieve that outcome, and what our exit strategy will be.”

Rep. Randy Forbes, R, VA-4 — OPPOSED “I have no intention of voting to authorize American intervention in Syria. While the President’s decision to seek congressional authorization for military involvement in Syria shows a regard for the Constitution that has been noticeably absent for much of his presidency, I remain strongly opposed to an action that I believe will in no way contribute to America's national security interests. I also find it concerning that the President is again seeking to use military power even while he has accepted nearly a trillion dollars in cuts from our national defense over the last four years. The President’s willingness to use our military without ensuring that it is properly funded should alarm all who view the maintenance of unparalleled American military power as a principal Constitutional duty of our Commander-in-Chief.”

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R, VA-6 — WAITING FOR MORE INFORMATION “The President should fully brief and consult with Congress about any possible actions in Syria. There is no doubt that the use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians is unacceptable. Last year, President Obama said the use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians may constitute crossing a ‘red line,’ which would compel the Commander in Chief to change his approach. The President must now consult with Congress, and explain to the American people, whether this action has indeed crossed the ‘red line.’ The President must explain and justify the necessity and the scope of any proposed military action by the United States in Syria, and Congress must authorize any use of force should it be necessary.”

Rep. Eric Cantor, R, VA-7 — SUPPORT "I intend to vote to provide the President of the United States the option to use military force in Syria. While the authorizing language will likely change, the underlying reality will not. America has a compelling national security interest to prevent and respond to the use of weapons of mass destruction, especially by a terrorist state such as Syria, and to prevent further instability in a region of vital interest to the United States.

“There are no easy solutions and a one-off military strike is not by itself an adequate strategy, but I am convinced that the risks of inaction outweigh the risks of a limited intervention. And a well-designed and well executed strike that both deters the use of chemical weapons and diminishes the capacity of the Assad regime can contribute to the achievement of a clear and attainable goal: the ultimate displacement of the Assad regime by moderate elements within the opposition. That is why it is imperative that the Administration continue to identify and support those moderate elements who are battling both Assad and Al Qaeda.”

Rep. Jim Moran, D, VA-8 – SUPPORT “President Obama was absolutely right in setting a red line against the use of weapons of mass destruction by Bashar al-Assad.

The United States has the only true ability to prevent the use and proliferation of such weapons. Abdicating this responsibility will only allow for their deployment to become the new norm.

“Now it is up to one of the most divisive, least productive Congresses in history to authorize an intervention and protect the credibility and viability of a US response to Assad's horrific crimes against humanity.”

All information gathered from politicians’ press offices.

Photos courtesy of United States Congress, Forward Together PAC, Wiki Commons

O

The Cavalier Daily

LEAD EDITORIAL

Ready for your close-up?

opinion

The University of Kentucky’s $5 million installation of 2,000 surveillance cameras is overly intrusive

Comment of the day “These comments confuse me because Cuccinelli is a nutjob who has tried to interfere with UVa’s ability to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation. My guessis the College Republicans saw this article and all decided to write the same comment.”

“Zack” responding to Anna Perina’s Sept. 2 column, “Gubernational campaigns courts students”

The University of Kentucky recently announced it would install 2,000 surveillance cameras on its campus. The move is part of a security overhaul that will cost the school $5 million. Kentucky’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter has already spoken out against the decision, voicing worries that the massive amount of information that the cameras will collect could be misused. Privacy concerns aside, putting up 2,000 cameras is overkill. Precautions of this magnitude do campus culture more harm than good.

Though the school might become marginally safer, the measure smacks of paternalism.

To give the security overhaul a fair hearing, we should assess the ways in which security cameras promote safety. First, the ubiquitous presence of cameras on campus might preempt wrongdoing. A person who wishes to steal an overlooked laptop or mug a student late at night might be aware of the cameras. Fearing that he will be caught when police officers review the tapes, he might decide against committing a crime.

Second, cameras provide law-enforcement officials with images and audio that can help them respond to crimes. This function, however, is a second-order way of promoting safety. In such cases, the cameras do not prevent the crime. They merely give the officers more information after the fact.

Like cameras, emergency blue lights—which trigger calls to university police when pressed—can dissuade potential perpetrators. Unlike cameras, emergency blue lights can promote safety in a first-order manner. A student fleeing a potential assailant can press a blue light. Police will arrive, and a crime might be prevented. Cameras, in contrast, merely look on impassively. The University of Kentucky is installing 26 emergency towers as part of its security overhaul.

That expense is probably worthwhile. A deluge of security cameras, in contrast, offers less benefit than emergency towers. The cameras also cost more and raise privacy concerns. So why spend millions on them?

One can imagine circumstances in which the installation of 2,000 cameras on a college campus might be justifiable. Let’s imagine a college that has, for several years, had unusually high on-campus crime rates.

The installation of thousands of cameras might be an effective response on the part of the school’s administration. A move this dramatic is less justifiable when it does not address a recognizable need. As far as we can tell, the University of Kentucky is not an unusually dangerous place. The school’s student body president recently told a local newspaper that “students have felt really safe on campus.” Though people often call upon leaders to be “proactive” rather than “reactive,” unless the University of Kentucky’s administration anticipates a crime wave hitting its campus, this security installation is not an example of farsighted leadership.

It is paternalism at best, paranoia at worst.

The University of Kentucky’s large-scale camera installation is overly intrusive. The extent to which the school needs safety improvements is doubtful. While any school should revise and strengthen safety measures on a regular basis, the University of Kentucky does not appear in need of 2,000 security cameras.

The extent to which the surveillance cameras will promote student safety is equally doubtful. The installation of emergency blue lights might well have been enough. Instead of tangling with privacy issues and creating a campus on which students are always under surveillance, the University of Kentucky should have saved its money.

THE CAVALIER DAILY CAVALIER DAILY STAFF

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OPINION

Thursday, September 5, 2013

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Buffing the curriculum The University should institute a physical-education requirement Senior Associate Editor

There are many Thomas Jefferson quotes that a student is bound to hear repeated ad nauseum during his time at the University. Yet one may escape his memory unless he visits the gyms around Grounds: “Give about two of them [hours] every day to exercise; for health must not be sacrificed to learning. A strong body makes the mind strong.” The University widely — and rightly — celebrates Jefferson’s intellectual prowess and devotion to academic pursuits. Jefferson’s views on physical activity, though, should also be embodied in his university’s curriculum.

This semester, I am teaching a physical education course on tennis. When I asked my students why they were taking this class, most of them responded in the same way: they had always wanted to get better at tennis, but never really had the chance. Students take PE classes, I realized, for the same reason they take academic classes.

They find the topic interesting and want to become more proficient at the course material. The students I know who have taken PE classes are generally seeking useless filler

classes, or they are fourth years a total of four credits in college, who are looking to slack off. But none of which should provide a why should learning athletics be serious mental drain. treated differently than learning Such classes would lay the founother disciplines? Athletic con- dation for future athletic pursuits. ditioning and proficiency are im- A class that makes students inportant in their own right. In fact, terested in tennis or soccer, for the University should institute a instance, is arguably as valuable PE course as one that requirement exposes for every them to student. new authors I envision or phiMaintaining a healthy lifestyle is now such comlosophies, pulsory PE because of the utmost importance, especially classes as athletic considering the strain that obesityremaining hobbies can related diseases and ailments are e s s e nt i a l l y provide as the same as much future placing on our healthcare system. they are now. benefit as C u r r e n t l y, intellectual PE courses are graded on a credit/ ones. The University should focus no credit basis, but are otherwise more on teaching students differthe same as any solely academic ent ways to improve their physical class. Students have participation abilities. Part of its mission as an and attendance requirements, institution of learning should be may have written assignments or to promote physical health and quizzes, and are expected to take coordination. After all, the mind the class seriously. Thus, manda- is only a single element of one’s tory PE courses would still have identity — albeit a significant one. an academic atmosphere. More- Keeping one’s body fit is also paraover, they would not impede upon mount for overall well-being. students’ educational pursuits or Instituting compulsory PE hinder their chances to achieve classes would be an administrative particular degrees. Students move that signifies the University’s would have to take at most one commitment to a student’s holistic physical education class a year — well-being. Currently, a Univer-

“

Alex Yahanda

sity student’s amount of physical activity is entirely self-motivated.

That in itself is not necessarily a problem. The average University student does not appear to be in dire need of physical activity. Indeed, students here are extraordinarily committed to working out (nowhere else have I seen people taking midnight recreational runs through pouring rain). There is also widespread participation in club and intramural sports, and no shortage of exercise resources around Grounds. Nevertheless, placing athletics along academics would promote a more universal recognition of the importance of physical conditioning.

A responsible university should also underscore healthy living to combat the current American obesity epidemic. Many elementary and middle schools are cutting PE classes to save money and to place more resources toward courses such as math and science — a reasonable choice if schools cannot marshal more funds.

American students are falling behind in math and science when compared to their international counterparts, and schools must provide a solid education in those subjects so that students can acquire jobs and spur innovation in STEM fields. Unfortunately, such

academic changes must come at the expense of stressing the role of physical activity in a healthy life. Americans, though they may be falling behind in science and math, are pulling away from other nations in terms of weight. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is now of the utmost importance, especially considering the strain that obesity-related diseases and ailments are placing on our healthcare system.

The University, then, could seize an opportunity to re-emphasize the importance of physical education. There are already language and writing requirements that students must complete before graduation. Physical education requirements could be easily added.

And such a move would not be a radical departure from a normal curriculum. Many other colleges and universities have physical education requirements that must be completed before graduation.

The University strives to enable its students to apply their knowledge to real-world situations.

Adding physical education classes would be a natural fit that does not deviate from that goal.

Alex Yahanda is a senior associate editor for The Cavalier Daily.

Preps and propaganda School spirit counts as propaganda, but that’s not as bad as it sounds George Knayasi Opinion Columnist

I consider our surprise win against Georgia Tech in October 2011 — which ended in us storming the field — to be a high point for my level of school spirit (so far). Although I nearly broke my leg in a pile of screaming bodies, I limped to the field to chant, sing The Good Ol’ Song and generally exult in our school’s moment of glory.

On the surface, associating a positive term like “school spirit” with a negative one like “propaganda” seems not only cynical but also unfair. But propaganda was not always a derogatory term. Before it was bastardized 150 years ago after entering the political sphere, and then further defiled by the Nazis and the Soviet Union, propaganda was a neutral word.

Though we prefer to use terms like “patriotism” and “public relations,” the influence persists as an essential part of our culture — and we are more susceptible to propaganda’s power because of our unwillingness to call it by name.

So let’s return to neutrality: to decide if the propaganda of a culture or social institution is negative, you must identify the pros and cons and weigh them accordingly.

Though propaganda is notoriously difficult to define, the Merriam-Webster dictionary broadly describes it as “the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.” This form of communication influences the attitudes of the community toward particular emotional or cognitive dispositions, usually by emphasizing and de-emphasizing certain ideas and information. School spirit, often defined as emotional support for one’s academic institution, performs a similar function. Applying the concepts to the college environment, it becomes clear that school spirit acts as a form of propaganda.

Wander around Grounds or browse the University Facebook community, and you can observe students’ emotional investment in their college culture: events like Fall Convocation or our most re-

cent football game, catch phrases like “student self-governance” or “Thomas Jefferson” or merely the subtle way two students in discussion start from similar assumptions. These symbols of school spirit saturate our living environment, constantly reinforcing our investment in University culture.

Consistent with propaganda models, such examples promote several positive causes: to encourage a robust community of peers, to urge social engagement and to increase self-efficacy, to name a few.

Perhaps a less controversial question than “is school spirit propaganda” is whether school spirit is positive or negative. State propaganda can be quite dangerous.

Internationally, it can promote violent, jingoistic tendencies and irrational justifications for military action. Domestically, it may perpetuate unjust policies and social oppressions. School spirit is a different matter. The effects of the University’s school spirit are mostly positive. But there are a few negative tendencies to consider.

The most deep-rooted negative factor of school spirit is the simple fact that it inhibits self-analysis.

We ignore (or even defend) the imperfections in our college culture. Take the University ideal of “work hard, play hard:” our tendency to idolize those students who party “hard” but still maintain an excellent GPA. This unhealthy but internalized standard results in significant harm to students, ranging from feelings of inadequacy to ER visits (anyone remember how many people were hospitalized last Boys’ Bid Night?). And who can forget last year’s sense of vindication when the University was ranked Playboy’s top party school just weeks after we once again snagged the title of second-best public college by U.S. News & World Report? The rankings were quickly canonized into our collective cultural memory. In most social circles, the work-hard, playhard ethic remains a clear source of school pride — and as much as the administration and responsible student organizations try to combat the idea, many entering first years will take the “work hard, play hard” propaganda to heart.

I could continue with further examples – the “not gay” chant as a bastardized form of school spirit,

the hostility toward Virginia Tech, our “student self-governance” propaganda encouraging the vilification of former University Rector Helen Dragas — but I leave those for your consideration. The point is to question the irrational or onesided beliefs of our student culture. You need not condone school spirit — for my part, I frequently engage in it — but you must identify (and make peace with) the nature and source of these beliefs.

Most critically, understanding our propaganda better enables us to know when our beliefs cloud our judgment.

In this sense, to understand school spirit as a form of propaganda is a matter of self-awareness, and I believe our community is better off because of it. So become familiar with your school spirit.

Cultivate it, understand it and know how to use it appropriately.

The justification can be as simple as, “this is my school and I’m going to support it.” But the key is to own your pride, not let it own you.

George Knaysi is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily.

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OPINION

The Cavalier Daily

Sleepy schooldays Starting high school later to accommodate sleep schedules might not solve student sleep deprivation Opinion Columnist

When I first came to college, one of the best aspects was not having to wake up at 6 a.m. to go to school. Waking up at 9 a.m., I was much more focused and awake and better able to concentrate on the material I was learning in class. Many schools in Northern Virginia, as well as in other parts of the country, have decided to follow a similar path by starting high schools later to ensure students receive more sleep and therefore remain focused in class.

The National Sleep Foundation has found that while teenagers require a little more than nine hours of sleep per night, two-thirds of all teenagers generally receive seven hours or less. Research conducted by the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement says that teenagers generally have a “late-to-bed, late-to-rise” sleeping pattern and require sleep from approximately 11 p.m.

to 8 a.m. As a result, students sition. I do not think that startoften get sleepy in the morn- ing school late necessarily solves ing (as schools start generally the problem of students being before 8 a.m.) because they are too tired to focus in the mornnot yet supposed to be awake. ings. Since schools will be startBiologically speaking, the body ing later in morning, students produces certain chemicals that will remain at school until later makes a person sleepy during in the afternoon. Adding on afthat time frame. Perpetual sleep ter-school activities means that deprivation, students will the research often not go further notes, home until increases one’s dinner time chances of deor later. StuLooking back on my own high pression as dents will well increased school experience, I think I would start homechances of us- have learned more in my classes if I work later in ing alcohol were not always so sleep-deprived. the day, and and drugs. they will stay More over, up later to common sense dictates that stu- finish it. So starting school later dents will have a harder time ab- might not change the number sorbing and retaining informa- of hours students sleep. Instead, tion if they are not fully awake. it will simply change the time Basing my judgments upon frame during which they sleep. my experience at college, as well I do think, however, that startas the research above, I initially ing school later in the day can thought that delaying high- be useful if it is complemented school start times was a great with other changes. It is imporidea. But after thinking about tant to examine why students the issue more, I think there are stay up late. Students often stay some problems with the propo- up late because of a heavy load

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Fariha Kabir

of schoolwork. One possible way to improve circumstances, then, is to decrease the amount of homework given. Schools can perhaps look to education systems abroad for inspiration.

Finland has one of the best education systems in the world and scores consistently high on international standardized exams.

Momentarily putting aside the faults of standardized testing, one of the reasons for scoring so high is that Finland focuses on ensuring students learn a lot while being at school, so large amounts of homework becomes unnecessary.

Another possibility is to complement a later school day with a shorter school day. Schools would start later, but they would let out at the same time instead of extending their hours. School years could be a little longer to make up for the time lost on shorter school days. I think school systems could argue that longer school years might put financial burdens on school systems, especially those already suffering. Perhaps, the solution

may be matter of restructuring how funding is allocated for different purposes rather than necessarily requiring additional funding.

Regardless, I’m glad that the issue of sleep deprivation among high school students is being addressed. Looking back at my own high school experience, I think I would have learned more in my classes if I were not always so sleep-deprived. I would have also been able to grasp certain concepts faster. Moreover, I would have probably enjoyed learning, as I do in college, because my focus would have been on learning rather than wanting to sleep. So I can understand the reasoning behind starting schools later. But, without proper changes, later school hours is not the solution. Rather, it is only one part in a series of reforms that our education system needs in order to ensure students learn and succeed.

Fariha Kabir is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily.

A middle ground on divestment The University should promote responsible energy use without succumbing to the “divestment” movement Opinion Columnist

Recently, a national “divestment” movement has begun to sweep through American colleges and universities. The movement asks that schools divest their endowments from fossil fuel companies in a symbolic and monetary stand against energy sources that damage the environment and fund radical regimes. In response, a group of pro-oil energy philosophers, scientists and others led by Alex Epstein published an open letter to American universities asking them to reject this movement as a recognition of the good fossil fuels have done and are doing for this country. Epstein claims fossil fuels have led to the dramatic improvements in quality of life seen in the last halfcentury and actually are good for the environment long-term, and that debate about the merits of fossil fuels has been repressed.

Epstein is at least partially correct that universities should refrain from a total divestment from fossil fuels, but not for the reasons he gives. Epstein is the author of the book he cites as his main evidence for his claims, which makes

his conclusions dubious at best. ments in a more responsible way.

This issue makes it impossible for His argument focuses mainly on Numerous energy companies energy to be transported over long the fact our energy has historically work in both the fossil-fuel indus- distances in a cost-effective way. If come from fossil fuels. He does not try and alternative energy. By in- further research could lower this consider the possibility that a simi- vesting in these corporations, the percentage, not only would foslar amount of energy could come University would be encouraging sil fuels be more efficient and less from other sources in the future. a gradual transition away from harmful, but renewable energy While massive energy use has been an unsustainable resource to a re- sources like solar and wind power necessary for recent human ad- newable one without drastic, sud- would also become much more vancement, and the vast realistic. One of the main majority of that energy barriers to mainstream sohas come from fossil fular and wind power is that els, that does not mean a the best places to produce move toward more susit are isolated from areas of Far too much of our current energy comes from tainable energy sources is high energy consumption. a bad idea. And Epstein’s fossil fuels for a responsible university to support a By reinvesting its endowclaim that fossil fuels are ment in technologies like complete divestment. good for the environenergy transmission that ment is only true in the benefit energy produced extremely limited scope both by fossil fuels and through which he chooses to see den changes to the economy. This green technology, the University the issue. He is right that fossil fu- would also allow companies to would be simultaneously taking a els prevent loss of some habitats by transition workers from fossil-fuel neutral and responsible stance on improving agricultural efficiency, plants to other jobs as products energy issues. but he ignores problems like air shift toward green technology. InUniversity students could also pollution, oil spills and climate vestment choices like these would benefit from these investments if change that damage those same reflect both a forward-thinking they were made deliberately after habitats. mindset as well as an acknowledge- a dialogue with energy companies.

Epstein is correct in one respect: ment of current conditions.

If the University could establish a Far too much of our current enInvestments in companies that partnership with a major energy ergy comes from fossil fuels for a work in energy conservation or company through a large investresponsible university to support a transmission could also be an al- ment, it could provide University complete divestment. But that does ternative. About 7 percent of en- students with an inside track to not mean the University of Virginia ergy produced in the United States jobs researching and developing should not treat its energy invest- is lost while being transmitted. transitional technologies. Over

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Forrest Brown

time a mutually beneficial relationship could prove fruitful for both parties, as the company would receive investment capital and an influx of talent, the University would send students to boost its own investment, and the energy industry would slowly shift away from fossil fuels. A relationship of this kind is particularly viable given our location near coal-producing centers like West Virginia, Pennsylvania and potential wind-harvesting sites in the Appalachian mountains.

The University, as with other schools, has no need to make any stand on the divestment movement. We cannot afford to completely and immediately divest from fossil fuels, both as a university and as a country. But why not make an informed and possibly beneficial move toward responsible energy investment instead? By striking a middle ground between the movement’s idealism and Epstein’s denial, the University could set an example for how to be a modern, forward-thinking institution when it comes to energy and fossil fuels.

Forrest Brown is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily.

OPINION

Thursday, September 5, 2013

7

The duties of citizenship Clearing the air on the literacy test Opinion Columnist

Last Thursday, I wrote a column entitled “Bring the literacy test back” in which I argued for instituting a sort of test that all adult voters would have to pass in order to participate in federal elections.

It is clear from the comments I’ve received and the conversations I’ve had that what I proposed deserved more explanation — and qualification — than what I had been allowed in an 800-word column.

Understandably, proposing any type of voting test is controversial because of America’s history of using such measures to disenfranchise minorities. As I mentioned in my column, any test that doesn’t apply equally to all races is unconstitutional, as it should be. The goal of what I propose is not to keep some segment of the population from voting but to require a minimum threshold of knowledge about basic topics in American government and about the broad policy platforms of those running for office. A far more comprehensive test is administered to any immigrant who wishes to apply for U.S. citizenship. Why, then, do we balk at applying similar standards to those of us born here?

I argue that the standards of citizenship — and hence voting — should be the same. We should all view it as a responsibility, a duty,

and not simply a free gift that we energy. Those who possess either lazily accept whenever it suits us. will opt not to take the test.

Requiring some demonstration of How do we combat voter apacompetency in these areas is not thy, then, if we make it more of a some ill-conceived ploy to keep chore to vote? Won’t a test make it people from voting, but rather an worse? The answer is undeniably attempt to improve the quality of yes, unless we couple the instituour democracy. tion of a “literacy test” with other Moreover, the type of “literacy efforts to incentivize voting. One test” I propose is truly not a test at popular way is to offer tax breaks all. While I admit that it is difficult to those who vote in federal electo ascertain tions each year. what topics Aligning pershould be on sonal interest the test other with elections than those is a powerful I argue that the standards of mentioned way to increase above, I am voter particicitizenship — and hence voting — firm in my pation while should be the same. belief that underscoring the answers the message to the test that voting is should be freely and widely avail- a serious civic responsibility with able, even as citizens take the test. personal impact.

The questions, therefore, would Second, what becomes of illitserve not as a barrier to voting erate voters? This is, of course, a but as a simple assurance that all tricky issue, but one I believe is citizens had read the informa- relatively minor: according to the tion provided or could otherwise CIA World Fact Book, 99 percent determine the answers. Voters of Americans are literate, defined should be able to retake the test as age 15 years or older and able to as often as necessary. Substantial read and write. Even if this numefforts should be made online, in ber is optimistic, the fact remains community centers, via mail and that illiterate at the voting centers to make sure voters are that the tests and answer book- a vanishlets are freely available. Under ingly small such conditions, claims that the portion of test is aimed at disenfranchising the voting one group over another are over- population. blown. The only barriers to vot- However, for ing would be low interest and low those citi-

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Russell Bogue

zens who are illiterate and wish to vote, I would argue that the test and answer booklet should be available in audio format.

Third, the point was raised that many voters are not policy voters and should therefore not be required to know the policy positions of the candidates before voting. I would argue that it is perfectly acceptable to cast your vote based on personal preference — or feelings of trust — for one candidate over another. However, requiring you to know the basic policies of the candidates involved is not unreasonable. Candidates run on policy platforms; they are often defined by the campaign promises they keep and break while in office. Requiring voters to know just what the candidate they’re voting for has promised to do in office will help dispel misconceptions while ensuring that voters aren’t inadvertently voting for someone who represents an idea antithetical to their own values. At the end of the day, the voter is still free to vote however he or she wishes.

Finally, I must take issue with the prevalent notion that any type of

voting test must necessarily disadvantage minorities, as has been said. Just because these tests were used to do so in the past does not mean that there is no feasible way of implementing them fairly in the future. Claiming outright that any idea to implement a type of literacy test is foolish, poorly thoughtout, or “despicably ignorant” unfairly and unwisely dismisses a potentially viable option for improving the quality of our political involvement. I will not argue that a literacy test is the only means of cultivating a better-informed public, nor will I argue that it is necessarily the best means. Ultimately, a better-educated citizenry should arise via our public schools. My intention was and is simply to explore it as an avenue we could take, something that has been abused in the past but could be beneficial in the future. I feel we do ourselves a disservice if we refuse to consider all possibilities for improving our civic participation.

Russell Bogue is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily.

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The Cavalier Daily

HU MOR

OPINION

Just for wits.

Romance tips from my 2008 self Charlotte Raskovich Humor Columnist

Court aggressively from afar, like a medieval knight or a guy in a 1980s film. At first, your love’s transfer to another middle school will seem tragic. But fear not, this actually enhances your methods of seduction. Use your friend who goes to his school to deliver mix CDs and clues to semi-elaborate games that end in in you asking for his email address.

Attain his email address. As a modern woman of 2008, email is your primary mode of communication, the perfect medium for flirtatious banter and exhibitions

of your rapier wit. This wit largely refers to jokes about your English teacher’s bald cat and overt need to be liked. Learn facts about each other that further your courtship (he sleeps in a loft bed too!) Use smiley faces sparingly: you may be thirteen but you are sophisticated enough to sometimes use the metro without your parents. Show your happy-go-lucky side with a fun email address. Need a jumpstart on ideas? Here are a few: - cheesylegwarmers@yahoo.com sarumanthewhite@hotmail. com teenagedirtbagbaby993@ gmail.com - simpleplanluvahgirl@aol.com When the object of your affection responds less and less over the

semester, this is a challenge to up the ante. Sign off with quotes from movies where a white boy’s life is changed by a free-spirited girl. You are the free spirit.

Be on the same tech crew for your town’s community theater production of Dracula Jr. Use this opportunity to look all hot in the black clothes you have to wear for every dress rehearsal. By the fourth day, your target brand v-neck will cling to your nascent womanly curves from a mixture of sweat, mom’s perfume and that fruit punch you spilled down your front while trying to put your headset on the right way. Your romantic rival will think she has a leg up by playing the sexually promiscuous vampire, but she fails to realize that her

nightgown has a weird lace neck ruff that smells like mildew. Jokes on you, Heather, Bram Stoker wrote your character as a metaphor for Victorian society, not as an excuse to wear fake eyelashes. Make a move on the opening night; the lights of the middle school basement are dim, everyone is intoxicated with the thrill of knowing the top reporter for the under-18 theater junket is in the audience, and you are positively drenched in pheromones. Preferably make your move in the form of a hilarious song that incorporates his name and heavily references “The Princess Bride.” Don’t feel discouraged when he doesn’t notice that you are making a move.

Accept defeat with grace when

you find out he likes Lauren from your old theater class. Lauren loves horses more than she could love any man, and you are not one to betray the sisterhood over a beautiful boy who sleeps in a loft bed.

Make yourself a “Failed Affair #1” mix CD. Convince your mom to let you hold a boy-girl party, and talk up the former object of your affection to Lauren while you play pingpong. Learn that Lauren is too busy with piano lessons to form any long-term romantic attachments.

Make a “Failed Affair #2” mix CD, tell your diary about it and call it a day.

Charlotte Raskovich is a humor columnist for the Cavalier Daily.

Don’t be the iguana guy Chris Bauer Humor Columnist

There comes a time in life when people realize that they need to go ahead and give up on ever having any sort of meaningful romantic relationship ever again. This moment comes in many ways, shapes and forms. For some it’s the byproduct of large amounts of alcohol, for others a pointed comment from your grandmother over Thanksgiving dinner about how we never hear you talk about a girl or anyone and your grandfather and I are starting to think maybe you’re “that way” and we want you to know we would still love you pretty much the same amount unless you end up voting for Hillary Clinton in which case we trust you know where the door is.Don’t Be the Iguana Guy. For me the realization that I was never going to gain the love of another human person came as I was standing brushing my teeth with a beer in my hand while wearing a pink cotton nightgown with flowers on it. I bought it as part of a Halloween costume in 2009 but it turned out to be too comfortable to not wear more frequently, which is just one of the many reasons I always keep my shutters closed. I’m going to assume that I don’t need to provide further explanation on exactly why it was this moment in particular that prompted this

sudden wave of hopelessness. My exact train of thought went: Man, I wonder who’s going to get eliminated on “MasterChef ” tonight. I hope it’s Krissi. She’s so mean. No one’s going to know when I die until I start smelling bad.

Obviously, the next logical step was to get a cat.

I’d been wanting a pet for a while. At first I had thought of a dog, but I live alone in a basement apartment and am a drama major, so I wouldn’t have been able to take care of it properly. I thought very briefly about a hamster—so briefly that the only thing I actually thought was “God I hate hamsters.” I remembered my cousin used to have iguanas and I was always fascinated by them but, as a friend of mine put it, “Then you would be the guy who has an iguana.”

I’ve never been a big cat person. Actually, I’ve never even seen a big cat person. I am fairly certain big cat people do not exist, although my uncle swears there’s a group of them out in the woods that eat his livestock. He has seen their glistening cat-like eyes, their furry faces, their twisted almost human forms. Then again, my uncle drinks a lot. None of this is relevant, though. What I meant to say is I’ve never particularly liked cats. A friend of mine at VCU who I sometimes stay with has two of them, and I hate them so much that just thinking about them now is causing my eye to twitch.

They’re the kind of cats who will meow loudly until you pat them and then, when you finally do, will either bite you or walk away looking at you like you like you’ve just said that Hitler was a pretty groovy dude. Still, I figured that not all cats could be like them, so I made a firm decision: I was going to go find a friendly little cat that enjoyed the company of humans, wouldn’t be too much trouble to take care of, and would be an acceptable substitute for human companionship.

Thus resolved, I struck out for PetSmart on a sunny Saturday morning. They were having an adoption event, so I went to the back and sat awkwardly in a room of cats with an SPCA volunteer.

VOLUNTEER: What are you looking for today?

ME: Uh. A cat.

VOLUNTEER: What kind of cat?

ME: ....one with...um...a face.

None of the PetSmart cats seemed particularly interested in me, so I struck out for the SPCA. The cats here all seemed a little mangier and twitchier, but they were at least interesting. After wandering around for a while I found a slightly fat long-haired black cat who was very friendly.

The card on his cage said “HI! I’M WALTER!” “Hello Walter,” I said. “What’s your stance on eating camel crick-

ets and other creepy insects that live in basement apartments?”

Walter did not answer because he’s a cat. I felt a connection, though, so I filled out the papers, put him in the small cardboard box provided by the SPCA, and put him in my car. The ride home went like this: WALTER: Meow.

ME: It’s ok.

WALTER: Meow.

ME: It’s fine.

WALTER: MEOW. ME: EVERYTHING’S OK. (Sound of cat-retching/viscous liquids hitting cardboard) Walter did not enjoy the ride home. He expressed his opinions with bodily functions. When a cat with long hair has been in a tiny cardboard box even for just 10 minutes … I don’t want to get too graphic, so let’s go with a metaphor: imagine that you have a long, luxurious wig made of human hair. Now imagine that that wig is covered in poop and vomit and is climbing onto all your furniture.

Walter has settled in nicely in the past week. He is slightly fat, smells bad and walks funny.

We have a lot in common. I’ve been taking reasonably good care of him, I think. I went back to PetSmart to buy him a bed, a scratching post and some catnip, none of which he uses. As I picked up all my things to leave,

the cashier said “Enjoy your new family member!” As if a 22-yearold living in a basement with a cat wasn’t bleak enough.

Anyway, I’ve had him for a week, and I’m really enjoying it. It’s nice to have a small furry friend to come back to. And since I’m now a cat owner, I thought I would answer some frequently asked questions about cats.

Q: If your vet tells you you should “bring in a sample of feces” as if that were no big deal, and that they will test it for thirty freaking dollars, should you do it or tell them where to go (Hell)?

A: For a long time I would’ve said the latter, but they brought it up again at the vet’s o f fice. “Yeah,” I said, “I dunno. It’s expensive.”

“Well,” the vet said, “we like to do it because sometimes they can have intestinal parasites that are transferable to humans.”

I didn’t hear anything else she said because my mind had started screaming so loudly it drowned out everything else. But yeah, just bring in the poop.

Q: What should you feed your cat?

A: Cat food.

Q: Is it weird to be naked around your cat?

A: We’re done here.

Chris Bauer is a humor columnist for the Cavalier Daily.

S

The Cavalier Daily

sports

Virginia welcomes speedy No. 2 Oregon Confident after wresting thrilling season-opener from BYU, Mike London, squad brace for Ducks’ vaunted offensive weapons Zack Bartee Michael Eilbacher

Sports Senior Associate Editors

Since coming to Charlottesville in 2010, coach Mike London has maintained a consistent attitude toward building a stronger program: you have to play the best to be the best. Saturday, London’s mantra will be put to the test against No. 2 Oregon.

The first top-five team the Cavaliers (1-0, 0-0 ACC) will play during the London era, the Ducks (1-0, 0-0 Pac-12) tout a four-year BCS appearance streak to complement their breakneckpaced offense and overabundance of uniforms. Few outside of the Virginia program believe the team has much of a shot — Las Vegas odds opened with Oregon as a 23.5-point favorite — but the players and coaches relish the opportunity to play against the highest level of competition.

“Being an underdog, man, that’s what you love to be,” senior offensive tackle Morgan Moses said. “We talk about that dream schedule — for us to have a dream schedule, we have to play dream teams. We’re going to have to go out there and play.”

Riding high off of an electri-

fying defensive performance in the 19-16 victory against Brigham Young last Saturday, the Cavaliers believe the experience with the Cougars’ uptempo offense helped them prepare for Oregon’s impressive pace.

During the last five seasons, the Ducks have averaged 2.83 plays per minute of possession, second in the nation behind only Houston. Virginia will use two rotating scout team offenses in practice this week in an attempt to simulate the rapid pace of play and endurance of the Oregon offense.

“We will be needing two huddles this week,” sophomore cornerback Maurice Canady said.

“BYU, it was a good break-in for us as a defense. Their pace wasn’t slow, but it wasn’t the fastest.”

Oregon cruised in its opening matchup against Nicholls State, trouncing the Colonels 66-3 and tallying 772 yards of total offense — the most in the nation — in just 19:46 of possession. For a Virginia offense that scored touchdowns on just two drives Saturday — both of which began with excellent field position — limiting mistakes and making the most of every possession will be a focus.

“Every time we have the ball, we have to try and put some points on the board,” junior receiver

Darius Jennings said. “Oregon’s going to score points. That’s just their type of offense.”

Though certainly impressive, the Ducks’ gaudy numbers invited skepticism from a few Cavaliers who believe their own defense can do better.

“You’ve got to look at competition as well,” Canady said. “It’s very impressive, but we’ll see when they get here.”

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota and junior running back De’Anthony Thomas anchor the Oregon offense, and both are legitimate Heisman Trophy candidates.

Mariota threw for 234 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 113 yards and two touchdowns against Nicholls State, while Thomas added 128 yards and two touchdowns of his own. The prospect of guarding both weapons is daunting for any defense.

“When you have the element of the spread or the pistol where you have a talented running back in it, you have to assign a guy to the running back, but you also have to assign a guy to the quarterback,” London said. “Like Georgia Tech's offense, [we] can have a guy assigned to that guy, but he's athletic enough to make you miss … then you've got problems.”

Mark Helfrich became Oregon’s

head coach in January after Chip Kelly departed to become the head coach of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. But as the former offensive coordinator, Helfrich can be expected to maintain a similar team identity to the one instilled during Kelly’s tenure.

“I think it's a culture they've been around that there is an expectation of how they play, how their offense plays,” London said.

“You really don't see a huge difference in the play-calling part of it. But you see a lot of philosophy about quick plays ... Get the ball in space. Those are the things that we have to be mindful of with the who and the what that's on the field.”

For a team known nationally for its prodigious offense, Oregon was also formidable on defense last year, boasting a NCAA-high turnover margin of 22 and a top25 ranking in scoring defense at 21.6 points per game. With third-team All-American junior cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and preseason first-team AllPac-12 junior cornerback Terrance Mitchell returning for the Ducks, sophomore quarterback David Watford could be in for a long day under center.

“Of course, you look at a team like that and you could say their defense is probably overlooked,” Moses said. “Obviously their

defense is playing good, it just happens that their offense is so explosive a lot of people pay attention to that.”

Saturday will mark the first time the Ducks have ever visited an ACC stadium, and the trip should garner them further exposure on the East Coast. The game, which will be nationally televised on ABC or ESPN2 depending on regional listings, should also provide excellent exposure for a Virginia program that has enjoyed recent recruiting success.

“It’s just another chance to put us on the map,” Moses said. “I think my first year when we played USC down in California and we took it to those guys, the outcome was a little different than we expected, but it just shows that we bring big time schools in Charlottesville or we go out there [and] we can play with the best.”

To keep up with the best this week, however, the Cavaliers will have to keep up with the fastest — a reality weighing heavily on the minds of London and his players.

“They can run — their whole team can run,” London said. “I've said it before, and I mean this, the guy that goes to get the tee after the kickoff is really fast, and their whole team is fast. We'll have to be ready for that.”

10

SPORTS

Thursday, September 5, 2013

11

The attention revolution Thanks to Nike’s ambitious Oregon designs, uniforms loom larger than ever in college football Fritz Metzinger Sports Editor

When No. 2 Oregon visits Scott Stadium to play Virginia Saturday, some of Nike’s most persuasive and representative advertisements will be on the field.

In the nearly 20 years since Nike cofounder Phil Knight first approached the Oregon athletic department and endeavored to build a previously staid football program in his company’s own image and likeness, the Ducks have adopted a provocative, dynamic visual style which has triggered a revolution in how college football teams and their uniforms function as branding vehicles. Companies now shell out millions — billions, actually, if you count Nike’s $1.1 billion deal to dress the NFL — to plaster logos all across a team’s apparel, from game jerseys to socks for the fans. It all stems from Knight applying his company’s doctrine of meshing aesthetic and performance innovation to his alma mater.

“There is an attempt at the core to improve the performance capabilities of athletes on the playing field,” said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at Oregon’s Lundquist College of Business. "Nike’s ability to wrap a story around that innovation is kind of what makes their formula work.”

Brave new world Even before brandishing 54 unique permutations of their “duckwing” uniform set in each of their games since 2009, the Ducks carved out an identity as sartorial trailblazers. From printing the school name on shoulder pads to donning players in canary yellow to using multiple helmets in a season, Nike laid bare its marketing strategy for outfitting Oregon early in the 2000s: get people talking, one way or another, and keep them on their toes.

“It used to be teams would change … some schools once in a generation, some schools once in a decade, some schools once every five years,” said Paul Lukas, proprietor of the popular Uni Watch website and ESPN column. “Once Oregon got into their crazy period of the early 2000s or mid 2000s, it became more like once a season, or once a week.”

Currently charged with dressing 80 of the 126 FBS schools, Nike has employed similar techniques for other teams in recent years, from saddling the previously generic North Carolina with black, avant garde uniforms to creating jagged, abrasive number typography and chrome headgear for Baylor.

Attempts to reach Nike, Inc. went unrequited.

Meanwhile, Nike’s college football competitors — adidas, Under Armour and Russell Athletics — have largely followed their lead. Virginia fans will be familiar, in particular, with Under Armour’s rampant experimentation and heavy-handed marketing of Maryland’s uniforms, while adidas has introduced risky, nontraditional alternatives at pillars of tradition such as Nebraska, Michigan and Notre Dame.

New is better In describing the strategic underpinnings behind Nike’s gaudy uniform designs and constant tinkering, Dr. Manish Tripathi, a sports marketing guru at Emory’s Goizueta Business School and co-contributor to the Emory Sports Analytics website, invoked the theory of the attention economy.

copies of its Madden video game franchise each year to people who already have older versions. Impose constant, incremental change on an entity without sacrificing the essence of its original appeal, and you can turn misers into spendthrifts.

“Every fan who gets behind this brand wants the latest and greatest,” Swangard

Above photos courtesy Daniel Bachhuber, Flickr

Before they adopted the famous--and infamous--winged jerseys in 2009, the Oregon Ducks adorned this equally polarizing “diamond” design from 2006-08, further entrenching their role as harbingers of a new uniform age.

Attention economy adherents suggest that people’s attention, like oil, grain or a college education, constitutes a valuable but scarce commodity that companies such as Nike strive to obtain with ostentatious practices.

Whether you deem Oregon’s uniforms gorgeous or garish this weekend, you’ll still be thinking and talking about them, building the notoriety of the Nike brand and ultimately adding money to Knight’s corporate coffers.

“Bad publicity is also publicity,” said Asst.

Commerce Prof. Natasha Foutz, who specializes in marketing. “Even if you say, ‘oh, I hate that uniform,’ guess what? You’re going to talk about it. It’s a win-win situation for both the university as well as Nike.”

The constant tinkering has also succeeded in selling actual brand merchandise for the same reason EA Sports sells millions of

said. “So the uniform that they wore three years ago, they’ll never wear again, but it’s in the fan’s closet and he wants the next uniform that comes out or the next T-shirt or the next piece of headwear.”

Aggressive uniform brand marketing also contributes to what Swangard called a “waterfall effect” on the other goods Nike and their competitors produce. Should a consumer visit a Dick’s Sporting Goods soon after watching two Nike-clad college football teams in flashy digs play each other, and should those uniforms connote sleek, streamlined performance, he or she is more likely to trust the Nike brand.

“Sports fans are very loyal to brands,” Foutz said. “That’s why there are a lot of sponsorships.”

In the end, the "new is always better" template established by Nike works — to

some extent, on recruits as well as fans — when it conveys the existence of the two things people crave from athletic gear: distinctive aesthetics and cutting-edge performance capabilities.

“Not only are you going to be different,” Tripathi said of Nike’s message, “but you’re going to do well athletically if you wear this." …But not always The problem with the argument for relentless innovation is that some of the schools that best build brands ignore it.

Ohio State, Alabama, Texas and LSU have deployed the same general uniform designs, with a few tweaks, for generations.

Yet Nike will pay them more than Oregon because those programs’ prestige and iconic familiarity to American fans ensures that by merely wearing the Nike swoosh, those programs will move huge quantities of product. And really, shoulder stripes and funky number type on an Alabama jersey would alienate more than allure fans.

“I don’t really buy the notion that it is somehow necessary or that recruits only respond to the flashy uniform, because it’s demonstrably untrue,” Lukas said. “If you look at schools that don’t have flashy uniforms, they’re some of the top [programs] in the country.”

The partnership which blossomed between Nike and Oregon in the late 1990s resulted from a unique conflation of interests.

Knight wanted to resurrect a program with the same balance between imagination and pragmatism that governed his company; his alma mater and favorite school lacked a football identity. That the relationship has flourished owes not to the rationale of constant change holds everywhere, but to Nike’s exorbitant spending on the perfect plan in ideal circumstances.

“There’s not necessarily that same sort of football tradition that existed at Oregon before [as other programs],” Tripathi said. “In the end, you still have to have a product that resonates, that people derive value from.”

The three apparel minnows chasing in the wake of the Nike whale therefore, should at least consider Foutz’s insistence that they would excel by contradicting the Nike-Oregon model for some schools. A uniform’s “visual signature,” as Lukas calls it, must be coherent and sensible in the context of the college it represents to most effectively build the brand in a favorable way — whether that means novelty or orthodoxy.

“You have to start wondering, ‘what exactly do they stand for?’ at some point," Lukas said. "Does that compromise the brand?”

Nike imbued college football uniforms with unprecedented branding potency by stressing new and different at Oregon, but it wasn’t necessarily the emphasis on novelty that made it so. The more important legacy lies simply in how Nike and Oregon made uniforms a focus for fans and players, and thus a point of emphasis for companies.

“We know they’ve got good uniforms,” Virginia senior offensive tackle Morgan Moses said this week. “They’ve got hundreds of helmets and we might have two helmets, but it’s still going to protect your head.”

Still, he brought them up.

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SPORTS

The Cavalier Daily

Gal’s ‘presence’ a present for the Cavs Creighton transfer’s steady demeanor, evident talent impresses teammates in early goings Matthew Morris Sports Associate Editor

Ask a member of the Virginia men’s soccer team, coach or player, about Jeff Gal, and he will likely describe the sophomore goalkeeper’s “presence.” Presence, though, is a vague word of varied associations. Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard has a certain presence when he steps to the free throw line, as does New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez these days in the Bronx.

Ignoring these dubious connotations, however, we can recognize that some of the soccer greats have been described as having “presence” on the pitch.

Jeff Gal, then, possesses “presence.”

The question is, of what kind?

“His presence is a calming presence,” Virginia assistant coach Michael Behonick said. “When you’re playing in a game and as a goalkeeper, you want to be a calming presence, you know, behind the back four to make sure you always have things in control.

You want people to know you’re in control at all times, not panic, and be a guy that’s consistent and confident back there.”

One glance at Gal’s statistics in his freshman season at Creighton — the Illinois native transferred to Virginia this summer, after two years playing for the Jayhawks, the first spent as a redshirt — and you know: in addition to that “presence,” Gal possesses ample talent. In 15 starts for Creighton, Gal posted seven shutouts while amassing 57 saves on a .851 save percentage.

Though his 13-1-1 record owes partly to the talented team surrounding him — Creighton won the Missouri Valley Conference’s regular-season and conference tournament crowns — the Blue Jays’ postseason success left no doubt as to Gal’s value to the squad. In the course of No. 12 Creighton’s run to the NCAA Tournament semifinals, Gal shined, making a season-high eight saves in a Round of 16 overtime victory against No. 5 Akron and shutting out No. 4 Connecti-

cut on four saves in the next round.

Judging from sophomore defender Zach Carroll’s description, Gal has already minimized stress for the Virginia backfield.

“I would say he’s kind of like a quiet leader,” Carroll said.

“He’s not the guy who’s barking at everyone, but he’s just kind of the guy who’s smooth and steady at the back.”

Gal seems to have found a place within the team dynamic with relative ease in his short time on the roster. Coach George Gelnovatch used the words “calm,” “smart,” and “cerebral” to characterize Gal, likening the goalkeeper to Diego Restrepo, who started for the Cavaliers’ 2009 championship team.

Not a bad recipe for “presence.”

“I don’t think the acclimation process has been hard for him,” assistant coach Michael Behonick said. “It actually almost seems like he’s been here for his whole career.”

Gal is from Bartlett, Illinois, 35 miles northwest of Chicago, and he initially opted to stay close to his Midwest roots at Creighton in Omaha. Gal, though, has traveled far from home before, soccer serving as his vehicle. In high school, as part of the U.S. U-18 National Team Pool, the Illinoisan honed his goalkeeping in Oregon and Arizona. He also accompanied the squad to Portugal’s Lisbon International Tournament.

Gal said the strength of Virginia's coaching staff, which, led

by Gelnovatch, has shepherded the Cavaliers to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 17 years, was a strong force in bringing him to Charlottesville. But that was hardly the only perk which drew him into the Cavaliers’ orbit.

“Just the school in general,” Gal said. “You know, I came from a smaller school. Coming to a bigger school like this was a big factor. And I think there’s just a certain tradition to winning … I’m happy to be here.”

So comfortable between these pipes these days, Gal almost seems to have had a preternatural inclination to goalkeeping.

Not until late into his adolescence, however, did he embrace the position fully.

“I started playing when I was about six years old,” Gal said.

“I have no idea why I decided to become a goalkeeper. I was a field player and a goalkeeper up until I would say seventh grade … In eighth grade, I kind of decided that I wanted to be a goalie, and it kind of just went on from there.”

Virginia, a precocious team without much veteran depth — only one senior, defender Kevin McBride, started in the Cavaliers’ season-opening loss to No. 7 Louisville, and none opened Monday night’s 2-0 victory against No. 23 St. John’s — can surely be glad Gal’s winding path took the turns it did. Presence is not so difficult a quality to come by, but it comes in a myriad of forms, and those around the men’s soccer program tout Gal’s presence as the right kind. It is one that, hopefully, will be felt in Virginia for the next few years — perhaps even augmenting with time.

“I think the sky’s the limit for him,” Behonick said.

Virginia men’s soccer sophomore goalkeeper Jeff Gal has tallied four saves in his first two games as a Cavalier, including his eigth career shutout Monday against St. John’s.

Marshall Bronfin | The Cavalier Daily

SPORTS

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Spare the hate He’s back! Johnny Manziel, star Texas Now you would think the Texas A&M A&M quarterback, is back to playing foot- athletics department would love the kid for ball, and the negative spotlight bringing in so much revenue for CODY SNYDER is burning brighter than ever. the school. Instead, the departATHLETE COLUMNIST Manziel had already been unment has bickered with Johnny’s der fire for allegedly receiving father, even initially denying money for signing autographs before the Johnny a copy of his Heisman and dismissAggies’ game against Rice this past week, ing it after the fact as a “miscommunicaduring which he taunted an opposing de- tion”. fender and made repeated, sarcastic hand And that all happened before the autogestures alluding to the autograph scandal. graph controversy early last month.

Whether it was Lou Holtz and Mark May Full disclosure: as a collegiate athlete bashing him on ESPN, or the haters that myself, I do not hold any particularly warm filled my Twitter timeline, those three in- feelings toward the NCAA. I am also not game actions poured more gasoline on an very fond of NCAA President Mark Emalready raging fire. Well, before anyone else mert. Emmert, a multi-millionaire, runs decides to judge Manziel, I advise you to an organization that is run off of unpaid consider how hard his life is. athletes. Athletes train, bring in revenue, How hard his life is? Yeah, I said it. excel in the classrooms and don’t get any I’ll be the first to admit that saying a star compensation while Emmert earns an anSEC quarterback lives a hard life sounds nual salary of millions. $1.7 million dollars rather comical. Especially when it’s about in his first year on the job to be exact. the kid who sits courtside at NBA Finals It’s not just Emmert’s salary that makes games, throws around wads of cash at a me dislike the NCAA. It’s travesties such casino, takes flights to hang out with rap- as their selling players’ jerseys and profitper Drake and kicks it backstage with Rick ing off them while giving the player no Ross. But few of you really understand what money. Or, though they later relented after he’s gone through these past few months. a vicious public backlash, denying eligibilThe seed for all this negativity was ity to an Armed Forces veteran because planted before he played a single down he played a couple of measly intramural for the Aggies. The summer before his games overseas. Ridiculous.

Heisman-winning campaign, Manziel was And it’s situations such as Manziel’s, arrested for his involvement in a bar fight where they were trying to discipline him and possession of a fake ID. Many pundits because he allegedly got paid for his own pounced on him when the details of his ar- signature. rest trickled out months after the fact, few So when I saw Johnny Manziel picking of them pausing to realize that at the time fun at the NCAA last Saturday with his celof the incident he was a normal student, ebrations of hand gestures of getting money not yet a star QB. It was before “Johnny and signing autographs, I absolutely loved Football” was born — he was just Johnny it. Every one of my teammates here at the Manziel.

University loved it. And everyone should.

And then, bam! He was the face of Texas I speak for every athlete in saying we are A&M because of his stellar performance rooting for Manziel in his case against the on the field. Johnny Heisman. The hero of NCAA. College Station was, just months before, a I once thought my life as a studentcollege kid like any you might see on the athlete was made hard by trying to balance Corner on a Thursday night. And with be- athletics and academics. And then I found ing the hero came the haters; especially on out about Johnny’s life and what he’s been Twitter, where Johnny fostered his negative through. I feel embarrassed for ever thinkreputation. He cursed, talked about alcohol ing my student-athlete life was hard. I can’t and other stupid things most 20-year-olds even begin to fathom what living his life is value. like.

The offseason brought all the gallivantAre we really going to judge him for ing around with celebrities and high-profile having a fake ID in college? Hypocritical, appearances, but also more strife. When he don’t you think? Are we going to judge woke up to see his Mercedes keyed all down him because his family comes from money, the side, he lashed out — again, on Twitter and he hangs out with celebrities when he — telling his followers he couldn’t wait to pleases? I think all of us would take advanleave College Station. The Texas A&M stu- tage of the same opportunities, if we could. dent paper responded in an op-ed urging The Texas A&M football coach receives him to leave the school titled “Johnny Be millions of dollars for Johnny’s perforGone.” His own classmates, whose football mance. The athletic department brings team he had led to its most exciting season in millions in revenue thanks to Johnny’s in decades, advocated his departure. presence at a booster dinner where people All the while, as Wright Thompson’s fea- can meet and greet with THE Johnny Footture on him for ESPN the Magazine chron- ball for the right price. What does Johnny icled, Manziel struggled to cope with his get? A therapist for his anger, a scratched up new life. He started talking to a therapist. Mercedes, a student newspaper that hates He escaped Texas A&M on the weekends to him, a family worried to death about him, drive to his hometown where he could find a tussle with the NCAA, students heckling peace and play rounds of golf with his dad him, cops harassing him and Mark May’s — rounds of golf that would make an al- disapproval. You don’t have to love the kid, ready frustrating game maddening, leading but you certainly shouldn’t hate him. And him to throw his clubs. His fame and anger as for you, Johnny, keep doing you. even started taking over his life at home, robbing him of any sanctuary. His family fretted over the man he was becoming.

Johnny’s family now has to pay for perCody Snyder is a third-year memsonal body guards, out of their own pocket, ber of the track and field team. to protect their son from either what he might do, or what people will do to him.

Mike London’s call to the student body U.Va. Student Body:

Thank you for your support last Saturday at Scott Stadium! Your energy and enthusiasm were crucial to the team’s success in our victory over BYU. After a great start to the season, we need to keep our momentum going this weekend. With No. 2 Oregon coming to town on Saturday, the national spotlight will be on Charlottesville at 3:30 p.m. We need YOU to pack the student section. Come early, be loud, and set the tone for the rest of the stadium! I cannot wait to see our student section at its best on Saturday!

Oregon is known for its fast-paced, prolific offense.

The Ducks accumulated 46 plays of 25 yards or more last season and 69 such plays during the 2011 season.

Oregon is led on offense by sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota, junior running back De’Anthony Thomas, and senior wide receiver Josh Huff. The Ducks’ offense runs a play every 17 seconds. The louder Scott Stadium is when the Oregon offense is on the field, the better!

While we were pleased with the win last weekend, we know we can and will need to play better starting Saturday. We’ll need to be balanced and efficient on offense to keep Oregon’s offense off the field. We’ve also noticed plenty of areas to improve defensively and we’ve been focused on schemes to counter the wide splits the Ducks’ offensive line presents. Our special teams play will also be important in all phases on Saturday.

There’s nothing like the buzz on Grounds during home football games and our plan is to continue to host games against strong competition. In addition to playing BYU and Oregon this season, we host UCLA to open the 2014 season and Boise State and Notre Dame in 2015.

Thanks for all you do to support Virginia football and I’ll see you on Saturday!

Go ‘Hoos!

Head Coach Mike London

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The Cavalier Daily

Thursday, September 5, 2013

ROTUNDA SING

Marshall Bronfin | The Cavalier Daily

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The Cavalier Daily

A&E

16

Photo Courtesy of cory-monteith.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

No longer ‘glee’-ful

Robin Yeh

A&E Senior Writer

Fox’s former flagship program loses steam as tragedy, bad writing strike When Fox's “Glee” returns to the airwaves this fall, the question on everyone's mind will be how the writers will handle the surprise death of star Cory Monteith this July.

Monteith reportedly died of an accidental heroin and alcohol overdose — unsurprising given the star’s history of drug and alcohol abuse. His abuse started when he was 13, after his parents divorced, and the actor — who dropped out o f

high school at age 16 — entered rehabilitation at 19.

Monteith landed the "Glee" role after working in several low-wage jobs, and his stint as Finn Hudson made him a household name, and the celebrity crush of millions of teenage girls.

The show drew critical acclaim and became known for featuring popular songs and show-stopping numbers. Its distinctive wit and charisma helped it to stand out, and the show’s fans, or "gleeks," connected with the cast of misfits and underdogs.

The show drew in more than 10 million viewers each week, and its songs and albums topped

Pegi Y o

billboard charts, eventually leading to concerts and a 3D movie.

A big part of the show's success rests in its ability to handle serious issues in a family-friendly way. The show tackled homosexuality, bullying and teen pregnancy in its early seasons. Even with these sensitive topics, “Glee” still induced laughs with charming characters, clever dialogue, and upbeat musical numbers.

The show’s popularity didn’t last long, however, and by season three, viewership dropped and the creators were faced with the task of ending a few of the characters’ storylines. Because the show is set in a high school, many major players graduated and left the program. Writers attempted to create new characters, but they failed to recreate the show’s early success.

The irony of it all is that the ele-

ung fo

Harper McGrath A&E Senior Writer

Photo Courtesy of www.pegiyoung.com

llows t

Pegi Young has played many roles: backup singer (touring with Neil Young’s band since 2000), mother (Pegi and Neil Young have been married for 27 and raised three children), and caring philanthropist (Pegi co-founded the Bridge School in 1985, an institution that supports students with complex communicational and physical needs).

Recently, her musical path has led to her own solo project, Pegi Young and The Survivors, who have been on tour since August. I had a chance to sit down and get to know Young before her show Wednesday at the Jefferson Theater for the Lockn' festival.

You’ve toured as a backup singer for Neil Young since 2000 and have relatively recently

he mu

ments contributing to the show's initial success also contributed to its downfall.

The show attempted to address too many topics in the fourth season leading to messy, unrealistic, and short-lived plotlines about bulimia, school shootings, online dating and drag.

Romantic interests grew complicated, and the storyline became a confusing web of "who’s slept with whom." By season four, “Glee” was reduced to a cheesy dramedy.

There has been little information released on how Monteith’s death will be handled with the show opens its fifth season on Sept. 26. Show creator Ryan Murphy did say Finn Hudson, who the audience last saw enrolling in college to get his teaching degree, would not die from drug overdose on the show.

Here's hoping they handle the death in a way that highlights Finn's contribution to the Glee club, rather than using it as another excuse to cover a controversial topic like gun violence or alcoholism.

sic to C

emerged as a solo artist (in 2007). What made you decide to begin this phase of your career, and what do you intend to convey with it? Well, I’ve been composing my own music for years and writing poetry for years and years. And playing, you know, around the house, gigging here and there with my women’s singing group I founded after [performing at] the Academy Awards in the mid-90s. And from there, it was just getting more experience out there on the road with Neil and with so many other great bands.

Actually, I think it was [tour manager] Elliot Robert’s idea that I go in the studio and record my own stuff — he knew I wrote, he

-Ville

knew I played a little, he knew I sang and had spirit, I guess. Bridge School was in really good hands so I didn’t have to be involved in day-to-day operations there, and my kids were grown to a certain age so I didn’t have to figure out how to juggle that. A lot of great female artists have done that but I just could never quite figure out how to do it. It was just a timing thing really.

At a certain point it all just came together.

see YOUNG, page 19

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Thursday, September 5, 2013

17 Photo courtesy Wikipedia

James Cassar A&E Associate Editor

Charlottesville-based band becomes ‘Overnight’ sensation

The University is home to a variety of notable alumni, but it's not every day that current Wahoos can enjoy former students' career choices on the radio.

With local favorite Parachute's third full-length album "Overnight," the group’s pop sensibilities have hit an all-time high and could catapult the group into an “overnight” sensation. Charlottesville's little secret is on the cusp of becoming a national phenomenon.

Characterized by lead vocalist Will Anderson's impressive range and delivery, P a r a -

chute's first two releases, "Losing Sleep" and "The Way It Was" offered fresh takes on Top 40's flavors of the week. Fans of old enjoyed tastes of both blue-eyed soul and modern pop and savored the unconventional yet irresistible addition of Kit French's saxophone melodies. "Overnight," which prompted the band's massively popular two-night stay at the Jefferson last weekend, forgoes some of these trademarks in favor of the latest trends. Though enjoyable, Parachute’s latest effort isn’t without a few bumps.

Unbridled energy kicks off the record. “Meant to Be,” with tinges of electronica and acoustic guitar, establishes Parachute's reinvented sonic palette as ripe for late-night debauchery. “Can't Help” is surefire single material, with a lovestruck hook and a roomy backbeat. It's post-reunion Matchbox Twenty meets Maroon 5, and the marriage is an amicable one.

Speaking of Maroon 5, ghosts of Adam Levine's day job drift into neighboring track “Drive You Home,” which brings nothing new to the table save the introduction of a bass-flooded mix, which continues for the rest of the album.

Processed beats and piano licks welcome “Hurricane,” one of the album's flagship ballads.

The interplay between male and female harmonies is pop gold, but the lyrics are cloaked in wooden metaphors. “Everybody knows I didn't want it to end,” Anderson laments repeatedly. When bookended by the bouncy title track, with Imagine Dragons-esque arrangements pulsing throughout, it's easy to miss the storm.

“Didn't See It Coming” may boast naiveté, but the unrelenting pep borrows too heavily from the album's caffeinated agenda and leaves much to be desired. Parachute's momentum scales back for a glimpse at “The Other Side,” which is arguably more soul-in-

fluenced and mature than what's broadcast on the record's upbeat tracks – the spirit of 1997 is alive and well here.

Tom-tom rhythms and jangly keys forecast a Katy Perry album teaser, but “Waiting for that Call” trades teenage dreams for throwback sheen; the piano and guitar duel near the song's coda begs for accompanying finger snaps.

“The Only One” ushers in a pair of slow-burning love songs, and with the odd accents of vocals on par with a skipping record, the latter track – entitled “Disappear” and clocking in as the strongest selection on "Overnight" – outshines it in every way.

If there is any inkling of Parachute's former glories on this disc, it's apparent when the coffee-house ambience of “Disappear” kicks in. Reminiscent of the band's first hit, “She Is Love,” the minimalist arrangement showcases potential for a future home on adult contem-

porary dials.

“You've gotta go higher,” a chorus of excited voices proclaims on the album's parting thought. “Higher” is an excellent metaphor for Parachute’s rising potential as the band receives increasing exposure and attention. Though "Overnight" abandons many hallmarks of the group's finest moments, it's primed for the pop circuit. The band behind it is about to reach great heights. Let's hope they don't need a parachute.

Charmed by Charmy

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

An impressive collection of modern art has temporarily taken up residence on the second floor of the Fralin Museum. “Émilie Charmy,” an exhibition of work from the French artist of the same name, offers students and the general public a rare opportunity to explore the output of a highly influential, though slightly overshadowed, modern artist.

As museum patrons enter the exhibition gallery, they are greeted

with a small introduction to Charmy and her work, as well as a not-so-small photograph of Charmy herself. The gallery serves as a timeline of Charmy’s work – Fauve-esque still-lifes and landscapes shift into vibrant and sensual nudes, ending in sobering, ochre-colored works that capture the mindset of an enigmatic and ever-changing artist late in her career.

Early 20th-century France, though progressive in many ways, was still not what many would call liberally feminist.

Female artists like Charmy, many of whom are now immortalized in the canons of art history, were often slighted

by both critics and audiences.

Indeed, in the 1922 show entitled “The Female Nude from Ingres to Present,” Charmy was the only female artist represented. Her work was often accused of being unnecessarily expressive and was ridiculed by her male contemporaries for her treatment of color and the female body.

Though Charmy had achieved a great deal of fame and respect in art circles by the end of her career, much of this was attributed to her success as a female artist instead of as an artist.

The Fralin’s exhibition, unlike others in which she was premiered, displays Charmy’s

Ty Vanover

A&E Senior Writer

works without pigeonholing her into the small box of “influential female artist.” The exhibition manages to note Charmy’s positive impact on feminism in art culture and the public’s view of female artists, while ultimately recognizing the beauty and expressiveness of the art itself – without excessive commentary on the artist’s gender. In essence, the exhibition is appreciation for art in its simplest form.

I highly recommend a visit to the exhibition – nowhere else will you get such an intimate glimpse into the life and work of the gifted Charmy. “Émilie Charmy” will be at the Fralin through February.

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The Cavalier Daily

“Body Music”: Less than the sum of its parts Millicent Usoro A&E Senior Writer

By the time I was 14, I had discovered a world of music outside the endless homogenous stream of Top 40 radio singles. Within a year, I transformed into the indie elitist that I am today: “Katy Perry’s songs are all the same,” “Hip-hop has become lazy and too commercial,” “You’ve probably never heard of this band” and “What’s your favorite Radiohead album?” were some of my favorite phrases.

But BuzzFeed, YouTube and streaming music services like Spotify have a knack for fostering rediscovery and nostalgia. Some recent revelations of mine: “Umbrella” by Rihanna is one of the greatest pop songs of the past 15 years; Justin Timberlake’s "Justified" was my soundtrack for last semester; “Get Lucky” and “Blurred Lines” had nothing on “Shake It Off ” for my personal song of the summer; and T.I.’s “King Back” has recently become one of my favorite hip-hop songs.

The cycle of mainly listening to

Photo Courtesy of kickkicksnare.com

Top 40 during middle school, to and singer Aluna Francis. Their denouncing the mainstream as a story probably sounds familiar teenager, to a renewal and famil- by now: the two met on Myspace, iarity with pop in adulthood is a when Reid got in touch with Franfamiliar pattern. Recently, though, cis’s old band My Toys Like Me to do a handful of artists have blurred the a remix on their song “Sweetheart.” lines beF r o m tween conMyspace, v e nt i o n a l the duo Best tracks: pop and started “You Know You Like It” obscurity. making “Attracting Flies” Dubbed songs on “futurea Mac“Outlines” pop” by Book in Pitchfork, bedrooms these muand postsicians have unleashed what the ed “You Know You Like It” on their magazine dubs a combination of YouTube channel. A minimalistic “poptimism and experimentalism black and white but ultra-glossy to create confectionary, homespun production, this video succeeded electronic music.” By returning to in capturing the essence of the duo’s their roots while clinging to the lead single and attracting the attenunderlying basics of pop, these vi- tion of millions of internet-goers. A sionaries have crossed into genre- year later, the duo released an EP, bending territory. also named "You Know You Like The newest member of this band It," in June 2012. of artists is AlunaGeorge, a duo Finally, after a slew of singles consisting of producer George Reid (“Your Drums, Your Love” and

Woody Al le

“Attracting Flies”), remixes (Florence + the Machine’s “Spectrum”), and guest features (Rustie’s “After Light” and Disclosure’s “White Noise”), "Body Music," the duo’s first studio album, has arrived. AlunaGeorge has effectively solidified its status in the emerging genre of “future-pop” with recent indie critical darlings Purity Ring (another producer/singer duo), Grimes, and CHVRCHES. The press release for "Body Music" says AlunaGeorge is ready to make pop music “strange” again, citing Aaliyah’s “Try Again” and Destiny’s Child's “Say My Name” as radical yet catchy songs from “visionary producers and charismatic singers."

The problem, however, is that "Body Music" sounds almost too perfect: the duo consistently executes sleek pop songs, but when fashioned together in an album, the series of tunes comes across like a compilation album, a pattering of gimmicks by veteran pop artists

n Knocks

New tal ent igni tes

ol d pl ot

Jamie Shalvey

lin e

Us Over...

A&E Associate Editor

Jenna Truong | The Cavalier Daily

seeking to reassert their relevance in the music industry while keeping fans satisfied with some new material.

While Grimes and Purity Ring have a brooding and sometimes satisfyingly haunting aspect to their music, sometimes dubbed “witch house,” Reid’s production is utterly sleek and fluid which blends well with George’s icy, baby-like voice.

AlunaGeorge’s love for the Neptunes and Timbaland, producers behind the most recognizable music of the past 20 years, is apparent throughout the album.

But the best music is often the kind that doesn’t follow the rules – Kanye’s "Yeezus" has deep roots in 1990s industrial rock and 1980s Chicago acid-house, for example. It might be breaking any barriers, but with "Body Music," AlunaGeorge still successfully creates a progressive yet sophisticated urban pop formula that is sure to keep futurepop a relevant genre for, well, the future.

Legendary director Woody Allen is back again with another film exemplifying his storytelling prowess, “Blue Jasmine.” Taking place in modernday San Francisco, the film focuses on the perils of financial downfall. Jasmine, played spectacularly by Cate Blanchett, has begun an extended stay with her sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins) in Ginger’s small apartment — Jasmine and Ginger are not sisters by blood, but were both adopted by the same mother.

Even from the very beginning you can sense stark differences between the two. Jasmine, accustomed to a superficial lifestyle, has spent the last couple decades happily — though ignorantly — married to a rich “businessman,” while Ginger has been supporting herself on limited means while struggling through disappointing relationships with men. When Jasmine’s seemingly perfect husband (Alec Baldwin) is revealed to be a crook who has lost the couple’s entire fortune, Jasmine is forced to move in with Ginger in an attempt to

Again

get back on her feet.

The story closely resembles Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” in several key aspects. Jasmine is a close parallel to the character Blanche, alike in nature, though decades apart. Blanche, like Jasmine, left her home in the wake of a scandal to live with her sister, but these stories seem to parallel most when it comes to the similar psychological behavior of the two.

Both female leads become so distraught from the fact that they are no longer accepted into the world of the wealthy that they excessively drink and pop pills to ease the pain. As their lives deteriorate so do their mental states, leading to rash romantic decisions that only compound their problems. Though the two stories seem to mimic each other, Blanchett’s striking performance sets this one apart.

“Blue Jasmine” is wonderful treat for Woody Allen fans, but may strike the wrong chord with newcomers. That being said, a film as deep and wrenching as this one is worth seeing for any audience.

ARTS & SECTION SECTION

Thusday, September 5, 2013

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YOUNG Artist enjoys eclectic approach to song-writing Continued from page 1 How would you describe your approach to composing music, and how has it changed in the course of your career?

I don’t know that I approach it terribly differently than I did all along … I get inspired by different things and get an idea, a spark here or there, and maybe that one idea links to a random other idea. A lot of the time I’ll just write down snippets of thoughts that come to me and things I see. I’m working on a song now, for instance, and I woke up thinking about it this morning so I spent a couple hours playing around with it. It’s kind of a process that I can’t say has changed a lot. Our band has changed quite a lot over the years, so that’s lead to some changes in sound. Some of the ways the songs are evolving are a result of the collaboration of the band members — I’ll bring in a sketch of a song, a melody to begin with, but it’s really a group effort. We have one song we’ve

tried I don’t know how many ways — from Motown to waltz to everything. We’re thinking of putting a reggae spin on it next. [laughs]

"Bracing for Impact" incorporates several different sounds, from blues to country and rockabilly, as well as several guest features. Is there any singular mood or message you meant to convey with this record in particular by uniting these influences?

No, there’s certainly not an overall message. The songs, like I said, are a very collaborative process of working with my band, really. On “Trouble in a Bottle,” for instance, we brought in a horn section, which was our drummer, Phil Jones’ idea. Once they came in we tried them out on a few other tracks — like “what if we tried a lonely sax on this one?” and so on.

It’s not like any of that was planned, it just sort of happens organically.

Many of your albums feature a wide selection of covers, everything from Crazy Horse to De-

vendra Banhart. What encouraged you to make this choice, and how do you go about choosing which tracks to cover?

Anytime I just take on a cover it’s a song I’ve heard ... that really resonates with me, something I can get inside of and hopefully put my own spin on and try to sing it honestly. I don’t really worry too much about what time period it’s from or if the genre is right or those sort of things. Sometimes, though, you record a number of songs and maybe they don’t all fit.

I still have this notion of putting together a record, something that has an overall theme that ties it all together. A song that is a good song that we already recorded, where the band played great, may not make it on the record because it doesn’t really go with the other songs in my mind.

Your husband, Neil Young, is featured multiple times on the album. Has his music had an impact on your approach to songwriting or music in general, either from your experience in his

band or your relationship with him as a person?

For sure, all of those things. I’ve been living with Neil for 35 years, I’ve been lucky enough to be in a number of his bands, I’ve listened to him since before we were married so, sure, his music, like a lot of peoples’ music, has informed the way I play. And of course, living with him in such close proximity has an effect. But I write in my own way, of course. I wrote since long before I knew him. We’re on separate tracks that way. He’s got his way and his method and ways and I’ve got mine. Obviously his music is very unique, as you know, and he’s also all over the map — pick a decade, pick a year and it’ll sound different …That’s probably the biggest impact he’s had on me: not being afraid just to follow your music and go with what feels right to you in the moment. I think from an artistic standpoint, being honest and true in your storytelling and your playing is the biggest influence he’s had on me.

How has your experience on

the tour been so far? After having so much experience touring, are there any surprises you've run into?

Oh, every gig is a little different! We’ve been having a great time. We’re looking forward to the time we’re spending in Virginia, looking forward to the next few days. We’ve got a variety of gigs, from the theater in Charlottesville, to the campfire, to the festival. So we’re having fun … we don’t really know quite how any of these things are going to be, but that’s really the fun of it.

Is there anything else you would like to say to Cavalier Daily readers?

Well, I’d like people to always know that they can check out more about Bridge School at www.bridgeschool.org. It’s just so near and dear to our hearts — we’ve put 27 years of our lives into helping the school, along with all the professional staff and the families and everybody else, and it’s really been a labor of love. It means a lot to us.

The

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Thursday, September 5, 2013

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