Thursday, October 8, 2015

Lucas Halse

A B C

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Vol. 126, Issue 13

Lucas Halse

ABC review panel recommends students work with law enforcement

Lucas Halse

Lucas Halse

Lucas Halse

Internal structural changes remains at ABC’s discretion gust. The review was released, following the arresting officers’ consent.

Anna Higgins Associate News Editor

The review panel mandated by Gov. Terry McAuliffe in Executive Order 40 released its set of recommendations for the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control on Sept. 18, six weeks before the Nov. 1 deadline. The recommendations will be reviewed by McAuliffe and by the state legislature when it convenes for General Assembly in January.

McAuliffe signed Executive Order 40 into action last March, immediately following College student Martese Johnson’s bloody arrest

by ABC agents, which received significant media attention.

The order gave four mandates: the immediate retraining of ABC agents; the new authority of the ABC’s Chief Operating Officer over the bureau’s law enforcement; the formation of an expert review panel; and greater collaboration between ABC law enforcement and local police.

“Recent events involving special agents of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in Charlottesville have underscored longstanding concerns about the agency’s Bureau of Law Enforcement,” McAuliffe said in the executive order. “Keeping Virginia families and communities safe is the highest responsibility of the Governor and state government.”

Since signing of the executive order, the governor’s office has been working to enforce the new mandates. After the review of Johnson’s arresting officers was completed, the officers were placed back on active duty in Au-

The expert review panel Brian Moran, the Commonwealth’s secretary of public safety and homeland security, formed the review panel intended to provide McAuliffe with recommendations regarding ABC’s proceedings.

“The 20-person Expert Review Panel was created with the intention of including many different perspectives and opinions...representing a broad and diverse cross section of relevant stakeholder groups” said ABC spokesperson Kathleen Shaw in an email statement.

Student Council President Abraham Axler, a third-year College student, served as a member of the panel. Even though he and the rest of Student Council passed a resolution in March calling for an end of ABC’s law enforcement at the University and for the appointment of a Black Student Alliance representative to the panel, Moran appointed Axler to represent the University.

“I vigorously lobbied for representation from BSA for this panel so I sent this in a letter to the Governor that President Sullivan had delivered to him and we passed a resolution,” Axler said. “I talked to Secretary Moran a little bit. He certainly knew what my position was, but he called me and said he’d like me to serve on the panel.”

There were no other student represent-

see ABC, page 4

Zi Yang

Graphics by Anne Owen, Lucas Halse, Zi Yang, Morgan Hale and Cody Simms|The Cavalier Daily

STUDENT COUNCIL BACK IN SESSION PAGE 4

VIRGINIA, PITT CLASH AT HEINZ FIELD PAGE 5

MEN’S SOCCER PREPARES FOR BOSTON COLLEGE PAGE 6

‘THE MARTIAN’ DELIVERS ON PROMISES PAGE 11

OPINION: ON THE STUDENT COUNCIL SHUTDOWN PAGE 12

N news

Caitlyn Seed Associate Editor

Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order Wednesday to expand registered apprenticeships in Virginia as part of an effort to improve the state’s economy.

Executive Order 49 will create 500,000 new jobs in Virginia, according to the governor’s office.

More than 930,000 jobs previously held by retirees will need to be replaced by the year 2022, with almost half of them technical and trade positions.

Apprenticeships serve as a valuable employment tool for businesses, McAuliffe said in a press release.

“This Executive Order will make Virginia a leader in adopting Registered Apprenticeships in both the public and private sectors so that we can train the workforce we need to help us build a new Virginia economy,” McAuliffe said.

The Cavalier Daily

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McAuliffe expands apprenticeships Executive Order 49 forecasts 500,000 new jobs in Virginia Beverley Donati, who manages apprenticeships at the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, said the order has two critical aspects.

“We have identified a sector of information technology and cyberspace to be targeted with this executive order, and also a certain amount of funding will go to certain outside agencies,” Donati said.

The state’s Division of Registered Apprenticeship acts as a middleman and is not directly involved in the hiring process, but able to provide connections between employers and interested individuals, Donati said.

Actual job training for technical and trade level positions is provided directly by employers.

“Many jobs today are middle skill. They are STEM,” Donati said.

“They don’t require a college degree, but they do require credentials beyond high school.”

Employers work with third-party businesses and educators to provide training skills necessary for apprentices.

The new order will provide additional funding outlets for employers to provide registered apprenticeships. In total, as much as $120,000 will be provided for state agencies to register programs and for instruction-based costs of state-employee apprentices.

Ray Davenport, commissioner of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, said the order will help fill apprenticeships and jobs essential to the state economy.

“I look forward to helping to implement this order so that more companies and workers can come together around skilled positions that are essential to building a new Virginia economy,” Davenport said in the press release.

The details of the funding and programs are yet to be determined, but will be settled by Jan. 1, according to the order, Donati said.

“We are very pleased that the governor has seen to elevate registered apprenticeship in this executive order,” Donati said.

Jenna Truong | The Cavalier Daily

In a press release, McAuliffe said apprenticeships serve as a valuable employment tool for businesses.

2,670 same-sex marriage licenses issued since 2014 Attorney General Herring calls one-year anniversary of legalization ‘groundbreaking’

Hannah Hall Associate Editor

Virginia courts have issued more than 2,500 marriage licenses to same-sex couples since gay marriage first became legal in Virginia one year ago.

Same-sex couples were allowed to wed in Virginia following the state Supreme Court’s decision to leave standing a ruling from a lower court, which struck down the 2006 amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman.

Since then, almost 55,000 marriage licenses have been issued, with same-sex marriage licenses comprising 5 percent, said Michael Kelly, director of communications for Attorney General Mark Herring, in an

email statement.

Legal same-sex marriages from other states were also immediately recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia, Kelly said.

LGBTQ Center Programming Intern Connor Roessler, a fourth-year in the College, said this anniversary is part of a monumental year.

“The Center has been amazed at the progress Virginia and the country has made,” Roessler said. “It’s been amazing to see how much support and celebration and love we’re getting as a center.”

In a press release, Herring called the day “groundbreaking,” but said it “could not compare to the faces of people who could finally marry the one they loved.”

Longtime partners Tim

Bostic and Tony London were plaintiffs in Virginia’s marriage equality case that eventually led to the legalization of same-sex marriage.

The couple, together for 25 years, said they are very grateful for the opportunity to have the legal recognition of their marriage in a statement from the Attorney General’s office.

“We cannot express enough what it means to have the legal recognition of that commitment,” London and Bostic said.

Charlottesville Circuit Court Clerk Llezelle Dugger issued the first same-sex marriage license on Oct. 6, 2014.

Since the legalization of same-sex marriage one year ago, no couple has been denied a license based on sexual orientation, according to the Attorney

Marshall Bronfin | The Cavalier Daily

LGBTQ Center Programming Intern Connor Roessler said the one-year anniversary is a monumental year.

General’s office.

“Attorney General Herring made it a top priority to ensure that Virginians who spent years

fighting for the right to marry were met with an organized, seamless process,” the statement said.

NEWS

Thursday, October 8, 2015

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Campaign to defund Planned Parenthood comes to Grounds Pro-life groups hold rally in amphitheater, call for defunding of Planned Parenthood Kayla Eanes and Caroline Beck News Writers

A group campaigning to defund Planned Parenthood came to Grounds Wednesday as a part of the Hoos for Life rally.

Calls for defunding Planned Parenthood have escalated in recent months following the release of hidden-camera videos of Planned Parenthood officials by an anti-abortion group.

The Planned Parenthood Project is part of the national organization Students for Life. The University is one of five colleges the pro-life groups plan to visit during a week-long bus tour.

The groups plan to visit over 80 colleges around the country by the middle of November.

Small pink crosses were planted in the grass at the Amphitheater to represent the 897 abortions advocates say Planned Parenthood carries out each day.

Supporters of the campaign also

signed the Planned Parenthood Project bus to show their support.

University Democrats President Porter Koolman, a fourthyear College student, said that he and his organization are frustrated by the claims being made.

All funds used by Planned Parenthood for abortion services come from private donations as opposed to taxpayer funds, a change in effect since 1976, Koolman said.

“Taking taxpayer dollars away from Planned Parenthood doesn’t affect their ability at all to hand out abortions,” Koolman said. “What it does do is it takes away the screenings, and pre-family planning, and the birth control access, and general medical access for millions of people in America — men and women.”

Arina Grossu, director for the Center for Human Dignity in the Family Research Council was one of the Planned Parenthood Project’s representatives on

Grounds.

“The purpose is to let college students know how Planned Parenthood is exploiting them,” Grossu said. “Eighty percent of Planned Parenthood [facilities] are within five miles of a college campus. This is their target demographic.”

The campaign also takes issue with Planned Parenthood’s image as a women’s health organization. Planned Parenthood is the primary abortion provider in the United States, and has been dropping their other services, Grossau said.

“We want students to know that their main focus is to provide abortions and that they aren’t really interested in women’s health outside of that,” Grossau said.

Planned Parenthood funding could be redirected to other health services, Grossau said.

Hoos for Life coordinates peaceful protests outside the Planned Parenthood on Charlottesville’s Hydraulic Road each

Courtesy Newsplex

Students for Life and the Planned Parenthood Project intend to visit more than 80 colleges around the country by the middle of November.

Friday morning, said Hoos for Life President Katharine Britton, a third-year in the College.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that state representatives Sen.

Mark Obenshain, Sen. Jill Vogel, Sen. Bryce Reeves and Sen. Steve Newman spoke at the event.

These officials neither attended nor spoke at the event.

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NEWS

The Cavalier Daily

Student Council reopens following forced closure Bylaw changes resolve ‘circular’ rules, Axler says Katherine Wilkin News Editor

Student Council is back in session following an Oct. 1 closure for failing to appoint its Rules and Ethics Board during the first meeting of the semester, in violation of its bylaws.

A special session was held to address the closure Wednesday night. During the closure, which spanned student reading days, Student Council was barred from meeting and allocating funds.

ABC

Continued from page 1 atives from the University appointed to the panel. However, Moran did elect to appoint a member of the BSA — President Aryn Frazier — to a panel specifically addressing body cameras for ABC agents.

“It would swing the panel if there was more than one person from the University,” Axler said regarding Moran’s rationale.

Recommendations and possible changes to the ABC The panel submitted a list of nine recommendations for consideration.

The panel emphasized stronger collaboration with local and state law enforcement. This has not been the case in the past said Brian Coy, spokesman for the governor’s office.

“Obviously the ABC is the primary vendor for liquor sales around the Commonwealth, they’re also the primary regulator for alcoholic beverage control,” Coy said.

The same provision also recommended focusing the ABC law enforcement arm on assuring public safety in order to better clarify powers of the ABC from the powers of the local and state police.

Prioritizing ABC’s responsibilities to focus on regulation will also help close the gap between ABC agents and local and campus law enforcement, resulting in

Student Council President Abraham Axler, a third-year College student, said the “bureaucratic entanglement” resulted in a necessary change of bylaws.

The organization’s bylaws also requires that members of the Rules and Ethics Board attend an orientation and take an online quiz before serving in the role. The deadlines for both have passed.

The bylaws additionally require the outgoing Rules and Ethics Board administer the quiz to the incoming Board. There is

a more unified law enforcement.

“There’s emphasis on the ABC working more on enforcing regulation,” Axler said. “That is sort of an indication that its is more local and more campus law enforcement.”

Currently, the provisions are simply recommendations, not mandates. However, the Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security may begin implementing some of the recommendations without the approval of the state legislature, which will meet in January.

“There are maybe some of them we can do without legislative approval, there’s some that would probably require legislative approval,” Coy said. “I can’t say individually which ones are moving forward.”

As for the ABC, it is open to making dramatic changes once the governor and General Assembly review the list of recommendations.

“ABC looks forward to the Governor’s response to the adopted recommendations and will work to implement the Governor’s decisions on these matters, and in accordance with any timeline outlined in his order,” Shaw said.

University students and possible ABC changes Due to students’ better familiarity with the Charlottesville and University police departments, the recommendation that ABC law enforcement agents develop working relationships with these

no previous board.

“By the time we realized, it was too late to appoint [a board] and we had to change the bylaws and some processes, which takes a little bit of time,” Axler said.

The closure was caused by a circular system of bureaucratic rules and guidelines within the Council, Axler said. The Rules and Ethics Board enforces the bylaws, but the bylaws prevented Council from appointing the board.

Student Council, under the former bylaws, should have been

in closure for the entirety of last year for the same violation.

“We had to do it to respect the integrity of the bylaws,” he said.

“It was a great exercise in frustrating bureaucracy, but now it’s fixed.”

The two bills voted on in the special session appoint the new board into membership and change the criteria for the board so that it is not necessarily the responsibility of the outgoing board to appoint the incoming board, as the bylaws previously required.

The closure had very little effect on the day-to-day operations of Student Council, particularly during fall break, Axler said.

“We were in closure for the four days of fall break, when we weren’t meeting anyway,” Axler said.

Axler said attendance for the special session was the same as a typical Student Council meeting.

“I’m very glad that StudCo is back and open for business, and I’m particularly glad we did it while respecting the integrity of the bylaws,” Axler said.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ABC • • • • • • • • •

Keep alcohol-related law enforcement under the ABC during times of retraining and policy and culture changes Prioritize regulatory activities and collaborating with local law enforcement in college towns Standardize training approaches for new and current agents, along with joint training with local law enforcement Quarterly reports to the Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security on criminal violations and the demographics of the arrestees Accreditation through a law enforcement accrediting body like the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission Higher education outreach to increase student education on the ABC and local law enforcement’s roles on college campuses An increase in ABC law enforcement personnel as the industry grows Body cameras to be worn by ABC agents when involved in law enforcement activities A more efficient process to suspend licensees who may be a threat to society

agencies is perhaps the most pertinent provision to University students.

However, the state legislature will only be mandating recommendations that will change the structure of ABC. Any ABC outreach to student groups would be purely voluntary, according to Axler.

“It’s really important to remember that most of the recommendations are actually internal changes to the ABC, so the ABC can make [the] decision that it wants to do more outreach,” Axler said.

ABC relations with students would require mutual collabora-

tion, Axler said. Since students are more familiar with University Police and Charlottesville Police, ABC interaction with those law enforcement agencies may increase engagement with students.

In meetings with the expert review panel, Axler expressed concerns regarding student knowledge on the differences between local, University and ABC law enforcement.

“You have to look at who are the users of public safety, what do they expect and what makes them the most safe and the most comfortable,” Axler said.

Student centers, like the

Gordie Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, already provide resources for students to learn about local law enforcement. However, the Gordie Center would still work with ABC to increase student awareness, Gordie Center Director Susan Bruce said.

“Local law enforcement agencies (particularly U.Va. Police) are involved in a great deal of outreach to students on topics including Virginia law, safety promotion and risk reduction,” Bruce said in an email statement.

“We would welcome additional outreach from our ABC agents to engage with students.”

S

sports Rahul Shah Staff Writer

After a disappointing 56-14 loss to the Boise State Broncos under the bright lights, the bye week could not have come at a better time for the Virginia football team.

“We played poorly,” coach Mike London said. “You can’t have five turnovers. [There are] a lot of things we need to correct.”

However, junior quarterback Matt Johns knows his team will not throw in the towel.

“You can’t let one game define you,” Johns said. “We all believe in each other. This is a team effort.”

Fortunately, the bye week gave the Cavaliers an opportunity to regroup for its first conference matchup of the season, which takes place this weekend on the road against the Pittsburgh Panthers.

“With Saturday being a day off, a lot of our guys stayed back, stayed around and they practiced on their own,” London said. “They got together and they watched the Pitt game in our team meeting room, so no one was looking to get out of here.”

The Cavaliers (1-3) took their last matchup with the Panthers in a 24-19 win last year at Scott Stadium.

The Panthers team has changed since last year. Led by

The Cavalier Daily

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Virginia, Pittsburgh clash at Heinz Field London’s team seeks improvement after bye week, Panther defense stingy through first four games under Narduzzi new coach Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh has gotten off to a hot start. This past weekend, the Panthers scored a convincing 17-13 victory over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

While London was busy getting his team ready to rebound, Narduzzi was trying to keep his team grounded. In a press conference earlier this week, Narduzzi spoke about how he kept his team focused on this week’s game.

“Just coaching them hard and, like I said, not looking in the rearview mirror but looking ahead to where we want to go and not what we did,” Narduzzi said. “Everybody up on campus is happy saying, ‘Nice job,’ and all of that bologna. But we can’t let that get to the kids because it can waterfall down the other way.”

Narduzzi has led his team to a 3-1 record despite losing his top two running backs — including star junior James Conner, who amassed 1,765 yards and 26 touchdowns last year — to injury. However, London doesn’t expect the Panther rushing attack to be any less fierce.

“They’re still a very physical team,” London said. “You look at their offensive line. They double team and try to push to the next level. So they’re still basically running their offense, their scheme, or the system of it. It’s a different cast of individuals that are carrying the ball for them.”

One improvement London knows his team has to make on the defense is tackling.

“We actually have to tackle better. That’s one of the things of defensive football,” London said.

The Cavaliers’ offensive line was also problematic against Boise State. At times during the game, the Broncos sent only three defensive linemen after Johns and were still able to apply pressure.

This performance by the offensive line will not hold up against a penetrative Pittsburgh defense. The Panthers are ninth in the nation in sacks, in addition to having the fourth-best rushing defense and fourth overall total defense. London knows the Cavaliers have a tough task ahead of them going up against Narduzzi’s defense.

“We’re going to have to do a good job of protecting, getting the ball out quickly and doing other things that can help you from that mindset,” London said.

In what will be a homecoming game for Pittsburgh, the strong crowd will look to carry the Panthers and make it even tougher for Virginia.

The Panthers will look to improve to 4-1 on the season, while the Cavaliers will try to bounce back from a blowout loss and get off to a good start for the conference season.

The game will kick off at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field.

Richard Dizon | The Cavalier Daily

Junior quarterback Matt Johns has completed 76 passes for 989 yards and eight touchdowns through the Cavaliers’ first four games. He has also thrown six interceptions.

Women’s soccer braces for defensive Clemson No. 3 Cavaliers, No. 5 Tigers face off Thursday night at Historic Riggs Field in battle of national title contenders Grant Gossage Associate Editor

Hannah Mussi | The Cavalier Daily

Junior goalkeeper Morgan Stearns and the Cavalier defense have conceded just .578 goals per game thus far this season. Coach Steve Swanson’s team has recorded six clean sheets in 10 matches.

Now that the system of rainstorms that spun through the Southeast in recent days has finally cleared out, the Virginia women’s soccer team can compete again. Their Oct. 2 meeting with NC State canceled due to the inclement weather, the No. 3 Cavaliers haven’t played since a 1-0 win over Duke Sept.

27. A long layoff is something Virginia hasn’t had to worry a lot about until now. Ten days of rest is a double-edged sabre.

It can be a recharger or a cause for coming out flat, which the Cavaliers certainly can’t afford

Thursday night against No. 5 Clemson.

The Tigers are for real.

They’ve knocked off No. 8 South Carolina 2-1 and No. 5 Notre Dame 1-0 in double overtime a week before the Irish painfully handed Virginia its first loss.

In its most recent rain-soaked match Oct. 2, Clemson blanked Wake Forest 2-0 at home, where the team boasts a record of 5-01. A stout Tiger defense, which tallied its fifth shutout against the Demon Deacons, has allowed an average of .695 goals per game this season, which falls close to the Cavalier mark of .578. Both back lines get the job done.

The Tigers have netted a to-

tal of 20 goals so far for a 1.82 per-game average. That statistic isn’t weak by any stretch, but it does put pressure on the team’s defense. With four goals to her name, junior midfielder/forward Catrina Atanda, a member of the All-ACC Second Team in 2014, is a legitimate attacking threat for Clemson. But the Cavaliers — with their No. 2 scoring offense, 3.30 goals per game, and depth, seven players with three or more goals — have the edge offensively. Nevertheless, Thursday night will be another tough test for Virginia.

For those fans who remain in Charlottesville, the match will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

SPORTS

Thursday, October 8, 2015

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Men’s soccer prepares for potent Boston College Salandy-Defour boosts Virginia offense in return from serious knee injury, Foss enjoying breakout season for No. 10 Cavaliers

Marshall Bronfin | The Cavalier Daily

Junior Marcus Salandy-Defour missed all of last season and the first eight games of 2015, but he is healthy now. The speedy forward scored in each of his first two games.

Ben Tobin Staff Writer

The 10th-ranked Virginia men’s soccer team looks to build upon its two-game winning streak

Friday night at Boston College.

The Cavaliers (7-1-2, 2-1-1 ACC) will take on the Eagles (73-1, 2-2-0 ACC) after fending off Louisville and Portland earlier this month by 3-2 final scores.

Those victories came in large part

due to the standout play of junior midfielder Patrick Foss, who racked up three assists and two goals between the two games.

“The social media exposure from the first couple of goals and then to follow it up with three assists was definitely a good couple of games for me,” Foss said.

Foss, who was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week Tuesday, is currently leading the team in points with seven. Although Foss only had one start last season, he has become a staple of the Virginia lineup.

“When [Foss] is on the field, he has always been a threat,” Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said.

Friday, Virginia will be challenged by a powerful Boston College offense. Led by forwards junior Zeiko Lewis and freshman Trevor Davock, who have four goals each this season, the Eagles average 1.82 goals per game. Facing Boston College will be a test for a Virginia defense that has struggled of late.

“Obviously, we’ve given up too many goals, especially these last couple of games,” Foss said. “We’ll look to tighten it up.”

On top of a stellar offense,

Boston College will be playing at home. While the Eagles have lost two games at home in 2015, their stadium, the Newton Soccer Complex, is a turf field. This will be an adjustment for Virginia, as it is used to playing on grass fields, including in its very own Klöckner Stadium. “[Boston College is] at home on turf — that’s probably their biggest advantage,” Gelnovatch said.

However, Virginia does have some things going in its favor for this game. Against Portland Monday, nine Virginia players were suspended for violating team rules, leading Gelnovatch to use only two substitutes. Tired and depleted, Virginia gave up two goals in the second half. All nine suspended players are returning Friday.

Additionally, an unsung hero returned from injury against Louisville and played in his first game since 2013: redshirt junior forward Marcus Salandy-Defour.

“Marcus is a guy who is a game-changer,” Foss said. “He brings something to the game that not many guys have in that he is unbelievably quick but also tacti-

cally very sound.”

While he missed all of the 2014 season and the first eight games of the 2015 season due to a knee injury, Salandy-Defour has had an explosive return. Scoring a goal against both Louisville and Portland, he has provided the Virginia offense with an additional burst of energy.

In order to defeat the Eagles, Virginia needs to defend better in the second half. While Virginia had only given up two goals to opponents in the first half this season, it now has given up a total nine goals. The Cavaliers cannot continue to rely on their offense to build lasting first-half leads and cover up for lackluster second-half defense if they want to win against competitive teams such as Boston College.

With only four ACC games left before the postseason, each victory will help Virginia better position itself to receive a high seed in November’s ACC Tournament.

Although Boston College has the same mindset, Gelnovatch has confidence in his team.

“We’ll be ready,” he said.

Kickoff against the Eagles is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Golfers hit the road for weekend tournaments No. 15 men favored at Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, Coughlin leads No. 12 women after record-setting performance in Nashville Grayson Kemper Associate Editor

Both Virginia golf teams are back in action this weekend, with the men heading to Johnson City, Tenn. for the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate and the women traveling south to Chapel Hill, N.C. for the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational. This weekend will mark the third stint of competition for both squads in their respective fall seasons.

The No. 15 men will come in as the tournament favorite at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, holding the highest ranking of the 15 teams competing. The Cavaliers will look to reclaim a title they won two years ago, when they topped archrival Virginia Tech by a single stroke for first place. Among the competition this weekend will be East Tennessee State, the tournament host, as well as the Hokies and fellow conference rival Louisville.

The men look to continue a strong start to the year, having recorded top-five team finishes in their first two tournaments. This

includes finishing tied for first with Vanderbilt at the DICK’S Sporting Goods Challenge Cup in late September, where the Cavaliers ultimately lost to the Commodores in a playoff.

Despite his team’s hot start, coach Bowen Sargent emphasized Virginia’s room for improvement as well as the need for the team to stay grounded in its approach.

“We can always get better,” Sargent said. “We found that out first tourney, having Illinois beat us by 30-some strokes. We are trying to take it one day at a time.

Just like golf: one shot at a time.”

Sargent also pointed to this weekend’s tournament as a good chance to build momentum heading into the U.S. Collegiate Championships, one of college golf ’s premier events that takes place next weekend in Alpharetta, Ga. For the 12th-ranked women’s team, the Tar Heel Invitational marks a second-straight tournament against a stacked field.

Among the 18 teams competing this weekend, 13 are ranked in the top 50 of the latest Golfweek poll, including seventh-ranked

Duke, the tournament’s defending champion. The Cavaliers are coming off a fourth-place finish at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Nashville three weeks ago.

Leading the way for Virginia will be senior Lauren Coughlin, who posted a second-place individual finish at the Mason Rudolph Championship, where she set a new 54-hole program record with an 11-under 205, edging the 10-under 206 shot by former teammate Briana Mao at last year’s ACC Championships.

Coughlin said her performance in Nashville has brought a newfound confidence to her game. She also stressed the need for constant improvement and expressed excitement for this weekend’s competition.

“I just trying to keep getting better every day,” the Chesapeake native said. “It’s definitely a confidence booster that I can contend with some of the better players and teams in country. This is going to be one of the tougher tournaments. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Both squads tee off Friday and wrap up Sunday.

Courtesy VA Athletics

Senior Lauren Coughlin broke the Virginia 54-hole scoring record at last month’s Mason Rudolph Championship, shooting 11-under 205.

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A&E ‘FIFA 16’: improved, but not perfect arts & entertainment

Mediocre “FIFA” title represents a missed opportunity for continued growth of soccer in America Ben Hitchcock Staff Writer

Courtesy Wikipedia

“FIFA 16,” the highly anticipated latest installment in EA’s best-selling soccer video game series, was released Sept. 22. It’s gameplay is a modest improvement on past iterations of the game. Everything is slower — players sprint more slowly, they take longer to change direction and they take longer to control the ball. This is an improvement, as it emphasizes tactics and patient play. Passing the ball well and keeping possession are important ways to draw your opponents into vulnerable positions in “FIFA 16,” mirroring how real soccer is played.

This is a departure from previous versions of “FIFA,” in which the best way to win was often to simply pick the fastest players and out-run your opponent.

From a visual perspective, “FIFA 16” scores. The players’ faces look better than ever, the players hold themselves more naturally and all the menus are clean and easy to navigate.

For a game like “FIFA,” however, improving the gameplay and graphics from year to year is not enough.

Each year should bring new ways

to play the game and new details to enhance the modes of play that already exist. In this department, “FIFA 16” has upshots such as the addition of women soccer players for the first time, but in other way the game disappoints.

Perhaps the biggest missed opportunity is the game’s “Career Mode.” In Career Mode, a player can either play as the manager of a team, making trades and running the whole team, or as just one player, starting from the bottom and working up to being an all-time great. “FIFA 16’s” Career Mode is essentially the exact same thing as “FIFA 15’s” and “FIFA 14’s.” No significant new feature was added to this mode specifically. This is especially disappointing when compared to the Career Mode features of games like “NBA 2K16.” In the “2K” series, the player can form rivalries with other NBA players, give press conferences, sign shoe deals and select which skills to increase when given the opportunity. “FIFA” Career Mode feels lifeless and stiff by comparison — one plays the games, and that’s about it, just like last year and the year before.

Overall, it feels like “FIFA” is stagnating. That’s disappointing for people who love “FIFA,” but it

should also be disappointing for people who love real soccer. Sports games, at their best, augment our enjoyment of the sports they represent. How many people learned the difference between man and zone coverage playing “Madden NFL?” Or what a pick and roll is playing “NBA 2K?” Or what the icing rule is playing “NHL?” Sports games bring new fans into the sport, and they turn casual fans into aficionados.

After its release in 1999, “FIFA 2000” sold about 220,000 copies in North America. “FIFA 15,” last year’s game, sold over 2.5 million copies in the same region. Over 17 years, that’s over 2 million new Americans who can tell you what the Champions League is, 2.5 million new Americans who can name a player on Chelsea FC, 2.5 million new American soccer fans. Because soccer is still developing a fanbase in America, “FIFA’s” ability to bring fans to the game is more important than in any other sport.

“FIFA 16” is a solid game — overall, an improvement on “FIFA 15”. It is still far from perfect, and that is disappointing because a mediocre “FIFA” title represents a missed opportunity for the continued growth of soccer in America.

‘The Walk’ fails to deliver in every way but one Film has pulse-pounding CGI, little else

Thomas Roades Staff Writer

It’s August 1974 and New Yorkers, on their morning commutes, happen to glance up at the newly constructed Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. A full quarter mile above them, they spot a man precariously balanced on a wire stretching between the corners of the towers.

In “The Walk,” directed by Robert Zemeckis, audiences get a close up view of this feat originally performed by French wire-walking artist Philippe Petit. Although the movie follows the story of Petit’s life from the first time he saw a wire-walker perform, the highlight is far and away his stunning performance between the towers.

The first half of the movie is unfortunately forgettable, touching on seemingly every movie cliché. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in the role of Petit, sports a stereotypical French accent, and as he walks through the streets of Paris, everything fades to black and white with a few accents of red.

During suspenseful scenes or arguments between characters, flashes of lightning

and thunderclaps emphasize important lines.

Any attempt at subtle symbolism or meaning is seemingly abandoned. Instead, everything is explained to the audience. When Gordon-Levitt seals the final box of wire-walking supplies before his walk between the towers, he calls it the final nail in his coffin. As if the audience might miss the metaphor, Zemeckis uses visual effects to morph the box into a literal coffin, which Petit then literally nails shut.

Petit is surrounded by his “accomplices,” the friends who help him pursue his dream of the walk. Charlotte Le Bon plays Annie Allix, Petit’s girlfriend; Ben Kingsley plays Papa Rudy, a wire-walking master who teaches Petit the art; Clément Sibony plays Jean-Louis, a photographer who is recruited into helping with the act. Some of their performances are better than others, but it hardly matters as they have little chance to develop their characters. They are, for the most part, simply movie archetypes — Annie as the conflicted girlfriend who wants Petit to follow his dreams but worries about the danger, Papa Rudy as the wise old master

and Jean-Louis as the intelligent voice of reason.

Then, after a slow first half, the movie develops momentum. Petit and his accomplices stake out the towers and plan the feat. It slowly builds until the audience gets what it came for: a beautiful 3-D rendering of the walk itself. This finale, “the coup” as Petit calls it, is what makes the movie worth seeing.

Petit crosses the wire eight times in total. Each cross, each turn, each wobble of the wire has the audience gasping, hearts in their mouths. There is no shortage of vertigo-inducing shots looking down from Petit’s point of view. The walk is captured from every imaginable angle — from above, from below, in sweeping shots of Petit in profile between the towers. Even audience members who have no fear of heights will have a white-knuckle grip on their seats at this point. This may well be the best use of 3-D video and CGI from any movie in recent memory.

The first half of “The Walk” may be largely forgettable, but it barely matters.

The unbelievable spectacle of the titular feat itself is what movie-goers will remember.

Courtesy Tri Star Pictures

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Thursday, October 8, 2015

11

‘The Martian’ delivers on promises Sci-fi film succeeds with all-thrills, no-frills style Jack Nugent Staff Writer

“The Martian” places far more value on thrilling plot and chilling suspense over sci-fi and dorky physics know-how. This principle has always been a strong suit of director Ridley Scott, who consistently uses sci-fi and out-ofthis-world settings to create very entertaining thrills with simple yet engaging plot elements.

Scott rids the film entirely of exposition and character introduction, a daring but successful choice. Instead, the film brings the viewer immediately to Mars and gradually introduces each character into the movie by showing their name and NASA position onscreen as they appear. This movie has one goal in mind: provide two hours and twenty-one minutes of thrill and gloss over unnecessary mumbo-jumbo. The dense sci-fi

and physics garble, corny themes, forced character arcs, useless love stories and over-the-top special effects are muted to allow the core of the story to shine.

“The Martian” capitalizes on the fact that space is terrifying and makes for a great setting for a survival story. In this vein, “The Martian” functions like “Gravity” and “Interstellar” but with less focus on character development and hyper-realistic effects and more focus on pure thrills.

“The Martian” is not putting all its eggs in one basket by focusing on keeping us at the edge of our seats. Rather, the focus is what makes the movie a success. Every other element of the film also contributes to its splendor. The desolate Mars landscape, Murphy’s law in full force and the realistic feel of the technology make for a very engaging and entertaining flick.

It also doesn’t hurt that the film is surprisingly hilarious at times,

an uncommon feat in a genre that tends to take itself too seriously.

While largely entertaining, the 533-day mission to and from Mars occasionally feels as if it is occurring in real time. The film is not perfect in its pacing, as some of the survival montages on Mars are a bit drawn out. Matt Damon does a fine job, as does the rest of the cast.

One casting choice that feels very off, however, is Kristen Wiig, who plays a random supporting role that provides neither comic relief nor any plot progression, distracting in the background.

The humor, adventure and realism make for a good time regardless. It is a decent survival adventure that focuses on what it advertises: thrill and suspense.

This film will likely not go in the history books, nor will it sweep the Academy Awards, but it’s entertaining, simple and gorgeous — three things most movies struggle with immensely.

Courtesy 20th Century Fox

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UPCOMING EVENTS THURSDAY 10/8 Relay for Life and Pancakes for Parkinson’s Present: Fight and Flip Bar Night, 10 p.m. - 12 a.m., Trinity Irish Pub Drama Department Presents: Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, 8 p.m., Culbreth Theater FRIDAY 10/9 Pakistani-Afghan Women In Need Presents: Local Art Sale, 12-3 p.m., South Lawn Delta Sigma Phi Presents: 9th Annual Pig Pickin’ Philanthropy, 3:30-7 p.m., Delta Sigma Phi Drama Department Presents: Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, 8 p.m., Culbreth Theater Letʼs UPC makePresents: a happyAmphitheatre earth.

Dance Showcase, 8 p.m., Amphitheatre UPC Presents: Paper Towns Screening, 7 p.m., Newcomb

Theater Hullabahoos Fall Concert, 8 p.m., McLeod Hall SATURDAY 10/10 VSA, ISC, and LFE Present: Color Me Cured 5K Benefitting Relay for Life, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Nameless Field Local Hack Day at UVA, 9 a.m. 9 p.m., Thorton Hall Pi Kappa Phi Presents: Phirefly Philanthropy Concert, 4-9 p.m., Pi Kappa Phi Drama Department Presents: Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, 8 p.m., Culbreth Theater Hullabahoos Fall Concert, 8 p.m., McLeod Hall UPC Presents: Paper Towns Screening, 10 p.m., Newcomb Theater UPC Presents: Welcome to Bollywood, 10 p.m. - 2 a.m., Ern

Commons MONDAY 10/12 Alternative Spring Break Information Session, 7 p.m., Wilson Hall Room 402 TUESDAY 10/13 Student Council Presents: Look Hoos Talking, 7 p.m., Old Cabell Hall Men’s Soccer vs. American, 7 p.m., Klöckner Stadium WEDNESDAY 10/14 Be Better at Busy: Time Management Workshop, 3:304:30 p.m., Monroe Hall Room 110 HackCville Presents: 10 Startup Lessons You Won’t Learn in School, 6-7:30 p.m., HackCville

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opinion

The Cavalier Daily

12

LEAD EDITORIAL

Lessons from the Student Council shutdown The recent closure reminds us of the importance of ethics and attention to detail

Comment of the day “Cultural studies began to take over English in the 1960’s and shows no signs of finding its own department. The backbone of the English curriculum has been in decline for decades.”

“Kate McGaughey” in response to Nazar Aljassar’s Oct. 6 article, “Say no to trendy courses.”

Reminiscent of the federal government back in 2013, on Oct. 1 Student Council shut down after failing to appoint its Rules and Ethics Board in its first meeting of the fall semester. The closure prevented Student Council from hosting meetings and allocating funds, to the detriment of the CIOs and students it serves. As of last night, Student Council passed a bill in a special session creating a board, which will allow it to resume its activities.

Student Council has not had a properly-appointed ethics board for the past three years, which, according to President Abraham Axler, has been due to an oversight of the Council’s bylaws. This has therefore been a failure of the past two Student Council pres-

idencies, and not just this year’s governing body. To some extent, it may be correct to say this was a benign lapse: bylaws can often be cumbersome for student organizations and contain nuance that students, who usually only hold leadership positions for one short year, may miss. Especially since elected tenures are short, larger aims may generally be a better focus for elected leaders.

But the bylaws in question here — mandating the creation of an internal oversight board — are particularly important for the functioning of any governing body. Ethics and oversight are integral to effective governance, as we have previously written about with regard to the Virginia state legislature. At a stu-

dent government level, it is especially easy to implement measures for internal oversight, and the executive board of Student Council is responsible for adhering to the bylaws they have campaigned to enforce or improve.

As College Representative Uhunoma Edamwen has said, “This issue was foreseen. People knew about it; it is in the bylaws.”

Granted, Student Council faced the complication that the bylaws require the outgoing Rules and Ethics Board to administer a quiz to the incoming board, and there is no outgoing board to do so. But this complication is fairly easy to overcome. Indeed, Student Council addressed this problem during its special session last night — so why

couldn’t members address this in the weeks leading up to Oct. 1?

It is not exceedingly difficult to create an ethics board, arrange a new member orientation and administer a quiz — the only three requirements mandated by the bylaws. While this short closure doesn’t appear to have done much damage to Student Council or the student body, it is worrisome that student leaders were taken by surprise by a longstanding requirement. We are pleased Student Council members have addressed this issue relatively quickly, and we hope this closure serves as a lesson and reminder that students are elected to govern, and that there is at least some accountability in our system.

THE CAVALIER DAILY The Cavalier Daily

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

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

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OPINION

Thursday, October 8, 2015

13

Black vs. black A “What’s the Word” column

ver since I can remember, or angry discontent.” ImmediateI was taught proper nouns ly I reflected on Dr. Martin Lushould be capitalized. I was taught ther King, Jr.’s words (inspired by to capitalize my name, Ossie Davis), “maybe to capitalize the United the English language VJ JENKINS States and even to capshould be reconstructContributing Writer italize ethnic identifiers ed so that teachers will like Asian or Latino. not be forced to teach Naturally when I wrote my first the Negro child sixty ways to deessay with reference to black peo- spise himself, and thereby perpetple I capitalized the word “Black.” uate his false sense of inferiority, Yet, when my paper was returned and the white child 134 ways to to me I found a note in the margin. adore himself, and thereby perpetThe teacher had written, “Why did uate his false sense of superiority.” you capitalize ‘Black?’” I thought I In the definition applied to my had made a grammatical mistake, skin color I read one more renso for a period of time, I stopped dition of a racist country. When capitalizing the word. Today, I am a newspaper describes me as a writing to my elementary school “black” male, it is a euphemism teacher to tell her she was wrong. for all of the above definitions.

I am writing to tell her it is absurd The usage of “black” instead of to posit that an entire people do “Black” is indicative of the media not deserve the respect of a prop- bias chaining my race to the perer noun. It is absurd to encourage petuated negative aspects of the the trivialization of a complex and color. America reads “black” and varied race of people, regarding fears me, pities me or hates me bethem as equally simplistic as the cause it understands exactly what color of a shoe. Today I am making the word connotes. Yet, we are not it clear that “Black” is distinct from a race defined by the degradation “black.” another people saw fit to impose I decided to scan for the defi- upon us. It is inappropriate and it nition of the lowercase form of is racist to call us “black” people. “black” in The Merriam-Webster We are Black people: unbroken, Dictionary: “thoroughly sinister dynamic, exquisite, prolific, beauor evil; very sad, gloomy or calam- tiful and soulful freedom fighters. itous; characterized by hostility The Cavalier Daily uses the

lowercase form of the word black.

When asked why, Executive Editor Dani Bernstein replied that the paper follows the rules of the Associated Press Stylebook, which dictates the rules of newswriting, and is thus in line with other major papers.

Similarly to Bernstein, John McIntyre of The Baltimore Sun quoted H.L. Mencken when asked about the issue of capitalizing the word black. According to McIntyre, “I’d have to see a change to ‘Black’ somewhere other than my

minority collective in determining its own appellation. As I thought on the idea, I could not rid myself of the image in an episode of Roots in which Kunta Kinte attempts to proclaim his African name in protestation to the white man beating him, demanding that he submit to his given name, Toby.

“Black” is not controversial to the rest of the literary world. Ebony magazine, a popular black magazine my parents have had delivered to their home for years, capitalizes the word. Ebony’s self-designation emphasizes the merit of “Black.” The magazine’s validation should oblige major publications to follow suit. Additionally, American Psychological Association style, which is The usage of ‘black’ instead of ‘Black’ is indicative of the media bias chaining my race to the most commonly used authority in the perpetuated negative aspects of the color.” writing, recognizes that “Black” should own newspaper. Not just from be used when referencing an ethminority publications or fringe nic group. So, I shake my head at groups.” The oppressive nature of any and every newspaper editor the quote unsettled me; it denies who hides behind the excuse that the authority of a group to estab- there is no established precedent lish its own identity. Another ma- for the utilization of “Black” when jor newspaper cannot be lauded speaking to the entirety of a race. as more credible than the affected My argument leads me to be-

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lieve we should also capitalize the word white. However, we must recognize that white people in America have the privilege to boast of Italian, British or Irish descent. They can be something other than white. I cannot. My history as I know it has its origins in Aberdeen, Mississippi, Somerville, Tennessee and Mobile, Alabama slavery. My cultural heritage was uprooted, torn from any ethnicity that I could claim and replanted to start anew. I am Black because my memory of anything else does not exist. I wish I could be African-American, but the name is a false entitlement to a culture stolen, denied and forgotten. “Black” is tantamount to both my race and ethnicity. You must capitalize Black as a sign of respect for the unified culture my people have created in the face of displacement, abuse and oppression. People’s discomfort with my resilient, bold Blackness is of no concern to me.

There are no excuses for avoiding the capitalization of Black. I am Black. Deal with it.

VJ Jenkins is a contributing writer for The Cavalier Daily and Black Student Alliance's bi-weekly “What’s the Word” column.

Coverage of student deaths should provide facts ourth-year College student about who all of us are. They deKurt Hilburger died Wednes- mand that reporters see a school’s day after a car crash this weekend. collective pain, and in that sense His is the second unthe reporters’ work dergraduate death just brings a community toJULIA FISHER this academic year. gether, too.

Public Editor Undoubtedly, one Usually, students of the tougher jobs of a die under circumcollege newspaper is to cover the stances that leave the living with death of a student. A student death questions. There’s always the proisn’t just a headline; it’s a shock to foundest question of why: why was a community — a community a this young life cut short? Why do newspaper aims to cover but also some people live to be 88, while one of which its staff is a part. And he died at 21? But often there are a student death is, in some sense, more practical questions of why worse than other deaths; after all, as well: why was he in a car crash? students are young, supposedly Who was responsible? How did filled with life, at their beginning this happen, and how could it have — not supposed to die. been avoided?

Student deaths invite mournIt is a newspaper’s job to ask ing; in such close quarters, people those questions, painful as they know each other, and the only way may be, and to answer them. to make sense of tragedy — or at A newspaper is not a locus of least to seek consolation when mourning. It may provide consolathere is no sense to be had — is to tion; to some, facts offer the surest come together, to strengthen the balm. If we cannot know the deep bonds that are the very reason the answer to why, perhaps there is tragedies hit so hard. some solace in knowing practically And yet student deaths are why and how. To some, those facts also news. Not just because they will only make pain more acute. change the fabric of the collegiate Those people don’t have to read. world: student deaths offer stories It’s also a newspaper’s job to ex-

plain, regardless of how unsavory the facts may be. As this column goes to press, the story behind Hilburger’s death is still developing; I hope that in the coming days The Cavalier Daily will report on just how he died — and, of course, who he was before he died, and who loved him, and why.

The Cavalier Daily ought not to succumb to public pressure to avoid its duty because facts are ugly. Its duty is not to be a psychological healing ground. A related controversy struck the Yale Daily

recent graduate stabbed a fellow student before jumping out a window to his death. (Full disclosure: I was once an editor of the Yale Daily News, and I know, however tangentially, some of the people involved in both the incident and the newspaper’s coverage of it.)

Some Yale students objected to the paper’s coverage, arguing interest in the threesome that preceded the stabbing and suicide was salacious and not newsworthy. To the contrary: that sort of information is precisely what a community needs to know, lest everyone live in darkness for fear unsavory facts might shade mourning. When a world is shaken, readers deserve to know what happened. But The Cavalier Daily ought not to succumb to public pressure to avoid its duty because facts far worse than the objections was the are ugly.” manner in which they were voiced: News last week, when that paper readers responded with vitriol, published new information about bombarding editors with angry an incident last spring in which, calls, and one offered a wish that after a threesome gone awry, a an editor meet a terrible fate.

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The Cavalier Daily has a responsibility to provide information about student deaths, not just to serve as a locus of mourning Such a response belies a deep misunderstanding of the purpose of newspapers — and a serious threat to the free exchange of information necessary for a democratic society. At the University, those sentiments have not surfaced in responses to these two most recent deaths. But even — and perhaps especially — if they do, The Cavalier Daily should hold fast to its duty to inform fully and honestly.

Either way, the paper has its work cut out for it in the coming days.

The University has been rattled to the core too often in the last year, and did not deserve another tragedy. But it does deserve a newspaper that faces hard truth at every turn, undeterred by those who prefer ignorance and sad uncertainty to the firm ground only facts can provide.

Julia Fisher is the Public Editor for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at publiceditor@cavalierdaily.com or on Twitter at @CDPublicEditor.

14

OPINION

The Cavalier Daily

Women can fight, just not in the special forces pinion writer Nora Walls re- at a rate of 40.5 percent as compared cently wrote a piece entitled to men who rated at 18.8 percent. She “Women can fight, too” which con- attacks the legitimacy of the study by tends gender shouldn’t speculating that there stop women from enhave been “relucMALCOLM DUNLOP may tering the special forctance on the part of male Guest Writer es. The article focuses group members whose predominantly on the positions are about to Marine Corps, a curious decision be opened up to female candidates,” considering that the Marine Corps is and questions why no entirely female its own service branch, and not a spe- groups were asked to participate in cial warfare community. However, the study. There is a simple answer this was just the first of many factual to this question. Women comprise inaccuracies, misinterpretations and just 7 percent of the Marine Corps, omissions that demonstrated the au- and if they were to be deployed with thor’s ignorance of military realities combat units, they would have to and led her to draw the wrong con- serve interchangeably with principalclusion. In fact, while Walls is correct ly male units. Asking any branch of in asserting women should not be service to accommodate such a small precluded from combat roles, the fact subset of an already minute percentremains that women will always be age by creating all female units would physically unable to meet the stand- be a logistical nightmare that borders ards of several of the service com- on the realm of impossibility. Likemunities that she highlights and that wise, Walls’ failure to further address lowering these physical standards to the question of injuries represents include women would be a perilous a convenient omission for her part. decision that would ultimately result Injuries are an enormous hindrance in more American deaths on the bat- to a ground combat unit that can take tlefield. substantial time and resources (both The crux of Walls’ argument rests of which can mean life or death) to on criticism of a recent Marine Corps remedy. They are also purely physical study that found all-male units out- in nature, and so criticisms of biases performed gender integrated units at influencing group cohesion do not 69 percent of the assigned tasks, pre- apply. The fact that nearly half of the dominantly due to physical capabili- women who attempted to perform ties, and that women suffered injuries these tasks suffered some significant

injury should have prompted further analysis from Walls.

While Walls’ subsequent point that the Marine Corps should have vetted the male participants for gender bias could have been valid, she does not mention that some females involved in the study continue to stand by it. Several participants have spoken out since the results were distributed and supported the study’s legitimacy, stating unequivocally that they were given a fair opportunity to

be open to them. While I support some combat specialties adapting to the evolving role of women in society, there are other jobs that are quite plainly too physically demanding for women to perform. Take, for instance, the role of a Marine Infantry Officer. Twenty-nine women attempted to pass the Marine Infantry Officer Course, and all 29 failed (and all but four failed on the first day).

The “gender neutral” standards Walls proposes are fine in theory, but the reality is that there are some basic physical limitations that are inherent to females. I also doubt that Walls knows that when the Marine Corps atThat nearly half of the women who attempted tempted to implement a small change in the to perform these tasks suffered some significant direction of gender injury should have prompted further analysis.” neutral standards by ordering females to conduct pull ups on succeed. When Walls suggests oth- their physical fitness tests as males do, erwise, she implicitly criticizes their 55 percent of female recruits could judgment and competence, which not do the minimum of three, while is tantamount to insulting the fe- the male maximum remained at 20. male Marines who were courageous Some might then posit that, given enough to volunteer for the study. this paradigm, the standards ought In regards to the question of to be reviewed. But any change must whether women can fight, the an- be considered within the context of a swer is yes, but that does not mean given service’s specific needs. There that every service community should may be women who are well suit-

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Standards should not be lowered for women to enter some service communities ed to the Army Infantry, but do not possess the expeditionary readiness that characterizes the Marine Corps or the supreme physical might of a Navy SEAL. Our military is multifaceted so as to confront the maximum number of threats, and it is inane to suggest that every single community can be integrated when there are already considerable data proving otherwise. Women have fought in combat. Women will fight in combat. But trading a physically qualified warrior for one who is not compromises security in the name of faux-equality.

Any serviceman, male or female, will tell you that mission accomplishment is always priority number one. If we as civilians want to support that priority, we need to respect the informed judgment of commanders, and allow servicemen to continue their ardent defense of our homeland without the added burden of hyper politically correct thinking.

Malcolm Dunlop is a third-year in the College. He is in the Reserved Officers’ Training Corps but his views are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect those of any part of the armed forces.

The University doesn’t need the SAT O

Testing requirements get in the way of cultivating a diverse student body

ut of the few thousand four- GW as a place where they can year higher education insti- thrive.” tutions in the United States, over Removing test standards is a 800 do not require SAT plausible means to enor ACT scores from apcourage a diversified ALYSSA IMAM plicants. Over 125 of applicant pool. Testing Viewpoint Writer these schools place in requirements make it the “top-tier” of their harder for low-income respective academic categories, in- for students to get into good schools cluding Middlebury College and since higher test scores are closely Bowdoin College. associated with higher socioecoAs an institution claiming to nomic status. Standardized tests promote a “welcoming environ- often deter potential students who ment that embraces the full spec- are not comfortable taking them as trum of human attributes and per- a result. In fact, research by Claude spectives,” the University should Steele, dean for the School of Edujoin these schools and drop its ap- cation at Stanford University, has plication requirement of submitting shown underrepresented groups are either a SAT or ACT score to help more likely than others to be “put diversify our student body by help- off by test score requirements.” This ing to encourage students from a is further supported by a finding more diverse range of backgrounds that, in test-optional schools, those to apply, and create a better learning who do not submit scores are more environment. likely than those who do to be the Just this past summer, George first in their families to go to college, Washington University announced non-white, female or Pell Grant reit would be dropping testing re- cipients. quirements in an effort to prevent In this way, standardized tests students who perform very well defeat the purpose for which they in high school, but not on the test, were created — to widen access to from self-selecting out of the appli- universities and create a more egalcant pool, and help students from itarian admissions process by prodifferent backgrounds “recognize viding schools with a standard base

on which to compare students from different backgrounds.

Although the implementation of these tests certainly had noble intentions, they fail even on their basic function to help colleges select applicants based on merit rather than privilege. While Cyndie Schmeiser, the chief of assessment at College Board, has said research has repeatedly shown the SAT to be a strong predictor of academic success, studies of test-optional universities have shown otherwise.

One study in particular compared the academic performance among students who submitted test

studied. The study found that, between the two groups, there was “virtually no difference” in grades.

This could be due to the fact that standardized tests tend to measure how well someone takes a test, rather than his creative or critical thinking skills. Furthermore, they measure performance on one particular day, rather than the student’s successes throughout high school.

Martha Blevins Allman, the dean of admissions at Wake Forest University, which is also test-optional, said the school “[finds] much more value in a student’s accomplishments in four years of high school than in four hours of Saturday testing.” In this sense, that study also confirms high school grades remain the best predictor of These tests. . . fail even on their basic function college grades.

If experience is to help colleges select applicants based on merit any sign, transitionrather than privilege.” ing to test-optional could greatly increase applications to the University. When Ithscores to that achieved by those who aca College adopted the practice, it did not, which was about 30 percent expected a 7 percent increase in apof the student body in the schools plicants. Instead it saw a 13 percent

increase, with a quarter of those applicants choosing not to submit scores, meaning the school was able to attract about 4,000 more applications than it otherwise would.

In addition, its first class to enter afterwards was the most diverse in its history at that time, while the quality of that class, as measured by grade point average, was “essentially identical” to that of the class before.

In the words of Joseph Soares, a sociology professor at Wake Forest who has written extensively about standardized admissions tests, “Test scores transmit social disparities without improving our ability to select youths who will succeed in college” as a result. As an institution of higher education seeking to provide an optimal learning environment both inside and outside the classroom, ensuring that our student body is composed of qualified people with a wide range of perspectives to offer should be of utmost concern to the University. The University should stop requiring applicants to submit standardized test scores in order to expand opportunity for students with low socioeconomic status and minorities, and in doing so, the breadth of its applicant pool.

OPINION

Thursday, October 8, 2015

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Bring class registration into the 21st century The current model is inefficient and frustrating

ata is everywhere. Inter- imize the number of people on preting that data can be the plane, with deadly accuracy a daunting process. Predictive I might add. Since many people analytics allows for book flights multiple this vast library of months in advance, BEN YAHNIAN collected data to be cancel a few days beViewpoint Writer repackaged in a more fore, or even miss their readable manner while connection, airline describing how to eliminate in- companies use algorithms to preefficiencies and optimize a given dict the number of tickets that problem. Ex-UNC student body the airline should sell with the president Andrew Powell detailed goal of exactly filling the plane’s his vision for a smarter class reg- capacity. When too many people istration system that blended big cancel, the airline fills as many of data and airline companies. Com- the remaining seats as it can with bining the University’s access to stand-by seekers. On the flip side, course enrollment, drop, comple- when too few people cancel their tion and room location data with flights, the airline compensates airline companies’ overbooking denied flight goers with generous practices, we have the opportu- incentive packages. nity to build a class enrollment Why is the University any difsystem that is more efficient and ferent? We have a class registraeffective. tion system where many students Airlines everywhere use data enroll months in advance, many analytics to maximize their pro- drop after a few days of class, and ductivity. If you’ve travelled on many don’t even go to class. The an airplane, then you’ve probably simultaneous phenomenon of the heard a disgruntled gate employ- virtual bloodbath that ensues to ee grumble on the loudspeaker get into a class and the staggerthat the airline was offering a ing number of empty seats by $500 voucher to take a later flight. the middle of the semester must This recurring event occurs be- come to an end. The Course Focause airlines regularly overbook rum is a step in the right directheir flights in an effort to max- tion. The website, used by over

HU MOR

85 percent of University students, presents grade distribution data in an easily readable manner and allows users to make informed decisions. Essentially, what I am calling for is something very similar. Using all the different course data to which we have access, a user-friendly system would predict the optimal number of students to enroll. In a class which normally caps at 100 students, for instance, the system would predict using past data how many students will drop and then ad-

students getting into the classes they want. This idea is something that the administration, the faculty and the students can get behind. The best part of this overbooking system is its ability to grow smarter every day. With more and more data points added each semester, the system would continue to get more accurate in its optimization predictions.

Although this situation seems like a wonderful Win-Win-Win, what happens if a class continues to have an over-enrollment when not enough students drop the class? To this problem, the University could employ two strategies. First, the University could overenroll by two fewer students just We need to, as a University, champion. . . efficient thinking to make our class enrollment to be safe. Secondly, from the finansystem smarter.” cial savings that the University will reap, vise the teacher to overenroll by it could divert a small portion X amount of students. The use to create an incentive package of a predictive analytics system to entice a few students to drop. will save money, make course en- For these unusually overenrolled rollment more efficient and will class, the University could offer lead, most importantly, to more Cavalier Advantage credit and a

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guarantee for the class the following semester in exchange for that student dropping the class. While the system isn’t perfect, again it is far superior to our current world without it.

However, many teachers deserve praise for already employing this kind of thinking without the need of an analytics tool to help. Using their past experience, some University professors have overenrolled classes by roughly estimating how many students in the future will drop the class or forgo a lecture. Anyone can go on Lou’s List and watch large Economics or Science classes go from an over-enrollment of 30 to the class limit within a week or two. We need to, as a University, champion this kind of efficient thinking to make our class enrollment system smarter.

We have hundreds of talented math, computer science and economics majors prepared and capable of building this analytics tool. I implore you to accept the challenge. The biannual waitlist frustration can be fixed. A higher student satisfaction is within our grasp. All we have to do is ask for it.

Just for wits.

REVERB

BY SESI CAMDUS

MORE AWKWARD THAN SOME

BY CHAUNCEY LEE

LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? JOIN HUMOR! FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT HUMOR@CAVALIERDAILY.COM

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