Thursday, October 26, 2017

The Cavalier Daily Vol. 128, Issue 10

Thursday, October 26, 2017

“Dreams do not know genders or colors”

BY MARIEL MESSIER | PAGE 10

HONOR DEBATES SINGLE SANCTION

U.VA.’S NEWEST SPORTS STARTUP

GOBAR: GENTRIFICATION CANNOT BE JUSTIFIED

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THE CAVALIER DAILY

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IN BRIEF A summary of what’s happened in and around Grounds in the past week

NEWS

Compiled by Hailey Ross, News Editor

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21

Virginia hires Carla Williams as new athletics director The search for the University’s new athletics director has concluded, with the school selecting Carla Williams as the successor to Craig Littlepage. She will become the first female African-American athletics director among Power 5 conference schools.

Williams comes to Virginia after spending the last 13 years with the athletics department at the University of Georgia, most recently as the school’s deputy athlet-

ics director. A Georgia alumna, Williams was an All-SEC guard on the Bulldogs’ women’s basketball team.

Over the course of her administrative career, she has garnered immense respect from the collegiate athletics community, having served on multiple NCAA committees.

Williams will be filling Littlepage’s vacancy after his official retirement, which he announced in September.

Alumni return for YAR Over 3,500 University alumni who had graduated in the last four years and their guests were invited back for the Young Alumni Reunions in the Amphitheatre Saturday. The party lasted for three hours and included food and drinks, a DJ and a photobooth.

The event was an opportunity for young alumni to hang out with people

they had graduated with and also served as a chance for University students to see their friends who were back on Grounds.

Liz Crowder, assistant director for reunions and class activities at the Alumni Association, said in an email statement to The Cavalier Daily that 90 percent of YAR attendees were alumni, with the other 10 percent being guests.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 23

New York Times columnist speaks of division in Charlottesville New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof delivered a talk at Nau Hall Monday to a crowded lecture hall, where he discussed the events of Aug. 11 and 12 in relation to the topic of division and inequality in the United States.

The event — titled “Sanctuary and Belonging: Reflections after August 11 & 12” — was hosted by the Miller Center, the Center for German Studies and the Religious Studies Department. It was moderated

by Douglas Blackmon, director of public programs at the Miller Center and the executive producer of American Forum.

Before Kristof began his discussion, Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer addressed the attendees on the ability of Charlottesville to move forward in the aftermath of the events of Aug. 11 and 12 and defeat white supremacy.

“I would say that one of the living histories that's happening right now is of the movement in response to these horrors, [is] the country rising up,” Signer said. “Through our own values, we are going to defeat these threats against us.”

During the talk, Kristof discussed his view of the nature of division and inequality in the United States, how white supremacy has developed and potential solutions to addressing those issues.

Kristof attributed much of the recent racial division in the country to a decreasing availability of economic opportunity and prosperity for white Amer-

icans.

“I think that at the broadest level, if we want to build a more inclusive country, if we want to ‘other-ize less,’ then we have to address some of these issues of inequality in the country,” Kristof added.

In relation to the white nationalists demonstrations of Aug. 11 and 12, Kristof said such events tend to distract from underlying racial inequality and division in American society.

“If you look at evidence, it is abundantly clear that in employment and so many other areas, discrimination remains and it's a fundamental problem that we have,” Kristof said. “I think there is a misperception about the nature [of discrimination] and I think maybe what happened in Charlottesville also effectuates that.”

Kristof further stated that traditional racism in the form of vocal white supremacy is not the most pressing form of discrimination in the United States — rather, “unconscious bias” is. On dealing with issues of division and inequality in the U.S., Kristof said that small actions are able to enact larger changes over time. “[We have] the sense that these problems are just so vast that anything we do is going to be a drop in the bucket,” Kristof said. “So in a sense, what we do does end up being a drop in the bucket, but I’ve become a great believer in drops in the bucket as a way of building change.”

Applications released for the Latinx Leadership Institute Founded this past summer by Latinx student leaders at the University, the Latinx Leadership Institute offered information sessions and opened its application Monday. LLI will start its programming this spring and is designed to empower Latinx students to pursue leadership positions at the University.

Raquel Talbott, a fourth-year College student and Latinx Student Alliance president, is one of the co-founders of LLI. She said that the program was formed over the summer to address a need among the Latinx student body for more leadership development services.

Alex Cintron, a third-year College student and

Student Council’s vice president for administration, said the program is designed to provide a space for Latinx students to cultivate leadership skills and professionalism.Talbott said while she values leadership within the Latinx community, the aim of LLI is to encourage Latinx students to get involved in leadership positions in the greater University community.

LLI is designed for first- and second-year students, and the group is hoping to recruit around 30 to 40 participants for this spring. The six-week program will start Feb. 14 and run through March 28.

Participants will meet on a weekly basis.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24

Curry School hosts summit on statewide teacher shortage

EMMA FEINMAN | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Over 3,500 University alumni and guests gathered in the ammpitheatre for YAR festivities.

Researchers, state policymakers and educators from Virginia’s colleges and public school systems gathered at the Curry School of Education Oct. 24 to discuss the details, causes of and solutions to the state’s teacher shortage crisis.

Speakers included Virginia Secretary of Education Dietra Trent and State Superintendent for Public Instruction Steve Staples. The event also included a fireside chat between Curry School Dean Bob Pianta, Gov. Terry McAuliffe and others.

Staples discussed several possible causes for the shortage, including teacher salaries not matching other career fields and the high cost of college debt.

He also pointed to a decline in enrollment in teacher preparation programs nationwide and a lack of mentorship and support for new teachers leading to high turnover rates.

According to McAuliffe, the varying degree of teacher shortages from district to district present is one of the most difficult challenges to address.

“In certain areas it’s a tougher challenge for a teacher in a classroom and we need to recognize that,” McAuliffe said. “The higher poverty rate [areas are] the hardest places to get our teachers and we need to reflect that and do something about it.”

www.cavalierdaily.com • NEWS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017

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Two Honor Committee members debate single sanction Honor, Jefferson Society co-host debate in Jefferson Hall Jenna Wichterman | Senior Writer The Honor Committee and the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society co-hosted a debate about Honor’s single-sanction system Tuesday evening in Jefferson Hall.

The debate topic was documented on the Facebook event as: “The Honor system at the University of Virginia should preserve the single sanction.” The single-sanction system is the policy that if a student is found guilty of an Honor offense — lying, cheating or stealing — at trial, they will be expelled from the University.

Owen Gallogly, a Law student and Honor Committee representative, defended the single sanction system.

Jeffrey Warren, a fourth-year College student and the Honor Committee’s vice chair for hearings, argued against the single-sanction system, in favor of a multi-sanction system.

Devin Rossin, a fourth-year College student and Honor Committee chair, introduced the debate. He said the Honor system is celebrating its 175th birthday this year, and that in all its history, it has operated under a single-sanction system. However, this has been greatly challenged in recent years. He said that this decision ultimately belongs to current students.

“The most defining trait of the Honor system is that it is, has, and always will be the fact that it's entirely student-run,” Rossin said. “This system belongs to you, and what does it mean to not lie, cheat, or steal 175 years after the inception of our system is in your hands.”

Gallogly kicked off the debate with the philosophical underpinnings of his defense of the single-sanction system. He said that the belief that lying, cheating and stealing are absolute wrongs is uniquely rare in that it is universal across most societies and cultures throughout history. He said that this ideal undergirds the Honor system.

Referring to the Honor system, Gallogly said, “It represents our aspiration to achieve a culture of perfect ethical behavior that we know to be simultaneously impossible and invaluable, both achievable and worthy of pursuit.”

He referred to the single-sanction, informed retraction and conscientious retraction systems as working together to produce a just system.

With informed retraction, a student who has come under investigation for an Honor offense may choose to admit guilt and take two semesters off from the University, but still be allowed to return. With conscientious retraction, a student who has not been reported to the Honor Committee for an offense may admit their guilt and make amends without the consequence of expulsion.

“The sanction reflects our aspiration to foster a community of trust completely free of dishonest behavior, while the CR and the IR acknowledge our own fallible humanity,” Gallogly said. “Just as the single sanction system is justified and reinforced by the retractions, so too are the retractions justified and reinforced by the singlae sanction system.”

Gallogly also said he wanted to debunk the myth that the single-sanction system does not enjoy democratic support amongst students.

“When faced with a concrete choice between a single-sanction system and a multiple-sanction alternative, the vast majority of students have come to the same conclusion I have,” Gallogly said.

Warren then gave his argument.

He mentioned the significant gap between cheating rates and reporting rates. He cited a 2006 study in which faculty were asked to recall the last time they were faced with a suspected example of cheating. He said that of those certain they had observed cheating, only 16 percent reported it to the Committee. Of those who merely suspected cheating, only one percent reported it to the Committee. Warren said that when asked for their reasons, there were five major responses among the faculty.

“All five of these reasons can really be traced back in one way or another to the sanction we impose,” Warren said.

About the 65 percent who said they didn’t have enough evidence to report the suspected honor offense, Warren said that this indicates that they either didn’t personally believe the strength of the evidence merited expulsion or thought a jury would remain unconvinced. Warren also said that for the 32 percent who said that the single-sanction provided too harsh a punishment for the perceived infraction, these professors believed that expulsion under the single-sanction was sometimes unproportional to the offense.

Of the 23 percent that said they weren’t confident the guilty student would be punished, Warren said this connects to the evidentiary standard required by a single-sanction system.

“It’s a stretch to imagine that the single sanction really has no bearing on the verdict that juries return,” Warren said. “The more extreme the sanction, the more ironclad the evidence must be.”

Of the 22 percent who said that the reporting process was too time-consuming, Warren attributed this too to the process required by such a high evidentiary standard demanded by the single-sanction system.

Finally, of the 21 percent who had qualms with the single-sanction sys-

tem, Warren said, “they didn’t want to be responsible for having a student dismissed from the University.”

Warren argued that inconsistent reporting amongst faculty leads to unfair application of the Honor system.

“Even if you believe in retributive justice, you must surely believe in evenhanded retribution,” Warren said. “If one is to be punished for a crime, so should all who commit it.”

He also mentioned the benefits of

increases in cheating we might see, which would then be reported to the committee and be addressed,” Warren said.

During Warren’s rebuttal time, he said the IR is not a sufficient counterbalance to the harshness of the single-sanction system because it can sometimes incentivize innocent students to plead guilty so as to avoid the risk of expulsion.

“What if they didn’t even commit the offense but they know that the

He also crystallized the core of the debate.

“The crux of the difference in this debate revolves around the purpose of the system,” Gallogly said. “So to me, the purpose of the system is not to catch all cheaters. The goal of Honor to me is to create and protect the environment … the culture of Honor at this University.”

Olivier Weiss, a third-year College student and debate and oratory chair for the Jefferson Society, said

BEN BURKE | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Honor Committee representatives Owen Gallogly, left, and Jeffrey Warren, right, debate the single sanction system in Jefferson Hall.

rehabilitation in the Honor system.

“It is just common sense to give fallible, mistake-prone young people who are still developing more than one chance at anything, but particularly at developing themselves,” Warren said.

During the Q&A portion of the debate, an audience member noted that the 2006 study cited by Warren occurred before IR and CR were introduced, and thus fail to subvert the current system. Warren responded that this is the most recent evidence available, and that a similar study has been conducted recently and will be released in the next several weeks.

Another audience member said it seemed that cheating would occur more frequently should a multi-sanction system be put in place. Warren responded by emphasizing the primacy of evenhanded retribution over perfect deterrence.

“I think that even-handed justice is more important than the small

evidence against them looks pretty strong and looks like they did, and then they’re overwhelmed by the possibility of maybe being found guilty at a hearing?” Warren said.

Warren also responded to Gallogly’s argument that the single-sanction enjoys democratic support. He said that students have an even lower reporting rate than faculty.

“While they may believe in the single-sanction system in the abstract, they certainly don’t buy into it or believe in it in fact,” Warren said.

In his rebuttal, Gallogly acknowledged the challenges of low reporting rates. But he said that preserving the culture of Honor was more important than perfect enforcement of the Honor Code.

“I don’t think that in the name of making sure that everyone gets some sort of punishment for cheating, we should abandon the effort to reach the unkeepable promise,” Gallogly said.

both organizations had a reason to host the debate.

“Honor, of course has an incredibly important role in effectuating student self-governance here at the University,” Weiss said. “And the Jefferson Society also has an important role in elevating enhancing discourse here at the University and providing a forum for these kinds of discussions.”

In an interview with The Cavalier Daily after the debate, Rossin said that the purpose of the event was to allow students to hear both sides of the issue.

“I think something like this, where students can hear deep and nuanced concerns from two people who have a large degree of familiarity with the system on two different sides of the aisle, would lead to hopefully a more substantive understanding of the process,” Rossin said.

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Women’s Center raises awareness for domestic violence October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month Riley Walsh | Associate Editor Colorful t-shirts flapped in the breeze outside New Cabell, each emblazoned with a message written by a survivor of intimate partner violence. Events held by the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center taking place on Grounds and activities by student groups are part of a broader push for education and community engagement during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“At the Women’s Center we have a whole program on Gender, Violence, and Social Change and we’ve been doing this work for a long time,” said Claire Kaplan, director of the center’s gender violence and social change program.

The events and activism during this month on Grounds highlight two kinds of abuse — domestic violence and intimate partner violence.

“Intimate partner violence is a broader term, so that’s including any kind of intimate relationship, so same-sex relationships, dating,” Kaplan said. “Often when people think of domestic violence they think of married couples with kids, that kind of thing, and in the law that’s actually the case in Virginia. You have to be cohabi-

tating, married, have a child in common, that type of thing. But most people, at least undergraduates, are doing none of the above.

Some are, but most are in a relationship.”

Domestic violence is related, but has distinct qualities, according to Kaplan.

“Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors, using power and control in the context of a relationship and is intended for control of one partner by another,” Kaplan said. “The key pieces are that it is about power and control, it’s in a relationship and it has to happen more than once.”

On Grounds, the issue has been made clearly visible, through both tabling by the Women’s Center on the Lawn and the events in October.

“These are events to make the issue visible since a lot of college students do experience intimate partner violence or domestic abuse, even though we don’t typically think of it as something that can happen to college students,”said Hannah Mezzacappa, a fourth-year College student and Gender Violence and Social Change intern. “It’s important to

raise awareness about this issue and issues of gender based violence in general.”

Education and activism about domestic violence has been steadily growing, but the murder of University student Yeardley Love in 2010 caused a rise in awareness, Kaplan said.

Yeardley Love was a University student and athlete killed by ex-boyfriend and University student George Huguely in 2010.

Huguely was convicted on charges of first-degree murder and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

“The awareness was sort of incrementally growing over the years and became really obvious when Yeardley Love was murdered by her boyfriend George Huguely,” Kaplan said. “Though we had had students murdered in the past by partners, it just didn’t somehow seem to get the attention. The work of her [Love’s] family has been pretty significant in terms of educating nationally about this issue.”

The campaigns that were hosted around Grounds are part of a broader push for education by organizations like the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action

Alliance and a push for updated laws in the Virginia General Assembly.

The Red Flag campaign is a push for awareness, education and the importance of bystander intervention for students on college campuses.

“The Red Flag campaign is something that was devised by the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance for college campuses,” Kaplan said. “It’s awareness, it’s really strictly posters and media and stuff. It’s not a particular curriculum, but it’s about bystander intervention and what peers can do if their friends are having difficulties.”

All students were invited to participate in the Red Flag campaign that took place last week, not just survivors of violence.

“Anyone can write on a red flag,” Mezzacappa said during the event. “What happens is that you can either write a red flag, or warning sign or an abusive relationship, or you can write a positive relationship form instead.”

The other campaign that took place on the Lawn was the clothesline project, where messages from victims were publicly displayed

on hanging shirts.

“This is only for survivors of gender-based violence. They can write whatever they would like on a t-shirt and we hang it on the clothesline. So of them can be pretty intense, so we have this trigger warning here,” Mezzacappa said. “It’s supposed to be empowering, raising awareness while still raising the voice of the survivor.”

As for the General Assembly, Kaplan referenced a change in attitude following Love’s murder that led to more inclusive laws to protect non-married and dating victims.

“The laws actually actually did not include those types of relationships, so if someone was being abused, they couldn’t get a protective order, they couldn’t use the resources that someone who was married could get, even if they were being terrorized by someone,” Kaplan said. “It was actually Yeardley’s murder that kind of woke up the General Assembly, even though we had been trying for years to get some laws that would include dating couples.”

StudCo conducts Student Activities Fee spending audit First-ever audit to include study of spending since 2007, CIO census Thomas Roades | Associate Editor Student Council is currently conducting the first-ever audit of spending under the Student Activities Fee. All University students pay $50 per year into the SAF, which is then used to fund student activities at Student Council’s discretion.

The audit of SAF spending was first announced at the Sept. 19 Student Senate meeting. Ty Zirkle, a third-year College student and Student Council’s vice president for organizations, said the audit would begin with data collection and eventually include a CIO census.

“We are looking for high student engagement since this affects all of us,” Zirkle said at the meeting.

Zirkle’s responsibilities as vice president for organizations include approving new CIOs and allocating money to fund them. Therefore, he is heading up the audit effort, although he said he hopes to expand the effort to include other Student Council committees as the process moves forward.

So far, Zirkle has worked closely with Alex Cintron — a fellow third-

year College student and the vice president for administration — and administrators from University business services to collect data on CIOs’ spending since 2007. Both Zirkle and Cintron agreed that since this is the first-ever audit of SAF spending, but it’s still too early to say what sort of changes might be made as a result.

“We’re not looking to put the cart before the horse in terms of what we do with the data,” Cintron said in an interview. “We want to see the data and evaluate it, and that’s something that hasn't been done before.”

Still, Zirkle was optimistic that the audit would help Student Council work more effectively to support CIOs in the future.

“We’re interested in restructuring it to be better for CIOs and students in general,” Zirkle told The Cavalier Daily. “Always the goal will be to support [CIOs].”

Logistically, Zirkle said the audit has been a challenge. He said the University’s policy of allowing students plenty of freedom to self-govern is generally beneficial to Student Coun-

cil, but that it also means there’s little oversight or record-keeping.

“There is very little administrative oversight or involvement with the SAF,” he said. “There’s just not the institutional memory I think is necessary.”

Zirkle has worked with business services to gather the data on CIO spending from the past 10 years. Every organization is designated a task number, to track their spending and other information, but beyond that they’re not clearly categorized.

Zirkle said some clubs are grouped into “projects,” which are broad categories of organizations. Groups such as club sports and Madison House are also each designated as their own projects.

“And then everything else is ‘other clubs,’ which is quite a lot, especially when you have cultural organizations in there next to academic organizations,” he said. “That doesn’t help us a lot especially in terms of supporting these organizations.”

The uncategorized “other clubs” include approximately 350 CIOs —

some of which are still active and others defunct, Zirkle said.

The next step, he said, will be putting those miscellaneous clubs into their relevant categories in order to gain more useful insights from the data.

“We have the go-ahead from business services to reshape these categories,” Zirkle said.

He plans to analyze trends from different categories of CIOs to learn how Student Council can better support them, and also to study the different types of expenditures listed.

“We could look at spending on lodging, how much is being spent on travel, how much is being spent on equipment,” he said. “I think that’ll add a different dimension to it that’s very important. It’ll help us see, in theory, how much money is going away from Grounds, how much is staying on Grounds.”

Once this analysis is complete, Zirkle plans to reach out for student input on the data, primarily through the aforementioned CIO Census.

Since all students pay into the SAF, he

said it’s important for students to have a say in where that money goes. “[The census] will be unbiased, but it’ll get at the root of these questions, to find out where student sentiment is at and how it lines up with our spending,” Zirkle said.

That step of the process is still a ways off, though. Zirkle said his goal is to have the census out early in the spring semester of 2018.

Though the results of the audit remain to be seen, Zirkle emphasized that no organizations will be receiving major cuts or any sort of massive overhaul — instead, he said Student Council will work with whatever organizations or University partners necessary to improve the support system for CIOs. “This is for the future, and making sure that future Student Councils are better equipped to handle the varied challenges that face students every single year,” Cintron said.

www.cavalierdaily.com • NEWS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017

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ADAPT kicks off Safe Halloween Week Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team hosts week of events to encourage students to exercise safe drinking behaviors Bridget Starrs and Nafisa Mazumdar | Staff Writers The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team is running their fifth-annual Safe Halloween Week Oct. 23-31. The student organization is hosting events throughout the week to promote safety and awareness of alcohol abuse during Halloween weekend.

ADAPT will give out free Halloween-themed merchandise, such as water bottles and candy to the first 1,000 students who sign their pledge to practice safe behaviors during Halloween. By encouraging students to sign the pledge, ADAPT hopes to reduce alcohol-related risks and incidents.

“This year, we ordered a thousand water bottles to give away

to people who sign the pledge, so we’re aiming for about a thousand, but we want to go over that if we can,”said Miranda Gali, a fourth-year College student and ADAPT co-chair.

“A lot of studies have proven that signing a pledge to practice safe behaviors will tangibly improve outcomes in terms of the students practicing safe behaviors,” said Aditya Narayan, a fourth-year College student and ADAPT intern. “This is closely related to social norms theory, which states that if students think that other students are [also] practicing safe habits … then they’ll be more willing to practice safe habits than if they think they are in the minority.”

On Tuesday afternoon, ADAPT hosted a tabling event at the University Programs Council’s Puppies and Pumpkins event, and later that evening, hosted a Halloween game night.

“Usually we have a lot of positive response,” Gali said. “Students become involved by signing our pledge. They pledge to be an active bystander, take care of their friends [and] practice safe drinking behaviors.” “[Students] see that other people are at a party, maybe drinking, and they feel like they need to drink in order to catch up,” Narayan said. “They think, ‘Everyone’s doing it, so I have to as well.’ So we’re just trying to promote the fact that that’s

not necessarily the case. Usually, high-risk drinking is in the minority at U.Va., and is the minority of students at U.Va.” Narayan also highlighted the increased amount of funding and sponsorship for ADAPT from various organizations and commented on their goals to increase the number of signatures from last year.

This year, ADAPT is organizing Safe Halloween Week with sponsorship from the U.Va Parents’ Fund, University Judiciary Committee, Hoos Got Your Back, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Arts & Sciences Council, Insomnia Cookies, Chi Psi fraternity and Housing and Residence Life.

“I think that all of this sup-

port from the immediate community indicates that people are starting to understand that what we’re doing empirically is working,” Narayan said. “Last year we had roughly 1,100 pledges, so this year we’re hoping for 1,300.”

On Wednesday and Thursday, tabling will take place on the South Lawn from 10:45 a.m. to 2 p.m., and on Friday at the same time at Student Health on the corner of Brandon Avenue.

ADAPT will also have evening hours on Wednesday and Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena and Alderman Library, respectively. The rain site for all events is the first floor lobby of Student Health.

Students propose food bank, Election Day transportation Student Senate hears proposals to provide SafeRide vans for student voters, U.Va. food bank Thomas Roades | Associate Editor The Student Senate met Tuesday night to hear two presentations — one proposing a University food bank and another laying out plans for shuttles to bring students to the polls on Election Day. Both initiatives received over 90 percent support from the contracted independent organization and Student Council members in the audience.

Although this was the second Student Senate meeting of the semester, it was the first in which the attendees voted on whether or not to lend their support to each initiative.

Ty Zirkle, a third-year College student and Student Council’s vice president for organizations, said at the first meeting of the Student Senate that the vote is an opportunity to bring added attention to initiatives that need extra support.

“The purpose of the Student Senate is to present proposals that need to gain the support of the student body to propel them to the administration or the Board of Visitors,” he said at the Sept. 19 meeting.

On Tuesday, the audience first heard from Alex Cintron, a third-year College student and Student Council vice president for administration, who presented the food bank initiative.

According to his presentation, at least 900 University students are at risk of food inse-

curity, while only about 50 students took advantage of existing resources to alleviate food insecurity provided by the Office of the Dean of Students during the 2016-17 academic year.

“As a solution to this problem, we are proposing the U.Va. student community food bank,” Cintron said. “Several of our peer institutions have already begun similar initiatives.”

He cited existing food bank or food pantry initiatives at Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University and Michigan State University.

His presentation laid out the food bank’s mission — to make essential foodstuffs and life goods available for students and staff free of charge in order to combat food insecurity at the University.

After defining the initiative’s purpose, Cintron went into the logistics of the project — the budget, possible locations and community partners that will be involved.

“The driving force behind the initiative will be partnerships with local organizations,” he said.

“Madison House volunteers will be tasked with the functioning of the food bank on a day-to-day basis.”

He estimated the cost of the initiative for the 2017-18 school year to be approximately $14,000, some of which he said had been

secured from Student Council allocations and the Student Activities Fee. He also noted Student Council has already applied to the Parents Fund to acquire the remaining necessary funding.

In discussing potential locations for the food bank, Cintron mentioned several possibilities but emphasized the Green Room adjacent to Runk Dining Hall as the ideal spot. He said its proximity to the dining hall and its size make it perfect for the food bank — it’s large enough to store the necessary goods, and the dining hall next door will be donating food.

He closed by requesting audience members’ support in cementing the Runk Green Room as the food bank’s home base.

“We’d like the CIO community’s support in overcoming the last great hurdle for this project — acquiring a permanent, suitable location in the Runk Green Room,” he said.

Elizabeth Parker, a fourthyear College student and cochair of Student Council’s Legislative Affairs Committee, spoke next, presenting on a program to provide shuttles for students to get to the polls on Election Day. Parker described her efforts in 2016 with the University Democrats to work with the University and community partners to find some way to transport students to polling places.

She believed the issue to be especially salient for first-years, who are not allowed to have cars on Grounds. Coupled with the fact that classes are still in session on Election Day, she worried these students would have no chance to vote.

“We wanted to hone in on these first-years and [Resident Advisors],” she said. “By not providing rides to these students on Election Day, we are disenfranchising them.”

She also noted the complexity of getting to the polls, as students have to go to a variety of different polling precincts on Election Day, depending on where they live.

“Voting at U.Va. is pretty difficult,” Parker said. “In telling the story of the voter shuttles, it’s important to remember there are six polling locations at U.Va.”

By Election Day 2016, she said that CIOs worked together to get a comprehensive list of methods of transportation to each polling place on the University’s parking and transportation website. A community organization called CAR2Vote assisted with transportation, and four SafeRide vans were repurposed to give students rides to the polls.

“The only thing parking and transportation did not do was provide funding,” Parker said.

The total cost of the oper-

ation for the 2016 election was $1,600, and the Parents Fund and the Center for Politics covered the cost.

This year, Parker said, all of the same initiatives will be in place, except only three SafeRide vans will be used, as they anticipate lower turnout for this year’s gubernatorial election. This will also keep the costs down, as she said the necessary funding will be between $700 and $900.

Parker closed with a request for CIO support for the initiatives — particularly monetary support.

“We’re in the process of looking for funding sources,” she said.

“We’re really looking for funding from CIOs.” Following the two presentations, the audience members voted electronically on whether or not they supported each initiative. Both received the support of over 90 percent of the students in attendance.

Student Senate will reconvene for its next meeting Nov. 28 in Newcomb Theatre.

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Battle of the bowls: Chopt and Roots face-off Which restaurant offers the superior salad?

LIFE Nothing beats the satisfaction of eating a deliciously-made salad. The fresh crunch of veggies and flavorful dressing always leave me feeling healthy and refreshed. Chopt and Roots both offer University students a delightful selection of fresh salads, but when the craving hits, which one is the best option?

I started my salad tasting at Chopt, located on Barracks Road. As a first-year, reaching Chopt is quite a lengthy bus ride away, so my standards were set pretty high for a salad worth a 30-minute trip. Chopt did not disappoint.

There was hardly a line when I arrived, so I walked right up to the salad bar after perusing the menu. I decided to order the Santa Fe salad with chicken because it was recommended as a favorite for first-time customers. The chicken was moist and seasoned with what tasted like chili powder and paprika, giving a little spice to the salad. It also had

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Ally Donberger | Food Columnist perfectly ripened avocado, grape tomatoes, corn, pepper jack cheese and fried onions. I topped it with the suggested Sweet & Smoky Chipotle Vinaigrette.

All the flavors from the variety of toppings blended very nicely together. What made it even better was that the servers actually chopped — as the name suggests — the salad into the perfect bite-sized pieces so a knife was not necessary when eating. They also mixed up the salad so that every piece was covered with the dressing and all the toppings were evenly dispersed throughout.

Everything about this salad worked. The dressing paired well with all the ingredients, although it was unexpectedly spicy. I enjoyed the crunch of the fried onions on top, and the avocado was the ideal consistency. All the ingredients expressed the southwestern flair of Sante Fe. Next up was Roots. After a long morning of classes, the prospect of a

fresh salad was too tempting to pass up. Conveniently located on the Corner, Roots is just a short walk away from the Rotunda. The popularity of this University favorite was evident by the line out the door when I arrived. However, the wait was not bad and the salad bar staff was very efficient in keeping the line moving.

I decided to order a custom salad when I reached the front of the line.

I got kale, chicken, grape tomatoes, avocado, cheddar cheese and corn with the red wine vinegar dressing.

Compared to my Santa Fe salad from Chopt, this was a much lighter option. It did not have any spice to it, but still had a nice flavor due to the grilled chicken on top. The toppings were all very fresh and crisp and the kale added a nice crunch to the salad.

I wish there were a wider selection of dressings to go with my own salad creation. Due to the Mediterranean theme of the ingredients, my somewhat southwestern-feeling creation didn’t seem to match any of my

choices, leaving the red wine vinegar as the safest option. Also, the tomatoes were not plump or crisp and had a rather mushy consistency. However, the chicken was perfectly grilled and gave much needed flavor to my rather bland salad.

My salad from Roots reflected the healthy and simple theme Roots promotes — nothing overdone or fancy, just fresh ingredients and a natural atmosphere.

Both Chopt and Roots preach a quick and healthy means for fast food. However, Chopt had a wider variety of options, providing everything Roots had and more.

Both locations allow customers to build their own salad, but Chopt had such a diverse selection of menu options that I didn’t feel the desire to branch out.

Roots also did not chop up the salad greens before serving as Chopt did. Nothing is more annoying than trying to jam a huge piece of lettuce into my mouth because it isn’t bite-

sized. Chopt’s salad was the perfect cut and allowed me to enjoy my salad without feeling impolite. Also, Roots had fewer beverage options. While the absence of sugar-filled drinks is not necessarily a bad thing, Chopt substituted the typical soda fountain offerings with light lemonade and tea as well as water.

The atmosphere at Chopt was more open and laid-back than Roots.

Roots is confined into a tiny storefront with limited seating on the floor above. Chopt felt very open and light without the worry of finding a seat in a smaller area.

On a day full of classes and homework, Roots is definitely the more practical option for University students. The salads taste great and Roots provides an easily portable bite to grab on the way to class or during a break. However, if time permits, I would recommend going to Chopt instead for a wider variety and a less hectic environment.

Everything you can drink instead of a pumpkin spice latte All you need to know about the coffee shops near Grounds Marlena Becker | Food Columnist Fall is finally upon us, and a hot drink in your hands is the best solution to the cold temperatures. If you agree, but are not basic enough to walk into class with a venti pumpkin spice latte, don’t worry — there are tons of alternatives close to Grounds.

On the Corner Grit Coffee Located in what appears to be an old house, Grit’s aesthetic is absolutely adorable. With everything from creative chalkings to comfy vintage couches, the vibe is the perfect combination of trendy and cozy. The espresso bar and a few tables are on the ground floor, and the entire upstairs is a study space and is usually pretty quiet. If you need a change of scenery after being in the library all day, I would definitely recommend trying out Grit. The shop uses Trager Brothers Coffee, which is both organic and local. The line moves quickly, and the drinks are always delicious — plus the latte art is off the charts.

Words of Wisdom — Don’t go to Grit if you’re starving. Usually by the end of the day, they only have one or two questionable looking pastries.

Shenandoah Joe (Corner Joe) Located on West Main St. near Arch’s Frozen Yogurt and Cafe Caturra, Shenandoah Joe — creatively nicknamed Corner Joe — is pleasantly tucked away from the bustle of

MARLENA BECKER | THE CAVALIER DAILY

There are tons of alternatives to the stereotypical fall drink — the pumpkin spice latte.

the Corner. If you’re a fan of all things local, then Shenandoah Joe is the place for you. They roast all of their 25 blends right here in Charlottesville.

The Corner location has a full espresso bar, as well as an impressive selection of loose leaf tea. The building is very cozy and a great place to study. However, it is a pretty small place — so don’t be surprised if you can’t find a seat. Corner Joe feels like the perfect escape from whatever is stressing you out. Stop by the next time you need a break and a coffee named after the

Blue Ridge Mountains.

Words of Wisdom: Splurge and try a pour over — drip coffee made to order. This is one of the few places you can get them — and apparently, true coffee connoisseurs can taste a huge difference.

Oakhurst Inn Cafe and Espresso Bar Not technically on the Corner, Oakhurst is located just off the corner of Jefferson Park Avenue and Emmet and is an absolute hidden gem! As a hotel cafe with a full-service espresso bar, Oakhurst allows you to grab a

latte to go or to sit in the cozy dining room and work. Serving the same delicious Trager Brothers Coffee and espresso as Grit, the drinks are excellent, and they make the chai in-house! The homemade bacon gruyère scones are also a must — get there early enough, and they will still be warm. Oakhurst is the best place to go when you have class in 30 minutes, but want to feel hours away from Grounds.

Words of Wisdom: Go for brunch.

As nice as it is to stop by for a coffee, to get the true Oakhurst experience, you must try the food. Believe me, you will not regret it.

At Barracks Road HotCakes Sometimes it’s nice to go out into the “real world” for a few hours, and HotCakes offers the perfect escape.

Serving Shenandoah Joe coffee and equipped with a full espresso bar, the drinks are reliable — if not amazing — and the Nutella latte is especially good! HotCakes also offers a variety of delicious food — think fancy deli.

It’s ideal if you’re going to be studying through breakfast, lunch and dinner.

There are lots of different seating options, including a new outdoor patio. You’ll hardly ever have a problem finding a place to spread out and get comfortable. If you’re heading to Barracks, go ahead and make a day of it at HotCakes.

Words of Wisdom: They have University specials! Show your student ID, and ask about the specials of the month. You can usually snag a free drink or dessert if you spend the right amount of money.

Greenberry’s If you have never been to an actual Greenberry’s coffee shop, please try out this one. As much as I rely on the Greenberry’s in both Alderman and Clark — and feel utterly blessed not to be drinking dining hall coffee — going to the location at Barracks Road is a completely different experience.

Although the coffee is technically the same, I find all the drinks to be just a little bit better at the “real” Greenberry’s. Here, cozy music plays and lots of arm chairs abound, making those seven readings you’ve put off until Sunday afternoon just a little more tolerable.

Words of Wisdom: Try the iced green tea, or “Sport Tea,” as they call it. It’s the perfect drink for when you need caffeine, but cannot rationalize having a fourth cup of coffee. Added bonus — it’s delicious.

Take some time this fall to explore all of these great options around Grounds. Pick the one you like best, and soon you will realize there’s nothing better than being a regular at your favorite coffee shop.

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017

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These are the rules of modern romance I’m just not that into them Miriam Nixon | Life Columnist As a 20-year-old woman, I’d say I’m still in the early stages of the dating game. I consider myself fairly lucky to have met all of my previous boyfriends in person first and built a friendship before a relationship. But this year, I found myself newly single and naïve to the modern dating world. I went through the normal phases of a break-up — the initial sadness and refusal to get out of bed, followed by consuming enough chocolate to feed a small town for a week — let’s not talk about that — and drinking too much wine and announcing that “I’m never speaking to another boy again.” Finally, my friends convinced me to “get back out there” and “take my mind off it” and download Tinder.

At first, I found it quite fun — although perhaps this was due to the bottle of wine I’d nearly finished — swiping merrily, as though I was playing a game, feeling like I’d won when I got the vibration letting me know I’d matched with someone. During this time, I per-

fected my talent of making a snap judgement of someone in under three seconds, based on their pictures, short biography and whether they were holding a dead fish or not. The messages I received from some of the guys who “slid into my DMs” were unusual to say the least.

“Do you like whales? If so, do you want to come and hump back at mine?” followed by a whale GIF. “Are you Dumbledore, because I heard you’re the real head master?”

One guy used an interesting combination of emojis to show his intentions. I’ll leave that one up to your imagination.

Within the first few weeks, the app started to lose its appeal.

If, miraculously, I found someone worthy of meeting up with, then I’d have to face the many unspoken rules of texting. Huddled around my iPhone with my friends firing instructions at me, more thought would go into crafting each message than I ever gave to homework.

Be flirty but not too much — play hard to get. Use the right emo-

jis — don’t slip an eggplant in there unless that’s really your intention.

Don’t double text. Don’t talk about your feelings. Pretend to be busy.

Leave a certain amount of time before replying. Double their response time. For example, if they take 10 minutes to reply, you take 20 — an idea I found ridiculous. If each person follows this rule then you’ll end up going years without talking.

I’d never put so much thought into appearing thoughtless, and it was exhausting.

By following these rules, you can secure yourself an actual date — or is it a date? Neither of you are sure because one of the rules is not to label it — you’re just “hanging out.” If you’re lucky, you can score yourself something more than just “Netflix and chill,” perhaps even dinner. But remember — it’s not a date. Sure, he might pay for your meal. Sure, he might ask you to “hang out” again some time. Sure, you might even have sex with him. Still not a date.

For some bizarre reason, society has decided that the person

who cares less about the relationship has the upper hand. The next few months will generally follow these three steps — First, you’ll go on dates that aren’t actually dates.

Then, your relationship will flourish into “seeing” each other — which basically means the other person is probably screwing around, but it’s okay because you aren’t actually dating. Finally, one of you will broach the “what are we” topic, and you’ll decide to be exclusive.

Don’t be fooled, this doesn’t mean you’re going out yet — although for the life of me, I can’t tell you what the difference is, apart from the title. One day, perhaps when you’re married with children, or when your hair is gray and your teeth have fallen out, your lover will grasp your wrinkled, arthritic hand and finally ask you to be his girlfriend. Maybe you’ll even make it “Facebook Official” — a sign of your partner’s unconditional love for you and the highest form of flattery.

This is the dating world we live

in, and I have to say — I’m not a fan.

If I don’t follow these rules, then I lose the game and any chances of finding true love and end up living with dozens of cats who eventually eat my decaying body when I die in my home alone. I don’t want love to be a game. I don’t want to play by these rules. If this is how my future dating life has to be, then I wholeheartedly reject it.

Yes, asking someone out over technology is less awkward, and it’s easy to erase a message and pretend the whole thing never happened.

It’s easy to hide behind a screen — easy to shape and edit the personality you want to show. But love isn’t supposed to be easy. Love is a mess, and life is a mess, too. There isn’t a set of rules that you can follow to make it all fall neatly in place.

If someone makes you happy, let them know. If you like being with someone, tell them. If you want to talk about your feelings, then why the hell not? Life is too short to waste time playing games.

Questioning the infantile nature of ‘mature’ love On growing older, but not growing up Victoria Laboz | Life Columnist As I sit on the dewy grass of Klöckner Stadium, watching the women’s soccer game, my eyes wander to the groups of kids lining the fence. A group of young girls twists their frizzy hair around the tips of their fingers as they whisper in each other’s ears, and groups of young boys run up the hill and throw themselves down the face of it, tumbling into the fence.

One of the young girls begins to giggle and run towards a dirtstained boy as her friend yells “No!” and reaches out to grab a handful of her shirt to pull her back, but the girl tugs herself loose from her feeble grip. The runaway girl whispers in the boy’s ear what was whispered to her only seconds ago, and the boy leans over to look at the other

girl, whose palms cradle her horrified and humiliated face. The band aid was torn off, the cat was out of the bag, the beans were spilled, her secret was out — he now knew that she liked him.

I can imagine that initial sense of panic — the feeling that things will never be the same again, the overwhelming vulnerability of being the person who cares more about someone than they care about you. But why are we so embarrassed to show that we genuinely care about someone? As childishly exaggerated the situation may seem at face value, do we ever manage to mature from such infantile reactions to love?

Embarrassed as she was, the little girl who tried to pull her friend back in an effort to reverse her im-

pending shame probably wanted nothing more than for him to know the truth. So then, why is it that we act in opposition to the way we feel?

Is it simply a defense mechanism so that we aren’t exposed to the truth we somehow simultaneously do and don’t want to know?

Personally, my most feared response is not rejection, but silence.

No response is a response in and of itself. However, it’s the most tormenting kind — it creates an obsession with considering all of the possibilities about where I went wrong and constantly being selfaware about what I could have done differently. There is no closure with silence — just scattered memories left for me to piece back together and replay in my mind through the

eyes of the other person.

Our perceptions of reality are porous, and we attempt to fill in the gaps with what we desperately want to believe is true. But the satisfaction harbored from our imaginations only results in a more palpable sense of our dissatisfaction in not knowing. Thinking about what could be fails to fill the void of what truly is.

I don’t know what happened to the girl afterwards — whether she walked away from her group of friends with her fingers interlocked with his or walked back to her parents’ car with a torrent of tears guided by the topography of her face.

It has taken me 18 years and a series of failed friendships to real-

ize that the way others treat you is never an accurate reflection of what you deserve, and that the way you act towards someone is never a precise portrayal of how you truly feel about them. The fact of the matter is that people will move on even when you haven’t, and you’re still left hoping the new memories you make will bury the old ones until they eventually decompose into the past. Someone once told me that the extent of our grief parallels the depth of our love — but if we feel like we will never stop grieving, does that mean that we will never stop loving?

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TOP 10 Ways To Enjoy

Fall

Erratic weather changes, debilitating workload can’t hinder your autumnal joy Grace Breiner | Top Ten Writer

1. Layer your definitively adorable clothes

4. Enjoy a soothing, warm beverage

With the temperature jumping up and down every day with a yoyo-like tendency, you could be freezing in the morning as you dazedly speed-walk to your 8 a.m. and sweating by the time you’re free from classes. Sure, mornings are a hectic time — you’re happy if you even remember to put in your contacts, let alone check the weather — but there’s always time to grab a sweater. Your comfort must come first. Besides — you might actually be able to pay attention in class if you aren’t so focused on how frosty you are. On the other hand, you’ll be very relieved to have the option of removing that sweater when you’re crossing Grounds in a sweat to get to your 2 p.m. class.

It is finally the season in which I can order my coffee hot without feeling the shame of a quizzical look from the barista — it’s considered a sin not to order iced coffee when it’s blazing outside. Now you can warm your frosted hands with a climate-appropriate hot drink.

Fall flavors are in full swing as well — order an unabashedly seasonal drink and revel in the coziness of your comfort.

2. Take a nap on the Lawn

Yes, I’ve done this, and yes, I’m quite sure I looked homeless while doing it — though who cares when you’re that comfortable? It’s such a time-saver to skip trekking all the way back to your humble abode when your energy drops off midday. Besides — I know this is probably not scientifically backed, but I think sunlight really does give you more energy.

We’re all just little plants, and we need to soak up the sun.

Take a break to photosynthesize and sleep, all at the same time. You may have leaves in your hair and all over your clothes afterwards, but maybe people will just think you’re super seasonal.

3. Study in an autumnal have

The upstairs of Starbucks is a fall wonderland. Please, take advantage of the fall vibes and read by the warm fire in a comfy chair. Be warned though — it is heavily air-conditioned, so you might also need a fuzzy sweater to snuggle up in. Any study space that has windows could also envelop you in fall comfort. Clemons, Alderman and Clark all offer a place of refuge from the sporadic weather while also providing a glimpse of Grounds enlivened with the lightly toasted foliage of fall.

5. Listen to abrasively acoustic music I tend to listen to acoustic music year-round, but it feels particularly appropriate when the leaves are falling along with the temperature. There’s an “Autumn Acoustic” playlist on Spotify that makes me immediately want to be in a pumpkin patch or in the middle of a fall-steeped forest. I like to listen to music while I walk because it distracts me from the horror of moderate exercise, and I find this music to be particularly comforting as I climb graduated incline after graduated incline

6. Venture outside The outdoors is hard to avoid since we are forced to walk from class to class. However, the real outdoors — I’m talking lots of trees, plants, maybe a random cabin or lumberjack somewhere in the picture — can actually be kind of pleasant. While my natural disdain for the wilderness is completely justified, fall is the one season that subsumes my bitterness and impels me to wander around in the picturesque oasis that is nature. To be quite fair, I think my overall repulsion of the outdoors is mutual considering an acorn fell on me, not once, but twice. The indoors wouldn’t do me like that.

7. Live the dreams of a clichéd Instagram fanatic Beginning sometime around late September, it is literally impossible to open any social media without seeing someone in a pumpkin patch or idyllic park. Captions like, “Leaf it to you to be the best ever!” and, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers!” flood my screen and fill me with emotions of slight disdain and mild envy. While I’m outwardly rolling my eyes, internally my fall-bewitched heart melts just a little bit. If you choose to embrace the cliché, there are plenty of hiking trails, pumpkin patches and ’Gram-worthy places all over Grounds. If you don’t favor the overdone — yet classically pleasing — Instagrams, you can at least enjoy being sardonically amused by them.

8. Apple pick your problems away I personally have never experienced apple picking. I know — it’s tragic, but I’ve heard good things. If you don’t choose to actually put in the physical effort of picking the apples, first of all — kudos to you. Second of all, they sell apple-entrenched foods that will surely fulfill all of your fall dreams. Even the mere idea of apple picking is so aggressively seasonal that it seems like something you just have to do.

9.

Revel in the heroic return of your academic success

It’s been a bumpy ride, but you’re definitely bouncing back.

Whether you’re still taking midterms, writing papers or coasting your way to finals, your grades are most certainly equilibrating from their tragic fall to their phoenix-like rise. If they aren’t yet, they will soon! Use the catalytic energy of fall to return your grades to where they belong.

10. Have a happy Halloween You didn’t think I would forget about the most exciting thing to happen at the University since fall break, did you? Halloween blazes into existence on Grounds with the flare of Mariah Carey on New Year’s Eve. Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn is such a hallmark event that I distinctly remember being enticed into coming to this University with hazy pictures of candy and adorable children — not to sound creepy. Haunted houses, costume parties, horror movies — what’s not to love?

S

SPORTS Nestled on the Long Island Sound in coastal Connecticut, there’s a town called Westport, home to financiers and Sunday sailing on the water. It’s also home to two second-year students and entrepreneurs, Jared Vishno and Grant Sirlin — best friends turned business partners.

Versatile athletes throughout their childhood, both found their athletic niche in high school — soccer for Sirlin and basketball for Vishno. They trained younger athletes in their respective specialty sports until leaving for college — both had enrolled at the Univers ity. They had no idea that within just months of leaving Westport for Charlottesville, their shared sports experiences would land them in the University’s Entrepreneurship Cup. They were even more unaware that they’d win.

“When my dad first reached out to me about coming up with an idea for [the Entrepreneurship Cup], the first person I thought of was Jared,” Sirlin said. “We both like the same things, we’re both very academically focused and we’re both motivated. I knew if I wanted to create something, the best person to do it with would be him.”

And so, in typical first-year fashion, the two sat in a dorm room with a whiteboard, brainstorming ideas and bouncing them off of one another. Unbeknownst to them, less than a year after those dry-erase board sessions, they’d be sitting across from one another answering questions about an actual company that they’re running together — Division 1-On-1 trainers, an athletic training program that transforms the way young athletes are able to learn from Division I collegians.

After nearly two decades of friendship, their bond has turned into something more — it’s turned into a highly successful business relationship. The two have been friends since birth, thanks to their dads — who are also best friends — bringing them together. While family introduced the two, sports were what kept Vishno and Sirlin connected as they grew older, and it’s what keeps them connected now.

From Little League to middle school soccer to sprints at Carr’s Hill Field, their friendship has always flourished alongside their athletic careers. “[Grant] would always play right wing in soccer when we were younger and I’d play up top,” Vishno said.

“Whenever he’d get the ball, I just immediately knew to start running because it was coming my way. He would blast it up field, I’d run on to it … From kindergarten through 10th grade, that was our signature thing. We’ve had that chemistry ever since day one.”

That chemistry extended beyond fields and family and has now brought them together in the business world as

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017

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The faces behind U.Va.’s newest sports startup From friends to business partners, two first-years are taking on the NCAA Emily Caron | Feature Writer

EMILY CARON | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Jated Vishno and Grant Sirlin co-founed Division 1-On-1 Trainers, the first NCAA-approved service of its kind.

well.

As first-years at the University, the newly-minted business partners beat over 50 undergraduate and graduate student start-ups in the University’s 2016 Entrepreneurship Cup with their Division 1-On-1 trainers pitch.

The NCAA-compliant company not only allows younger athletes to receive personal training from some of the country’s top athletes, but it also empowers those athletes by providing an unprecedented opportunity to make money without the fear of violating the strict NCAA rules that regulate student-athlete’s lives.

The current NCAA Bylaws pre-

vent student-athletes from collecting compensation for any employment related to their “athletic reputation,” but they are able to “receive compensation for teaching or coaching sport skills or techniques in his or her sport on a feefor-lesson basis,” given that they meet an extensive number of requirements.

Those requirements also prohibit use of an athlete’s identity for promotional purposes, which makes finding students to train difficult for Division I athletes. Division 1-on-1 trainers ensures that all the complicated requirements are met and takes care of the marketing elements for athletes — focusing their on athletes’ abilities as

trainers, rather than their reputations.

They’ve created an NCAA-compliant employment system that many didn’t know was even possible. All the rules and regulations prevented people from digging deeper.

“We work within the rules of the NCAA — it’s explicitly in their bylaws,” Sirlin said. “We were looking for a way to work in the rules but still give student athletes this opportunity. We found it literally right there in the bylaws and were able to then get student athletes on board.”

As the startup continues to grow in Charlottesville, so does the relationship between Vishno and Sirlin.

“Our whole lives we’ve been working to be our best and competing against one another on a team — so translating that to business, we know we’ve had 15 years of experience seeing how hard the other person works,” Vishno said. “We knew if we could both put that same mentality and work ethic into something like this, we’d have the best chance of success.

And we’re still learning and still growing with that.”

After becoming business partners, Vishno and Sirlin had to overcome a series of significant obstacles before reaching success.

“As we’ve been working on this business we’ve had so many different people saying no to us, so many people telling us we shouldn’t be doing this or that they can’t help us,” Vishno said. “The only thing to do is play it off, because if we got hung up on every single time someone rejected us, we’d be nowhere. We learn so much from the no’s.”

Their persistence has paid off. Division 1-On-1 trainers is up and running — albeit still in “beta” mode — but they plan to launch fully as soon as this spring. They’ve learned from the rejections and also learned from one another.

It’s evident in their unmistakable respect for one another. As Vishno and Sirlin talk about their business confidently, they take caution to not interrupt the other when they’re speaking in their respective areas of expertise.

Sirlin is the people person, focusing on parent outreach and customer acquisition. Vishno is the money man — the finance and logistics arm of the operation. There’s a mutual understanding and a palpable trust between the two, meaning there’s no second guessing the other’s strengths — they credit that fact with their partnership being rooted in a long-standing friendship.

“We have certain times where we’ll talk about the business, and other times where we go back to what our friendship was before,” Sirlin said. “We just had to figure out how to be both friends and partners.”

Vishno and Sirlin have become their own two-person team — one that was formed in the competitive Connecticut town of Westport and has come to fruition in the world of Charlottesville startups and sports.

But even beyond the opportunities they’re carving for themselves, they’re also opening doors for student athletes and young sports stars as well.

“Student athletes should definitely have the right to use their own identity or their skills and abilities related to their sport,” Vishno said. “So we think that our platform is the best alternative for the athletes given the circumstances in place.”

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BOWL GAMES ARE ‘EARNED, NOT GIVEN’ Typically, there are two types of Virginia football fans — the sharply cynical, “of course we lost again” pessimist, and the relentlessly hopeful, “we’ll get them next time” optimist.

However, the Cavaliers’ recent success has given rise to a new type of fan — the overly confident, “we have a bowl game in the bag” fool.

Much of the Wahoo faithful — including myself — has fallen into that third category this season. After Virginia received a shellacking from Boston College this past Saturday, though, it became frighteningly apparent that the Cavaliers are far from having a bowl game locked up.

Virginia football certainly gave its fan base many reasons to feel confident heading into Saturday’s game against Boston College. Standing at 5-1, the Cavaliers had strung together a four-game win streak — its longest since 2011, when the team last clinched a bowl game. In this streak, the Cavaliers handed Boise State its worst home loss in 16 years, knocked off a then-impressive 4-1 Duke team and defeated North Carolina for the first

time since 2009.

The Cavaliers gave fans long-awaited hope to start the season. The defense played tight, forcing multiple turnovers per game. The running game picked up, with junior halfback Jordan Ellis having a breakout start to the season. And senior quarterback Kurt Benkert finally appeared confident and began successfully taking shots down the field.

This winning streak instilled an undeserved cockiness in the Cavalier faithful, though. With the exception of Boise State, Virginia had not faced a true challenge, only playing teams with a record at or below .500. Additionally, given Boston College’s performance against Louisville — which included a 272-yard, four-touchdown day from true freshman halfback AJ Dillon and a 45-42 defeat of a former Heisman winner on his home turf — fans should not have seen Virginia’s success as infinite.

Virginia’s embarrassingly poor play on Saturday mirrored the fans’ underestimation of Boston College. From the very start of the game, Virginia

seemed off — the offense couldn’t remain on the field, and the defense uncharacteristically allowed big plays.

Ultimately, the Eagles stomped on the Cavaliers in a 41-10 beat-down, providing the program with one of its worst losses of this decade.

Discrepancies in on-field play aside, Boston College triumphed in this game because the team brought more of a fighting spirit to Scott Stadium than did Virginia. Entering Saturday’s match at 3-4, the Eagles seized an opportunity to continue to turn their season around and put themselves in position to clinch a bowl berth — they deserved to win.

Virginia, on the other hand, did not warrant a victory Saturday. In fact, if the Cavaliers continue to play in the same manner, they might not reach a bowl game at all this season.

Some might see this statement as a bit dramatic — after all, Virginia has five more attempts at reaching the magic number of six victories. However, one does not need to look very hard to see how an absolute disaster could turn into a reality.

No matter how many expectations Virginia football has shattered this season, it is difficult to imagine the Cavaliers winning any of their last three games. Louisville, albeit weaker this season, has one of the most prolific college quarterbacks in junior Lamar Jackson and the fourth-most offensive yards per game at 552.6. Noting that the contest is also an away match, Virginia will probably lose.

The following week, the Cavaliers will almost certainly fall to one of the best teams in college football — the No. 8 Miami Hurricanes — on the road.

And given the fact that Virginia has not taken down No. 13 Virginia Tech since 2003, it would be unwise to bet against the Cavaliers’ in-state rival this time around.

With three very difficult matches to end the season, Virginia must win one of these next two games if it wants to shatter a six-year dry spell. Yet, neither game is a cakewalk on paper. This Saturday, the Cavaliers are a threepoint underdog on the road against a 3-5 Pittsburgh team that, like Boston College, will be fighting to keep its

bowl hopes alive. Then, Virginia has to turn around and face yet another team on the bowl bubble — Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets face a probable loss coming at the hands of No. 7 Clemson this week and tough matchups against Virginia Tech and No. 3 Georgia down the road — they need to pick up two more wins to be bowl eligible and will come out swinging against the Cavaliers in Scott Stadium.

Virginia should be able to pick up at least one more victory — the team has played its best football in years.

However, to do so, the Cavaliers have to bring the fight in each of its remaining matchups. As Virginia Coach Bronco Mendenhall stated when taking over the football program, every goal — including a bowl game berth — is “earned, not given.”

BEN TOBIN is an Assistant Managing Editor for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at b.tobin@cavalierdaily.com or on Twitter at @TobinBen.

Carla Williams brings determination, imagination to U.Va. New athletics director boasts an extensive background in collegiate athletics Mariel Messier | Sports Editor Throughout her life, Carla Williams has always been preparing for the next step — the bigger step. The former collegiate basketball star has sought to stand out — even when growing up in LaGrange, Ga. — playing football and basketball with the boys in her local recreational center.

“From a very early age, I learned some very valuable lessons,” Williams said. “I learned no one has to feel sorry for you, so do not feel sorry for yourself. Whether you fall down or get knocked down, get up, try again, fight on. I learned how to compete against people who were seemingly bigger, stronger and faster than me. Don't be intimidated.”

Williams has taken the lessons she learned at a young age and applied them throughout her life. She played basketball at the University of Georgia from 1985 to 1989, where she scored 1,115 points and was a three-year starter.

Each position that Williams has held has been carefully planned, with one role preparing her for the next.

After playing basketball professionally in Spain in 1989, she joined the Georgia women’s basketball program as an assistant coach in 1991. While there, the Bulldogs reached the Final Four in 1995 and 1996, and finished as the NCAA runner-up in 1996. Afterwards, Williams transitioned into athletics administration, beginning as Georgia’s assistant director of compliance from 1996-1997.

“You know, my approach as a player, as an assistant coach, as an assistant AD, associate AD and all along the way has always been to be the very best in that job,” Williams said. “When I was an assistant coach, I wanted to be the best assistant coach in the country.”

Williams then moved onto Florida State, where she worked as a coordinator for student-athlete development and earned a Ph.D. in sports administration. From 2000-2004, she worked at Vanderbilt, where she started as assistant director and then became associate director for athletics in 2003.

Williams returned to Georgia in 2004 when she stepped into the role of associate athletic director. She was then promoted to senior associate athletic director, executive athletic director and, ultimately, deputy director of athletics.

“She has deep experience but also broad experience, having worked at three major universities,” University President Teresa Sullivan said. “Altogether she has more than 30 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics, as a student-athlete, coach and senior administrator.”

Williams will step into Virginia’s athletics director role which is currently held by Craig Littlepage — the ACC’s first African-American athletics director — as the first female African-American athletics director at a Power 5 school.

“I have played, coached and managed at the highest levels of the NCAA,

HANNAH MUSSI | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Carla Williams brings coaching and athletics administration experience to her new position as director of athletics.

and, yes — I am an African-American female,” Williams said. “I see that every morning when I wake up and look in the mirror.”

Gaining experience at virtually every level of the collegiate athletics experience, Williams has upheld her role and consistently exceeded expectations and is ready to take on a new challenge.

“I have served as a role model throughout my career as a student-athlete, as a coach and as an administrator,” Williams said. “For anyone who aspires to be in this position, it does not matter if you are black or white, male or female. If you aspire to be in this role one day, the most important thing you need to know is I am the athletics director at the University of Virginia because I have always done more than what was expected of me.”

Williams inherits a tradition of

excellence coming into the Virginia athletics department. Since 2002, the Cavaliers have collectively won 13 national championships and an ACC-leading 74 conference championships. Virginia also boasted an average student athlete GPA of 3.043 and had 323 student-athletes on the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2016-17.

“As we progressed, we realized that we found someone who does value the student experience and whose passion is making each student the success that he or she can be,” University Rector Rusty Conner said. “Not only on the playing field, but in the classroom as well.”

One of the key qualifications that Williams maintains is her experience with a successful football program — and that’s aside from playing quarterback and wide receiver growing up in LaGrange. Williams served as the ad-

ministrator for Georgia’s football and women’s basketball programs, where she oversaw ticketing, student services, academic support services, sports medicine and strength and conditioning.

“College athletics is a challenging enterprise,” Williams said. “The way that Virginia wants to do it is the way that I am built to do it, and we'll continue to focus on academic achievement. We'll do it with integrity. We'll give maximum effort, and we're going to come together as a team — not just within our different sports teams, but within the athletic department and within the Charlottesville community.”

Williams has accomplished all of this while raising a family of three children — Carmen, a senior at Georgia, Camryn, a freshman at Georgia and Joshua, an eighth grader — with her husband Brian, an associate professor of public administration and policy at Georgia.

Williams attributes her success and her assumption of Virginia’s director of athletics role to the things that have carried her throughout her life — a big imagination and the motivated drive to get things done.

“Dreams do not know genders or colors,” Williams said. “I am living proof that anything is possible if you have the nerve and the imagination to believe it can happen.”

www.cavalierdaily.com • SPORTS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017

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Football looks to right the ship at Pittsburgh Cavaliers receive second shot at securing a bowl game Alec Dougherty | Senior Associate Editor Separated from a bowl game berth by 60 minutes of play, the Virginia football did not come out of the locker room the way it planned last weekend, struggling mightily in a loss against Boston College. Despite the momentum-crushing setback, the Cavaliers (5-2, 2-1 ACC) have another golden opportunity to return to the postseason when they travel to play Pittsburgh this weekend.

The 41-10 loss to Boston College last weekend sent Virginia a wake-up call that not many were anticipating, with the team riding a four-game win streak. The Cavaliers struggled uncharacteristically in giving up big plays on defense, while its offense could barely sustain a drive, leading to a season high in points allowed and low in points scored. Virginia Coach Bronco Mendenhall had the tough task of helping his team regroup after the deflating loss, but luckily for him, he got support from one of his captains.

“I waited for all the players to

come off the field before I closed the door and went in the locker room, and when I closed the door, [senior free safety] Quin Blanding already had the entire team called up and he was addressing them,” Mendenhall said. “I didn't have to say a thing.

Quin said it best and said it more appropriately than I could, and he claimed ownership of not only the outcome but setting direction and going forward, which is pretty impressive.”

Blanding’s speech came at one of the lowest moments of the Cavaliers’ season, and his teammates seemed receptive to his message.

“Quin’s message was ... ‘We’re still a team and we’re all we’ve got,’” junior outside linebacker Chris Peace said. “It was basically a reality check.”

Having not reached a bowl game since 2011, getting so close to reaching one again seemed to have the Cavaliers jittery and anxious when they took the field last weekend. After coaching BYU to 11-consecutive

Players to watch #6 #53 Senior quarterback Kurt Benkert Benkert struggled against Boston College, completing just over 50 percent of his passes, throwing for only 126 yards with zero touchdowns and one ill-fated interception. Benkert was unable to establish a rhythm with his receivers. The deep ball, which had been a strength for Virginia this season, was absent — Virginia’s longest pass play of the afternoon was 19 yards. Benkert has been stellar for the most part this season and is one of the reasons Virginia had started off 5-1. With an away game against Pittsburgh coming up, Benkert and Virginia will have another shot at earning bowl eligibility for the first time since 2011.

To do so, Benkert must have a bounce-back performance and help uplift a Virginia offense that struggled throughout last Saturday’s game.

Senior linebacker Micah Kiser As a captain and anchor of Virginia’s front seven on defense, Kiser’s importance to this Saturday’s game will start with practice this week. Getting the defense’s mind back on track after its worst performance of the season will be paramount to getting the team in position to win against Pittsburgh.

Virginia Coach Bronco Mendenhall alluded to a lack of focus among the team due to the unavoidable noise of a bowl game, and he will need Kiser to snap the team back into focus with a big week of practice.

Kiser will also have to lead during the game on Saturday to make sure the defense has their assignments correct — an area that Mendenhall admitted the team struggled in against Boston College, especially on third down.

Like Boston College, Pittsburgh gives the appearance of a team that will run the ball a lot — but this assumption allowed Boston College to get some big plays in the passing game early on, along with several big rushes in the first quarter. Kiser will have to pull his unit together and make sure they can get off the field by making the right plays. The senior will be key to righting the ship against Pittsburgh after an uncharacteristically flawed performance.

appearances, Mendenhall said he didn’t tackle the issue of the bowl game rumblings at Virginia head on before this week. “[Whisperings of a bowl game] took a little bit ... Of the focus off of exactly what this needs to be,” Mendenhall said. “Our team needs every ounce of energy, every bit of concentration and every bit of preparation we can do to be on the field at the end of the game with a possible chance to win.”

While their minds may have been somewhat clouded, the Cavaliers know their toughness hasn’t faded and are confident they can get back on track this week on the road.

“We can definitely get back on track … That was just a knock down the high horse,” Peace said.

The benefit of Virginia’s early success this season is that the team has many more cracks at getting the elusive sixth win necessary to become bowl eligible. Coming off a somewhat competitive loss against ranked against then-No. 20 NC

State and a road victory at Duke, Pittsburgh (3-5, 1-3 ACC) will present a challenge to Virginia as a team building momentum, similar to Boston College.

Also like Boston College, Pittsburgh comes into the game with a similar run-first offensive identity.

The Panthers’ quarterback tandem of senior transfer Max Browne and sophomore Ben Dinucci has been pedestrian this season, with both averaging less than 200 passing yards per game and combining for eight touchdowns and five interceptions.

Pittsburgh junior running back Darrin Hall broke out with a monster performance against Duke last week, gashing the Blue Devils for 254 yards and three touchdowns. Even if the Cavaliers can stop Hall, however, getting third-and-long stops will be the major key to victory after they were burned by third-down plays against Boston College.

Virginia senior quarterback Kurt Benkert and the Cavalier offense have a chance to rebound against a

lighter defense than they faced last weekend. The Panthers have been exposed in both passing and rushing defense this season, allowing 270.4 passing yards and 163.6 rushing yards per game. Coming off his worst outing of the season in which he took some big hits, Benkert will look to regain form and confidence before the season’s hardest stretch of games begin over the next month.

Virginia comes into a road game off of a loss for the first time this season as it travels to Heinz Field to take on an improving Pittsburgh team. With last week’s loss behind them, the Cavaliers will look to come out strong and loose in hopes of not only clinching a bowl game, but getting their successful season back on track.

Kickoff between Virginia and Pittsburgh is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at Heinz Field.

Keys to the game THE

Starting fast on the road

Third and fourth down stops on defense

K E YS

TO FOOTBALL Virginia versus Pittsburgh — a breakdown

By CD Sports Staff With a four-game winning streak and an opportunity to clinch a bowl berth at home entering last weekend, the Virginia football team struggled against Boston College and was dominated in a 41-10 loss. The Cavaliers will have another go-around at securing a bowl berth this weekend as they get ready to take on Pittsburgh on the road. Here are some players and keys to watch out for as Virginia gets ready for another big ACC game.

MARIANA FRASER | THE CAVALIER DAILY

The road game Saturday will be Virginia’s third trip away from Scott Stadium this season. While the team won its first two road matchups, both came after a big home victory — the blowout win against Connecticut and the close thriller against Duke. The Cavaliers travel to Pittsburgh devoid of momentum — and in a hostile environment, they must make sure they come out with a strong opening quarter.

Opponents have outscored Virginia 31-28 in the first quarter this season, and with Pittsburgh also fighting to gain some wins to get back into bowl game contention, the Cavaliers cannot allow them to set the tone in the opening minutes. Showing some aggression on both sides of the ball — be it big passing plays on offense or blitzes on defense — can help Virginia take the air out of Heinz Field if they work. From there, the Cavaliers can play loose with some momentum at their backs from the get-go.

CHELSEA BENGSON | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Virginia struggled defensively against Boston College, giving up 41 points and 512 total yards. The Cavaliers especially struggled on third and fourth downs, often stopping the Eagles on the first two downs, but failing to stop them from getting a first down the third and fourth time around. Boston College finished 10 of 19 on third downs and two of three on fourth downs. This resulted in Virginia’s defense spending more time on the field, wearing the Cavaliers down as the game progressed and allowing the Eagles to continue piling on points.

The Cavalier defense has been stellar for the most part this season — it will be interesting to see if the team can bounce back and get back on track this Saturday against Pittsburgh.

THE CAVALIER DAILY

O

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LEAD EDITORIAL

Give implicit bias module resources to succeed

OPINION

For the module to have its intended effects, students and Resident Advisors need to have the resources to fully participate

T

he University administration recently decided to require that all first-year students complete an implicit bias module starting next Fall. The module, piloted by students living in Dillard residential dorms, was originally intended to be completed before their arrival on Grounds. However, the administration later determined to partner with Housing and Residence Life for students to take the test on Grounds.

This affords new students the opportunity to discuss their results with their Resident Advisors. Providing the opportunity for students to discuss their results with their Resident Advisor is important, because these conversations about race and bias are

desperately needed. Given the nature of the topic, discussions surrounding implicit bias can be uncomfortable, and Resident Advisors need to have the appropriate training to effectively moderate and answer any questions students may have.

It is important for the University to provide guidelines ensuring that all Resident Advisors are properly trained to facilitate that conversation. Training Resident Advisors to facilitate conversations provide students the opportunity to reflect on their biases and how they may come into play in their everyday lives. When investigating these subconscious biases, students need to have someone available who is able to understand their results and the

associated implications. Especially in the aftermath of the events of Aug. 11 and 12, we must ensure these conversations take place and are guided constructively. This is an incredibly sensitive issue and should be treated as such by the University administration. If the administration fails to provide the resources for Resident Advisors to have these discussions, they not only do a disservice to the Resident Advisor, but also to the students who deserve guidance when they are expected to participate in a discussion about such an important topic.

To make the best of this module and the opportunity it provides, the University should have first-year students attend a talk about implicit

bias, in addition to tasking Resident Advisors with discussing implicit bias with their residents. The University originally planned to have Dean of Students Allen Groves discuss the implicit bias module with students during orientation. The University should consider pursuing a similar program to orient the entire incoming class on the importance of understanding implicit bias, in much the same way that the Green Dot Orientation serves to educate first-years about sexual assault prevention. Students should have the opportunity to talk with professionals who are more knowledgeable and better equipped to discuss implicit bias with students, in addition to the conversations with their Resident Advisor.

By mandating the completion of this module, the University administration requires students to undergo a self-examination where their perceptions of themselves and their biases are challenged. If the administration institutes this module, it should also ensure that Resident Advisors are informed enough to speak to students about their results. The University administration should do more than disseminate the module — it should ensure that a productive discussion occurs afterwards.

While the module draws attention to implicit biases among students, it's more important to ensure that students reflect on these realizations.

THE CAVALIER DAILY THE CAVALIER DAILY The Cavalier Daily is a financially and editorially independent news organization staffed and managed entirely by students of the University of Virginia.

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.

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MANAGING BOARD Editor-in-Chief Mike Reingold Managing Editor Tim Dodson Executive Editor Carlos Lopez Operations Manager Danielle Dacanay Chief Financial Officer Grant Parker EDITORIAL BOARD Jacob Asch Jordan Brooks Carlos Lopez Brendan Novak Mike Reingold JUNIOR BOARD Assistant Managing Editors Lillian Gaertner Ben Tobin (SA) Hannah Boehlert (SA) Evan Davis (SA) Trent Lefkowitz (SA) Colette Marcellin (SA) Alix Nguyen

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News Editors Anna Higgins Hailey Ross (SA) Kate Bellows (SA) Alexis Gravely Sports Editors Mariel Messier Rahul Shah (SA) Jake Blank (SA) Alec Dougherty Life Editors Julie Bond Gracie Kreth Arts & Entertainment Editors Dan Goff Sam Henson (SA) Darby Delaney (SA) Thomas Roades Health & Science Editors Jessica Chandrasekhar Kate Lewis (SA) Tina Chai (SA) Ruhee Shah Focus Editor Hannah Hall Opinion Editors Brendan Novak Lucy Siegel (SA) Carly Mulvihill Humor Editor Brennan Lee

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CORRECTIONS In the Oct. 19, 2017 issue in the Focus article, “How the Board of Visitors get their seats,” the article noted that Board members are not reimbursed for their travel and lodging expenses. According to University Spokesperson Anthony de Bruyn, Board members can be reimbursed if they request it.

In the Oct. 19, 2017 issue in the Arts & Entertainment article, “A Mecca of creativity,” the article needed to be updated with the band’s proper name.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017

www.cavalierdaily.com • OPINION

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GENTRIFICATION CANNOT BE JUSTIFIED Ferguson’s column obtusely extolls the supposed virtues of gentrification, while ignoring the real damage it does to communities and individuals

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he story of housing in modern America is one of white economic development built on a foundation of black oppression. From racially restrictive covenants, to segregation in the form redlining sponsored by the Federal Housing Administration, to blockbusting, to “contract selling” and “urban renewal,” these policies did not simply wall off black residents into segregated neighborhoods; they preyed upon the earnings and economic development of black families.

Gentrification is simply the latest and most sanitized of these efforts. Any attempt to justify gentrification without this historical context, such as the obnoxiously titled “Don’t ignore the benefits of gentrification,” is doomed to fail from the start.

Opinion columnist Thomas Ferguson claims “decaying urban communities in need of renewal cannot afford to dismiss gentrification when it provides solutions to issues plaguing them.” Similarly, in 1960 Mayor Thomas J. Mitchie declared that “from a financial point of view, as well as from a social and cultural point of view, the substitution of a fine modern business section for the slum area now existing back of Vinegar Hill would be the most forward looking step that has been taken in Charlottesville in many, many years.” Regardless of Ferguson’s intent, he echoes destructive and patronizing argumentation that led Charlottesville to raze African-American communities in the 20th century.

In the last decade, Charlottesville’s African-American population has dropped from 22 percent to 19 percent as gentrification has caused an

all residents who moved to a different area ended up in a neighborhood with a lower median income than where they lived previously. This share was

Regardless of Ferguson’s intent, he echoes destructive and patronizing argumentation that led Charlottesville to raze African-American communities. affordable housing crisis in the city. If Ferguson were more aware about the community around him, he would see Charlottesville as a window into the negative effects of gentrification. On a macro level, the truth is more complicated than displacement of low-income and minority communities by gentrification simply being “rare” or “a myth” as the article he cites claims it is.

Studies do show that, during the first-wave of gentrification, residents are just as likely to leave gentrifying neighborhoods as non-gentrifying ones. However, this leaves out an important distinction. Residents who leave gentrifying neighborhoods often have no freedom of choice and are forced out by higher cost of living.

Furthermore, when those residents do move, they are more likely to end up in comparably worse neighborhoods with higher crime rates and inferior schools. Roughly 21 percent of

particularly high for low-income families displaced from gentrifying neighborhoods.

Although the studies cited by Ferguson paint a different picture on a macro level, we cannot ignore effects in the cities and neighborhoods where gentrification has a clearly documented detrimental impact. Washington D.C., the city formerly known as “The Chocolate City,” ceased to be majority black in 2010. Bed Stuy, a historically black neighborhood in Brooklyn, has seen its white population increase by 633 percent. No time was wasted in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to gentrify and displace most of the black neighborhoods in New Orleans.

These changes have affected thousands of people and their experiences cannot be ignored.Moreover, gentrification opens the door to predatory practices such as the sale of tax liens. When a city puts unpaid property taxes on

sale, they are bought by predatory investors and saddled with added interest that residents cannot possibly pay.

As a result, the residents often end up losing their homes. This practice is how 76 year old former Marine Bennie Coleman ended up losing the home he had owned for decades, over a measly $134 unpaid tax. These policies are often meant to encourage investment in gentrifying development. White supremacists have clearly grasped at the racial nature of these practices.

In Atlanta, Ku Klux Klan lawyer Sam Dickinson has utilized tax-lien sales to displace black residents while enriching himself.

The primary assumption of Ferguson’s column is that gentrification is a positive good. The column cites a study which primarily notes a higher quality of life for public housing residents in gentrified neighborhoods, leaving out key parts of the picture.

His claim that gentrification improves school systems is patently false. New residents to gentrifying neighborhoods tend to send their children to private schools and charter schools, while the segregated public school systems flounder. This is the resilience of white supremacy. “Lower crime” within gentrifying neighborhoods also means more profiling and surveillance of black residents. For instance, in Charlottesville black residents are nine times more likely to be stopped by the police. High rent prices and new competitors also cuts at what

should be the backbone of minority and low-income communities: small businesses. One would assume more conservatives would be outraged about this aspect of gentrification.

Other effects of gentrification are less tangible though. Harlem, an eminent site of cultural and historical significance for African Americans, has been especially hard hit by gentrification. Michael Henry Adams’ column in The New York Times explains how “The Renaissance, where Duke Ellington performed, and the Childs Memorial Temple Church of God in Christ, where Malcolm X’s funeral was held, have been demolished. Nightlife fixtures like Smalls’ Paradise and Lenox Lounge are gone.” The cultural value of these fixtures to a community and to our country cannot be measured in dollars or a quality of life study.

Ferguson’s column draws from studies which challenge and complicate our traditional view of gentrification. Yet, no one benefits from a column which essentially tells minority populations to be silent and grateful for gentrification. Especially when Charlottesville residents are currently suffering its oppressive effects.

WES GOBAR is a fourth-year in the College and President of the Black Student Alliance.

THE IMPLICIT BIAS MODULE IS FLAWED The research behind the Implicit Association Test shows that U.Va.’s money would be more constructively spent elsewhere

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he University recently decided to require all first-year students to complete an implicit bias module in order to “build a more inclusive community” and to “make U.Va. a place where everyone feels welcome and people are treated equitably.” However, the module which the University uses — the Implicit Association Test, or IAT — has been proven to be inconclusive in describing bias. Researchers, including the University’s own Brian Nosek, have found that exploring implicit bias as a way to address prejudice is ineffective.

Given the scientifically proven inconsistencies of the IAT and its failure to effect positive behavioral change, the University should withdraw its decision to force first-years to complete the module.

There are inherent flaws to the design of the IAT which prevent it from accurately detecting racial and ethnic bias, including the standard of neutrality of the test. According to a study published by the Journal of Applied Psychology, “the zero point on the IAT fails to map onto behavioral racial neutrality and ... Researchers’

tendency to treat the zero point as valid likely leads to significant overestimation of the degree of implicit bias in populations.” Therefore, those who are told by the IAT that they are racially and ethnically biased are very likely to hold no such prejudices.

Additionally, the same study states that the “[IAT] is commonly interpreted as showing high levels of implicit prejudice among Americans. These interpretations have fueled calls for changes in organizational and legal practices, but such applications are problematic because the IAT is scored on an arbitrary psychological metric.”

While arbitrary metrics such as those used in the IAT are common in psychological studies because they allow researchers to better explore hypothetical situations, they are not useful in providing data from which scholars can draw definitive conclusions. This is largely because it is impossible to interpret the degree to which differing results based on such metrics vary. In the context of the IAT, it would be impossible to know how much more biased one person is compared to another based on differing test results, ef-

fectively rendering the results useless.

Not only are there inherent flaws

because research has failed to find definitive links between implicit biases

While tests such as the IAT fail to address prejudice, there are other methods that organically break down biases.

to the test which make it ineffective at describing bias, but addressing prejudice by focusing resources and discussion on a person’s alleged implicit bias does not even have a significant implications for explicit behaviors.

The creators of the IAT, including Brian Nosek, Executive Director of the Center for Open Science at the University, concede that they “found little evidence that changes in implicit bias mediate changes in explicit bias or behavior.” Therefore, even if the test could consistently measure an individual’s implicit bias, such discoveries are useless in changing biased behavior

and those biases manifesting themselves through expressed behaviors.

While tests such as the IAT fail to address prejudice, there are other methods that organically break down biases. Heather McGhee, President of Demos, an ideologically liberal public policy organization which focuses on addressing inequality, offered advice to a white man from North Carolina who called into C-SPAN’s Washington Journal asking her how he could overcome his own racial prejudices.

She recommended that he “get to know black families, to not form opinions about people of color from the

evening news, to join a black church (if he’s religious), to read the rich history of the African American community and to start conversations within his own community about race.”

While the University is using the IAT to start conversations about bias, it is not a wise allocation of University time and resources to focus so much energy and attention to the ineffective and inaccurate test. Instead, positive change comes about through organic interactions such as those McGhee mentioned. The University, in order to foster the interactions which lead to productive conversations about bias, should continue initiatives such as the “Excellence Through Diversity Distinguished Learning Series.” Such initiatives allow students to gain exposure to experts and scholars from an array of fields including politics, academia and law while also effectively addressing the need for countering bias through mutual understanding.

TOM FERGUSON is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavaleirdaily.com.

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THE CAVALIER DAILY

OPINION • www.cavalierdaily.com

STUDENTS SHOULD COMMIT TO SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS U.Va. could have a great impact on conservation with widespread student support

U

.Va.Charlottesville City Council declared a drought warning and imposed restrictions for all city residents and businesses on Oct. 11. Citing recent dry weather and low reservoir levels, the Council stressed the importance of individual efforts to conserve water.

The University has expressed its commitment to the conservation effort, and has communicated with students the importance of their individual contributions.

In fact, this commitment extends beyond the current, local drought as part of Sustainability at U.Va., the University’s initiative to improve its footprint on Grounds.

As members of the Charlottesville community, students have a responsibility to consciously reduce their water usage while the drought is in effect. In addition, students should continue their conservation efforts beyond the drought period, and incorporate sustainable practices into their daily lifestyles.

The mandatory restrictions put in place by the Council mainly apply to outdoor watering and washing activities, which usually don’t apply to students. There are actions students can take, however, which will effectively contribute to the ongoing conser-

vation effort. Water usage while brushing your teeth, washing your hands and shaving can be reduced without inconvenience. Students can also limit the time they spend in the shower, use the dishwasher as opposed to washing dishes by hand and run full laundry loads.

Moreover, the city is offering free water conservation kits which can help limit water usage. These modifications may seem insignificant, but the combination of these individual efforts will greatly improve the drought.

In addition to its current mandatory drought restrictions, Sustainability at U.Va. works to improve the wellbeing of the community by monitoring ongoing environmental processes and modifying practices to improve its environmental impact. The University has set a goal of reducing potable water use 25 percent below 2010 levels by 2035. Records show significant progress towards that goal, with 2016 seeing a 10.4 percent reduction. To reach desired reduction in water usage, the entire University community must contribute to water conservation efforts. In modifying their daily water use during the drought, students will recognize the ease with which they can contribute to the University’s Sus-

tainability Plan. Once students recognize their potential impact, they should extend their efforts beyond this drought period.

Sustainability at U.Va. addresses the University’s environmental impact beyond its water usage,

and continued efforts by the community will only bring greater success.

The University provides members of the community with several meaningful ways to implement sustainable practices in their

Creating a sustainable future for the University is critical to ensuring continued excellence as an institution.

in areas such as energy consumption, waste diversion, land usage and several others. The Board of Visitors’ June 2017 Sustainability Update highlights the University’s leadership in solar energy and its success in waste diversion at the Feb. 27 sold-out men’s basketball game against UNC, where 93.4 percent of waste was diverted from landfills. The report also mentioned a 11 percent reduction from 2009 greenhouse gas emissions levels and a 10 percent reduction from 2010 building energy use intensity levels. The University’s efforts to improve sustainability are reaping rewards,

daily lives. The program offers sustainability training for its employees, through which individuals can learn how to adopt environmentally friendly practices.

The University also consistently announces sustainability tips and programs tailored to students, including monthly green tips and funding for student groups focused on sustainability. The Green Leaders initiative, recently established by the Student Council Sustainability Committee, fosters collaboration between the 43 sustainability-focused student groups. These groups cover a wide variety of interests, and are all

dedicated to increasing sustainability in their respective fields.

Clearly, students have many pathways to make their daily lives more sustainable.

Creating a sustainable future for the University is critical to ensuring continued excellence as an institution. The growing number of remarkable initiatives and programs — both academic and extracurricular — requires increased use of finite resources.

This increased use raises the cost of energy and other basic goods such as fresh water. To adequately account for this increased use, the University must implement strategies that conserve resources and protect the environment.

Students must also recognize the integral role sustainability will play in their futures, and then implement sustainable practices in their daily lives. The current drought in Charlottesville offers students an opportunity to start living a sustainable lifestyle — a practice that should continue for the rest of their lives.

JAKE LICHTENSTEIN is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at j.lichtenstein@cavalierdaily.com.

PROTESTING DURING THE ANTHEM IS PATRIOTIC It’s a shame that athletes and celebrities are condemned for exercising their rights to protest for issues they deem important

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olin Kaepernick’s “Take a Knee” movement has gained significant traction in the current zeitgeist. His first comments about the demonstration were blunt: “I’m not looking for approval; I have to stand up for people who are oppressed.” As we know, Kaepernick certainly hasn’t received universal approval. The “Take a Knee” movement consists of kneeling during the National Anthem to bring awareness to police brutality and racial injustice in the United States. Naysayers claim the act is fundamentally disrespectful to the United States, the flag and the military.

However, a closer inspection of the movement and the history of peaceful protest shows that taking a knee during the anthem is actually itself an act of patriotism.

According to the U.S. Flag Code, kneeling during the anthem is a conduct violation at worst, but not disrespectful. However, the indignation of this demonstration rarely stems from concerns about the flag code.

Many simply want players to perform proper patriotism and nationalism and seek to prevent fans from feeling uncomfortable. This discomfort arises from the intersection of activism and

entertainment and a deeply vested wish to remove politics from pastimes.

Ultimately, the demand for NFL players to stop taking a knee is undue,

protest should be respected, especially by dissenters criticizing players of exhibiting “poor patriotism.” The act of silently taking a knee is constitution-

Ultimately, the demand for NFL players to stop taking a knee is undue, unfair and antithetical to American values.

unfair and antithetical to American values.

Kaepernick and other player’s protests come from a place of urgency — police brutality exists and needs to be addressed. In the first half of 2017, 27 unarmed citizens were fatally shot. According to tracking by the Washington Post on police shootings, black males account for 25 percent of those unarmed fatalities, yet African Americans demographically comprise only six percent of the U.S. population. This is a ludicrously imbalanced ratio. Regardless of the motives behind the demonstrations, the right to

ally protected under the First Amendment. The outrage against this act of protest has arguably unleashed more un-American behavior in opposition.

President Donald Trump’s ineloquent words have incited more hateful speech than Kaepernick and his followers’ kneeling ever have instigated on the field.

Lastly, the difficulty of navigating racial conversations for activists is immense. Angry protests are labeled as antithetical to peaceful protesting.

LeBron James’ choice to wear a t-shirt that read “I can’t breathe” to highlight Eric Garner’s final words was con-

demned. The Hamilton cast’s eloquent plea to Vice President Mike Pence was also panned as disrespectful by many.

Anyone, especially a person of color, speaking on this issue is ultimately put into a double bind. Both the speech they are criticized for and the speech deemed “respectful” by critics are out of bounds. The question remains — is there any type of protest that can utilized by people of color and not be deemed offensive? Again, there’s the inescapable burden of the present on Kaepernick, but the promise of historic vindication is promising. Look no further than the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City, when Tommie Smith and John Carlos iconically raised their fists in protest for “all the working-class people — black and white — in Harlem who had to struggle and work with their hands all day.”

Public outrage in the 60s eerily mirrors today’s tumult. The crowd went silent and proceeded to scream the national anthem so loudly that, in the words of Carlos’ memoir, “It was like they were saying, ‘Oh, you anti-American sons of bitches. We’re going to shove the s—t down your throat!” With the passage of time, most Americans would now identify this protest as one of the most

memorable and impactful statements in American history. However, like Kaepernick, they too suffered, bearing unbelievable public pressure and loss of opportunity in the peak of the careers, by the choice to make the personal political.

Ironically, one of the most common criticisms against kneeling is the claim that it is disrespectful to the military. However, the blood shed by our military men and women serves to protect these types of speech. As one veteran states, he served because “the flag represented our freedoms — freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion.” Indeed, NFL players are living out these freedoms. Let us not let the white stripes represent the privilege of whiteness to speak. Let the flag’s stripes be true to their real intent. Be proud that players make a stand by sitting down.

KATHERINE SMITH is a Viewpoint writer for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.

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HUMOR It is mid-October. Fall is in full swing. It is a time of great joy and celebration among lovers of crunching leaves, chunky sweaters and crisp, cool breezes blowing the aroma of bonfires through the morning air. However, all is not well in this autumnal fairytale land.

There is a menace lurking behind all this mirth. Hiding just beneath our collective nose is a coalition of villains whose crimes are almost too heinous to describe and too numerous to count. You may know one yourself. You may be one yourself. The ubiquity of this problem is such that it often goes unnoticed

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CARTOON

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017

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Pumpkin season begins or overlooked. I am speaking, of course, of pumpkin season.

Per the guidelines of the National Fruit and Vegetable Preservation Association, whose purview includes gourds, pumpkins and most legumes, pumpkin season officially begins the day after Labor Day and lasts until the first of December. During this time, it is legal to hunt and kill wild pumpkins in designated areas, provided the hunter possesses a license. Unlicensed pumpkin hunting is illegal in most states, even during pumpkin season, and may be punished by a fine of up to $10,000 and/or a period of incarceration of up to 12 months, depending on the location and time of hunting, and the pumpkin population affected.

But the effects of pumpkin season extend far beyond fines and jail time for illicit hunting. Each year, a staggering number of pumpkins

are torn from their local habitats, killed and either eaten, or have their carcasses put on morose display as “seasonal décor.” Even more disturbingly, in the United States, pumpkin hunters have been known to disembowel live pumpkins, carving sinister faces or other shapes into their hollow flesh, and placing candles inside the husks to illuminate them at night—a terrifying trophy from a gruesome sport.

These mutilated pumpkins have come to be known, cruelly, as “jacko-lanterns.”

As if these common practices were not horrific enough, certain niche groups have recently begun a seasonal tradition called “punkin’ [pumpkin] chunkin’,” in which pumpkins are hurled from catapults or air-powered cannons across open fields to their explosive demise. Gut-wrenching as it sounds, punkin’ chunkin’ is viewed

as a form of grisly entertainment among its practitioners and fans.

They delight in seeing the innocent orange balls soar through the air, and relish the carnage of seeds and stringy entrails that follows.

Indeed, not since the bison has any species in America — the world, perhaps — experienced such a threat to its existence like the pumpkin during pumpkin season.

The practice of pumpkin-hunting has become so prolific, and the fate of the pumpkin so tenuous, that it is futile, impossible rather, to keep track of current pumpkin populations. It is unknown how many pumpkins currently remain in the wild, nor how many pumpkins are killed or dislocated each year, but the latter figure is estimated to be upwards of ten million. And this is only including the most commonly-hunted variety of pumpkin, to say nothing of more specific types

or subspecies.

This is not a call to action. This is a wake-up call. These are the facts, sobering as they may be to accept. For too long a majority of people have tolerated pumpkin hunting. Even the most vocal fruit and vegetable rights groups have gained little traction beyond local spheres. Enough is enough. As long as pumpkin hunting is deemed acceptable, it will forever besmirch the name of fall and everything it stands for. It is time to wake up.

The fate of a noble and majestic living thing — the humble pumpkin — hangs in the balance.

JESS MILLER is a Humor columnist.

She can be reached at humor@cavalierdaily.com

TRAVIS BELL | THE CAVALIER DAILY

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THE CAVALIER DAILY

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WEEKLY CROSSWORD PUZZLE Dan Goff | Arts and Entertainment Editor

PUZZLES

EVENTS Thursday 10/26 • Women’s Soccer vs. Duke, 7pm, Klockner Stadium • Excellence Through Diversity Learning Series: Shankar Vedantam, 6-7:30, Old Cabell • UVA Research Park Presents: Fall Food Trucks, 11am-2pm, Research Park • Liberty in North Korea at UVA Presents: Kung Fu Tea Fundraiser, 12-10:30pm, Kung Fu Tea • OFFScreen Presents: Night of the Living Dead Movie Screening, 7-9pm, UVA Chapel • Machine Learning Club General Body Meeting, 6-7:30pm, Olsson 120 • Camp Kesem Trinity Fundraiser, 9-11pm, Trinity Irish Pub • 2017 Fall Job & Internship Fair Day 2, 10am-3pm, Newcomb Hall • Shakespeare on the Lawn Presents: Two Gentlemen of Verona, 8pm, SACΩ Friday 10/27 • Shakespeare on the Lawn Presents: Two Gentlemen of Verona, 8pm, SAC • UVA Research Park Presents: Fall Food Trucks, 11am-2pm, Research Parkw • UPC Presents: Pigeon Hole-oween, 10pm-1am, The Pigeon Hole • Brown College Hauntings on the Hill Presents: The Gravest Show on Earth, 7pm-12am • Swing Club Presents: Halloween Swing Dance, 7:15-10pm, 1515 • Free Food Friday with Curry School and Batten, 12-1pm, Multicultural Student Center • Final Friday, 5:30-7:30pm, The Fralin Museum of Art • ESC Presents: Take a Break and Check Your Brakes, 1-3pm, Thornton Hall • 2017 CHoosE Fall Concert: Light After Darkness, 8-10pm, McLeod Hall Saturday 10/28 • Charlottesville Men’s Tennis Pro Challenger, all day, Boar’s Head Sports Club • Shakespeare on the Lawn Presents: Two Gentlemen of Verona, 8pm, SAC

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Brown College Hauntings on the Hill Presents: The Gravest Show on Earth, 7pm-12am Hoos In Trebel’s 2017 Fall Concert: ComHIT Book, 8-10pm, McLeod Hall Free Bridge Quintet Presents: 20th Anniversary Concert, 8-10pm, Old Cabell Hall Men’s Rugby vs. Georgetown, 1-4:30pm, Mad Bowl UVA Class of 2018 Presents: Mixology Class, 2-3:30pm, The Graduate Hotel Hoothon Presents: Tailgate with Kendall St. Company, 12:30-3:30pm, SAE

Sunday 10/29 • Charlottesville Men’s Tennis Pro Challenger, all day, Boar’s Head Sports Club • Dog Fest and Halloween, 12-5pm, IX Art Park Monday 10/30 • Charlottesville Men’s Tennis Pro Challenger, all day, Boar’s Head Sports Club • UVA Research Park Presents: Fall Food Trucks, Research Park • Multiculturalism at UVA, 5-7pm, Multicultural Student Center Tuesday 10/31 • Charlottesville Men’s Tennis Pro Challenger, all day, Boar’s Head Sports Club • UVA Research Park Presents: Fall Food Trucks, 11am-2pm, Research Park • Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn, 4-6pm, The Lawn • Paffles on the Lawn, 4-6pm, The Lawn Wednesday 11/1 • Charlottesville Men’s Tennis Pro Challenger, all day, Boar’s Head Sports Club • UVA Research Park Presents: Fall Food Trucks, 11am-2pm, Research Park • DREAMers on Grounds Present: Walk Out & Show Up for Justice, 11:11am7pm, Amphitheatre

Across 1. Branch of mathematics in which letters stand for numbers and other values 8. Type of knee surgery 13. Childish term for bullies 14. Fight, quarrel 15. Lit on fire 16. People who make a boat move 17. Persistently annoyed 18. Popular Spice Girls track 19. Individual thing 20. Affectionate squeeze 21. Received 22. App designing business 24. ___ Alpha Christian org. on Grounds 26. Village in the Netherlands 27. Stupid people 30. Barbital 32. Well-known drama org. on Grounds abbreviated 35. Deliberately avoids using 36. Regret 37. Product of 32-across and 9-down orgs.

38. Previous writer-inresidence Lydia 43. Sick 44. Not the truth 45. "Rival" school Virginia ___ 46. "Take a hike" two words 48. Unit of heat energy 51. Assumed identities 52. Hard-to-pronounce stinging sea creature 53. Metric unit of weight English spelling 54. Irrational / incoherent talks

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47. "Stay in your ___" 48. Freshwater fish that is an anagram of slang word meaning poop 49. Polynesian island chain 50. Impose, as a tax or fine

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*SOLUTION FROM LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017

A& E ARTS &

ENTERTAINMENT

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‘Ardent’ student musician proves her passion Kate Bollinger of U.Va.’s counter-cultural music scene shares her story Ian McConaughy Williams and Dan Goff | Senior Writer and Arts and Entertainment Editor

College can be an incredibly stressful time for students — they have to develop time management skills in order to balance schoolwork, extracurriculars and social lives. That being said, it may be surprising to learn that so many students at the University are aspiring — even moderately successful — musicians.

Kate Bollinger is one such musician. Bollinger is a second-year College student whose first official EP “Ardent” is set to be released Oct. 31. The Arts and Entertainment staff had the opportunity to ask her a few questions about her origins, her aspirations and how she fits into the music scenes of Charlottesville and the University.

Bollinger had a myriad of information concerning her musical roots, explaining that multiple members of her family are musically inclined.

“Will, my older brother, tours, and my brother Ross used to do music,” Bollinger said.

It was partially her brothers’ musical influence that led to Bollinger’s first official show, opening for The Extraordinaires, a Philadelphia-based band and a personal favorite of Bollinger’s. Bollinger said both of her brothers had opened for the band in the past, adding that the group’s music has sentimental value to her.

“I used to listen to them with my dad in the car,” she said.

Bollinger went on to explain how her involvement with The Extraordinaires led to her becoming a more established musician.

“The last time I opened for The Extraordinaires, Jay, the lead songwriter, was like, ‘We need to get you recorded! You need to come to Philly,’” Bollinger said. “So I went to Philly … And it just kinda all fell into place.”

On her forthcoming EP “Ardent,” Bollinger is backed by various members of the band. This includes Jay Purdy on backup vocals, guitar, piano and even a singing saw in one track, along with Mike Harkness on drums and Matt Gibson on bass.

Talking about the influence of her family members and The Extraordinaires made Bollinger remember her earliest songwriting roots.

“I always wrote songs in elementary school but it was never serious, and then my brother Ross gave a notebook for Christmas with a guide of how to write songs,” she said. “It was like, ‘Lay down in your bed with your headphones on, and listen to all your favorite music and just really study all the parts you don’t really think about so you know what goes into creating it … The more you listen to music that you want to create, the easier it’ll be to create that kind

of music yourself.’”

Bollinger then tied this philosophy into her current creative process, saying that she starts by listening to the sort of music she enjoys creating, and then attempting original work.

As a Charlottesville native, Bollinger also had a lot to say about the music scene of the City versus the music scene of the University.

“Collaboration happens more naturally in Charlottesville,” Bollinger said. “Maybe it’s because I’ve lived here my whole life and I go to concerts, and then I meet people from the bands and their friends who also play music. I’m not as involved in the music scene at U.Va. yet.”

She went on to define the University’s music scene as “sort of … a niche thing, but it’s not really a big part of U.Va.” Other than The Extraordinaires, she mentioned other indie rock acts that have shaped or otherwise affected her style.

“Feist is my favorite artist of all time,” Bollinger said. She went on to add influences such as Frankie Cosmos, Alex G., Kurt Vile and Gary Clark Jr. Influenced by Feist, Bollinger said she wants her style to sound like the singer’s hit “Get Not High, Get Not Low,” stating that she likes the “natural sound of it.” This admiration of Feist’s natural process influenced the production of Bollinger’s own “Ardent,” she said.“I think something important to say is that this release is probably not going to sound like my other releases, because there’s a full band behind me,” Bollinger said.

“I wanted to take the opportunity to record with one of my favorite bands.”

She stressed that her earlier SoundCloud recordings are “more natural and intentional” due to an absence of the “thorough planning” directing her work in “Ardent.”

Bollinger wrapped this up by describing her genre as “just a mix of indie, pop and folk.”

In a segue to people’s reception to her music, Bollinger explained that there is often a disconnect between her personal thoughts and preferences about her music and listeners’ reactions to it.

“Some songs get picked up more than others,” Bollinger said, describing a Dr. Dog cover of hers that has accrued “like 20,000 listens on SoundCloud,” while some of her favorite personal tracks aren’t nearly as popular. “People never react to my favorite songs like I want them to, but that doesn’t matter.”

She included advice she had received from a fellow student musician, third-year College student Tom Sobolik.

“Something Tom told me is, you can’t control people’s perception of your music,” Bollinger said. “Just accept that people are gonna perceive your music the way they are.”

Bollinger is clearly an artist shaped by influences both personal and professional, as proven by her parting advice for other aspiring musicians.

“Something my mom always said is that you have to write like a million bad songs to get any good ones,” Bollinger said. “I have notebooks full of songs that are probably so bad.

Keep notes on your phones, just whatever you think of. Just write bad songs I guess, and put out whatever you have.”

“Ardent” promises to be just the start of Bollinger’s rise to fame. She has an upcoming show this December held at the Ante Room, alongside other female musicians and hosted by HackCville.

Bollinger is just one of countless student musicians creating content at the University. Though they may not be the most visible artists in the

community, they can always be found through outlets such as WXTJ’s Trash House or any of the smaller music venues in Charlottesville.

The underground music scene of

the University may be just beginning to gain traction and catch up to the City, but with the support from fellow students and community members that it deserves, it can flourish.

COURTESY KATE BOLLINGER

Kate Bollinger, a second-year College student, is one of several aspiring musicians attending the University.

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‘The Snowman’ should take a cold, hard look at itself New Michael Fassbender thriller is more comical than it is scary Olivia Bousquette | Staff Writer “The Snowman” is not about a killer snowman. Contrary to what the trailer might suggest, there are absolutely no supernatural elements or undertones in this movie. From the beginning, it is disappointingly clear that the serial killer is an acåtual person who leaves snowmen at the site of their murders.

Based on the successful 2007 novel

by Jo Nesbø, “The Snowman” is supposed to be a murder mystery set in Norway. In reality, the real mystery is why this movie was made in the first place.

When women begin to disappear during snowfalls, which is an important part of the plot — regardless of the fact that it takes place in winter in Norway — detective Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender) realizes a connection to the decades-old serial killer known as “The Snowman.” Intermittent flashbacks attempt to explain the failed investigations that took place when the killer first became active in building snowmen. Part of the problem is that the movie is trying to misdirect the audience to the murderer, which means introducing a series of suspicious and cheesy stock characters, all with their own irrelevant subplots.

Fassbender’s role as Hole — an alcoholic detective and washed-up legend barely capable of showing up for work — is far too familiar. Hole is a

stereotype that the audience has definitely seen before — even his name sounds cliché. Fassbender does not bring anything particularly new to the role.

In fact, every single character is one-dimensional and overused. Rebecca Ferguson plays Katrine Bratt, the keen new female detective who will do anything to solve this case.

Charlotte Gainsbourg is Rakel, Harry Hole’s charming ex-girlfriend and best friend. J.K. Simmons is Arve Støp, the millionaire socialite with a seedy personality. Simmons plays him well, but again, the role is entirely unoriginal. Val Kilmer is also in for the flashback portions — he plays the private investigator from nine years earlier in a confusing role that probably should have been cut out. Not even Kilmer could save this one.

The only original aspect of this movie is that the serial killer leaves snowmen everywhere, sometimes decapitating people and leaving a snowman head on their bodies — which ends up melting before the police arrive anyway. It is also never addressed that, unlike clowns, snowmen are blatantly not scary — it’s a challenge not to laugh when hearing the premise of this movie. Adding to the absurdity, these snowmen do not look like average American snowmen — they have no torso and are only made out of two

balls of snow. Maybe the serial killer was just lazy.

“The Snowman” would have been better as an episode of any crime television show ever. There was no reason it had to be a feature length movie — it drags. The subplots don’t tie together in the end, the flashbacks are bizarre and unnecessarily complicated and the twists are barely surprising. It cannot decide whether it wants to be a thriller or a mystery or a drama.

Even director Tomas Alfredson knows the movie does not make sense — it’s almost comical to see him admit it. In an interview with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, Alfredson said, “Our shoot time in Norway was way too short, we didn't get the whole story with us and when we started cutting we discovered that a lot was missing. It's like when you're making a big jigsaw puzzle and a few pieces are missing so you don't see the whole picture.” Enough said.

Perhaps the only enjoyable aspect of the movie is that it’s set in Norway. It includes stunning views of the snowy vistas topped off by icy car chases. The film is actually very aesthetically pleasing with interesting cinematography that catches the viewer’s eye. It’s too bad it doesn’t have a genre, clear plot or worthwhile characters.

A wannabe “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Snowman” is

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

New thriller “The Snowman,” starring Michael Fassbender, is devoid of both scares and any apparent effort.

an utter failure, both at the box office and in terms of artistic value. There are almost no redeeming factors in this movie — a narrative about a killer snowman would actually be signifi-

cantly more compelling. When even the director admits the movie is the bad, it’s clear that the audience would best be spending their time and money elsewhere.

‘Gorgeous’ falls flat in lyrics, artistry Taylor Swift trades songwriting for edgy looks Virginia Speidel | Senior Writer A new Taylor Swift era has descended on the music industry. She’s the new Taylor — the old Taylor Swift died, remember? She’s clad in black lipstick and serving edgy looks, posting cryptic messages on her Instagram and releasing various songs of different topics and genres while generating different opinions in the process.

Perhaps her biggest move since her return to the music world was the surprising drop of her single, “Look What You Made Me Do.” The single brought mixed reviews, ranging from criticism about her continued silence on controversial issues to positive fandom excitement on Tumblr. Throughout the fall, Swift continued to drop various songs and music videos, enhancing her new image of an edgy woman who no longer cares what anyone thinks of her.

For long-time Swift fans, these songs seem foreign. However, her new single “Gorgeous” begins to trace back to her “1989” roots — it’s a catchy pop tune with her signature chorus and

lyrics about boys. Shocking.

To be fair, the new song brings out a cheeky side of Swift — a side eager to embrace the objects and virtues of her daily adult life that previously seemed taboo for the singer. “Gorgeous” is generally a song about Swift wanting someone she can’t have. However, instead of a forlorn ballad of the “Fearless” era, she talks more about the edgy aspects of jealousy — hatred, beauty and alcohol.

Twice in the song, Swift mentions alcohol in the context of being drunk and through the symbolic imagery of “whiskey on ice.” Her songwriting is also much more casual, as she seems to relinquish her classic storybook narrative for something more colloquial.

Elements of this lyricism come from lines like “I guess I’ll just stumble on home to my cats” and other cheeky phrases that Swift uses to emphasize her normality and wit that still remains in this edgy time.

Swift’s success as both a country and pop artist have put her on the lev-

el of pro-songwriter, with the ability to write not only the Grammy-winning pop album “1989,” but also to pen tracks for other artists such as Little Big Town, exemplified in their hit “Better Man.” There’s no doubt that Swift can write a song — it’s now just a question of in which direction her songwriting will go. By the sounds of “Gorgeous,” — as well as her other singles “Look What You Made Me Do” and “... Ready For It?” — her lyrics are much simpler and less artistic in delivering her message. While her rhymes and lyrics are clever and witty, they no longer portray that intelligent, story-like narrative that came through in albums like “Red” and “Fearless.”

The single seems half-hearted in terms of lyrics, which is disappointing coming from the songwriter. Even though Swift continues to build a larger-than-life image with stealthy song placements in college football game reels and music videos filled with effects, her recent singles have

somehow slipped by the wayside lyrically, as she writes primarily about her beef with other celebrities and her desire for hot, gorgeous boys she can no longer have.

Despite the redundant and somewhat predictable nature of the songwriting, “Gorgeous” is comforting in that Swift shows her fans that she hasn’t completely abandoned the catchy pop influence that made “1989” so popular. Even though she seems like a complete stranger in looks and virtues, Swift still has a gift for pulling her fans to her music, in spite of the many changes she’s made over the years.

“Gorgeous” is a classic pop tune that follows a timeless pattern, using short, blatant vocals in the verses, leading to a ––repetitive, easy chorus that gets the point across without being too simple. It’s a perfectly crafted pop song, but it truly isn’t anything special where Swift is concerned.

From what she’s released so far, it’s unlikely that Swift’s upcoming album

“Reputation” will be a cookie-cutter pop record. However, the current clues don’t suggest anything truly artistically remarkable. So what will it be? It begs the question of what Swift is really trying to do with her music.

With this new single, the tone of her future music seems unclear and meddled.

It’s difficult to gauge the vibes of “Reputation” through these past three singles, as they are all so different. Yet, they are still classic examples of Swift trying to set a new standard for songwriting and pop music. Her cryptic images, secrecy and confusing musical pursuits, while not always the most tasteful, leave fans on their toes waiting for another clue and another glimpse.

Putting aside her critics, Swift is very gifted at making fans want more.

The next question is when it’ll be delivered — because in true Taylor Swift fashion, the music world will probably stumble upon it by complete surprise.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017

H&S HEALTH & SCIENCE

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Cryptocurrency technologies on the rise Rapidly expanding cryptocurrency market manifests in new Cryptocurrency Club Stella Sotos | Staff Writer

Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies that appeal to many users for their independence from any central organization. The market cap for the cryptocurrencies has risen nearly 800 percent since conception, drawing in investors for their potential to become a global currency or for the chance to capitalize on the volatility of the market. Taking note of these developments, the new Cryptocurrency Club at the University aims to expand student involvement in the cryptocurrency field.

Cryptocurrencies depend primarily on innovations in cryptography and blockchain. Cryptography is method of storing and transmitting data in way that enables only users with the proper codes to read or process it. Blockchain is a technology that serves as a public ledger, recording all transactions chronologically so that each user in the network gets a copy of the ledger.

Bitcoin, one of the first of these digital currencies, aims to be a decentralized way to manage transactions.

“Fundamentally, I think the innovation here is open-source, ownerless infrastructure,” said Chris Dannen, a University alumnus and founder and managing partner of Iterative Capital.

Iterative Capital is an alternative investment management firm specializing in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

Bitcoin relies on peer-to-peer transactions stored on its opensource, public network. Each transaction is managed collectively by the network, eliminating the need for centralized financial institutions, like banks or the government.

University Computer Science Prof. David Evans said that for cryptocurrency to have value, it

must be trusted, and to be useful, it must be transferrable.”

Fiat currencies employ coins or paper money that intrinsically have no value. Instead, they get their value from trust in the government and efforts to prevent and penalize counterfeiting, Evans said. However, counterfeiting cryptocurrency is akin to copying and pasting a string of bits, so the currency must be secured in a different way. “It’s trivial to copy bits,” Evans said.

“To make a cryptocurrency work is to make it so you can’t spend the same coin more than once.”

Evans said this works through the use of asymmetric cryptography and a public ledger. The ledger records the transactions authorized through asymmetric cryptography and stores them in irreversible, connected blocks on the blockchain.

Asymmetric cryptography ensures that the person initiating the transaction is the coin’s owner through the use of a private and a public key. The private key encodes a digital signature that allows for the transfer of the coin. Evans said the public key is used by all members of the network to verify that the transaction is being initiated by the proper owner of the coin.

“You have a secret key, you can use it to produce a signature, but anyone who can see your public key can verify that it’s really your signature,” Evans said. “You need both the asymmetric crypto — to make it so that only the owner can transfer it — and you need the consensus that the ledger gives you, that everyone sees the transaction and knows if you tried to transfer it more than once.”

The ledger’s consensus is managed by users called miners, Evans said. The miners record the transactions by creating new blocks on the blockchain. The miner who finds the next block

gets paid a small fee, incentivizing miners to keep recording transactions on the blockchain.

To find a block, miners must solve a hash function, a one-way function that makes it difficult to find the input that yields a particular output. To solve a hash function, miners must make many guesses.

“You can buy mining equipment that makes trillions of guesses per second in one block,” Evans said. “The number of guesses needed to find the next block is an outrageously large number, and then whichever one finds it, they’re going to publish it to the network.”

While it is possible for miners to find multiple valid blocks, they will immediately start mining for new blocks off of the original one they see. The consensus with respect to which transactions are valid will be whichever transactions are stored in the longest chain, ensuring that coins are not being double spent, Evans said.

One application of blockchain technology is the use of Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs, to fund start-ups using tokens built off of the blockchain platform Ethereum.

“Basically anyone who wants can invent a token and decide that they’re going to build some new service where the way you pay for that service is you use your token,” Evans said. “If you convince enough people that this service is going to be valuable, then the tokens are going to be valuable, and you can sell the tokens.”

However, this form of investment in cryptocurrencies has many risks.

“Almost all of these ICOs are half-baked schemes or scams,” Dannen said. “The bar is too low, its very, very easy to create one.”

Investment in Bitcoin itself entails risks as well, Evans said.

Risks involve losing the private key that encodes the coin’s value as well as the volatility of the market.Some of the value in Bitcoin comes from the small potential for it to become a global currency that could replace or complement fiat currencies worldwide, Evans said.

“The Bitcoin network does have intrinsic value,” Dannen said. “it’s like a giant bean counter or an abacus, the beads by themselves are not worth anything, but the machine all together is the global counter, and there is fundamental value there.”

The possible futures for cryptocurrency and the ability to capitalize on the volatility of the market has drawn global investors and University students alike to the cryptocurrency com-

munity.

Tyler Marx, a second-year College student and Cryptocurrency Club president, was drawn to trading cryptocurrencies in high school when he found he was too young to trade stocks.

After seeing interest grow among friends, he started the club as a place to teach about cryptocurrencies, share trading information and learn about blockchain technologies.

“Its incredible how many people want to get into it but they just don’t know how,” Marx said.

“So now that we’ve got a place for them to get in, it’s just going to get bigger.”

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Bitcoin is making a comeback as a prominent cryptocurrency and online payment network.

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