Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Cavalier Daily

Vol. 130, Issue 10

Thursday, October 24, 2019 RILEY WALSH | THE CAVALIER DAILY EMMA KLEIN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

PILOT PROGRAM MADE PERMANENT New Curriculum here to stay page 4

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The Cavalier Daily

NEWS

This week in-brief CD News Staff

U.Va. receives 2,157 early decision applications for the Class of 2024 The University received 2,157 early decision applications for the Class of 2024, according to the Office of Admission.

The University announced in May that it would re-institute its binding early decision application option for the first time since 2006 — allowing students who have decided that U.Va. is their first choice to apply. Of the 2,157 students, preliminary numbers suggest about 54 percent are from Virginia.

This year, the University expects around 40,000 applicants after receiving a record-breaking 40,869 applications last year.

In 2006 — the last year offering early decision — the University saw 2,410 students apply early decision out of a total of 16,000 applicants. Of early decision applicants, 973 students were offered admission, making up approximately 16 percent of admitted students in 2006 with an acceptance rate of 40.4 percent. The overall acceptance rate in 2006 was 37 percent.

When early decision was last implemented at the University from the 1960s to 2006, about 30 percent of enrolled

students applied via early decision. In 2006, when the University announced it would remove early decision, former University President John T. Casteen III said the action was “an effort to remove an identified barrier to qualified low-income students and their families who have long believed that top-tier universities were not within their reach.”

Of the 947 students admitted through early decision in 2005, fewer than 20 applied for financial aid, and only one student qualified for the University’s maximum financial aid package.

Decisions to admit, defer or deny early decision applicants will be released in mid-December. Non-binding early action will remain an option for students, with applications due on Nov. 1, and regular decision applications due Jan. 1.

RICHARD DIZON | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Early decision applicants were the first to apply under the new policy since 2006.

Multiple sightings of white supremacy fliers found in downtown Charlottesville

DAN GOFF | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The fliers were destroyed and replaced with anti-fascist stickers.

Stickers and fliers originating from the neo-Nazi hate group Patriot Front were discovered Monday afternoon along Heather Heyer Way, Market Street Park and on the property of the First United Methodist Church of Charlottesville.

The fliers contain the link to their website and also statements such as “Better Dead Than Red” and “Not Stolen — Conquered.”

Also discovered was “Free James Fields” scrawled in purple chalk, referencing the neo-Nazi who plowed his car into counter-protestors resulting in the death of Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others. Fields was sentenced to life in prison plus 419 years by state court in July.

Both the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League — which track ideological groups for extremism, hate and bigotry — categorize this group as a designated hate

group that centers around white nationalism, anti-semitism and neo-Nazi rhetoric.

Patriot Front was created as an offshoot of Vanguard America — another designated hate group — that began following the deadly Unite the Right rallies in August 2017. The group utilizes patriotic imagery in the form of fliers and stickers to promote their ideology.

Phil Woodson, a pastor at the First United Methodist Church of Charlottesville who discovered the fliers around Market Street, denounced Patriot Front’s presence in Charlottesville. "To me, these stickers serve as a reminder that white supremacy seeks to wear us down,” Woodson said.

As of Monday evening, the fliers around Heather Heyer Way had been destroyed and replaced with anti-fascist stickers.

Honor considers an internal disclosure policy Honor continued a discussion at their meeting Sunday on a proposed policy change pertaining to internal disclosure, which would require Honor members to report any disciplinary proceedings to their committee.

These disciplinary proceedings include Honor trials as well as University Judiciary Committee trials, in which students are evaluated for infractions of the standards of conduct and then given a sanction — such as a reflective essay or community service — if found guilty.

The internal disclosure policy was first on the agenda and was proposed by Lillie Lyon, a fourth-year College student and chair of Honor. This proposed policy would change the code of ethics so members of Honor would have to disclose to the Committee whether or

not they are in disciplinary proceedings from another University organization, such as the UJC. Lyon came into her term with the idea of proposing this policy and said that making it a reality has been a collaborative effort with other Honor members.

After gauging general interest, Honor has deliberated on the specifics of the policy at its past three meetings. The policy is not yet officially passed and Lyon said details may change as the Committee continues to discuss. These details include what exactly will be disclosed, who will be disclosed to, and what will happen after these disclosures are made.

EMILIA COUTURE | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The Committee discussed the specifics of the policy at its past three meetings.

Student Council passes bill to amend bylaws regarding cabinet committee leadership

SAM SPREEN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The bill codifies the position of Vice Chair, ensuring that the position remains.

Student Council unanimously passed FB17-19 — a bill to codify the position of Cabinet Vice Chair — at their general body meeting Tuesday evening. The Student Council is made up of an Executive Board, Cabinet, Administration, Organization committees and Representative Body. The Cabinet consists of various committees which cover different aspects of University life, including community relations, athletic affairs and diversity engagement.

According to Ellie Brasacchio, Student Council president and a fourth-year College student, the Cabinet vice chairs have been beneficial because the position alleviates the workload of a Cabinet Chair, allows younger members the opportunity to gain experience in the Cabinet and provides a convenient replace-

ment if a Cabinet Chair should resign or leave office.

“If Chairs have a lot of positions or if they are appointed to a lot of different committees around U.Va. and are not able to make those meetings, the Vice Chair can go with them,” Brasacchio said.

“It is very beneficial in allowing younger students to see what the chairs of the committees are doing in hopes that they will go on to those positions within Student Council. … It also helps younger members see a little bit more about what the chair is doing and hopefully feel comfortable moving up into the organization.”

The position of Cabinet member vice chairs already exists — however, this bill will codify the position of Vice Chair ensuring that the position continues to remain in use.

Thursday, October 24, 2019 | 3

NEWS

Adjusting to U.Va. as a transfer student Student Council’s comprehensive guide and the Student Transfer Peer Advisors may help eliminate some of the challenges faced by transfer students Paige Waterhouse | Staff Writer This fall, 688 transfer students enrolled in the University — 272 of whom are second-year students, as well as 404 third-year students.

The remaining 12 students now belong to the fourth-year class. Each semester, the arrival of transfer students brings with it the challenge of assimilation to the rigorous academic climate and social environment of the University.

Raheel Tauyyab transferred from George Mason University after his first year and is now a second-year student in the College. He was recently elected as the Transfer Student Representative for Student Council, with a campaign that called for the integration of transfer students into the University community.

Tauyyab spoke about Student Council’s new bill — which passed Oct. 15 — to develop an ad-hoc committee that will work to develop and launch a comprehensive online guide for transfer students.

“Having this comprehensive guide in place, specifically for transfer students, is really important in making sure students can access something whenever they need it, and it’s not something they have to look for or is really difficult to get,” Tauyyab said.

The online guide is planned to launch this upcoming spring semester, elements of which will be available to transfer students during the application process, and especially during the gap between acceptance and the first day of classes. The guide will feature a variety of information such as tips on choosing classes, steps to meeting with advisors and access to mental health resources.

As the project is still under construction, few transfer students are aware of its proposed launch. However, students such as Tiffany Ngo, a second-year in the College who also transferred to the University after her first-year at George Mason, expressed enthusiasm at the possibility of this resource.

“I feel like that would be easier,” Ngo said. “It’s online, so I could just do it whenever I’m free or whenever it’s most convenient for me.”

Others like Kendal Madar, a second-year student who is also in the College and transferred after her first-year at John Tyler Community College, had apprehensions. She said that “resources that are more person-to-person, face-to face — activities that you can do together with someone else — would be more beneficial.”

One policy that assures person-to-person resources and facilitates a smooth transition for trans-

fer students is their assignment to a Transfer Student Peer Advisor. The advising team is composed of thirdand fourth-year students who have experienced the transfer process themselves and wish to provide guidance for incoming transfers.

Alyssa Bedell, a fourth-year College student, spoke about her experience as a captain of the Transfer Student Peer Advisors.

make sure they’re meeting deadlines.”

As one of the five captains of the Transfer Student Peer Advisors, Bedell takes on the additional roles of directing the advising staff and organizing frequent events for transfer students. This semester, her team has consistently managed an event every other week.

According to Brian Lee, a

of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, talked about her experience in getting involved in some of these activities.

Groder spoke to the consistency of the University’s contact with transfer students, making note of transfer advisor Elizabeth Ozment, an association dean and assistant professor of music. Groder said that Ozment sends regular emails

JENN BRICE | THE CAVALIER DAILY

PAIGE WATERHOUSE | THE CAVALIER DAILY

COURTESY KENDAL MADAR

ARIANA GUERANMAYEH | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Third-year Engineering student Brian Lee (top left), third-year College student Natalie Groder (top right), second-year College student Kendal Madar (bottom left) and second-year College student Raheel Tauyyab (bottom left) discussed their experiences as transfer students.

Bedell became an advisor after transferring from Christopher Newport University after her first year there. Her personal relationship with her own peer advisor inspired her to give incoming transfer students the same welcoming experience. After the admissions process, TSPAs are given a list of 15 to 20 transfer students that have been enrolled for the upcoming fall semester. TSPAs send postcards, extend their phone numbers and send a plethora of emails throughout the summer to begin the welcome process and start walking students through the crucial steps before the first day of classes.

“You’re there to connect them to resources,” Bedell said. “Help them pick classes and professors and

third-year Engineering student who transferred from Northern Virginia Community College after two years, these events have been a staple in helping him acclimate to the University. He said that events such as Garden parties, tailgates before home football games and free Bodo’s Bagels on the Lawn all help facilitate the immersion of transfer students into the University’s social atmosphere.

Lee describes the events to be inclusive of non-transfer students as well, saying “it’s a good mix of both — I’m able to meet transfer students and ... just regular students too.”

Natalie Groder, a third-year College student who transferred after her first year at the University

to keep transfer students on-top of academic planning.

However, she confessed that more initial social bonding activities between fellow transfers and other University students would be beneficial in helping students feel more included.

Groder joined the women’s club rugby team upon arriving and attributes this decision to helping her feel included at the University.

“It was really easy to adjust,” Groder said. “I came in and immediately found a group of people to hang out with. Joining a club sport was super helpful in adjusting.”

In addition to attending the TSPA sponsored events and joining clubs, several transfer students attributed their acclimation to the

University to their residential experiences.

Living on-Grounds this year, Ngo appreciates the sense of community that comes from living in the hall-structure of the International Residence College. Madar also lives in University housing and found that living closer to Grounds and having a resident advisor as accessible resource to be a comforting experience.

This semester, 203 transfer students elected to live in on-Grounds housing, and the remaining 485 reside off-Grounds. Though living off-Grounds might be a hindrance to community engagement for some, Lee remarked that living offGrounds allows him to stay close to his friends and has thus benefitted his adaption to the University.

However, as Bedell revealed, adjusting does not come as easy for some students. When speaking about some of the common problems transfer students face, loneliness was a prominent issue, along with class selection and housing.

Remembering her own experience as a transfer student, Bedell said, “I wanted to stand on my own, but at the same time it’s lonely at first — and I’d say that’s the biggest issue.”

Adding to this list of challenges that transfer students face, both Bedell and Tauyyab mentioned the stigma that often surrounds transfers. Both students expressed the feeling of exclusion that came with mentioning their status as a transfer student in a social or academic setting. Bedell mentioned that transfer students are sometimes seen as “lesser” simply because they “didn’t get here originally.”

Bedell combatted this statement, stating that transfer students belong at the University just as much as any student who attends for the standard four years.

“We’ve proven ourselves time and time again — we’re doing just as well in classes as everyone else,” Bedell said. “Just because we transferred here doesn’t make us any less of a U.Va. student. We might not be here for the full four years, but we’re here.”

In response to the question about the strategies needed to help combat this stigma, Tauyyab stated, “It’s not a single resolution that’s going to be passed that’s going to do that, but it’s making sure that the environment we’re building is that transfer students are a part of our community.”

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NEWS

College faculty approves New Curriculum The decision will require all future College students to participate in the New College Curriculum Patrick Roney | Staff Writer University faculty voted Friday to make the New College Curriculum the mandatory general educational model for the future classes of the University’s College of Arts and Science. The curriculum features engagement classes that teach first-year students the themes of aesthetics, ethics, science and difference — and was launched in 2017 as a pilot in the College, with more than 500 students choosing to enroll in its inaugural year.

Around 1,900 students are currently enrolled in the curriculum.

After five years developing the New College Curriculum program, which included a three year trial, the College faculty was asked to vote on two motions — first, whether to continue the program, and second, whether to make the New Curriculum mandatory for future classes.

Both motions passed — motion one with 416 in support and 128 opposed, while motion two passed 270 to 263 with 19 abstaining to vote. Five students who were in support of continuing and expanding the curriculum demonstrated outside the vote Friday morning to voice their support to faculty.

Brie Gertler, acting dean of the College, said an intense faculty debate occurred before the vote in which members openly shared a range of perspectives.Gertler said the decision is “a strong endorsement of the work done over the past few years by a dedicated team of faculty.”

Although motion two passed, faculty and students have both argued against it. Some criticism came from STEM faculty members who were concerned that the New Curriculum will not emphasize STEM fields and could inhibit students from fulfilling pre-med requirements.

New Curriculum supporters countered that opinion, stating they believe opponents have a noteworthy concern but think this can be addressed by expanding the New Curriculum into STEM fields. They say that the New Curriculum has plenty of opportunities for STEM faculty members to create courses about empiricism and in the humanities.

Kevin Lehmann, a professor of chemistry and physics, supported the New Curriculum as an option but opposed making it the mandatory curricular approach. Lehmann is a faculty fellow who recently began teaching his first engagement course in the New Curriculum.

“Students arrive at college with a wide range of backgrounds, interests and life goals,” Lehmann said. “A set of courses, as diverse as our students, should be available to allow students to grow intellectually while fulfilling their requirements.”

Lehmann believes that while the College faculty has an obligation to

define what is required for a degree, the University should respect a student’s choice and allow “greater flexibility” for students to determine the best approach to their general education requirements.

“I believe that each student should ultimately have the power to decide what is best for him or herself,” Lehmann said Chad Wellmon, co-director of the New College Curriculum and an associate professor of Germanic Languages and Literature, was surprised by the results of the vote.

He said that typically attempts to change the curriculum at other universities fail, but the University’s approach was different since its inception.

When designing the New Curriculum, Wellmon and his committee were told by Ian Beaucom, dean of the College, “I don't want a report on a curriculum because SOPHIE ROEHSE | THE CAVALIER DAILY historically so many of these things The New College Curriculum features engagement classes on the themes of aesthetics, ethics, empiricism and differences in students’ first just kind of end up in giant reports that get put in drawers … I don't semester at the University. want that. I want a curriculum.”

Curriculum is that we don't practice portion of your grade, and it's just kind year to then being a TA my second Wellmon and his colleagues offered a curriculum that makes stu- going up and down the Bloom's tax- of like a question of why we're doing year, and as one of the few students on the board that helped design the new dents take three different types of onomy — we go one way and then we it.”

In an opinion column for The labs, I got to work really closely with classes — engagements, literacies and get up there we expect [the students] disciplines. The key difference be- all to be able to integrate and think,” Cavalier Daily, second-year College the faculty. We really would fight for tween the New Curriculum and the Columbus said. “So we need to be student Hunter Hess argued against the curriculum at any time of day. I Traditional is the engagement classes. flipping it … You may not have all the the continuation of the New Curric- was really happy to be able to be presulum. Last semester, as a first-year in ent.”

These are seven week courses that al- information to do it right.”

She further explained how the the curriculum, Hess wrote that the Gertler praised the support stulow students to discuss and investigate the four habits of mind — ethics, aes- New Curriculum fixes the issues with engagements lacked cohesion and cre- dents demonstrated , which she said the Traditional Curriculum. ated scheduling conflicts. improves the New Curriculum, and thetics, empiricism and differences.

“You're practicing integrating and “Adopting the curriculum across called their participation “invaluable.”

Politics Prof. David Leblang supLeblang shared a similar sentiment ported the New Curriculum in both thinking in an interdisciplinary way the entire College would be a huge and integrating knowledge before you mistake, forcing every student into to Gertler’s. For Leblang, his vote was motions.

“I'll tell you why I like it,” Leblang have all the foundation so that by the an unorganized and limiting curricu- reinforced by the students’ show of said. “One is that the courses — the en- time you're getting it all together in lum,” Hess reiterated in his most re- support.

“They make me feel more comgagements — by design are interdisci- your third or fourth year you're bring- cent piece.

Other students such as Noah fortable in my decision,” Leblang said. plinary and are multidisciplinary, and ing that practice to your discipline,” I just think that's where more learning Columbus said. “I think that for me Strike, a second-year College student, “I was really happy that they were so occurs, when you see you see an object is the sole purpose of continuing to advocated for the total adoption of enthusiastic about it as I am. So it just the New College Curriculum. Strike made me feel better about my opinand you approach it from different evolve.”

First-year College student Austin wrote an opinion column, circulated ion.” perspectives. And the second reason Wellmon was also thankful for is that I think that's where innovation Orfield is enrolled in the New Cur- a petition and organized a rally before riculum and believes the lab portion the vote Friday morning. student involvement leading up to the comes from.”

Strike said that although online decision. He also believes that the New Leblang argued that the change of the New Curriculum’s engagement would be more appealing for students class fails in its mission by expecting articles were a way to voice his views, Curriculum will not only support too much from its students very early he knew that wouldn’t be enough to students’ education, but also benefit deciding where to attend college. teachers due to the relationship it pro“My son is a junior in high school, in their first semester at the Universi- show his support.

“Actually having physical student motes between students and faculty in and we're in the process of looking at ty.

“They asked us to identify a prob- bodies outside the room with posters, engagement courses. colleges,” Leblang said. “The programs “To be with these first-year stuthat appeal to him the most are the lem on-Grounds, but the issue with looking at faculty members as they ones that are — I don't know how to this is we’d only been on-Grounds for walk in and say, ‘We care about our ed- dents on their first day they get on say it any better — they're interesting.” like two weeks,” Orfield said. “And as ucation, we care about our curriculum Grounds, or will go first step into Linda Columbus, an associate first-years, it's kind of hard to find rou- choice, we'd want you to know that,’ I a classroom is, is to remember why professor of chemistry, noted that the tine problems when you've been here think that'll be a much more powerful I went to graduate school, or why statement,” Strike said in regard to the I opened books in the first place,” Traditional Curriculum fails to fully for less than a month.”

Orfield thinks that the work re- demonstration.

Wellmon said. educate its students because of how Four other students joined Strike Bloom’s taxonomy, a way of learning quired for the labs take too much often shaped like a pyramid, is inad- time with little results. Currently, labs to demonstrate outside the vote at equately applied. This strategy relies account for only 10 percent of engage- 9:30 a.m. Friday, including third-year Commerce student Logan Murtha. on memorization and a foundational ment grades.

“We have a lot of work weekly, and “I would come out if it was 7:30 on discipline base to acquire the basics of a subject which then provides support it's not enough to substitute for a class a Friday,” Murtha said. “I had such a and it's very frustrating,” Orfield said. positive experience in the New Curfor more applied critical thinking.

“What happens in our Traditional “It's so time consuming for not a large riculum from being a student my first

Thursday, October 24, 2019 | 5

NEWS

U.Va. publishes results from 2019 survey on sexual violence Survey finds a majority of students believe University officials take sexual assault reports seriously Zach Rosenthal | Senior Writer

20 71.8%

19 Believed their report would be taken seriously by campus officials

15

UVA SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVEY

58.8%

13.4% 13.4%

10.7%

20

The 2019 Association of American Universities Campus Climate Survey recently published findings on attitudes and experiences toward sexual assault and misconduct of more than 181,000 students from 33 colleges who contributed to the nationwide survey, of which the University was one participating institution. The survey found more students believed that the University would conduct a fair investigation and take reports of misconduct and assault seriously in 2019 than in 2015.

In 2019, 71.8 percent of students believed that a sexual assault or misconduct report would be taken seriously by campus officials. In 2015, only 58.8 percent of students believed such a report would be taken seriously.

According to the AAU’s website, over 181,000 students from 33 colleges completed the survey. The University’s 23,032 enrolled students — both graduate and undergraduate — were sent the survey. Of the 23,032, 12,304 students fully completed the survey. The survey was conducted last spring, and the University incentivized participation by offering a $10 gift card to 5,000 of the participants.

The Director of the Women’s Center Abby Palko thought that the viral MeToo movement might have had an effect on students’ awareness about sexual assault and misconduct.

“Nationally speaking from 2015 to 2019, we've seen the MeToo movement,” Palko said. “We see people starting to take reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment more seriously now than they did in 2015.”

Palko also credited the University investment initiatives for for helping students handle sexual assault and harrasment. Palko noted the Women’s Center receiving funding last year to hire two more counselors and the reorganization of the Title IX Office in 2015 into the Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights.

“It's a coordinated effort among the [Office of the Dean of Students]/ Student Affairs, ECOR, and the Women’s Center, an academic support unit, to create a network of support for students,” Palko said.

Palko noted two distinct positives she saw in the report — peers supporting friends who were victims of sexual assault, and men seemingly becoming more comfortable reporting instances of sexual assault than in the past. Palko believes this increased comfort is to blame for the increase in instances of men coming forward with experiences in the survey.

“If something bad is going to happen, I want us to be creating

Experienced rape or attempted 4.2% rape involving physical force or a threat 3.2% of physical force

Experienced unwated sexual touching

10.5%

3.3% 2.3%

2019 2015 the environment where the person who has experienced that can get the support they desire afterwards,” Palko said.

Palko said that she wasn’t concerned following a slight regression from 2017 to 2019 in the number of students who said they were aware of the services provided by police departments such as the University Police Department and the Charlottesville Police Department, as well as the U.Va Student Health Counseling and Psychological Services, or CAPS. In 2015, 88 percent of undergraduate men and 93 percent of undergraduate women said they were aware of the services provided by CAPS. In 2019, these numbers have fallen to 78 percent and 87 percent, respectively.

In 2017, 81 percent of undergraduate men and 74 percent of undergraduate women said they were aware of the services provided by the University Police Department. In 2019, these numbers slightly fell to

76 percent and 68 percent.

“In 2019, I'm honestly not concerned with people knowing off the top of their heads exactly who provides what bit of resource,” Palko said, noting that students are easily able to use Google to find information on all these services.

Palko praised results in the survey that showed friends play an important role in assisting those who’ve experienced sexual assault.

“What I'm concerned about is that students, if they experience something, are comfortable — either looking for themselves, or telling a friend and then the friend looks for them — what resources are at the University,” Palko said.

In 2019, the survey found that 13.4 percent of undergraduate women and 4.2 percent of undergraduate men experienced rape or attempted rape involving physical force or a threat of physical force, compared to 13.4 percent of undergraduate women and 3.2 percent of undergraduate men in 2015.

KHUYEN DINH & SHRUTHI NYSHADHAM | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The survey also found 10.7 percent of undergraduate women and 3.3 percent of undergraduate men had experienced unwanted sexual touching in 2019, compared to 10.5 percent of undergraduate women and 2.3 percent of men in 2015.

In 2018, reports of sexual assault and date rape increased compared to the previous year from 16 to 28, according to the University’s annual safety report.

Earlier this month, University spokesperson Wes Hester told The Cavalier Daily that the rise in reported sexual assault and domestic violence found in the University’s report can be attributed “in part to outreach and education efforts by many University offices.”

Fourth-year College students Veronica Sirotic and Amelia Wilt, who serve as co-chairs of Take Back the Night at the University — an international event with the ultimate goal of ending sexual assault worldwide — told The Cavalier Daily earlier this month that pinpointing

why more people are coming forward with allegations of sexual violence is impossible.

“We are living in a time period where there has been more publicity and outrage given to survivors of sexual violence which may contribute towards more people reporting their experiences,” Sirotic and Wilt said.

6 | www.cavalierdaily.com

The Cavalier Daily

LIFE

Food truck coming soon offers authentic French fare Meeting the master behind Charlottesville’s newest creperie, The Crêpe Society Hildy Maxwell | Food Columnist When you think of Parisian delicacies, the crepe immediately comes to mind. The classic paper-thin pancake can be layered with endless options — from sweet, tangy strawberry jam to savory, melt-in-your-mouth ham and egg. Hungry yet? This iconic French cuisine is something for dessert lovers to enjoy, even here in Charlottesville.

To satisfy all your crepe cravings, The Crêpe Society, currently located in the iLab at Darden, is coming to Centrals Grounds this coming August.

The Crêpe Society, founded

by Class of 2018 alumna Solène de Clippeleir, is a small cafe space that offers handmade crepes. Thin and crisp, sweet or savory, de Clippeleir recreates the crepes she ate every Saturday as a child.

After growing up in Paris, de Clippeleir noticed a gap in the University’s food market where her childhood love for crepes would fit perfectly. As an undergraduate, she relied heavily on the on-Grounds food trucks for meals between classes but found that there were not many healthy and portable options. So when post-grad life came around, she could not stop thinking about starting her own French food truck.

“The idea was just eating me,” de Clippeleir said. “There’s no way I can leave C-ville without starting this because I know it would work.”

In preparation for the September opening of The Crêpe Society in the iLab at Darden — whose incubator program helped invest in her venture — de Clippeleir spent three weeks studying under a chef in Brittany, France — the birthplace of the crepe. “[It was] my best decision,” de Clippeleir said. “I’ve learned a lot about the batters, how to take care of the crepe makers and all that good stuff. I just needed to do the class to gain confidence, to really feel like I know what I’m doing.”

Authenticity is the name of the game for de Clippeleir because as any francophile will tell you, finding a true French crepe in this country is just about as easy as finding a seat at your favorite coffee shop during finals. The Crêpe Society offers both sweet and savory crepes, using different types of batter for each. Her sweet crepes are made from a flour-based batter, while her savory galette batter uses buckwheat flour, which creates a crispier texture and is gluten-free. Both recipes were developed by de Clippeleir herself — an effort to remain as true to authentic French cooking as possible while also appealing to the American palate.

The Crêpe Society’s menu offers seven sweet and four savory filling options — sweet crepes all for under $5.50 and savory crepes priced between $7.25 and $8.50. In addition to best-selling

toppings like Nutella and local jam, de Clippeleir recommends the lemon sugar crepe for its mouth-watering simplicity.

Her savory fillings are all made inhouse, including a provencal-style veggie ragout and a smoked salmon and cream cheese duo. The star, however, is her mushroom bacon crepe. A complex blend of mushrooms, port-stewed bacon, shallots and lots of butter creates the perfect combo with a holey, crunchy buckwheat galette.

Needless to say, all of de Clippeleir’s crepes pack a serious punch of flavor between their layers. Not to mention these are perfect for any time of day — breakfast, lunch or even dessert.

“The [breakfast sandwich crepe] was the best ham, egg and cheese ever,” said Annie Moshyedi, first-time customer and fourth-year Commerce student. “I’m actually going to come back tomorrow.”

De Clippeleir describes her idea of a perfect crepe, mentioning her disapproval of the thick, sandwich-style American pancakes. At The Crêpe Society, her authentic crepes are just thin enough to hold together without falling apart. “[It’s a] thin crepe that’s crunchy on the outside with imperfections,” de Clippeleir said. “I don’t want it to be a uniform all white crêpe. Crêpes are supposed to be thin, like lace. Here,

COURTESY SOLÈNE DE CLIPPELEIR

The Crêpe Society, de Clippeleir’s creation, will be joining the other food trucks on Central Grounds this coming August.

everyone wants to make it like a sandwich. I don’t understand it.”

Fourth-year College student Addie Patrick called The Crêpe Society a “hidden gem at U.Va.” after her first visit to The Crêpe Society.

“When I studied abroad in Lyon, my favorite part about eating crepes was getting to watch their creation process. Although the iLab is a bit of a hike from Central Grounds, it is 100

percent worth it,” she said.

The Crêpe Society is located at 621 Nash Drive inside the University iLab Commons and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The banana bread recipe that’s better than your mom’s This recipe will surely satisfy your sweet tooth and fit your fall mood Maggie Trundle | Food Columnist As the months get a little colder, warm treats like pumpkin bread, cookies, apple cider donuts and pie all begin to sound even more appealing. One of the most comforting and delicious desserts is banana bread. The thing about banana bread, though, is that it can either go very wrong or very right. I have had banana bread that was either too plain, too soggy or verging on burnt.

I found myself craving banana bread recently when Carrie Smith, my friend and fellow third-year College student, saved the day. Carrie loves to whip up her own recipes, and they never fail to impress me. So, it is no shocker that her banana bread recipe beat any I had tried in the past.

After experimenting with measurements and adding spices, Carrie finally

crafted what I think is the world’s best banana bread. It’s golden and crispy on the outside and fluffy and moist on the inside. One of the secrets of this recipe is the addition of pumpkin spice which adds a slightly spicy flavor — perfect for autumn. This recipe is easy to follow and would be a great addition to any fall or winter night with friends.

Overall, this banana bread recipe is better than most of the banana breads I have tried from bakeries and various moms. You could even adapt the recipe to include add-ins such as nuts or chocolate chips. Whether it is a morning treat or a late night snack, this banana bread recipe will never fail to hit the spot. So spice up your fall with this sweet treat — it might even beat your mom’s recipe!

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes Bake Time: 75 minutes Yields: 1 loaf Ingredients: 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1 stick butter 2 eggs 3 1/2 large ripe bananas 1 tablespoon half and half 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons of baking soda 1 teaspoon salt Bananas should be almost covered with brown dots, if not fully brown

Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Using a mixer, beat sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time.

3. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and mix them with milk and pumpkin spice.

4. Add the banana mixture to the creamy mixture and stir until fully incorporated. Then mix in the dry ingredients.

5. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan 6. For a delicious crust on your loaf, place shavings of butter and sprinkle brown sugar on top before baking 7. Bake the bread for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted in the loaf and come out clean 8. Take the loaf out of the pan and let cool for 10 minutes 9. Enjoy with friends — or alone!

Thursday, October 24, 2019 | 7

LIFE

Love Your Body Week challenges stigma facing body image Women’s Center and CIOs collaborate to promote body positivity and self-love Nicole Freeman | Feature Writer The University’s annual Love Your Body Week was held last Monday through Friday and gave students the chance to take a step back and refocus on the importance of loving yourself by promoting a culture of acceptance for all body types.

Love Your Body Week was a collaboration between Hoos Open to Preventing Eating Disorders, the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center and UYoga. Love Your Body Week is popular among many colleges across the country, like the University of Missouri, who is hosting their event this week, and George Mason University, who held their event in February. Each day of the event at the University consisted of an activity beginning Monday with free donuts and activities at the Whispering Wall.

On Tuesday, students were encouraged to post their favorite body positive blog, quote or account and tag the HOPE Instagram and Facebook.

This campaign targeted the stigma behind social media’s extremely toxic environment. With so much potential for social media to promote negativity and judgement, HOPE intended to demonstrate its ability to instead promote a culture of acceptance.

“Social media is good in the sense that it can create more opportunities to see body positivity, but it also can be really dangerous depending on how you engage with it,” said Peaches Sanfilippo, fourth-year College student and assistant to the Women’s Center Body Positive program.

Although HOPE and UYoga were planning to host a body-positive yoga

Wednesday, it was ultimately canceled due to rain. Thursday’s event gave out free donuts and hosted activities by the Whispering Wall. Activities included encouraging students to write on sticky notes positive things they do to get through the week.

The “Body Positivi-Tea” brunch Friday was led by the Women’s Center faculty and interns, including Sanfilippo. It included both pastries and an honest, open discussion among the 10 women in attendance about how today’s society imposes an unattainable standard of perfection on females.

“Part of our position in the Women's Center is to unpack what [the perfect woman] means and to strive instead for a healthy ideal where you focus on health, longevity and making

sure your body is getting what it needs — not necessarily trying to fit a certain image,” Sanfilippo said.

The leaders of the brunch offered ways to combat the ideas of comparison, body negativity and degrading talk. They suggested various introspective exercises to address the personal conflict as well as strategies for interaction with others to combat societal stigmas.

“I actually have a sign in my kitchen, and it hangs on my fridge [and] says ‘body positive zone,’” Sanfilippo said.

“It says ‘no food policing,’ ‘no body shaming,’ ‘no fat talk,’ ‘no skinny shaming’ and just a couple different things.”

The brunch is always held the Friday of Family Weekend to encourage students to bring their parents.

“I think parents — regardless of

COURTESY LARA DEMIR

On Monday and Thursday, students were encouraged to write on sticky notes positive things they do to get through the week.

their intention — have a huge influence [on] how individuals, and especially young women, feel about themselves,” Sanfillipo said. “Having a really positive influence from parents can exacerbate the positive effects of all the things we know to be helpful.”

The Women’s Center hopes that by including families in the conversation, students can break the stigma surrounding mental health discussions and overcome generational differences between parents and children that can unknowingly propagate unhealthy body images.

“Body positivity looks different for everyone,” first-year College student Rosemary Faircloth said. “[Be] around those people that make you feel good in what you are wearing and support you in what you are doing.”

College students are often berated by big life decisions on top of work, classes and learning to live independently. This constant stress can prove detrimental to one’s self-care and self-love. One example of a stressor is the misinterpretation of the infamous “freshman 15.”

“It’s not actually that bad to gain 15 pounds, but [people] make it sound like it is something that is the end of the world,” said Lara Demir, firstyear College student and secretary of HOPE. “This … adds on to the stigma surrounding eating and leads to more unhealthy thinking and eating disorders.”

While the focus of body positivity is often directed at women, Love Your Body Week highlighted that male body consciousness should be discussed as well. Just like women, men experience judgement, embarrassment and self-consciousness.

“We know that research shows that women have higher rates of being affected in eating disorders and serious body issues,” Sanfilippo said. “However, the societal pressure … [reflects] a constant paradox of ‘enough’ but ‘not too much,’ and I think that applies to everybody.”

Self-care can often be the first thing that a college student forgets in order to make time for other priorities.

However, Love Your Body Week encouraged students to treat their bodies with love and respect — especially as college students in a period of growth and learning.

“U.Va. is definitely an environment where there is lots of competition, and it ends up translating to a lot of individuals’ personal lives too,” Sanfilippo said. “We are often just trying to survive through this semester and neglect our bodies and neglect our health.”

With resources, activities and uplifting discussions, Love Your Body Week promoted a healthy idea of selflove, teaching students how to not only survive but thrive.

8 | www.cavalierdaily.com

LIFE

MILE aims to empower Muslim students to be leaders Through the Muslim Institute for Leadership and Empowerment, Muslim students converse on topics such as career-building skills, race and ethnicity Carolyn Lane | Feature Writer Last semester, second-year Engineering student Ayman Ibrahim contemplated pursuing two leadership positions on Grounds.

However, he doubted he would receive either one because he was just a first-year applying to be a part of two executive groups.

He spent the semester learning about and preparing for leadership roles as a member of the Muslim Institute for Leadership and Empowerment. Ibrahim returned to Grounds this fall as the Muslim Student Association outreach chair and International Residential College’s minister of recreation — positions he believes he owes to all that he learned with MILE. MILE was founded in 2018 by Class of 2018 alumni Al Ahmed and Zaakir Tameez to prepare first-year, second-year and transfer Muslims students for leadership roles and jobs in the University community and beyond. The idea came about after the two noticed the creation of leadership institutes for other minority students on-Grounds, such as the Latinx Leadership Institute and Black Leadership Academy, but none for Muslim students.

“I saw a hole for the Muslim community,” Ahmed said. “In my roles through MSA on the executive board … I saw so much promise in the Muslim community, but there wasn’t really anything to help the younger generation — the underclassmen — grow and develop and get involved with the University. That’s why I thought we should start something like MILE.” Last semester, 34 students

participated in the program while nine students held positions on its executive board.

Students hoping to get involved must submit an application midway through the fall semester for participation in the program’s spring session. While completing an application may seem nerve-wracking, the process is meant as a way to ensure that students are truly interested in joining the program.

“Our application process isn’t meant to cut anyone or remove people,” said Ibtisaam Amin, fourth-year College student and MILE executive director. “It’s really just there to make sure that people who are applying for the program are invested in seeing it through and participating fully and will give an equal amount to the program as Muslim students.”

Once applications are in, the executive board conducts interviews with interested students, after which they begin the selection process for the cohort.

There is not one type of Muslim student that the board considers the ideal candidate for the program, as they actively seek Muslim students from a broad range of religious, racial and cultural backgrounds.

As the program enters its second year, it is undergoing some structural changes. Last semester, the program consisted of 8 two-hour sessions, but this year, the number of sessions is increasing to 10 to allow MILE to cover more topics. “[The meetings are] a catch-all for important things that Muslim students should be discussing

COURTESY IBTISAAM AMIN

at U.Va., but also to prepare them for leadership roles at U.Va. and beyond,” Amin said. “[Some of the topics are] identity and leadership, exploring careers, race and ethnicity, public speaking and interviews and Muslim examples of leadership.”

For Amin, one of the most impactful moments occurred in the wake of the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand when a white nationalist killed 51 Muslim worshippers. MILE’s next meeting after the shooting became a place where students could debrief about the attack on members of their faith.

“I think that was a reflective time for us to be together in community sharing these feelings and thinking through what we can do to be supportive of one another … and to make space for ourselves within institutions that don’t always create that space for us,” Amin said. “Our goal is to provide Muslim students with the tools they need to be successful leaders … but to do that with pride in their Muslim identity and taking strength from it … rather than despite them.”

Hibah Berhanu, third-year College student and MILE codi-

rector of programming, also loves how MILE allows them to delve into Muslim issues in the world.

“It’s a way for us to have a space and actually unpack all of those things, the things that affect Muslims externally and the things that affect us internally within the Muslim community,” Berhanu said. “It’s just really exciting that we now have the space that’s not specifically religious space but just a place where we can talk about institutions and power and privilege and things like that.”

As one of the students who had the opportunity to go through the program, Ibrahim felt the impact of MILE as it related to him growing more confident within himself and in his leadership skills.

“Public speaking was something that I also had a hard time doing because I was highly introverted, and now I’m more extroverted,” Ibrahim said. “I’m able to talk more and actually put out my thoughts in meetings, in committees … I have a lot of committee meetings so being able to voice my opinion and have a critical standpoint — MILE taught me all that.”

The skills like those mentioned by Ibrahim have helped many MILE cohort members gain leadership positions on Grounds, including those that are wellknown for their selectivity. Two MILE participants now have Lawn rooms and there are eight residential advisors from the former cohort.

As a fourth-year now, Amin has been able to see the evolution of Muslim representation on Grounds, which MILE has helped to increase despite the group’s creation only a year ago.

“Coming into Grounds as a first year three years ago, there was really only one organization you could be a part of as a Muslim student that catered to that identity,” Amin said. “[MILE’s created] a space where the students in our cohort can talk about issues that are relevant to them and to their lives and their careers, and they’re doing all of that while they’re in a community of people who come from a shared faith background."

Applications for MILE’s spring 2020 cohort are now available and will close Oct. 31 at 11:59 p.m.

Thursday, October 24, 2019 | 9

LIFE

Top 10 terrible yet hilarious things — part two I may have the worst luck in the world Ashley Botkin | Top 10 Writer

You may remember my article from November 2018, “Top 10 terrible yet hilarious things that have happened to me.” I’ve still had unusually bad luck in the past year, but don’t worry — it’s still as funny as ever.

1. Finals and I don’t mix

I’m not sure what happens to my brain during finals season, but for some reason all my common sense goes out the window. It’s like my brain is focusing so much on remembering things for exams that it forgets how to function — this happens at the end of every semester. Have I somehow forgotten what time my class was — a class that I had been attending for literal months — and shown up an hour early? Yes. Have I driven away from the McDonald’s drive-thru window without my food, even after I’ve paid? Embarrassingly, yes. Did I disassociate so deeply while listening to a podcast that I was startled when the hosts laughed really loud? Also yes. How did I make it to adulthood?

2. The fire drill incident

This bout of bad luck feels like it’s straight out of a movie — I was in the shower when the fire alarm went off. I waited for a minute just to make sure it was really the alarm and not my imagination, but I begrudgingly wrapped myself in a towel and made my way outside to discover it was only a drill. Then the University fire official had the audacity to call me out in front of my entire apartment for not getting dressed before I came outside. Apparently, I am worth more burnt than undressed.

5. Fun in the ER

Sometimes our bodies will hurt, but it’s when the pain persists that it’s best to get to a doctor. This summer, I somehow managed to contract costochondritis, an inflammation of the cartilage in my chest. It can happen after excessive strain or exercise — which I assure you was not my case — or after coming down with a virus. It had been painful for me to take deep breaths for almost a week when I finally went to the ER to find out what was going on — and of course I was there for four hours. I even had to get a CT scan just to make sure one of my organs hadn’t exploded. It’s just my luck that I would end up with a condition with a peak age of 12 to 14.

8. Ancho, please behave

My cat really is a good boy. He’s so good with strangers that we can attend Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn every year in costume. But there’s something about the vet that is truly upsetting for him. Maybe it’s the shots or having his temperature taken. Or maybe it’s because I once had to leave him there to get tested for swelling on his face that turned out to have been from a bee sting. Either way, he gets fussy when we visit the vet — except he’s starting to take it to the extreme.

I’m talking scratching the vet on the face and even swiping at me. He behaved so badly at his last visit that he has to be sedated the next time he has a check-up. I’ve never been so embarrassed as a parent.

got scammed 6. Iand contracted bronchitis

EMMA HITCHCOCK | THE CAVALIER DAILY

3. Thanks for visiting!

In case you weren’t aware, the University has two art museums — the Fralin Museum of Art and the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum. I am a docent at the Fralin, and we give countless tours every week to groups across Virginia. Usually these are for students, and I prefer leading groups of elementary schoolers — they’re funny, creative and will say just about anything. Occasionally there will be a child that doesn’t want to participate, but that’s to be expected. But what I wasn’t expecting was for a child to shout “No!” in my face while I was telling his third-grade class to have a good day. I do have to give him credit though — he knows what he’s about.

4. Where is my son?

My cat is smart, for the most part. He knows to come to the door if he sees me outside. He knows that if he hears his treat bag, he should come running. He even knows how to fetch. But whenever there’s a loud noise, it scares him and all smarts leave his body.

This is how we lost him on move-in day. He was in the garage, running around and doing cat stuff, when my mother opened the garage door to pack my things. The loud noise freaked him out and he ran. We couldn’t find him for 12 whole hours. And to make matters worse, he’s an emotional support animal — it’s hard to be supported by a missing pet.

In my last Top 10 terrible things article, I wrote about my bad luck in France when I lost my backpack in a taxi. Well, apparently Europe is an unlucky place for me regardless of the country. I took the 2019 J-Term course in Rome, and by the time I got to my hotel, I had already overpaid for my taxi ride. Lots of drivers will overcharge silly and confused tourists — like me — who have just spent almost nine hours on a plane. I thought that was going to be my only bad luck of the trip, but I somehow managed to catch bronchitis and was nearly too sick to get on the return flight.

7. Buses, finals and

I especially don’t mix

As previously mentioned, I lose my mind during finals. I try to mentally prepare myself to avoid crises, but no matter how much I try to keep my wits about me, it never works. When you combine finals and loss of common sense with buses, it’s truly a recipe for disaster. I’ve gotten on the wrong bus without even thinking, and of course it was going in the totally opposite direction of where I needed to go. I’ve even gotten on the wrong bus from my apartment, which I had to exit as soon as possible and call an Uber because — you guessed it — I was running late for an exam.

PAIGE HILLMAN | THE CAVAILER DAILY

9. My new therapist

I absolutely believe anyone with any sort of issue could benefit from therapy. My therapist is really cool and helpful, but she’s also super straightforward and not afraid to call me out for creating unnecessary problems for myself. Once she snorted at me when I said uncertainty made me anxious — which I admit is a ridiculous worry to have because nothing is certain. But still, are therapists allowed to laugh at you?

10. Anxiety runs deep

Some people don’t develop anxiety until college or once they start to interact more with the real world. I have been unlucky enough to be anxious pretty much since birth. My mom has countless stories of me being so freaked out about things that I couldn’t sleep, even if they would logistically never affect me. I was anxious about carbon monoxide, tornadoes, thunderstorms and even those aliens from “Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders.” As a college student, those things don’t worry me anymore — now it’s taxes, climate change and existential dread that keeps me up at night.

WINSTON TANG & RIVER WHALEN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

10 | www.cavalierdaily.com

SPORTS

The Cavalier Daily

Beau Bradley leans on service, family and passion Bradley is one of men’s soccer’s hardest workers on and off the field Muhammad Amjad | Associate Writer Virginia men’s soccer, in the middle of a standout season, is full of talented athletes motivated to win. However, junior midfielder Beau Bradley’s competitive spirit comes from a source different from most of his teammates — his family’s deep-rooted tradition of hard work and athletic dominance. The Bradley family name is synonymous with many celebrated American sports figures including professional baseball players, a professional soccer coach and a captain of the United States men’s national soccer team.

“So, it all really started with my grandparents,” Bradley said.

“My grandpa lied about his age in order to serve in Korea. That’s the basis for my family — people who started everything for themselves and worked really hard. My grandpa was also drafted to the MLB and played football in college.”

The work ethic of Bradley’s grandfather influenced the rest of his family tree. “[My grandpa] had three boys — my dad Jeff, Scott and Bob,” Bradley said. “All of them work in sports in some way and played sports. Bob coached U.Va. soccer under Bruce Arena after playing at Princeton University … Scott played baseball at UNC, played 9 years in the MLB and coaches Princeton baseball. My dad also went to UNC, played baseball for two years and decided to pursue journalism … My cousin Michael [Bradley] turned professional for soccer at 16, too.”

Beyond his family, Bradley is unique among most of his peers at Virginia. He repeated his senior year at the renowned Taft Academy, which he credits for building up his work ethic and giving him more perspective on his goals.

“I knew early on that I wanted to be an athlete, and I love that I get to have this experience at Virginia where I meet so many great people and compete at the highest level every year,” Bradley said. “But soccer isn’t who I am — it’s just one part of my life and there’s other parts like volunteering and coaching that I cherish too.”

This is the exact mindset that led Bradley to the McIntire School of Commerce. In addition to being a leader on a team that pundits have already pegged as

COURTESY VIRGINIA ATHLETICS

Junior midfielder Beau Bradley wants to excel in all aspects of his life, whether that’s athletics, academics or service.

national championship contenders, Beau is competing just as hard off the field.

The first year of McIntire — known for its rigorous Integrated Core curriculum — challenges students’ time management and teamwork abilities.

However, as his professors will say, Bradley didn’t just accept the challenge of attending a prestigious business program — he anticipated it. Assoc. Prof. of Commerce Gary Ballinger noted this quality in Bradley from day one.

“When everyone else was easing into a busy semester in late August, Beau took the time in the first week of classes to plan out his calendar, talk with faculty to understand the implications of travel and practice schedules and make sure that he was participating fully with his group,” Ballinger said. “To do all that and engage in successful charitable and extracurricular work shows how much he contributes to so many communities.”

Bradley has found his groove, balancing McIntire and soccer — perfecting it down to a near science.

“I wake up early,” Bradley said.

“I get up well before practice, usually at 5:30 a.m. Between 5:30 and 7:30, I focus and do some work. I eliminated a lot of my distractions in my second year and embraced more minimalism, which has really allowed me to free up time between practices and other commitments to get all my work done and meet with my [McIntire] group when I have to.”

Professor Ballinger has noticed how that diligence has paid off thus far.

“His success in the classroom and as a student-athlete shows how proactive and conscientious he is — so much advance planning is required to be successful as a student-athlete, and it's particularly challenging in the Comm School with team assignments,” Ballinger said.

Even still, Bradley isn’t satis-

fied. Outside of his athletic and academic careers, he’s a youth coach and an avid reader — for nothing but pure enjoyment.

Outside of Klöckner Stadium and Rouss-Robertson Hall, Bradley is a staple at Shenandoah Joe, other Virginia athletic events or any philanthropic cause he can squeeze into his calendar.

On the pitch, Bradley’s impact comes from the leadership he’s gained from family, school and extracurricular work.

Against Western Michigan Sept. 23, Virginia was in an uneasy position — tied 0-0 going into overtime with a massive underdog. Neither team had conceded a goal in 90 minutes. Virginia Coach George Gelnovatch had exhausted virtually every formation and strategy he was willing to show his competition this early in the season — except, of course, an unlikely secret weapon.

As the team huddles up for its final pep talk before the overtime

period, Bradley knew exactly how to light a fire under the team to push for the win that night — Virginia ultimately won on an overtime goal, propelling them to a then-undefeated record.

“It was honestly very simple,” Bradley said. “I knew what the situation was and Coach Gelnovatch had given us the game plan, but I could tell I had a chance to fire everyone up. I told the guys that national championship teams win these games, ‘just good’ teams don’t. The team responded because that’s who we are — we’re driven to win the whole tournament this year and that game was the first step.”

Instead of dousing his competitive fire, Bradley’s many commitments keep it fueled and burning. So when Gelnovatch needed his secret weapon that night, the 5-foot-9 New Jersey native was ready to deliver.

Not a strike or a tackle — but a speech driven with raw passion.

Thursday, October 24, 2019 | 11

SPORTS

Women’s soccer’s freshmen playing an important role Freshman players talk about classes, role models and what attracted them to the University Eva Surovell | Staff Writer Virginia women’s soccer is having a phenomenal season — a No. 1 ranking and undefeated record are proof of that. Veteran Cavaliers have certainly played an important role, but the team’s freshmen are making a name for themselves as well.

The Cavaliers (12-0-3, 4-0-3 ACC) have many talented returning players both on offense, with forwards like sophomore Alexa Spaanstra and senior Meghan McCool, and on defense, with defenders like sophomore Claire Constant and senior Phoebe McClernon and junior goalkeeper Laurel Ivory.

However, as good as the returners are, it's impossible to talk about this year’s team without highlighting the freshman class.

In a short amount of time, the freshman Cavaliers have already built a reputation within the soccer community — they are state championship winners, Gatorade Players of the Year and were even ranked in IMG’s Top 150 for the high school class of 2019.

Leading Virginia’s attack is freshman forward Diana Ordoñez. Hailing from Prosper, Texas, Ordoñez competed with club team FC Dallas and was named the 2017 Texas Gatorade Player of the Year. She graduated high school early which allowed her to enroll in the University and train with the team in the spring.

“I didn’t know how to associate myself because I was in the first-year class, but I was also really close with the second-years now because they were firstyears,” Ordoñez said.

Ordoñez specifically noted Ivory as a teammate who helped her transition into college at just 17 years old.

“I mostly connect with Laurel [Ivory], and we have a lot of similarities and the fact that … when she came into college she was 17 just like I was, and so she was able to help me go through what she went through,” Ordoñez said.

Ordoñez commands an impressive presence on the field — at 5-foot-11, she’s hard to miss. So far this season, she’s racked up 13 goals and two assists, including a hat trick against Liberty Aug. 25, all while balancing classes.

“I think coming in the spring, I had a lot of time to study and do homework, and I think it was kind of a shock when I came into the season because I just didn’t have that time, and so now it’s like harder than it was in the spring,” Ordoñez said.

While she is the Cavaliers’ leading goal-scorer, Ordoñez isn’t the only freshman to have made an impact for Virginia this season.

Notably, freshman defender Talia Staude has racked up 938 minutes of playing time this season — more than any other freshman. With an assist against William & Mary earlier this season, Staude proved that she’s also not afraid to step out of her typical defensive role. Even in tough matchups against rival teams like No. 23 Virginia Tech, Staude demonstrated impressive composure and played well as a starter.

Staude was a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team at four different levels — U14, U15, U17 and U20. She was also a three-time state champion in high school and ranked sixth in IMG’s Top 150 for the Class of 2019. Her decision to join Virginia was motivated by a combination of athletics and academics.

“I chose U.Va. because it was like t ahe best style of soccer that I thought I could fit into and the best education that I would get,” Staude said.

Academically, Staude noted Abnormal Psychology as both her favorite and her hardest class this semester. She cited senior defender Zoe Morse as someone who has helped her with school and staying on track.

Freshman forward Cam Lexow, a Gatorade Player of the Year from Pennsylvania, joins Ordoñez on Virginia’s offense this year. So far, Lexow has recorded one assist against East Carolina and one goal against Liberty.

“I have always known that I wanted to play collegiate soccer.”

Lexow said. “I played basketball too, but I was definitely better at soccer.”

She added that the hospitality of the older girls on the team made the transition to college much easier.

“I felt welcomed in the beginning,” Lexow said. “Right from the start, there were so many people that opened up where they were living — their apartments — to me and just made me feel like I was part of the team.”

Ordoñez, Staude and Lexow are just three members of Virginia’s standout freshman class.

Freshman midfielder Lacey McCormack is an important addition to the offense this year after scoring two game-winning goals in her high school state championship game this past

EMMA KLEIN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

EMMA KLEIN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Freshman defender Talia Staude has played more minutes for Virginia than any other freshman.

Freshman forward Cam Lexow has recorded one goal and one assist so far in 2019.

year. Another freshman midfielder — Emma Dawson — has recorded 208 minutes this season and is a force both on and off the field. She graduated as valedictorian of her high school class and continues to push herself academically as an Echols Scholar this year.

Freshman defender Kira Maguire also joins the Class of 2023 this year after a multi-sport high school career — competing in soccer, lacrosse and track. Joining her on the back line is another multi-sport athlete — freshman midfielder Jansen Eichenlaub. Eichenlaub was a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year and track and field state champion in Michigan.

Finally, Virginia’s freshman class is rounded out by two goalies — Siena Sandridge and Cayla White. While Ivory continues to play well between the sticks, the young pair will have a chance to make their mark sooner or later.

With Virginia looking increasingly like the best team in the country, it's easy to forget just how young the Cavaliers are.

However, if the freshman players continue playing at such a high level, the entire nation will soon take notice — for the next four years.

The Cavaliers look to continue their undefeated streak against Louisville at home at Klöckner Stadium Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.

COURTESY VIRGINIA ATHLETICS

Freshman forward Diana Ordoñez leads all Cavaliers with 13 goals this season.

12 | www.cavalierdaily.com

SPORTS

No. 7 field hockey moves to 13-3 after two weekend wins The Cavaliers defeated ACC opponent Duke Friday before travelling to Philadelphia to defeat Drexel Kushal Patel | Associate Writer

COURTESY VIRGINIA ATHLETICS

Sophomore back Amber Ezechiels scored her first goal of the year to cap off the come-frombehind win against No. 4 Duke.

No. 7 Virginia defeated No. 4 Duke Friday afternoon at Turf Field in a highly anticipated ACC rivalry matchup, and followed Sunday with a close victory

against a struggling Drexel team in Philadelphia. The Cavaliers (13-3, 3-2 ACC) extended into overtime to record a 3-2 victory against the Blue Devils (11-4, 1-3

ACC) before handling the Dragons (3-11, 1-2 CAA) in another 3-2 final.

Coming off an impressive road victory against then-No. 5 Louisville last weekend, Virginia faced another test against a talented No. 4 Duke team this weekend.

The Cavaliers tackled the challenge head on, matching the Blue Devils stride for stride before ultimately clinching the victory in overtime.

The game was tight the entire way as Duke registered 12 shots and Virginia accounted for 13.

Both offenses had five shots in the first half, but the defenses were up to the challenge, conceding zero goals and entering the half scoreless.

Duke scored just over seven minutes into the third quarter off a goal by sophomore forward Olivia Sahaydak, who capitalized on her chance when Virginia sophomore goalie Lauren Hausheer came out of the net and left an opening.

However, freshman back Cato Geusgens answered and scored her fifth goal of the season in the

fourth quarter. The goal came off of a corner play, and sophomore midfielder Greer Gill and senior back Anzel Viljoen served assists.

The Blue Devils responded quickly after being awarded a penalty shot. Hausheer was able to get a piece of the ball but ultimately could not stop the shot by senior midfielder Haley Schleicher, and Duke regained the lead.

Down 2-1 with over a minute to play in the game, Virginia appeared out of it until they were awarded a penalty corner. Viljoen scored her fifth goal off of the corner to tie the game at 2-2 and send the game into overtime.

Riding a wave of momentum after the Viljoen goal, Virginia did not look back in the overtime period. The defense did not allow a single shot, and just under two minutes in, sophomore back Amber Ezechiels scored her first goal of the year to cap off the comefrom-behind win.

Following their impressive victory over Duke, the Cavaliers turned their attention to a road battle against Drexel. Despite winning the contest by only a

goal, the Cavaliers dominated from start to finish. Virginia maintained control of the pace throughout and out-shot the Dragons 21-8.

Both teams led with a strong offensive attack, with all five goals of the game coming in the first half. Sophomore midfielder Annie McDonough struck first, just over three minutes into the game, but senior midfielder Tess Horan responded a few minutes later off of a deflected goal. With about 30 seconds left in the first quarter, Gill scored a short tap in to make the game 2-1.

Drexel junior forward Chandler McFeeley and Viljoen would exchange goals in the second quarter to produce a final score of 3-2.

After a rough patch midway through the season, the Cavaliers have found their rhythm at the perfect time, winning five straight games, three of which were against ranked opponents.

The Cavaliers return home to play No. 17 Liberty next Monday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on ACC Network.

Volleyball loses twice, unable to snap losing streak The Cavaliers’ losing streak is extended to six games as Virginia nears the end of the first-half of ACC play Connor Smith & Jude Nanaw | Associate Writers This past weekend, Virginia hosted both N.C. State (8-11, 3-4 ACC) and North Carolina (8-10, 5-3 ACC) at Memorial Gymnasium. Friday night, the Cavaliers (9-12, 1-7 ACC) fell to N.C. State in four sets and two days later fell to North Carolina in straight sets.

Virginia vs. N.C. State The final score from the match against the Wolfpack was 25-21, 25-21, 22-25 and 25-18.

N.C. State went on a 5-0 run early in the first to break a 4-4 tie and take a solid lead. Virginia remained within striking distance for much of the set and cut the deficit to one at 21-20. However, the Wolfpack closed the set on a 4-1 run to take an early 1-0 lead in the match. The Cavaliers recorded the higher hitting percentage in the first set, but the Wolfpack was able to win the key points at the end of the set.

In the second set, Virginia jumped out to an 8-4 lead but N.C. State eventually rallied and tied it at 11-11. The Wolfpack

then won five consecutive points to open up a five-point lead, and continued to dominate the set at 21-16. Then Cavaliers cut N.C. State’s lead to 22-20, but the Wolfpack won three of the final four points to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

N.C. State started out the third set strong with a 5-1 lead, but Virginia went on a 5-0 run to take the lead. The two sides went back and forth, before the Cavaliers took advantage with a 21-17 lead. Although N.C. State tied the match at 22-22, a kill from freshman outside hitter Jayna Francis and two consecutive aces from sophomore middle blocker Milla Ciprian sealed the victory for Virginia.

N.C. State took an early lead in the fourth set and maintained that lead the rest of the way. With the score being 16-12, the Wolfpack went on a 4-0 run to take an eight point lead and cruised to their third conference victory.

Ciprian led all players in the match with 16 kills, while junior

outside hitter Sarah Billiard and senior right side hitter Jelena Novakovic also recorded double-digit kills. Junior libero Alex Spencer recorded a match-high 17 digs.

Virginia vs. North Carolina The Cavaliers were unable to snap their losing streak Sunday against North Carolina as they were defeated in straight sets. The defeat was particularly tough for Virginia as each of the three narrowly fought sets could have gone either team’s way.

Virginia came out strong in the opening set, jumping out to an 8-4 lead. The Cavaliers then managed to build onto their lead, reaching 17-10 due to key contributions from a number of players.

Novakovic dominated early for Virginia with two kills and back to back aces in the set as the team was also aided by a handful of attack errors by the Tar Heels.

However, four straight points

by North Carolina later in the set with senior libero Mia Fraden-

burg serving allowed eventually led to the teams being tied up at 21 a piece.

Though the Cavaliers managed to take back the lead 24-23, three straight kills by senior outside hitter Skylar Wine put away the set in favor of the Tar Heels, 26-24.

Unlike the start of the first set, North Carolina found their footing early in the second set as they jumped out to a 10-6 lead.

Following two Tar Heel errors and a kill by Francis, Virginia managed to narrow the lead to 10-9.

However, this was the closest the Cavaliers got to the Tar Heels, as a combination effort by junior middle blocker Aristea Tontai and Wine, among others, put the set out of reach as North Carolina went up 24-17 late in the set.

A kill by Tar Heel sophomore outside hitter Destiney Cox followed by a Novakovic service error broke the set in favor of the Tar Heels 25-19.

The third and final set was tight from the start as the two teams traded points early on. A four point run by North Carolina allowed the Tar Heels to gain some separation, but the Cavaliers remained in contention for the set.

Although a late kill by Francis brought Virginia within striking distance at 22-20, the Tar Heels still managed to win the final set by a score of 25-22.

Francis led Virginia in kills with 10 while Wine led North Carolina with 13 of her own. Ciprian led defensively with three blocks.

Friday, Virginia looks to rebound from their weekend losses as the Cavaliers head to Louisville. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on ACC Network Extra.

The Cavalier Daily

Thursday, October 24, 2019 | 13

OPINION LEAD EDITORIAL

Democratize the BOV The student and faculty members of the Board must be given a vote

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ccording to the Office of the President, the Board of Visitors is the University’s “highest oversight body.” Considering 17 of the 19 Board members are appointed by the governor, it is no surprise that appointees are often wealthy political donors with little, if any, experience in higher education.

Additionally, this politically appointed board has sole authority in appointing one student and one faculty member to serve non-voting, advisory roles each year. Given the immense decision-making power of the Board, it is essential that the student and faculty advisory members be given a vote to tilt the balance of power back toward the community the Board should be serving.

Considering the vast array of issues the Board votes on each year, it is unclear why the student and faculty members’ opinions are not considered beyond a mere advisory role. Among its many responsibilities, the Board is charged with vot-

ing on strategic plans, overseeing the approval of new architectural changes to the school and appointing University presidents. But beyond its administrative responsibilities, the Board also oversees issues that directly affect students and faculty, including tuition increases, dining plans, academic programs and housing. Because all of these issues directly impact student and faculty life, their representatives should have a vote. Though some may contend students are unqualified and should not have a vote during Board meetings, there is nothing that makes the current voting members — who likely received their seats as a result political patronage — much more qualified to run an institution of higher education.

There are very few requirements for serving on the Board. As author Jeff Thomas recently lamented in a guest opinion column for The Cavalier Daily, “A study found that over nearly 20 years, just 3 percent

of Board members had doctorate degrees but 91 percent made political contributions of over $1,000.” It appears that academic and administrative qualifications are hardly a factor in the appointment process.

So long as you have made significant political contributions to a campaign that accords with the current governor’s political preferences, you’re a good contender for appointment.

The Board is also rather demographically and professionally homogeneous — many of them are extremely wealthy white men who are presidents or CEOs of major corporations.

Unfortunately, the current makeup of the Board makes it far more likely for them to make critical errors in judgment, as demonstrated by their failed attempt to remove former University President Teresa Sullivan in 2012. After citing “a philosophical difference of opinion” and vague financial concerns as the reason for her dismiss-

al, former University Rector Helen E. Dragas announced the Board’s decision to the University community in early June 2012. The student body, faculty members and Sullivan herself were all blindsided by the Board’s request for her resignation.

At the time of this crisis, faculty and students — the people whose opinions should matter most — seemed to approve of Sullivan’s performance. After various faculty and student groups passed resolutions, signed petitions, and protested on the Lawn in opposition to the Board’s decision to oust Sullivan, the board reinstated her.

During the showdown against the Board, prominent politics professor Larry Sabato tweeted, “Palace coup meets grassroots rebellion,” a statement which seemed to perfectly encapsulate the power dynamics at play. Although the University community was able to overcome this crisis of leadership, it should serve as a reminder of the importance of appointing members who are expe-

rienced in the realm of higher education.

Student and faculty input rather than donor preferences should be at the forefront of the Board’s concerns. If we continue to allow wealthy, inexperienced political appointees who are disconnected from the University to legislate on our behalf, we must also afford our more direct representatives equal power in the decision making process. If the Board believes the student and faculty members' voices are unworthy of a vote, then that shows better than anything else that the interests of the Board are not aligned with those of the University community.

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

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

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

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

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

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MANAGING BOARD Editor-in-Chief Gracie Kreth Managing Editor Abby Clukey Executive Editor Jacob Asch Operations Manager Aisha Singh Chief Financial Officer Sonia Gupta EDITORIAL BOARD Jacob Asch Gracie Kreth Audrey Fahlberg Gavin Scott Victoria McKelvey JUNIOR BOARD Assistant Managing Editors Aaron Rose Ashley Botkin (SA) Alec Husted (SA) Abby Sacks (SA) Arsema Asefaw (SA) Emma Bradford (SA) Caroline Daniel

News Editors Nik Popli Jenn Brice (SA) Ali Sullivan Sports Editors Zach Zamoff Vignesh Mulay (SA) Caroline Lund (SA) Akhil Rekulapelli Life Editors Pauline Povitsky Elise Kim Arts & Entertainment Editors Kate Granruth Robin Schwartzkopf (SA) Elliot Van Noy Health & Science Editors Vyshnavi Pendala Zoe Ziff Magazine Editor Meagan O’Rourke Opinion Editors Audrey Fahlberg Gavin Scott (SA) Victoria McKelvey Humor Editor Ben Miller Cartoon Editor Walter Sharon

Production Editors Carolyn Lane Nikita Sivakumar Ankit Agrawal Graphics Editors Lauren Mohan Tyra Krehbiel (SA) Emma Hitchcock Photography Editors Riley Walsh Emma Klein (SA) Sophie Roehse (SA) Ariana Gueranmayeh Video Editors Bailey Vaughn Emily Dhue Social Media Managers Libby Scully Sierra Krug Translation Editors Edward Contreras Sylvia Wang Finance Manager Malcolm Mashig Business Manager Kelly Mays

14 | www.cavalierdaily.com

OPINION

Democrats must do more to build a ‘New Virginia’

While next month’s general election is shaping up to be one of the most consequential in decades, Democrats have not done enough to broaden their base of support

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ver the past several decades, Virginia has essentially become two separate states — Northern Virginia, or “NOVA,” and the rest of the Commonwealth — with each region having a distinct cultural, economic and political identity. It is in the midst of this dramatic transformation that Democrats have reestablished themselves in Virginia politics, relegating the legacy of the Byrd Organization and Massive Resistance to the ash heap of history and building a powerful base of support in Northern Virginia. Although this separation with the party of the past came into question earlier this year, Democrats have vowed to build a “New Virginia” should they emerge victorious this November. And yet, just as Democrats are on the cusp of regaining control of the General Assembly for the first time in nearly 20 years, their hubris and disconnect with certain regions across the state may ultimately tarnish these dreams.

Less than two decades ago, Southwestern Virginia and many other rural areas just like it across the state were Democratic strongholds, helping to pave the way for individuals like Senators Mark Warner, D-Va., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., to clinch the Executive Mansion and for Democrats to main-

tain control of the General Assembly. However, in a narrative that has repeated itself time and time again across rural America, voters in Appalachia slowly began to lose faith with the Democratic Party, and today this region is firmly in the grasp of Republicans. Virginia’s 9th Congressional District, for instance, which spans from the Tennessee border to Blacksburg, was represented by Democrat Rick Boucher for almost thirty years

ocratic initiatives like Medicaid expansion have had the greatest measurable impact, this dramatic decline in support is simply unacceptable. And yet, with fewer and fewer resources being allocated to to campaign in these regions, Democrats have effectively conceded these races before voters have even entered the ballot box. This trend is especially disconcerting given that many of the same issues that appeal to voters across the Commonwealth,

only 10 months ago that all three of Virginia’s Democratic statewide elected officials in Richmond — Governor Ralph Northam, Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax and Attorney General Mark Herring — were embroiled in a series of separate political scandals that struck at the very heart of many of today’s most complex and sensitive social issues.

A Democratic assumption that voters have already cast these concerns

To treat these districts like “lost causes” only serves to further alienate this segment of the electorate.

until 2011 and is where Mark Warner defeated his Republican opponent in the 2008 Senate race by a margin of almost twenty-seven points. And yet, in the span of less than a decade, Virginia’s 9th Congressional District transitioned from reliably Democratic to “Trump Country” with the President carrying the district in 2016 by a factor of almost two-to-one.

In predominantly rural areas such as Southwestern Virginia, where Dem-

such as healthcare, education and employment, resonate deeply here as well.

The loss of Democratic support in rural Virginia is more indicative of a failure to connect with voters. To treat these districts like lost causes only serves to further alienate this segment of the electorate.

Aside from just this, Democrats have also approached November’s election with a sense of hubris that is disconcerting to say the least. It was

aside — particularly after little occurred in the way accountability — is nothing more than wishful thinking.

Given that Democrats are especially looking to flip several House and Senate seats south of Richmond and in Hampton Roads, they will need to continue to engage in outreach and dialogue with the black community in order to repair the damages incurred from the Governor’s blackface scandal.

Correspondingly, by fielding a record

number of female candidates in this year’s election cycle, Democrats have signaled their intent to not only reshape the demographics of elected politics but also further dispel the notion of complicity with the ongoing accusations of sexual assault levied against Fairfax specifically.

While Democrats are well positioned to gain seats in the General Assembly this November, more work still needs to be done in order to build lasting change. By reaching out to voters beyond just the suburbs of Northern Virginia, Democrats can build a coalition of support that properly addresses the needs and concerns facing all Virginians. Furthermore, in continuing to engage in meaningful dialogue and acknowledging previous failures and scandals, Democrats can provide an example of leadership that is worthy of governing the Commonwealth. In pursuing these goals, Democrats can not only ensure that they will hold a majority in the General Assembly come next January but also lay a foundation of support for a New Virginia that is representative of all of its citizens THOMAS DRISCOLL is an Opinion Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.

Standardize class sections between professors

Variability in grading and assessments for the same classes taught by different professors puts some students at an unfair disadvantage

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he University’s status as one of the premier public schools in the country has historically attracted a distinguished faculty consisting of some of the best and brightest minds in academic fields across both undergraduate and graduate studies. These individuals greatly contribute to the sustained academic excellence for which the University has long been renowned. With that said, the divergence in both course content and difficulty that exists between professors teaching the same courses presents an unnecessary obstacle to students for mostly arbitrary reasons.

Professors at the University are given substantial independence to come up with their own personalized syllabi for their classes. In theory, this is a very good thing. Professors aren’t bound by rigid class slides or curriculums. They have the freedom to discuss topics, readings and thinkers that may be glossed over or disregarded entirely by other instructors. This means that the professor you choose may play a substantial role in the overall experience of the class. In practice, however, this often plays to the detriment of students.

It’s well known at the University that having a different professor often means taking a demonstrably different class. Comparing two classes of the same semester, in the same department, on the same subject, can often

mean different homework schedules, grading policies, assessments, attendance procedures and even material.

These changes are significant and often have far-reaching effects on the workload or difficulty of a given class. Currently, two students taking the same course could be incompatible as far as studying goes because their professors might have completely different timetables for material and exams.

Summer classes provide an excel-

readings in order to maximize each semester at the University. The staggered nature of course registration means that some students — such as athletes and upperclassman — naturally get the first pick. As such, many students won’t have the opportunity to select professors of choice as their sections fill up more quickly, usually by merit of having higher historical GPAs and more convenient class times. Through no fault of their own, students are

difference within sections of the same course in only the past two years. It’s also worth pointing out that this divergence exists almost entirely between different professors, rather than between multiple sections of the course taught by the same professor. The biggest GPA gap between different sections taught by the same professor in a given year, during the same time period, is just 0.21. The biggest gap between different professors of a given year is

It’s well known at the University that having a different professor often means taking a demonstrably different class. lent miniaturization of this phenomenon. As a result of having typically only four weeks to complete an otherwise semester-long class, the curricula for summer classes are usually greatly adjusted for timeliness. It’s not uncommon to hear of certain classes being substantially different over the summer. Often graduate students teach summer classes and have to abide by a very strict schedule to ensure students learn the requisite material in time.

Moreover, course selection is a long, involved process that often consists of cross-checking class times, professor reviews, GPA trends and required

forced to take effectively more difficult classes due to the disparity between professors. Looking at the historical class GPAs of different professors teaching the same course, paints a grim picture.

Introductory Microeconomics, which is among the most popular courses offered at the University in terms of sheer class size, is practically a roll of the dice depending on the professor. The class GPA between 2016 and 2018, across only the Spring and Fall sections of the course, ranges from 2.78 at its lowest, to 3.38 at its highest.

This reflects nearly a full letter-grade

0.46. Clearly the professor has a legitimate impact on the grade distribution, and in that sense, the University isn’t treating all students fairly.

One easy change could be to give the same assessments for every section of a course, regardless of professor.

Study materials would be more universal, and there wouldn’t be fundamental differences between the classes in grade distributions since all the students would be taking the same exams with presumably the same weight or curve. Instructors would likely have to communicate on the precise format of the exams, but this would ensure

students across different sections have uniform degrees of proficiency. Professors would also retain a high degree of freedom. Standardizing tests might mean restructuring the organization of material to ensure it is aligned with other instructors, but it would still allow professors to control basically every other aspect of their class organization, including their personalized presentation of course content.

Currently, the University acknowledges no distinctions between sections taught by different professors, meaning they should be basically interchangeable in terms of material. Standardizing the tests, grading policies or even basic syllabi between multiple professors of the same classes in a given semester would only further reinforce the sentiment of equality that’s clearly the ideal.

A professor sharing their expertise in a course is not the problem and making all the classes identical is not the solution. Education is fluid. Learning the same material can happen in a number of different ways. However, for the sake of student prosperity and consistency, there have to be mechanisms in place to ensure students aren’t at a disadvantage because of who their professor happens to be.

SHREY DUA is an Opinion Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.

The Cavalier Daily

HUMOR

Thursday, October 24, 2019 | 15

If U.S. politics were U.Va. politics If you’re paying attention to the news or even just reading the unwanted Apple News notifications on your phone, you’ve probably noticed that something is up in Washington D.C. At this point, you’ve probably noticed it is a little more than something. In fact, it’s a whole lot of things. But, there’s one thing that sticks out the most — impeachment.

A lot of people I have spoken to about the impeachment of President Donald Trump are confused.

What exactly is going on? How can impeachment not actually remove the president? How is this different from all the other nonsense we’ve been putting up with during the Trump presidency? I have gladly answered those questions to help people understand current events.

But, after I had explained the answers to these questions several times, I realized that impeachment might be easier to understand if I compare it to something we all understand — Jim Ryan’s presidency.

So just bear with me for the next few paragraphs.

So, Ryan is sitting in his office.

He’s decided to collaborate with William & Mary on a new higher education initiative in Virginia. I’m not sure what that initiative would be. I’m not the most aware of presidential activities at a university level. But, alas, they are planning on working together to make the Wahoos and the Tribe happier groups of students. President Ryan’s phone rings, and it is President Katherine A. Rowe from William & Mary calling. Ryan is expecting this call.

They have the usual small talk — how are the kids, which school has the superior Jefferson legacy, etc.

They begin to discuss their joint project, and Rowe asks when they should be expecting U.Va.’s contribution to the program. Ryan pauses and explains to his fellow leader of Virginia higher education that he’s heard rumors about Virginia Tech’s president, Timothy Sands. Apparently, Sands’ has done some iffy

things in his past, and President Ryan wants to know if they are true. He asks Rowe if she can help him look into the University’s rival.

Once she helps with that, William & Mary can expect the University’s help with the project. Rowe awkwardly agrees to help investigate Sands and they agree to talk soon.

Meanwhile, Ryan has trusted Dean of Students Allen W. Groves to go to Virginia Tech and figure out what could have happened.

Groves blends in on Tech’s campus, not wearing his bowtie as much and suppressing his urge to high five students. He reaches out to some contacts in different academic departments and has some interesting conversations.

Back on Grounds, Ryan has taken his notes from the call and thrown them onto Mad Bowl after a long day of game-day dartying.

He wants the call to be top-secret, so his notes will hopefully get lost in the flood of red solo cups and crushed White Claw cans that lit-

ter the field. Any trace of the suspicious call will be thrown out in the magical Mad Bowl clean-up that always seems to happen quickly and quietly.

There are some rumors flying around Ryan’s office about a suspicious phone call. A member of his office leaks to The Cavalier Daily that there might be someone ready to file an official complaint about potential wrongdoing. WUVA gets wind of the potential controversial news, and there’s a race to uncover what could have happened. Eventually, one of Ryan’s employees anonymously reports that the president pressured William & Mary to investigate Virginia Tech in order to get U.Va.’s funding for an important project. The Cavalier Daily later uncovers that Ryan sent Groves to investigate Virginia Tech’s president, and he tried to cover up the record of the phone call.

Even thinking about this happening on Grounds is insane. Obviously, most U.Va. students would

trust Ryan with their lives. But, when you really think about it, the President of the United States actually did something like this. This story should be content strictly for the humor section of a university newspaper, not for the White House and American foreign policy. But, even though current events continue to shock and surprise us all, it is important to not get too caught up in it. If you find yourself getting overwhelmed, just try to remember that we go to an awesome university with a strong president who would never do us dirty like some world leaders.

JUSTINE BAIRD is a Humor Columnist at The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at humor@cavalierdaily.com.

CARTOON Halloween costumes for U.Va. students Audrey Lewis | Cartoonist

16 | www.cavalierdaily.com

The Cavalier Daily

PUZZLES WEEKLY CROSSWORD PUZZLE Dan Goff | Puzzle Master

Across 5 Someone who lends money at high interest rates 7 Most jobs allow you to take some ___ days 9 In the VAFF's first year, when it was still called the Virginia Festival of American Film, this "Affliction" and "Prince of Tides" star was a big 19-across 10 Extremely happy, peaceful scene or situation 12 High-powered — an adjective you could use to describe the Spy Kids at certain points in the movie 14 Cord attaching muscle to bone 16 Feebly 19 Over its 31 years of existence, the Virginia Film Festival has had many a ___ — this year, the big one is Ethan Hawke 22 Decorative tuft of threads often found on a nipple 23 Not a great singer 24 Some Instagram bios claim feeling too blessed to be ___ 25 Inherent, unchanging Down 1 Car part that helps the vehicle slow down 2 Steep-sided gully common in the southwestern United States 3 Naturally-occurring material from which precious metals can be mined 4 Trinket 6 2017's big 19-across, who would appropriate Charlottesville footage in his 2018 film 7 Gentle golf club 8 When paired with "bodied," fit 11 Female arm-wrestling acronym with local roots 13 Person or thing displaying stylish excellence 15 "___ to say..."

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enough 18 Rivals are ___ against one another 19 Set of things working together 20 High-protein seed with popular green and orange varieties — often sold split 21 Last year's slow-dancing 19-across Christoph

A D R T I V B E W B A Y

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R E T R E B O U D O I R S R P M I M I S U H I T E C H S I O I H E T T S R U T E I W A N A T T A I N O B R S A N F R A N C I S C O E A I C O U S S U B P O E N A U S B L S I C L Y L O O K I N H E R N

The Cavalier Daily

Thursday, October 24, 2019 | 17

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Artist Bayeté Ross Smith is tired of monolithic identity Multimedia, conceptual artist speaks at Jefferson African-American Heritage Center Max Patten | Senior Writer

MAX PATTEN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Artist Bayete Ross Smith shared his art and spoke at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center Oct. 16.

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

This quote from legendary American writer James Baldwin was projected on screen before artist Bayeté Ross Smith’s talk Wednesday evening at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. The event was accompanied by a Q&A panel with Kevin MacDonald, the University’s recently appointed Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. During the talk, Smith revealed that Baldwin is likely the greatest non-familial influence in his life.

Smith was introduced with a menagerie of labels and accomplishments, having defined himself with a multimedia art career that spans sculpture, photography, video and interactive technological elements. The distinguished Harlem-based artist started his career as a photojournalist in various cities along the East Coast and later decided to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree at the California College of the Arts.

“I like to use artistic license and be playful in terms of how I actually create the narratives and visual structures for these stories that I like to tell,” Smith said. He then described the importance of globally inclusive societies, and went on to emphasize the unique role the U.S. is primed to play. It’s one of the “few nations in the history of the

world that actually has the ability to include people from cultures all around the world in its makeup.”

These words would foreshadow the display of his work, which tackles the meaning of identity and multiculturalism in a society that struggles to understand them.

Smith showed a photo of his many cousins to outline his background and give an example on the issue of identity in America.

“While we’re all black, we’re not only black,” he said. “Being black in America can mean and look like a lot of different things.”

Images then appeared on the screen from Smith’s photo series “Our Kind of People,” which displays horizontally-aligned collages of the same people presented slightly differently.

“Devoid of any other means or context for assessing the various alter-egos of these photos, the viewer will project their own preconceptions,” Smith said.

He gave an example where he asked observers to label the version of himself in the photographs they found most appealing. Most chose the suit. When asked to do the same for his white friend, many avoided the suit and chose a more casual outfit. Smith suggested that this might be due to stereotypes, where black men in hoodies are seen dangerously just like white men in suits who might be seen on the news having committed fraud or white-col-

lar crime. Embedded in clothing, Smith suggests, is an extraordinary amount of identity tied with the ethnicity of the wearer.

Next, Smith displayed photos from “Taking Aim,” a bold series of images overlaying targets onto various portraits. Smith even made a version with his own likeness and asked people at a shooting range to practice on his image. He was curious as to why shooting targets always depict unrealistic caricatures when real violence and self-defense scenarios are so different. The uncomfortable proposition was spurred by what Smith described as a “fine line between recreational, condoned violence and deplorable, criminalized violence.” He illustrated with an example of a boxing match versus a street fight — two physically similar situations that are socially very different.

The evening’s most interesting surprises came when Smith detailed his video pieces. One piece, titled “Question Bridge,” featured a series of black men asking and answering candid questions about everyday life across five screens. Smith wanted to present these faces because he noticed that “black males were very prominent in media … but not present in the ways that can control and define them.” “Question Bridge” makes a case for itself as a portal to black male existence, with occasionally silly-seeming questions — like one about eating ba-

nanas and watermelon in front of white people, for example — being answered in serious and surprising ways. Smith said he hoped the series could function as a “window into black consciousness.”

Smith also worked with the PBS series “POV” and the New York Times on “Hyphen-Nation,” a video series that asks what makes someone American.

“Some people get to be born as Americans simply because of their backgrounds,” Smith said. “Others have a label to their American-ness,” hence the hyphen.

In the videos, an Indian woman described being called a terrorist in a CVS shortly after 9/11. A black Iraq War veteran talked about being in a vehicle with a white woman and getting stopped by a police officer. He was the one asked for identification despite being the passenger.

“It’s odd doing what you do knowing you’re fighting for your country and knowing you’re not owed the freedoms you were fighting for,” the veteran said.

Smith continued to present several other projects. “West 4th Street” was a video series with an interactive element, letting viewers choose between an age and racially diverse set of narrators telling the same true story, challenging them to make out which parts they empathize with based on the identity of the speaker.

He then showcased “Got the Power,” a welding, sculptural project built out of boomboxes that played local, community-centric music in installed areas, as well as some 360-degree videos made with POV that overlapped historical archival data onto real places in the modern day. The example shown narrated the story of Malcom X’s assassination while surround video explored the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, where the shots were fired.

The evening concluded with the Q&A session, in which Smith hinted at a forthcoming collaboration with the School of Law for the Kings Against Violence Initiative.

The partnership hopes to present rising legal minds with artwork like Smith’s so that they can be better citizens.

“If we can create impact and awareness around contemporary social issues with people during their legal training,” Smith said, “I think we can create a profound impact on social awareness as well as the implementation of policy.”

Smith summed up his artwork as an effort to make a global, multicultural society a true reality. For Smith and artists like him, identity is anything but a box to be checked.

18 | www.cavalierdaily.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

David Sedaris shares his dark, intimate humor with Charlottesville audience

COURTESY HARALD KRICHEL

Writer David Sedaris shared four of his essays on his lecture tour at the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center Oct. 16.

The writer read essays about his dying father — and still got laughs Gracie Kreth | Editor-in-Chief “To the person who stole my antidepressants, I hope you’re happy,” David Sedaris read from his diary entries, mixing dark and crude humor in front of a packed crowd Wednesday night at the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center. Sedaris shared four essays from his new collection, entitled “Calypso.” This marks the second week of his lecture tour after the book’s publication in May. On the stage, Sedaris was just tall enough to peer over the top of the large, wooden podium, and as he spoke, the audience could see his feet shuffle back and forth. He wore a bizarre outfit — a coat and tie and dress shorts — and was very proud, so much so that he walked in front of the podium to do a twirl and bask in the audience’s applause and

laughter. He described his shorts as one pair of shorts sewn over another pair of shorts and shredded. “I think I just look great.”

He began the reading with an essay about political correctness, reflecting on what words we have to refer to by their first letter. He complained there are so many words falling in this category it’s hard to keep up. For example, there’s the c-word. In a relationship, this means commitment — not the other c-word. Walking through the alphabet in examples, he explicitly said some — the b-word or b*tch — while leaving the audience to fill in the blank with others. Never one to leave out politics, Sedaris made a jab at Trump’s i-words — that is, impeachment and immigration.

The best comedy challenges its

audience, putting people in uncomfortable situations and toeing the line of being purely offensive.

While never crossing the line, Sedaris masterfully led the audience up to the edge of compassion and comfort. Both intimate and casual, Sedaris opened up about deeply personal stories throughout the show, leaving the audience unsure if a chuckle would be appropriate — then hitting a zinger and squeezing a full-belly laugh out of the crowd.

Animating each essay, the veteran performer nailed the accents to bring his narratives to life.

His second essay took a much deeper tone, as he recounted what he thought were his 96-year-old father’s dying days. Sedaris described seeing his father, hours after returning from the ICU, looking “like

something unearthed from a tomb,” while discussing with his siblings who would write his father’s obituary as the man lay semiconscious between them. Weaving small jokes in here and there, Sedaris described trying to “reconcile that perpetual stormcloud” of his father with the human he saw in a vegetable state.

He closed the essay with a moment between him and his siblings as adults, laughing at a naked woman they saw in her home across the street. “Can you believe it? Naked!”

Sedaris said. “It was as if we had seen a flying saucer … with delight and energy in our voices, you’d almost think we were children.”

Halfway through the evening, the lights went out and a woman’s blood-curdling shriek rang through the auditorium, interrupting Se-

daris. But a brief power outage wasn’t about to throw Sedaris off his game. “Do we have a flashlight or something?” he quipped. As dark as his humor was last night, darkness wasn’t about to stop the comedian. The lights quickly came back on and Sedaris kept the joke going.

“I didn’t mind the lights going out, but it was the scream.”

Sedaris frequently came back to anecdotes about his father, referencing their strained relationship, and eventually looped back to his father’s health by the end of the show — Lou Sedaris completely recovered. “They’ve never seen anything like it,” Sedaris said, rolling his eyes. “We were like, ‘Whaaat?’”

The audience burst into laughter, as Sedaris ended the evening with another dark-humored joke.

Thursday, October 24, 2019 | 19

The Cavalier Daily

HEALTH & SCIENCE Exploring the intersection of STEM fields in the art studio STEM students benefit from a deep understanding of the physical and chemical processes at work in art classes Maitlyn Murphy | Staff Writer Many scientific processes take place in the art studio as students learn about the physical and chemical reactions of various materials involved in sculpting, painting and developing photos.

STEM major students bring a useful background and perspective from the lab to the studio, and oftentimes the art projects are inspired by elements in science, biology or nature. Having a basic understanding of the physical and chemical processes in the studio, as well as conceptual knowledge about our physical world, have shown to be beneficial in many Studio Art courses.

Many chemical processes occur during the development of a sculpture. One process is the natural atmospheric oxidation of metals that create a color change on the surfaces. Thin films, called patinas, form on the surface of certain metals as they interact with the atmosphere over time.

According to Assoc. Studio Art Prof. William Bennet, the copper in many structures can oxidize over time to change into a teal green color from its original shiny copper.

“Sculptors have liked that green color, but they don’t want to wait 20 years,” Bennet said. In order to expedite this process, copper nitrate is added to the art to imitate this green color.

In addition to understanding the scientific processes, the ideas that emerge in scientific classes permeate the art studio. He encourages his students to explore their interests and personal identity through his sculpture courses at the University.

“I encourage students to use the knowledge they have from their other majors and bring it into their art,” Bennett said.

Bennett saw a benefit to having a double major in studio art and STEM fields. In his class, he mentioned having a good amount of biology and environmental science students, as well as a handful of students majoring in physics and engineering.

“Traditionally artists were taught art things, like drawing and how to mix paint, “Bennett said. “I think what’s really important now, and what’s important about our research institution of U.Va., is that many of my students are double majors, so … they have stories to tell that have relevance in the world, so they have something to talk about.”

Third-year College student Margaret Kim, who is double majoring in studio art and Biology, is currently working on a sculpture project titled, “Yuri and the Diamonds.” Biology course topics, such as species evolution and the formation of the first life forms, inspired Kim’s project within the art studio space. Her current project reimagines the evolutionary process for a new fictional species.

from her biology background.

Kim hopes to challenge the viewer.

“That’s on Earth, but there are so many possibilities,” Kim said, referring to the basics of evolution. “Imagine you have different planets with different evolutionary tracks.What if I create a whole new biological system” Bennett explained how Kim’s background in biology likely prompted her project’s cen-

evolution to explain the foundational elements of life producing many different organisms. She takes the concept of evolution out of a human-centric perspective in order to really focus on the science and possibilities of different evolutionary tracks.

Concerning STEM and technology, Bennett explained how digital technologies are pervading many fields these days.

“Designing on the computer is

ARIANA GUERANMAYAH | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Through sculpting, Margaret Kim utilizes her science background to envision the formation of life forms for a new fictional species .

Currently in the first phase of her project, Kim is focused on crafting the different species’ embryos. Eventually she plans to make full-sized adult creatures out of plaster. Within her species, pearls indicate clusters of concentrated neurons, similar to the human brain. Yet these pearls are all over the body of her creatures, which challenges the viewer's mammal-centric perspective on the general concept of a head.

Kim’s project began from a series of questions that emerged

tral question — what if things evolved differently?

Through her art, Kim is able to push the limits of Earth’s physical boundaries and imagine the same Darwinist concepts occurring on a more universal scale.

To explain her species and its physical properties, Kim will accompany her project with a short introductory biology textbook explaining the rules and evolutionary processes within her created world. She will borrow knowledge of Earth species’

really powerful, and it is the future,” Bennett said. “Right now, it’s an exciting time. When I retire, the next sculptor will come in with a new skill set and new ways of designing and making.

That’s the way it should be, and that’s the way it’s always been.”

In our digital world, the art studio is a way to interact with the physical and stay more closely connected to the materials of the world for many students.

“I don’t think the important things are going to disappear,”

Bennett said. “Stories are still going to be important, but stories are going to be told in different ways.”

He remains confident that different storytelling media will blossom.

“That’s one nice thing about studio art … we’re carrying on ancient traditions,” he said. “The ancient traditions can still tell new stories.”

Each student brings their own unique background and knowledge to express ideas through the art studio, like using recycled materials and creating sustainable art.

Zertash Zahid — third-year College student majoring in computer science and minoring in studio art — emphasized how technology has helped her improve her artistic vision. Due to her technological background, she was able to transform a simple drawing on paper into a digital one for others to view.

“Adobe Illustrator published my ideas onto a digital platform to further modify and share with others,” Zertash said. “This software has taken my art from a drawing board to t-shirts, fliers and posters and given me a voice online. Having a computer science background has further helped me understand how a software such as Illustrator works, especially its limitations and unique features.”

She encourages others to understand the science behind any form of art.

“Understanding the process will help you as an artist to enhance your work both online and in person,” Zertash said.

The intersection of STEM fields and the studio art provides a great opportunity for students to explore the topics learned in the lab and test their boundaries in the studio. With the technological advances of today, new storytelling tools will emerge that will expand the methods of expression. Bennett is optimistic and ready to embrace the new methods to approach art.

“I know change is going to come,” Bennett said.

20 | www.cavalierdaily.com

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