October 31, 2013

HALLOWEEN ISSUE Thursday, October 31, 2013

Vol. 124, Issue 20

GHOSTS ON GROUNDS

Image courtesy Angelica Verdon

Jenna Truong | The Cavalier Daily

Tales of spooks, spirits, supernatural guests dating back to Civil War pervade University Grounds Tiffany Truong Staff Writer

From Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn to spooky Hauntings on the Hill in Brown College to the Haunted Trail behind Gooch/ Dillard, the University has plenty to offer supernatural thrill-seekers for the year’s spookiest holiday. But “Halloweek” holds more than just tricks and treats — and

some of the truly haunting parts of Grounds may not come from traditions, but from the University's rich and eerie ghost tales.

Pavilion IX – “Romance Pavilion” Pavilion IX, now known as the “Romance Pavilion,” was once home to a professor who died in the mid-1800s, said Vimal Nair, a University Guide and fourth-year in the Batten School.

To keep the Pavilion home, his wife would dress him up every day and put him out in the window. She kept this up for several weeks until the University found out of her husband's death.

Alderman Library Legend has it that two ghosts roam the stacks in Alderman.

The first, Dr. Bennett Green, graduated from the Medical School in 1858. After traveling

abroad and acquiring wealth in Argentina, he returned to Virginia. In 1913, upon his death, he left his library, located in the Rotunda, to the University and donated money for books and scholarships to the Medical School.

According to University historian Alexander “Sandy” Gilliam, Green’s ghost has been seen coming to check on his books and make sure students

are using them properly. When the library was moved to Alderman, the ghost went along with it. Karin Wittenborg, the University librarian, claims to have first-hand experience with the ghostly visitor.

“On two occasions in the last 20 years, I believe I have encoun-

see SPOOKS, page 3

N news

The Cavalier Daily

Students fear academic advising falls short

Meg Gardner Staff Writer

The University’s academic advising system is in the midst of its busiest time of the semester, as thousands of undergraduate students prepare to sign up for spring 2014 courses.

The current system poses challenges for both faculty and students involved. From the faculty perspective, Paul Jones, a religious studies professor and current faculty advisor, said advisors face the challenge of having advisees with extremely rigid mindsets about what field they would like to go into.

“I think the challenge that is most pressing right now is getting people to understand that the undergraduate degree shouldn’t be a pre-professional path,” Jones said.

“A solid foundation in the liberal arts and a broad grounding of classes is going to be just fine.”

But students also have con-

2

Students, faculty raise concerns about system inadequacies, failure to offer specialized advisers early cerns. Fourth-year College student Matthew Safarik said it was not ideal for entering students to have advisors who are unfamiliar in the students’ subject interests.

“The biggest problem, at least in starting out at U.Va., is the lack in specification with advisors,” Safarik said. “That, and just an advisor presence overall is not as high as I think it could be.”

Students in the College are put into an association and paired with a faculty advisor upon arriving on Grounds during their first year. Associations are groups of students based on first-year housing locations and are headed by an association dean who is usually available at daily office hours.

Randomly assigned faculty advisors, who remain with a student for their first two years or until they declare a major, meet with students at least once a semester to advise them on course selection, fulfilling school requirements and completing prerequisites for major declaration. Daily walk-in advising

in Monroe Hall is available as well.

First-year students also have an opportunity to take College Advising Seminars (COLA) which place a large emphasis on advising. Finally, once students declare a major, they are placed with an advisor in that respective department.

English Prof. David Vander Meulen, who was also the faculty advisor granted the Edward L. Ayers Advising Fellowship in 2013, said an additional difficulty comes with advising students who are already completely focused on a certain major.

“So many come to U.Va. thinking they have their life figured out when they arrive,” he said. “It is a challenge for me to get them to realize that the world might be larger than they thought it was when they left high school and to make a more informed decision about the course of their life from then on.”

The Edward L. Ayers Fellowship was established in 2007 to recognize a faculty member who expresses dedication to guidance

of undergraduate students at the University and enhances studentfaculty interactions.

But problems also emerge when students have no idea what direction to head.

“I usually do first-year advising and that’s sometimes challenging because some students at that point don’t have a certain idea [of] what they want to do so you have to have a general outlook,” Chemistry Prof.

Richard Sundberg said.

Third-year Engineering student Brianna Kim, who transferred out of the College her first year, said she also sees areas in which the advising program could be improved.

“Even if they didn’t know the answer to a specific question they could be more helpful in directing you to other services like Career Services,” she said. “I feel like they’re just not very good at directing people to get certain resources or contacts.”

But faculty and students said the advising system does have numerous benefits to both the stu-

dents and faculty involved.

Meulen said being an advisor to first-year students is highly rewarding. “It’s a chance to help people get the greatest benefit from their new environment by opening them up to new opportunities that they haven’t seen before,” he said.

“It’s a joy to see them come in and mature and grow over time.”

And third-year College student Kelsey Gehr has found the advising system beneficial.

“I feel like it’s pretty straightforward,” she said. “If I have a real problem my advisor is pretty helpful,” she said.

The University may soon be be shaking up its advising system, however. The current draft of the University’s strategic plan includes a switch to “‘total advising’ as one of 15 strategies to drive U.Va.’s success in the future,” University spokesperson McGregor McCance said in an email. The strategic plan must be approved by the Board of Visitors before it is implemented.

Clinton joins McAuliffe for Charlottesville rally Old friendship ingites voter enthusiasm, highlights new policies; controversial issues likely to feature prominently in gubernatorial election Kelly Kaler News Editor

Just six days before Virginia voters will elect their next governor, President Bill Clinton and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe co-hosted a major campaign rally Wednesday morning at the downtown Paramount theater. Numerous security guards lined the walls both in the theater and outside, and sniffing dogs walked throughout the vicinity, as the theater packed full of students and Charlottesville community members alike.

Former University professor Michael Mann spoke about his long-term legal battle with McAuliffe's Republican opponent, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, about research Mann conducted on climate change.

The battle cost the University more than half a million dollars in legal fees.

“We need leaders who will support our researchers and thinkers, not make it more difficult for us to carry out our work because they don’t agree,” Mann said. “I have seen the damage [Cuccinelli’s] ideological stance can do.”

McAuliffe emphasized some

of his headlining policies, including his devotion to expansion of Medicaid and improvements in Virginia’s education programs. McAuliffe said he aims to expand healthcare coverage to 400,000 Virginians if elected.

The true star-power behind the event, however, was evident once Clinton took the stage, eliciting generous applause and a standing ovation from the audience. Clinton took a more casual tone, in contrast to the formal speeches of other local Democratic leaders who spoke.

The long-term personal friendship between Clinton and McAuliffe is well-documented and goes back to before Clinton’s presidency. Clinton drew upon this personal relationship as a way to assure voters of McAuliffe’s trustworthiness and accountability.

Clinton praised McAuliffe’s bipartisan manner. “[Terry says] these are complicated problems, we have to get everyone together, we need people who can get together and go forward together," he said, lauding McAuliffe's understanding of "the art of the deal."

The speeches were kept short — both McAullife's and Clin-

ton's clocked in at less than half an hour, persistent applause included. Clinton ended his speech with a metaphor for the current challenges playing out on Capitol

Hill.

“Every rock you can push up every hill will ensure a better future,” Clinton said. He encouraged voters to campaign for

McAuliffe especially hard in the remaining days before the election.

The election will be held next Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Jenna Truong | The Cavalier Daily

Medicaid expansion, higher education and environmental issues took the spotlight at the rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe Tuesday.

Former President Bill Clinton emphasized the importace of learning “the art of the deal” for negotiating bipartisan arrangements in the upcoming term.

NEWS

Thursday, October 31, 2013

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Schulman’s family files lawsuit following death Former University student’s parents bring negligence charges against Semester at Sea, Anchorage hotel after 2012 accident Catherine Valentine Senior Writer

Courtesy Casey Schulman Family

Schulman’s death shook the University community last fall, and the accident joins a host of similar incidents with the Semester at Sea program

The father of Casey Schulman, a University student who died during a boating accident in Dominica while on a Semester at Sea trip last fall, has filed a lawsuit against the Institute for Shipboard Education/Semester at Sea, as well as the hotel and the travel agencies that organized the chartered snorkeling expedition. The lawsuit charges them with counts of negligence and strict liability.

In Semester at Sea’s 50-year program history, 13 students have died. The University of Pittsburgh, academic sponsor of the Semester at Sea program for 25 years, chose to end the partnership in 2006 because of safety concerns. Three students have died since the University became

the program’s academic sponsor in 2006: University of WisconsinMadison student Kurt Leswing in 2008, University of California Santa Barbara student Andre Ramadan in 2010, and Schulman in 2012.

“As with any study abroad or home campus, incidents do occur, but given our focus on health and safety we have had an excellent safety record over the past 50 years,” Semester at Sea spokesperson Lauren Judge said in an email.

“Safety is and has always been the top priority of Semester at Sea. We will continue to make safety our top priority and regularly revisit, adapt, and improve our safety protocols for every voyage.”

Semester at Sea had not been served with the lawsuit from the Schulmans at presstime, Judge said. But Robert Parks, counsel for the plaintiff, confirmed that

the lawsuit has been filed. He was not able to make additional comments because of a pending action in Dominica by the government against the captain in the Schulman accident.

Law Prof. Kenneth Abraham said such cases rely on a doctrine called the "assumption of risk."

"Under [the assumption of risk doctrine] a party agrees, expressly in writing or impliedly under the circumstances, to subject herself or himself to a risk created by another party,” Abraham said in an email. “Whether Ms. Schulman assumed the risk will depend on the documents, if any, that she signed, whether the circumstances gave her notice of the risk or risks in question, and the particular way in which the state or other country whose law applies interprets and applies the doctrine of assumption of risk.”

Anchorage Hotel, Whale Watch & Dive Center of Dominica, the business which owned the catamaran involved in Schulman’s death, said in a press release that they followed the proper protocol.

“We are deeply saddened by the fact this accident occurred notwithstanding that all standard operating and safety procedures were being employed by the Captain and Crew of the Yacht Passion,” the company said, according to Dominica News Online.

According to the United States Coast Guard’s boating safety division, between 200 to 250 injuries and 25 to 35 deaths are reported annually as a result of boat propeller accidents. There have been at least eight reported catamaran propeller accidents similar to Schulman’s since 2004, resulting in eight court cases.

Graduate students find common ground amid controversy Graduate Students for a Better U.Va. join with Graduate Student Council to increase student input, raise issues with administration Jordan Bower Associate News Editor

The student organization Graduate Students for a Better U.Va. is calling for increased student advocacy and improved communication with the administration about issues affecting the life of Univeristy graduate students.

Mary Hicks, a fifth-year doctoral candidate in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and member of the organization, says

there have been a number of drastic changes made recently to the graduate programs at the University that have negatively affected graduate students.

“The Graduate Program in Arts and Sciences in the past few years has undergone a very large transformation in the nature of the program, how it’s organized, how graduate students are funded, and what the expectations are for completion rates in programs,” Hicks said. “The last change included about a 400 percent increase in tuition for people who are ABD [All But Dissertation]

— that means people who have finished their course work and are now writing their dissertations.”

The organization initially criticized the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Council for inadequately voicing the concerns of students in these programs. They created a petition to express a lack of confidence in the council's ability to adequately represent graduate students, saying council members failed to respond swiftly to tuition increases and funding changes which severely affected students and as such failed to perform its duties.

Since spring, the organization has switched its focus from an overhaul of the council to establishing more substantive procedural changes, with several of its members joining the council at the end of last semester. The organization's website says they strive to “emphasize solidarity rather than graduate infighting,” and that they did not want to encourage an “institutional breakdown in the operation of the council.”

There are, however, lingering concerns about student representation and increasing the role of the student body in decision-

making, Hicks said. In order to address these, the organization has proposed semesterly townhall meetings, elections which force candidates to outline their platforms, and procedural safeguards to prevent the council from unilateral action without consulting the student body.

“We have decided that what we would like to see is more students working with Graduate Council to facilitate this type of process,” Hicks said. “We just want more people to engage with Graduate Council and we want Graduate Council to engage more people.”

SPOOKS Ghostly figures haunt personal residences, Lawn rooms Continued from page 1 tered Dr. Green," she said. "After the first time, I started to bring my big dog with me [to the library].”

Alderman Library also houses the ghost of Muscoe Garnett, an 1842 alumnus of the University and member of the Board of Visitors. His descendants donated his library to Alderman in 1938.

Soon after the donation, there were reported sightings of Gar-

nett, who, like Green, was checking up on his library. The two ghosts have reportedly been seen together, roaming the halls, Gilliam said.

Montebello Montebello, the historic home located on Stadium Road, is currently home to Engineering School Dean James Aylor and his wife, Sherry — and quite possibly some supernatural guests as well.

Sherry Aylor has reported hearing strange noises in her

house since they moved in eight years ago. The first time, it was just a thump up the steps. Since then, they have heard door slams, jangling keys and other eerie noises.

Montebello was once home to Isaac Moram, a soldier in the Civil War who lost his leg in a battle in Richmond. Moram is now buried with his family in the University cemetery.

“I think he comes back because it was a nice place for him,” she said. “I never believed in ghosts until I moved into this

house. Periodically, we’ll hear something that we can’t quite account for.”

On two different accounts, when she put her grandchildren to sleep upstairs, Aylor claims to have heard faint music playing through the monitor. Even when the monitor was on all day, the music could only be heard when her grandchildren were upstairs asleep. Moram had seven children, but only the records of six could be found. It is thought that Moram plays the music for his lost child.

The Lawn The Lawn has been the site of several eerie happenings. During the Civil War, the Lawn was actually used as a Confederate hospital. In Room 19, a CivilWar-era gun was discovered hidden in a secret compartment.

And though an estimated 100250 soldiers lost their lives on the Lawn during the war, it is the ghost of General Carnot Posey, who lived and died on Grounds after the Civil War, who supposedly haunts Room 33 on the Lawn.

O

The Cavalier Daily

LEAD EDITORIAL

If you build it, will they come?

opinion

Comment of the day “UVA is a segregated school despite its best efforts not to be. For every group or clique you can think of, there is another that envies its very existence and would wish it did not exist. Simple.”

“Hey Now” responding to the Managing Board’s Oct. 30 editorial, “At a loss.”

Have an opinion Write it down.

Join the Opinion section.

Or send a guest editorial to opinion@ cavalierdaily.com

4

Colorado State University’s effort to solve its fiscal woes by erecting a $226 million football stadium privileges sports over scholarship You have to spend money to make money, or so the adage goes. But Colorado State University’s attempt to solve its financial shortcomings by building a $226 million football stadium seems like a doomed exercise. It also indicates misplaced priorities. Struggling schools should invest in people, not facilities.

We have often complained in these pages about a widespread trend of declining state funding for public institutions, even while state governments and state-appointed governing boards seek to wield more oversight over public schools. Missouri, which now disperses a small share of state aid on the basis of how well college students perform on standardized tests, provides one example of this perplexing move toward decreased funding coupled with increased oversight.

Public universities in Colorado, however, have been hit particularly hard. Colorado has cut support for public colleges by 73 percent since 1980: more than any other state, according to the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education.

These developments have had CSU eyeing out-of-state students, who dish out $23,347 in annual tuition — roughly three times what Colorado residents pay.

So CSU has devised a plan: to build an on-campus football stadium that will lure better athletes, increase sports revenue and attract more out-of-state students. Or so administrators hope. This plan seems un-

conventional. But it is in line with a cynical philosophy that too many mid-tier schools have bought into: that the pathway up the U.S. News & World report rankings consists of fancy buildings and bigger stadiums.

CSU’s current stadium is located roughly 3.6 miles from the school’s campus. The Rams, which play against middling teams in the Mountain West Conference, have trouble selling out the facility’s 32,500 seats.

And CSU’s recent facilities projects have not boosted the school’s proportion of outof-state undergraduates. The university has spent $690 million on facilities in the last six years, including a $32 million renovation to its recreation center to install an indoor climbing wall and a smoothie bar. Yet the school’s proportion of nonresident undergraduates has remained flat at 19 percent between 2003 and 2012.

This record suggests that facilities spending is not a tactic that will work well for CSU in its efforts to attract more out-of-state students. And there are no guarantees that the mammoth project will bring in more football revenue. For comparison: the University of Akron opened a $62 million on-campus stadium in 2009. The Ohio school saw an initial bump in attendance, but by 2010 the athletics department was shilling out more in debt payments than it was bringing in from ticket sales.

CSU administrators hope to fund the sta-

dium half through private donations, half through borrowing bonds. To move forward with the project, the school must raise $125 million by October 2014. So far it has secured $37 million after nearly two years of fundraising.

The stadium plan is based on far too many leaps: first, that the stadium will attract better athletes; second, that it will draw more fans and increase sports revenue; third, that it will entice out-of-state students. CSU’s administrators seem to be focusing imaginative energies on the hypothetical stadium as if it were a talisman, a cure-all for the school’s mid-tier reputation and mid-tier finances.

But we object to the stadium proposal not because it is financially unrealistic but because it shows misplaced values. Far too many schools, hungry to move up in the rankings, opt to spend on facilities while faculty, research centers and other academic projects become a secondary priority.

The idea that CSU president Tony Frank voiced in an interview with the Wall Street Journal — that out-of-staters assess an institution’s academic quality “largely on perception and visibility from athletics” — demonstrates an unusual degree of cynicism.

Athletic success can help a school’s public image, to be sure. But if we think that the way to improve a school’s academic reputation is to spend not on academics but on athletics, something is clearly wrong here.

THE CAVALIER DAILY CAVALIER DAILY STAFF Editor-in-chief Kaz Komolafe, @kazkomolafe Managing Editor Caroline Houck, @carolinehouck Executive Editor Charlie Tyson, @charlietyson1 Operations Manager Meghan Luff, @meghanluff Chief Financial Officer Kiki Bandlow Assistant Managing Editors Matthew Comey, @matthewcomey Andrew Elliott, @andrewc_elliott News Editors Emily Hutt, @emily_hutt Kelly Kaler, @kelly_kaler (S.A.) Joe Liss, @joemliss Sports Editors Fritz Metzinger, @fritzmetzinger Daniel Weltz, @danielweltz3 (S.A.) Zack Bartee, @zackbartee (S.A.) Michael Eilbacher, @mikeeilbacher Opinion Editors Katherine Ripley, @katherineripley Denise Taylor, @deni_tay47 (S.A.) Alex Yohanda Focus Editor Grace Hollis Life Editors Valerie Clemens, @valerietpp

Julia Horowitz, @juliakhorowitz Arts & Entertainment Editors Katie Cole, @katiepcole Conor Sheehey, @mcsheehey13 Health & Science Editor Kamala Ganesh Production Editors Mary Beth Desrosiers, @duhrowsure Rebecca Lim, @rebecca_lim Sylvia Oe, @sylviaoe16 Photography Editors Dillon Harding Jenna Truong, @jennajt21 (S.A.) Marshall Bronfin, @mbronfin Graphics Editors Stephen Rowe Peter Simonsen, @peetabread Multimedia Editor Claire Wang Social Media Manager Greg Lewis, @grglewis Ads Manager Sascha Oswald Marketing Manager Anna Xie, @annameliorate (S.A.) Allison Xu Business Manager Matt Ammentorp, @chitownbeardown Claire Fenichel, @clairefeni Financial Controller Tzu-Ting Liao

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OPINION

Thursday, October 31, 2013

5

Kick this to the curb The national debt is not our most pressing concern

Gregory Hays Guest Columnist

I turned 43 this May, and I can sense that I'm getting old.

I'm growing hair in my ears. My students no longer recognize my “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” references. And I feel a strange urge to yell at kids to get off my Lawn.

Not all kids, mind you. Just the ones who work for an organization called The Can Kicks Back.

You may have seen them tabling on the Lawn on Monday, wearing snazzy red shirts and handing out expensive-looking swag.

So what is The Can Kicks Back?

It's an astroturf (fake grassroots) organization with close ties to an outfit called Fix The Debt. And what's Fix The Debt? Glad you asked. It's the pet project of a Wall

Street billionaire named Pete Peterson, who's spent recent decades pushing for cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Another Petersonfunded group is called "Up To Us." It has similar goals — and a branch at U.Va. Let's look at some of the lines these folks are peddling.

• "If we don't act now, Social Security won't be there for our generation!" This is nonsense. On current projections, Social Security can pay full benefits into the mid-2030s; after that it can pay around 80 percent of current levels. If we want to "fix" that shortfall, let's raise the cap on income subject to the Social Security tax. (Currently all income above $113,700 is exempt.)

• "When Social Security was implemented, life expectancy was lower." Average life expectan-

cy in 1935 was lower for one main reason: higher infant mortality.

But people who die in infancy are irrelevant here: they don't pay taxes or collect benefits. What matters for Social Security is how many more years people who reach their sixties can expect. And that hasn't risen much in recent generations — least of all for lower-income people, who need Social Security most.

• "Health care costs are bankrupting us!" Health care costs are high, but we won't rein them in by cutting Medicare, a simple and cost-effective program that efficiently covers older Americans.

• "The national debt is like running up money on your credit card. Sooner or later the bill comes due!" Actually, the U.S. government's budget is not at all like ours.

We can't create money: the Federal

Reserve does it daily. We're not an immortal entity: the United States is. In fact, the U.S. (aged 237) has had a national debt for all but a year of its existence.

• "An out-of-control debt will lead to inflation!" Actually, inflation is at historically low levels.

Many economists think it needs to be higher, pushing up salaries and reducing the value of debts like mortgages and college loans.

Moderately higher inflation would be good for middle-class families and college students — but bad for wealthy creditors like Pete Peterson.

In a recent Cavalier Daily piece, Up To Us member Elizabeth Brightwell called the national debt "the most pressing issue facing young people today." Really?

More pressing than income inequality or climate change? What

about unemployment, currently at 7.2 percent and at historic highs since 2008? Why don't Peterson's acolytes find those problems pressing? Perhaps because the solutions might include hiking taxes on Pete Peterson. Better to "raise awareness" about an imaginary problem two decades off than tackle the real ones staring us in the face right now.

Peterson's efforts are supported by some distinguished people, including Sen. Mark Warner (DVa.). Some of them may even have good intentions. But their goal is a shabby one: to cut Social Security and Medicare for aging Americans, people who depend on the benefits they've earned.

So get off my Lawn, debt fixers.

Gregory Hays is an associate professor of classics.

Don’t stop believing Pediatricians are right to intervene when parents try to prevent their children from receiving life-saving medical treatment for religious reasons Senior Associate Editor

The field of bioethics constantly addresses medical situations in which disagreements arise based on religious beliefs. Organ transplants, stem cell therapies and ending life support or artificial nutrition and hydration are commonly condemned on religious grounds. Moreover, people of certain religious faiths may even refuse potentially life-saving treatments like blood transfusions, abortions and — in this instance — chemotherapy.

When patients are mentally competent and legally adults, patient autonomy typically prevails, and physicians respect their patients’ wishes to forgo treatment — even if that treatment is lifesaving.

That doesn’t mean that the physician must conclude that a patient is making the right choice or agree with the ways in which the patient justifies his decision. Rather, this practice accords with the commonly held view that medical professionals should not administer treatments against their patients’ wills. Practicing medicine paternalistically — that is, acting in a way that is contrary to a patient’s competent and voluntary decisions — is usually deemed unethical. But what if the patient is not an adult? A new bioethics decision seeks to address this.

On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Bioethics issued an advisory statement regarding how parents’

religious beliefs may affect their children. Currently, most states have clauses in their child-abuse laws that exempt parents from prosecution if they fail to obtain medical care for their children for religious reasons.

According to the committee, pediatricians should feel obligated to intervene when parents’ religious beliefs lead to children not receiving necessary medical treatment. If parents do not acquiesce to doctors’ wishes, child abuse agencies can step in. The committee further recommended that states close loopholes in child abuse and neglect laws that may result in children being denied necessary care because of parents’ religious beliefs.

The committee’s statement is no doubt going to face backlash from religious communities who will view the decision as oppressive to religious freedom, perhaps much in the same way as Christians rebelled to the idea of health insurance providers covering contraceptives. And, if the ruling applied to adults as well as children, those opponents would be vindicated. Competent adults are free to make autonomous medical decisions regardless of how they justify those choices. But when children are concerned, the distinction between paternalism and autonomy becomes less clear. I believe the committee made the right choice.

A child in need of medical care should not be bound by his parents’ religious beliefs.

To be sure, the consequences of the committee’s ruling are difficult

to ascertain since it is hard to tell when a child’s wishes are based on his own thinking and when they are derived merely from his parents’ beliefs. Based upon their obligations as medical professionals to provide the best care possible, however, pediatricians should always seek to give children life-saving treatments. Regardless of the child’s situation, that seems like the most beneficial option.

Take, for instance, the simplest case, where a child’s desires are different than his parents’. Maybe the child is not religious, or his personal spiritual beliefs do not preclude him from wanting a necessary medical treatment. It would, and should, be considered unethical for a doctor to allow the parents to control their child’s health based upon their religious beliefs.

It is irrelevant what the parents believe in that situation. The child, whose health is actually in jeopardy, should not be denied care simply because he is not of legal consenting age. Admittedly, this situation is more clear-cut, and the committee probably would not have to sway many people to adopt this stance.

What if, though, the child mimics the parents’ beliefs and refuses a lifesaving treatment on religious grounds? Here, the committee’s ruling still promotes the best decision. A young child may not be competent enough to truly know what he wants. He may mindlessly mirror his parent’s beliefs because that is all he knows. Or, he cannot fully comprehend all his options, in which case he cannot be

considered entirely autonomous.

A necessary treatment, then, may be permissibly administered to the child.

This decision could be justified in a couple of ways. It may very well turn out that the child grows

“

Alex Yahanda

Currently, most states have clauses in their child-abuse laws that exempt parents from prosecution if they fail to obtain medical care for their children for religious reasons.

up to have different beliefs than his parents. In that situation, the child’s life would have been saved or prolonged by his pediatrician’s decision to go against the parents’ beliefs. Additionally, a person’s religious beliefs are largely influenced by where he was born.

That is why, for example, those in predominantly Arab or Christian countries tend to be Muslim or Christian. One’s religion is heavily influenced — though not necessarily determined — by one’s upbringing, family, ethnicity, educational exposure and other circumstances. There is nothing that proves that a person is of a particular faith because that faith is objectively right. Indeed, sheer chance plays a large role in predisposing people toward some particular

religion. So why should a child be denied a treatment simply because he happened to be born in a family with certain religious beliefs?

He shouldn’t. The doctors have an obligation to provide those under the legal age of consent with the most beneficial care, which means giving necessary treatments even if they clash with a child’s religious beliefs.

Denying a child required medical care would be much harder to justify in our society if it were on non-religious grounds. If, when I was 8 years old, my parents refused to let me have a needed blood transfusion simply because they didn’t want me to have it, it would be viewed as irrational and parent negligence. But, if a child is denied that same treatment because his parents are Jehovah’s Witnesses, it is permitted under the law. The decision is also more acceptable in society because the rationale is bolstered by religious ideology. Such thinking should be altered. Religious beliefs have very little grounding, and should not be used to alter how children are treated. In the end, the committee’s ruling provides more benefit than harm. Those above the legal age of consent can still follow their religious beliefs without opposition.

Children, however, should not let their parents’ spiritual beliefs shorten or adversely affect the rest of their lives.

Alex Yahanda is a senior associate editor for The Cavalier Daily. His columns run Wednesdays.

6

OPINION

The Cavalier Daily

Credit where credit’s due The University should not eliminate granting students AP credit

Opinion Columnist

My fellow columnist Ashley Spinks recently argued for a rather drastic policy change across the schools at the University: stop granting credit or exemption for Advanced Placement (AP) scores.

Ms. Spinks went on to elucidate the ways in which AP courses fail to prepare students appropriately for college and often do not even cover the same material as the courses they are intended to replace; she even cites an interesting Dartmouth study that convinced the school’s administrators to enact the very policy change she wishes to see at the University. She concluded by calling the granting of course credit on the basis of high AP scores an “empty or even fraudulent gesture.”

There is merit to this argument.

The most appropriate evaluation of the effectiveness of AP tests, however, is not a one-sided account that simply looks at a single aspect — whether such tests cover roughly the same material as their congruent university courses — but rather a costs-benefits approach that weighs the pros and cons of supporting the “AP system” that is currently in place across the country. When we fully consider all the aspects, we are led to question the conclusion that drastic changes are

needed in the University’s admissions or credit-granting processes.

First, Ms. Spinks’s account of her experience with AP tests is — as she admits — an anecdotal one. I could cite a number of people, this columnist included, who found the AP courses at their high schools to be both highly engaging and adequately preparatory for the challenges of college. I cannot claim

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Russell Bogue

Granting exemption from introductory courses for those students who put in exceptional effort in high school is an efficient and appropriate way to incentivize scholastic achievement prior to entering college. that the material I learned in my AP courses was the same as those in the introductory college courses I was aiming to skip; I can claim, though, that I felt prepared for the subsequent courses I pursued. For example, I knew many individuals in my 3000-level economics course who had received AP exemption from the introductory courses in economics. They fared no better

or worse than the University students who took the “Principles in Economics” sequence. Similar stories abound across the disciplines.

My evidence is, like Ms. Spinks’, anecdotal. However, I seek merely to point out that experiences vary widely, and for some students AP courses are adequate preparation for college’s rigors.

Even if we are to operate under the questionable assumption that AP courses are, in all cases, inadequate representations of the college courses they replace, we do not have to conclude that they are worthless. Realistically, we must learn to speak of AP courses not merely as “college-preparatory” courses designed to give students a rigorous, college-level experience, but also as a reward system for students who are willing to put in significant effort in high school. Granting exemption from introductory courses for those students who put in exceptional effort in high school is an efficient and appropriate way to incentivize scholastic achievement prior to entering college. Put simply, you can get students to work harder if they are guaranteed tangible rewards like course exemptions.

We should be wary of destroying a system that has motivated so many students to reach for greater heights at their high schools.

Do we risk overwhelming students who come in with many AP

credits and find themselves struggling in higher-level classes? Yes, of course we do. But that is a problem that can be remedied with higher standards for scoring on the AP tests. Perhaps a “5” should be more difficult to attain, or perhaps credit should only be granted for students who receive this top score.

If the problem is lax standards, then the solution is to tighten those standards, not eliminate AP credit altogether.

Moreover, introductory courses are not always — and perhaps even infrequently — easier than subsequent courses. Often, introductory courses are more synonymous with “general subject matter” rather than “lower level of critical thinking.” AP students may struggle just as much in introductory courses as they do in higher-level courses; their hard work in high school, then, should at least give them a head start in pursuing their academic interests by letting them skip more general courses. Now, those students who wish to take introductory courses in topics outside their intended course of study will always do so — I have taken multiple introductory courses in subjects that I do not intend to major in. But having the option to skip these classes, especially if I plan to major in the subject and want to explore more material in greater detail, is valuable. In addition, just because AP students find

certain courses challenging does not mean that they would struggle less had they taken the introductory classes first.

In sum, the decision to eliminate AP course credit from the University is a complex decision that would have ramifications far beyond those examined in Ms. Spinks’ article. We should consider the incentive structure in place that motivates high school students to challenge themselves before getting to college, and we should be wary of concluding that AP courses inadequately prepare students for the rigor of college simply because the material in the high school classes doesn’t align with material in the college courses. Precisely matching subject matter with subject matter is not a prerequisite for a rigorous, college-preparatory course. The AP system is certainly not perfect, and Ms. Spinks points out some issues that demand attention. The solution, however, requires the fine adjustments of a scalpel rather than the violent excising of the kitchen knife. We should not eliminate AP credit-granting from the University.

Russell Bogue is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. His columns run Thursdays.

Public support

More should be done to protect people who benefit from Charlottesville’s public housing Gray Whisnant Viewpoint Columnist

Dorothy Day said one of the easiest ways to lose sight of poverty is to be insulated from it by one’s own comfort. While the University of Virginia does contain a student body from widely varying socioeconomic backgrounds, the University’s location — surrounded by well-maintained green space and vibrant commercial districts — often masks the fact that 26.4 percent of the Charlottesville population makes an income below the poverty line and struggles to afford basic necessities like health care, heating and housing. Because of pressure from developers seeking to accelerate the trend of gentrification, the city’s commitment to these residents is in jeopardy.

The Great Society in the 1960s initiated massive federal support for public housing to ensure a safety net for citizens in danger of homelessness. As with many other government services,

however, the public housing program is being increasingly privatized with the advent of a new Department of Housing and Urban Development pilot program called Rental Assistance Demonstration. The voluntary program would allow local housing authorities to convert previously public housing into privately owned and financed housing units through the creation of “project based vouchers” and/ or “project based rental assistance.” Though this program has only recently been introduced, the Charlottesville Public Housing Authority has been moving to approve the proposal rapidly to begin the gradual turnover of this public real estate to private landlords. In order to stop some of Charlottesville’s most vulnerable from being victimized, it is up to the University and surrounding Charlottesville community to step up to protect existing affordable housing in our region. We should also maintain the broader principle that our city should be a place where ev-

eryone can live despite their socioeconomic backgrounds.

The Public Housing Association of Residents, a union and advising board of sorts for people living in public housing units, is vehemently against the proposed changes in their residents’ living arrangements. The organization claims that the implementation of the program would result in the eventual elimination of up to 376 public housing units, the displacement of many residents with formerly secure housing and a changing of the income targeting formula, which could leave many low-income tenants without adequate support. In addition to these concerns, PHAR also sees the elimination of public housing rules and regulations that would occur with the conversion of these units as entailing a dangerous lack of oversight that would leave private landlords unaccountable to their economically vulnerable tenants.

Faced with these concerns from residents and the potential for abuse with the shift of these

units into private ownership, why are the Charlottesville City Council and Charlottesville Public Housing Authority strongly considering implementing an untested program? With real estate scarce in downtown Charlottesville, developers hope that by accessing the public housing units they will be able to demolish them and build condominiums and apartment complexes for wealthier tenants. This will result in higher profits for landlords, but it will come at the expense of displacing of existing public housing residents no longer able to afford their rent.

Such a move will likely cause an increase in homelessness at a time when a record number of homeless children are enrolled in public schools nationwide. Beyond the potential profits to be made from the sale of the public housing real estate, turning the units over into private hands will likely increase the property values of surrounding apartments and price still more people out of living in Charlottesville.

Despite the housing residents being organized under PHAR and strongly voicing their discontent with the Rental Assistance Demonstration program, there is still a strong threat of looming privatization. When people think of groups with strong political clout and potential to provide campaign contributions, the most economically vulnerable do not usually come to mind. There has been a great deal of praiseworthy solidarity with people affected by cuts to Access UVA, but there is no reason that this concern and compassion should stop with those enrolled at the University.

Thomas Jefferson envisioned the University as an academical village, and this vision would be greatly tainted if the surrounding town had no home for the region’s poorest.

Gray Whisnant is a Viewpoint columnist for The Cavalier Daily.

OPINION

Thursday, October 31, 2013

7

Pick one of the above

The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s decision not to endorse any gubernatorial candidate does its readers a disservice Viewpoint Columnist

For the first time in the paper’s history, the Richmond Times-Dispatch has opted not to endorse a candidate in Virginia’s gubernatorial election. Not only is this a cop-out on the part of the paper’s editorial board, but the paper’s refusal to take a position on whom to vote for is irresponsible to its readers.

Newspapers have an obligation to inform their readers, and in that role newspapers should strive to be unbiased. In the editorial section, however, a newspaper’s obligation is to inform readers, subjectively, on what the best course of action will be in the controversies facing them. The Times-Dispatch’s endorsement (or lack thereof) of a candidate probably won’t have a dramatic effect on the election — the level of influence of newspaper endorsements has been decreasing for some time — but

it is nevertheless reasonable for readers to expect an endorsement. Voters still care, albeit to varying degrees, about the advice of their local newspapers, and subscribed readers pay for the privilege of reading that advice.

“

Dani Bernstein

Aside from failing to fulfill its obligations to its readers, the Times-Dispatch is also endorsing something demeaning to our system of elections; it is tacitly favoring abstention from voting.

When the editorial board refuses to take a stance on an issue, subscribed readers are not getting their money’s worth.

Aside from failing to fulfill its obligations to its readers, the

Times-Dispatch is also endorsing something demeaning to our system of elections; it is tacitly favoring abstention from voting.

As those on the editorial board of the Times-Dispatch well know, one of the three candidates in this election will ultimately become governor. There is therefore no reason not to choose one candidate to vote for; even if none are ideal, there is always a lesser evil.

The governor will have a measurable effect on Virginia policy over the next four years; it is irresponsible for the newspaper not to advocate for whom they perceive to be the least offensive candidate. At the very least, if the newspaper really cannot in good conscience endorse one of these candidates, it should suggest an alternative to voting for one of them (e.g. writing someone in on the ballot).

The likely explanation for the paper’s stance is that, as a historically conservative paper, though they have made emphatic objections to Attorney General Ken

Cuccinelli, they will not go as far as endorsing a non-Republican candidate. This reluctance is understandable but should not ultimately be inhibiting. It would be better for the paper to reluctantly endorse an opposing party’s candidate than none at all.

The paper’s arguments seem to suggest that the best of the bad bunch is Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe. The Libertarian candidate, Robert Sarvis, is the recipient of the fewest attacks in the editorial, but the article essentially says that libertarian ideology is not realistic in Virginia’s political climate, thus ruling him out as a viable contender. But the paper never expressly ranks these candidates, and readers who want to determine whom the board views as a better candidate have to read between the lines. This is not to say that readers can’t do this, or that they absolutely need to in order to make an informed choice — there are obviously other sources of information out there. But, regardless

of the editorial board’s goal of generally lamenting this election, the Times-Dispatch is still supposed to be a primary source of information. It is a waste of voters’ time to comb through the paper’s complaints in their effort to determine whom to vote for.

Perhaps the editorial board’s worst offense is the pointlessness of its piece. The article does not offer a course of action; it bemoans this election, but gives no alternative to the options available (mainly because, aside from abstention — which is not really a viable option — there are none). The frustrating nature of this election has been pointed out plenty of times; there is nothing to be gained from complaining about it more. The paper has pointed out the undeniable difficulties in voting in this election, but without being part of any possible solutions.

Dani Bernstein is a Viewpoint columnist for The Cavalier Daily.

Sit down, you’re rocking the vote Inspecting the voter registry right before an election invites errors

If you’re registered to vote here in Virginia, you may want to check again. The statewide process of removing incorrectly registered voters from Virginia’s voting rolls has been anything but smooth; errors have abounded, removing many correctly registered voters from the rolls. The months prior to an election are not a suitable time for such a task. We need to take the politics out of the process by mandating a neutral time for examining the voter rolls.

This past year, the state of Virginia joined a program known as the “Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck,” run by the Kansas Board of Elections. The program seeks to identify duplicate voter registrations. The recent purge of voters from the rolls, however, has been imprudently rushed. If a state decides to clean the voter rolls of improperly registered voters, it should provide an equitable amount of time to complete the process sensibly.

The project started during August when the Virginia State Board of Elections began distrib-

uting lists of voters to the offices of various county registrars. Chesterfield County received its designated list —2,200 names of active and inactive voters — in late August. An inspection by county registrar Lawrence C. Haake III (a Republican) uncovered 170 errors

“

Conor Kelly

Viewpoint Columnist

The confusion and uncertainty involving the voter rolls not only dissuades voting but may also create delays at the polls and thus deter many individuals who intended to vote from doing so.

out of 1,000 active voters. Among the errors were voters who had been purged because of out-ofstate registrations more than 10 years older than their registrations in Virginia. Instead of following the advice of the county electoral board and immediately purging the selected names, Haake argued that the purge process should be

postponed until such a time that it could be done properly. The process has continued unimpeded in other counties, however.

This hasty time frame creates serious consequences. For example, the disorder of the process has prevented the registrar for Arlington County from receiving its “purge” list until September. The rush leads to inevitable problems.

For one, the example of Chesterfield county indicates that the data records are critically flawed. The risk of wrongly eliminating duly registered voters from the rolls is too high. At this time of the year, if a voter is removed from the rolls, he or she would have little indication of the removal and practically no time to amend the error, given that Oct. 15 was the deadline to register.

Partisanship, however, is the core issue. Though many names on the lists may be lawfully removed from the rolls, there is a serious risk of unjust exclusion. The pressure-filled environment preceding an election creates a stressful setting in which errors are likely to and do in fact occur. The county registrars and members of the boards of election, furthermore, are biased and possess too

much discretionary power. Of the three members of each county’s board of elections, two must be of the governor’s party — in this case, Republican. Many of these individuals in charge of “purging” the voter rolls have been appointed by Gov. Bob McDonnell and thus potentially carry a partisan agenda.

In an election that is already likely to have low voter turnout because of various factors such as voter apathy and dissatisfaction with candidates, this chaotic process will only contribute to even lower turnout. The confusion and uncertainty involving the voter rolls not only dissuades voting but may also create delays at the polls and thus deter many individuals who intended to vote from doing so. The disorder of this process will only increase voter apathy, driving turnout to very low levels.

This deplorable scenario can be avoided. This should begin with a petition to withdraw the state’s participation in the “Crosscheck” program. The program wrongly equates errors in voter data with voter fraud. Its method of identifying double voting is imprecise at best; reliable evidence of double voting, moreover, is also quite

hard to find. The state should apply more reasonable regulations to the maintenance of the voter rolls. Mandating a specific inspection time would help to preclude the possibility of voter confusion and prevent interference with the state’s elections.

For federal elections, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requires that such investigations of the voter rolls be completed at least 90 days prior to a general election. Reforming the composition of the state’s voter roll immediately prior to a statewide election, as is the case currently, creates confusion and limits voter turnout. These effects tempt individuals to use voter “purges” as a partisan device to sway elections. A neutral time for the maintenance of the state’s voter rolls should be mandated, perhaps in the “90-days prior” style of the federal regulation, to help prevent this political maneuvering. As it exists now, the voter roll is not insulated from indirect partisan manipulation.

Conor Kelly is a Viewpoint columnist for The Cavalier Daily.

The Cavalier Daily

HU MOR

8

Just for wits.

Fourth-year trustees begin ‘one-fifth compromise’ initiative Chris Hutson Humor Columnist

College can be a stressful time.

No one knows that better than Brandon Moores, president of the fourthyear trustees. After conducting a class-wide survey, Moores and his fellow trustees discovered a startling statistic: one out of every five* members of the fourth-year class is, or has been at some point in their career at the University, “really stressed-out.”

We aren’t talking about the oh-myGod-I-don’t-know-what-I’m-beingfor-Halloween-stressed. This survey revealed that 20 percent* of fourthyear students are dealing with, or have at one time or another dealt with, the paper-due-Thursday-interview-Friday-midterm-Mondaystress.

“My Wednesdays are basically a wash ‘cause I have to go out Tuesdays

19 signs you’re a

‘90s kid

in order to handle all this stress,” fourth-year psychology major Ryan Molhauen pointed out. “And don’t even get me started on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays,” he added. “ I can’t get anything done four out of the seven days of the week because I have so much stress. Something is wrong here.”

The fact that two out of every 10* fourth years — that’s 40 out of 200, and exactly 500 out of 2,500* members of the Class of 2014 here at U.Va. — are exhibiting, or once exhibited, this type of stress is “alarming, to say the least,” noted fourth-year trustees vice president Haider Arshad.

“It may be because we are not as mature as these fourth years, or because we haven’t had as much time here at this university, but there is no way three out of 15* members of the third-year class have experienced this stress. I mean when we’re talking one million nine hundred forty

two thousand one hundred and fifty two out of nine million seven hundred and ten thousand seven hundred and sixty* fourth-year students, the University has to intervene,” said third-year math major Mark McKirthy.

The administration is taking the challenge seriously.

“We as an administration need to come up with a compromise for the one fifth* of these stressed out fourth-years,” University Dean of Students Allen Groves said. “Therefore, we will allow this super duper stressed out group to miss a fifth* of their classes while still earning credit, drop a fifth* of their lowest test scores in a fifth* of their classes, and receive a refund of a fifth* of their tuition, provided they apply for these benefits before kickoff of the final home football game,” Groves explained.

The fourth-year trustees, work-

ing hand in hand with Groves and the rest of the administration, officially adopted what students have been calling the “Fourth-Year-OneFifth*-Compromise” in order to help these stressed-out seniors.

“The two-tenths* of the fourthyear class who carry this weight, or at least know someone who has had to carry this weight, deserve a healthy outlet for their stress, and it is our duty as administrators to provide the three-fifths minus twofifths* of the fourth-year class with such an outlet,” University President Teresa Sullivan said.

Ultimately this compromise will allow the how-many-more-extracredit-write-ups-can-I-do-to-getstraight-A’s fourth years to become how-many-classes-can-I-fail-andstill-graduate fourth years, sources say.

“We’re really getting back to our roots here, thinking like Mr. Jeffer-

son, in creating this compromise,” said fourth-year University Guide Felix Sneider. “I think the FourthYear Fifth*, that’s what we’re all calling it, really sets us apart as a University. It shows the world that, hey, we love our fourth years. We don’t want them to be stressed; we want them to have fun. When else in your life are you going to be able to do something like this, you know!? Go ‘Hoos!” he added, before returning to another new fourth-year body-image initiative that would allow students to run naked through the heart of the University. *The Cavalier Daily would like to thank not-so-stressed-out third-year math majors for their help converting these fractions.

Chris Hutson is a third year and staunch advocate of the new trustee initiative.

1. The Super Bowl is never as good as when you saw Manius Acilius Glabrio kill a lion in the Coliseum.

2. Your parents always complained about the gold you spent on the latest scrolls from the Scrollastic Catalog.

3. You stayed up all night to see the white smoke announce Pope Evaristus succeed Clement I. 4. Slip ’n Slides will never be as thrilling as the aqueducts.

5. There wasn’t even enough history to fill the class textbook.

6. You're so glad tunics now come in colors besides white.

7. Your uncle won't stop talking about that crazy Vesuvius eruption.

8. You had to stay home because of malaria.

9. Half your friends died of malaria.

10. You still feel how disappointing of an ending the Book of Revelations had.

11. Math class consisted of writing DIX all over your parchment.

12. During the shutdown you wished we could just have senators executed like Emperor Domitian.

13. You remember exactly where you were when you heard Emperor Domitian was assassinated.

14. You're totally comfortable pooping in public.

15. Your mom always threatened to sell you into slavery.

16. You had an Emperor Trajan sign outside your house.

17. Your Greek friends always said they were into your mythology before it was cool.

18. Your cousin went Goth so you had to burn his village to the ground.

19. You are more than 1900 years old.

Peter “Methuselah” Simonsen loved growing up in all of the 90s.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

S

9

A season to remember

sports

Virginia’s once-murky prospects now overshadowed by top-ranked, unbeaten, untied squad’s impressive season

Ryan Taylor Associate Editor

The top-ranked Virginia women’s soccer team is in the midst of a historic season that shows no signs of ending. The Cavaliers are the nation’s only undefeated and untied team and have been the consensus No. 1 team for seven straight weeks. If they defeat Virginia Tech Thursday, they will become the first ACC team since North Carolina in 2006 to finish the season with an unblemished conference record.

At the start of the season, questions clouded Virginia’s future. Although the team was coming off a season in which it won just its second-ever ACC tournament title, the Cavaliers lost 20-goal scorer Caroline Miller — who now plays for the National Women Soccer League’s Washington Spirit — among several other key contributors.

Before official competition even commenced, however, coach Steve Swanson knew he had something special brewing in Charlottesville.

“Our spring schedule was awfully good because we got to go over to England and play several professional teams over there, and I think because of that trip and the rest of our spring schedule, we were a little bit further along than we had been in past years,” Swanson said.

The Cavaliers reduced a slew of formidable foes on their early season schedule to rubble. Against top-10 adversaries Santa Clara and Penn State, Virginia triumphed 4-0 and 5-1, respectively.

“The games at the beginning of the season that led to up to ACC play were against some really good teams,” Swanson said.

“That helped us prepare for what we knew was going to be a very difficult conference schedule.”

Entering conference play, the Cavaliers were 6-0 with a scoring differential of 25-3 and two tournament victories — the Klöckner Classic and the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic — under their belt. Still, the squad understood that to surpass or even replicate the previous year’s level of success, it would have to continue to raise its level of play.

Virginia did just that, and rolled into ACC play like an unstoppable freight train, defeating Syracuse 3-0 in its first match as a member of the conference. But all of the team’s victories had come within the friendly confines of Klöckner Stadium to that point and it was unclear how the team would react in its first trip to a hostile environment.

Again, the players answered the call. In a memorable road debut, the Cavaliers showed that they could play from behind when they came back to notch the school’s first ever victory playing at Boston College — a game that also marked the 300th win of Swanson’s career.

As an encore, Virginia followed up with two more come-from-behind victories at Pittsburgh and Duke.

“You need to win games on the road in this conference,” Swanson said. “On that first road trip, we came back from behind and that can raise confidence. We’ve found ways to win games because we have different answers to different problems, and that shows the resilience of this team.”

Since the conclusion of the Cavaliers’ first road trip of the season back in late September, they have played eight games, and allowed a goal in only one of them. No. 5 Notre Dame took the

Cavaliers to double overtime on an evening in which the pouring rain created a perfect slip and slide for the team. It was not until the 101st minute that junior midfielder Morgan Brian headed home the game winner.

“A highlight of the season for me was definitely the Notre Dame game,” sophomore forward Makenzy Doniak said.

“Winning that game in overtime and celebrating in the rain is something I’ll remember about this season.”

Since that double overtime scare, Virginia has ripped off five shutouts in a row while scoring 14 goals. The highlight of the run arrived Oct. 20, when the Cavaliers defeated defending national champion No. 4 North Carolina 2-0 to become the first team ever to win three consecutive games in Chapel Hill.

The season arguably hit its emotional peak Sunday, however, when Virginia defeated No. 3 Florida State 1-0 in overtime. The victory marked the Cavaliers 12th shutout of the season, but more importantly clinched the team's first-ever ACC regular season title.

“I think it shows that we mean business and our hard work as a team,” Doniak said.

Now, the same Cavaliers that began the season mired by questions now sit as the undisputed best team in the nation. Virginia has amassed 57 goals through its first 18 games this year — 11 more than last year’s ACC championship squad had at this point — and has given up just nine goals. The Cavaliers are the only team in the nation with three double digit goal scorers with Doniak at 13, sophomore forward Brittany Ratcliffe at 11 and Brian at 10.

Jenna Truong | The Cavalier Daily Jenna Truong | The Cavalier Daily

Sophomore forward Makenzy Doniak’s team-leading 13 goals already represent the sixth-highest single season total in Virginia history with postseason play yet to ccommence.

Yet those impressive numbers fail to highlight the most potent weapon in Virginia’s arsenal: solidarity.

“Our chemistry is a big difference for us this year,” Doniak said. “We were close last year, but this year we hang out all of the time off the field and that translates to our play on the field because we all trust one another.”

The University and the community as a whole have certainly taken notice, as well. At the outset of 2013, the attendance record for women’s soccer at

Klöckner Stadium was 2,011.

After 2,800 weathered inclement conditions to watch Virginia play Notre Dame Oct. 10, the record was again shattered Sunday when 3,894 spectators were on hand to see Virginia clinch the ACC regular season title.

“It means so much to us that our attendance is growing,” Doniak said. “It gives us a great atmosphere to play in when Klöckner is filled with not only U.Va. students but the whole community. They make us want to perform better; they’re so supportive and I love it.”

Native son Boyd savors homecoming Clemson standout signal-caller played against, mentored fellow 757 product, Cavalier quarterback David Watford Zack Bartee

Senior Associate Editor

Kelsey Grant | The Cavalier Daily

Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd was an AllAmerican in 2012.

When Heisman-hopeful Tajh Boyd visits Virginia this Saturday, his career will come full circle. After starting his first ACC road game against Virginia Tech in 2011 — a 23-3 Tiger win — Clemson’s senior quarterback from Hampton, Va. will fittingly conclude his ACC road career in his home state.

The meeting is the first be-

tween the Cavaliers (2-6, 0-4 ACC) and the No. 8 Tigers (7-1, 5-1 ACC) since Virginia’s 2009 34-21 loss in Clemson, during Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s first full season at the helm. Boyd, redshirted at the time, will be facing the Cavaliers for the first time in his career and returning to Scott Stadium for the first time since he visited as a recruit.

“Late in the season, senior year, I think it plays out really well,” Boyd said. “When we played Virginia Tech up there it

was like the [fifth] game of the season … 40 degrees out, it was raining. So I think the atmosphere will be a little bit better for this one, and I’m looking forward to it.”

But Boyd won’t be the only quarterback from Hampton on the field Saturday. Virginia sophomore quarterback David Watford will start opposite Boyd, a player Watford considers both a friend and a mentor.

“Me and Tajh, we have a pretty close relationship,” Watford said.

“He was one of the older guys. I worked out with him before, just trying to learn from that guy. I saw what he was doing, how good he was, and the potential that he had. He kind of took me under his wing when I was in high school, so we’re pretty close from that.”

This weekend’s game will mark the second time the two have faced each other. During

see FOOTBALL, page 11

10

SPORTS

The Cavalier Daily

Freshmen phenoms help pace Virginia harriers

Hauger, Fakler, Sargent provide valuable depth, replace White to spark No. 10 women’s team; ACC Championships begin this weekend Matthew Wurzburger Associate Editor

When former Cavalier Catherine White claimed her second All-American distinction in cross country last November, it was a time of celebration for Virginia cross country.

It also marked the beginning of a period of massive uncertainty.

The finish line at “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. signified not only the end of the 2012 season; it also signified the end of White’s eligibility and left a massive void for women’s coach Todd Morgan.

By the second weekend of February the team’s immediate prospects improved with the commitments of some of the nation’s best prep school distance runners. The results of the 2012 season, marred by injuries and a shortage of athletes, was not a strong selling point for Morgan. Instead, he pitched a program with the promise of much better days ahead.

“Last season was a struggle to keep things between the ditches,” Morgan said. “Recruiting people this good during a season that was a struggle was tough. Luckily, they believed in what we were trying to do,

and that is how we were able to get it done.”

Labeling his recruiting class as “this good” might still represent a bit of an understatement. The 2013 class included eight state championships spread among three runners, a high school All-American and a member of team Canada during the 2012 World Junior Championships.

“I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and have signed some good people with good credentials,” Morgan said.

“But as a group, this is the best group I have ever gotten.”

Three of Morgan’s signees have burst onto the scene and made an immediate impact for the Cavaliers.

A trio of freshmen, Maria Hauger, Sarah Fakler and Sara Sargent, finished sixth, ninth, and 14th, respectively, and contributed mightily to Virginia’s surprising win at the Panorama Farms Invitational.

The same trio then travelled to Terre Haute, Ind. for the Pre-National meet, a massive competition including more than 50 competing teams. The three ran well again, with Hauger’s 31st place finish supplementing senior Barbara Strehler’s 11th place effort to secure fourth place for the Cavaliers.

Hauger, a four-time cross country state champion from Shakopee,

Minn., has refused to let go of Virginia’s number two spot since seizing it at Panorama Farms. Though unsurprised by her early ascendance, Hauger is trying not to dwell on it and instead focus on team-oriented objectives.

“I think about making everybody better during our workouts,” Hauger said. “Three or four of us come in so close together, and it is good to know that we have a [starting] five that is so talented.”

Hauger acknowledges the collegiate cross country landscape differs drastically from the high school environment, but not in the way one might suspect. She thinks running for Virginia might actually be easier than running for her high school.

“I’m never nervous, only excited.”

Hauger said. “In high school I felt a lot of pressure to run well, but now I go up there and compete against some really good girls. It is really fun.”

The unification of a tight pack of five runners has spawned success for Virginia, now ranked No. 10. This was evidenced in Terre Haute, where all five Virginia runners placed in the top 60 in a field of 340 finishers.

To Morgan's delight, the individual pieces of the team have meshed together well. He knew what to ex-

pect out of returners Strehler and ACC teams will be no cake walk. But Stevens, but was uncertain about the the Virginia women, including their impact his freshman corps would precocious freshmen, have already have in their first year. proven their talent and toughness on “You want to be cautious in your the course. expectations because everything is “Our goal is to finish in the top new to them, but I knew they were four and be a podium team,” Morreally talented and they were com- gan said. “We’re doing well, but we petitors,” Morgan said. “Once I was still have a ways to go.” around them for a while, nothing they do surprised me anymore.”

For Virginia’s freshmen each day presents a new set of challenges. This weekend’s ACC Championship in Winston-Salem, N.C. presents yet another challenge to overcome. Fakler, a three-time cross country state champion and Gatorade Athlete of the Year for Xavier Prep in Phoenix, Ariz., is drawing on her experience competing in large, national meets in high school for confidence going into ACCs. “There will always be nerves, but you just get over it,” Fakler said. “I try to keep the same prerace routine, go out, do my best, and represent U.Va.” The Virginia women have been tremendously successful during 2013, but they are not Courtesy Virginia Athletics ready to rest yet. Racing against Freshman Maria Hauger, above, has finished second the likes of No. 5 Florida State among Cavaliers in each of the last two races, and a plethora of competitive finishing behind only senior Barbar Strehler.

No. 13 Matmen open grueling 2013 schedule

Despite departures of several key fifth-year seniors, Garland touts veteran leadership, talented freshmen before squad hosts quad meet Saturday the matmen their first chance to showcase the fruits of countless hours of practice.

Coach Steve Garland is For No. 13 Virginia, the without the services of Jedd 2013-14 wrestling season kicks Moore, Matt Nelson, Matt off with a quad-meet against Snyder, Mike Salopek and Anderson, Gardner-Webb and Derek Valenti — all spring 2013 West Virginia this Saturday in graduates and key contributors Memorial Gymnasium, giving to last year’s team.

V a l e n t i remains with the program, but he now wears a polo shirt and khakis instead of the familiar singlet. Garland offered the 2011 All-American a position as assistant coach.

“The decision to bring back Valenti was as easy as they come,” Garland said. “We still have all the pizazz and Dillon Harding | The Cavalier Daily Redshirt junior Nick Sulzer, above, has emerged as a team leader after passion that he placing eighth natioanlly and earning All-America recognition last year. brings daily.”

Matthew Wurzburger Associate Editor

The departure of five fifthyear seniors presents a daunting challenge for Garland. He must replace not only their in-match production, but also their presence in the locker room and practice.

“It was a really tough loss, and we’re still feeling the effects of it,” Garland said. “We’re doing the best we can to move forward, and there have been some positives come from it.”

As is often the case, the leadership issue has resolved itself internally. A pair of redshirt juniors, 2013 All-American Nick Sulzer and Gus Sako, appear to be emerging as Virginia’s modest, but hardworking leaders.

“Losing those guys is never easy,” Sulzer said. “We have a good group of seniors that have stepped up. People may not realize how big an influence they are because they don’t have that All-American status, but they are making huge impacts.”

Garland restocked the shelves with an wide array of talent from his 2013 recruiting class. WIN Magazine ranked the Cavaliers’

freshman class as the eighth best in the nation — the accolades of these nine wrestlers could fill up several pages.

“You may not see the fruit of this class right away, but you are going to look back 10 years from now and know that was a heck of a group,” Garland said.

Last season, Garland boasted that he compiled one of the strongest schedules ever at Virginia. This year, he upped the ante. Virginia travels to the Hokie Duels in mid-November to wrestle Kent State and Wisconsin, two teams receiving votes in the coaches’ poll. The Cavaliers follow up with a showdown with No. 7 Virginia Tech inside John Paul Jones Arena. The team competes in three elite tournaments, the Las Vegas Invitational, the Southern Scuffle and the Virginia Duals, before beginning the ACC dual season in earnest Jan. 17 against Duke.

“In order to get the best competition, there are a few events you have to go to,” Garland said. “Our competition schedule

is probably the toughest it has ever been. It is insane. Trust me, I’m worried about it.”

Saturday’s quad-meet serves as a tune-up event before the Cavaliers head out to conquer the wrestling world. Home field advantage was something Nick Sulzer never considered, but the recent success of the No. 1 women’s soccer team in Klöckner Stadium has changed his mind.

“I never realized how big an impact wrestling at home could have,” Sulzer said. “When you see 4,000 come out to see the women’s soccer team, it is really exciting.

Watching them has sparked a new love and appreciation for Mem Gym and its atmosphere.”

Garland and the team are certainly craving a packed house this Saturday.

“We want our fans to come out so they can see the work we put in,” Garland said. “This quadmeet is basically a huge campaign for our program. We are excited to be in our home and show them who we are for 2013-14.”

Action begins at 10 a.m. against Anderson.

SPORTS

Thursday, October 31, 2013

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A good ol’ time Fourth year at the University — a men’s lacrosse championship, of Virginia is a time of great postseason berths in men’s reflection for many students, soccer and two College World myself included. We Series appearances think back on all of for the baseball team, the amazing memories not to mention the we’ve made here — the incredible show that friends, the stories, the women’s soccer the late nights talking team has put on this about nothing and year — and countless everything all at once amazing athletes, — and we look ahead from obvious names to walking down the such as Mike Scott and Lawn at graduation, Chase Minnifield to imagining what the less well-known stars SEAN MCGOEY future holds for us. like Jarmere Jenkins, SPOIRTS COLUMNIST For many of us, Caroline Miller and college has really Robby Andrews. comprised the best years of It’s a little harder, though, to our lives, no matter how cliche look back fondly on the past four it sounds. And now that we’re years of Virginia football. Any of reaching the end of an era, those who have stuck with the with the looming specter of the Cavaliers since the beginning of “real world” on the horizon, the Mike London era knows that it’s comforting to cling to the it’s been a period marked by some remaining moments we have. ups — most coming in 2011’s Virginia sports have provided surge to a bowl appearance — but me with many of those great far more downs. memories. Being in the press box With Virginia in the midst of last season when Joe Harris and a six-game losing streak for the the men’s basketball team slayed second straight season, you might Duke is one of the top five sports be hoping for a swift and painless moments of my entire life. end. After all, out of sight, out of And in four years, I have borne mind, right? That’s what I thought witness to so many exciting events when I first considered that

Saturday will mark the last time I walk through the gates of Scott Stadium as an undergraduate student. As a lifelong LSU fan, I’ll admit that I’ve often treated the Cavaliers as second-best in the fight for my football allegiances, so I thought it would be easy to let go as 2013 drew to a close.

But then I found myself unable to sleep at 4:30 a.m. last night, so I threw on my sweats from that long-gone time when I was a high school football player, and I took to the roof of my house to look out over Rugby Road and synthesize my thoughts.

I still remember dressing up in my shirt and tie as a first year, taking what seemed like a million pictures with the rest of my dorm and crossing Alderman Road to sit on the Hill with my friends. We didn’t really care that Virginia was in the process of going 4-8; Mike London was brand new and had plenty of time to grow into the program savior that we hoped he would become. And we were all going to watch it happen together.

My second year was a shock to the system, but in a positive way.

The Cavaliers went 8-4 against strong odds and claimed a bowl bid. As a newly initiated fraternity

member, I was surprised to be welcomed by my new brothers on a trip to Atlanta to watch Virginia take on Auburn in the ChickFil-A Bowl. It didn’t so much matter that the Tigers spanked the Cavaliers; it was an unbelievably fun bonding experience that far outweighed the disappointing result of the actual game.

Last season, the Cavaliers came crashing back down to earth. A six-game losing streak — which I’m still less than thrilled to say I predicted in this very space — led to another 4-8 record. And amid the great Rocco-Sims quarterback controversy of 2012, the calls for London’s head began. But being in the student section for some of those disappointing losses — and the rare wins, like the comeback victory against Miami — brought me so much closer to the friends I attended the games with, some of whom will probably be groomsmen and de facto “uncles” down the road.

This year has been no different.

The walks from Scott Stadium back to Rugby Road have been pretty difficult at times, and the calls for London’s firing have reached a fever pitch. He might have fallen far short of the

promising future we hoped for back in 2010, but my friends, and my time at the University never have.

Virginia football has been hugely influential in my development and growth as a person, and it has nothing to do with whether David Watford is throwing touchdowns or interceptions. It doesn’t matter whether Taquan Mizzell plays like a five-star recruit or a doe-eyed freshman. Virginia football has been so important to me and so many others because of the way it brings people together.

So, with my last home game rapidly approaching — my Thanksgiving travel plans mean I won’t be back in time for Virginia Tech — I’m going to get dressed up one more time, head to Scott Stadium, and watch Virginia take on Clemson. Maybe they’ll lose; maybe they’ll surprise everyone and upset the Tigers. Whatever the outcome, I’m going to spend time with my friends, and I’m going to appreciate every second of it.

And when it’s all done and I’m back on Rugby Road, I’ll raise a glass to four years of football that I’ll never forget.

FOOTBALL Boyd lauds ‘dynamic’ Watford, forecasts future success Continued from page 9 his senior season at Phoebus High School in 2008, Boyd led the Phantoms to a 42-6 romp against then-sophomore Watford’s Hampton Crabbers in front of more than 10,000 fans at Darling Stadium in Hampton.“The Hampton-Phoebus games are … probably the most electric game in the state,” Boyd said. “I couldn’t let a young guy beat me.”Boyd and the Phantoms would eventually finish with a perfect 15-0 record and the VHSL AAA Division 5 state title.

Boyd is seeking a similar outcome against Watford this time around. Clemson trails No. 3 Florida State by one game in the ACC Atlantic Division after falling 51-14 at home to the Seminoles Oct. 19.

The Tigers have developed a reputation in recent years for faltering in the face of high expectations — a phenomena known widely as “Clemsoning” — and

another loss would likely drive the nail in the coffin of their BCS dreams. Boyd, for one, thinks the reputation is unwarranted.

“I think we’ve put ourselves in a situation where we’ve shown we’ve been consistent in games,” Boyd said. “I think it’s just something for people to make an excuse if something does happen — they can say it’s typical or usual. Right now, it’s pretty far from usual. We’ve been doing a great job, especially being consistent and winning.”

Yet the senior manages to keep the game in perspective, continuing to provide guidance to Watford despite their impending matchup.

“I talked to him [Monday] and told him how proud I was of the game he had [against Georgia Tech],” Boyd said. “It’s never easy being the quarterback of a program when you’re not winning as much as you want to. I think it’s important to talk to somebody in a similar situation, but in a different perspective. And espe-

cially me being somewhat older, you kind of get into one of those mentor roles and it’s something I take pride in.”

Much of Boyd’s mentoring instinct stems from his exposure to the tight-knit network of successful quarterbacks from the 757 area code. Boyd lists Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick as a mentor, discussing his decision to return for his senior year, among other things, with the former Warwick High School and Virginia Tech star.

And just as Boyd and Watford look up to older quarterbacks from the Tidewater region — like Vick, Ronald Curry, Tyrod Taylor, Aaron Brooks and current Virginia wide receivers coach Marques Hagans — young players from the 757 now look up to them. Boyd said he is looking forward to seeing some of the kids from the Virginia Beach Mustang Youth Camp that he worked with this summer at Saturday’s game.

Despite expecting a large sup-

port network in attendance and having to acquire additional tickets for friends and family, Boyd claims that his impending homecoming has not been a distraction this week.

“I think at this point, we’ve seen pretty much everything you could possibly see,” Boyd said.

“You put a little bit more pride in it because it is your home state, but at the same time, nothing out of the usual, nothing I wouldn’t do normally.”

Boyd said he did originally wonder what would have happened if he'd chosen to stay instate, but he knew he wanted a different challenge and he has savored his time at Clemson.

Somewhat lost in the hoopla surrounding Boyd’s return to his native state is the pressure burdening Watford before he clashes with both his mentor and rival.

Though Saturday marks Boyd’s final game in Virginia, Cavaliers coach Mike London believes Watford also has an extra incentive to perform against one of the

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all-time Hampton greats.

“You could ask the same thing about David because Tajh has been noted as one of the best quarterbacks in the country,” London said. “I know that it'll be exciting to the two of them probably to meet at pregame and they'll hug after the game, but they'll be competing against each other because they'll want to come out of the game as the best quarterback on that day.”

And although Virginia is a clear underdog in this weekend’s matchup, the game provides a national spotlight for Watford to showcase his growth as a starter in recent weeks against a powerhouse opponent. His Tiger counterpart also thinks Watford is well on his way to becoming a dual-threat force.

“I can’t wait to watch what he does in the future,” Boyd said.

“He’s becoming a dynamic player out there, running the ball really well … and can throw the ball all over the place. It’s just fun watching him.”

The Cavalier Daily

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SOLE SURVIVOR

BY MICHAEL GILBERTSON

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(NO SUBJECT) BYJANE MATTIMOE

NO PUN INTENDED

WHOA

BY CHARLOTTE RASKOVICH

BY TIFFANY CHU

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Thursday, October 31, 2013

A BUNCH OF BANANAS Crossword ACROSS 1 It has a red stripe in pool 5 A gross 10 50% 14 Modern pentathlon event 15 Fuming 16 Potential solution 17 Blue-eyed pet 19 Former carfinancing co.

20 It sticks out in some joints 21 Neat 23 See 18-Down 25 Not obvious 26 Earned 28 “Slow Churned” brand 31 “___ durn tootin’!”

32 With 29-Down, “golden treasure” in a Bilbo Baggins riddle 33 Wild scenes 35 Bob in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

39 Neatnik’s opposite 41 Instrument that hints at the missing parts of certain answers in this puzzle 43 ___ Fayed, last romantic partner of Princess Diana 44 Kind of sax 46 Down Under climber 48 Certain shoe shade 49 Cutesy-wutesy affection 51 Oil container 52 Texter’s exclamation 53 Part of the British Isles, poetically 56 Thickness measures 58 Darth Vader locale 61 Dance reminiscent of a horse’s gait 64 Business opening?

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE E T H A N S

B O T T O M L A N A D E N S O D

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65 Play that was the basis for “Cabaret” 67 Caroling time 68 “30 Rock” character, or the first name of his portrayer 69 Look intently 70 Sailors’ domain 71 Like a die 72 Fin DOWN 1 Annual Car and Driver list 2 “… baked in ___” 3 Using for support 4 Car that leaves you with a sour taste?

5 Slam 6 Some tram loads 7 Galifianakis of “The Hangover” 8 Amazon business 9 Take-home 10 Colleges and universities, informally 11 Marketing pro 12 Vaulted 13 Acid-burned Bat-villain 18 With 23-Across, sign, as a contract 22 Marie et Thérèse: Abbr.

24 Like much of Horace’s poetry 26 Popular women’s shoe seller 27 Check out 29 See 32-Across 30 Left the bench, say 34 Appendectomy memento

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36 Drift off 37 Cheese with a red coat 38 Like some circuses 40 Western party wear 42 Model/TV host Heidi

45 “Whither thou goest, I will go” speaker 47 Guadalajara girlfriend 50 Calls on 53 Transition 54 Head nurse on “Scrubs” 55 Creator of Asteroids

57 Lanterns, e.g.

58 Length of a Beatles “week” 59 In ___ rush 60 Hustle 62 Twistable treat 63 Like barbershop harmony 66 Dancer Charisse

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554.

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BY GARRETT MADJIC & JACK WINTHROP

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The Cavalier Daily

A&E Fa ll ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

ing

The separation of a book lover from his books is a sorry sight. Unfortunately, college students often feel too busy for any reading beyond their course syllabi. Having suffered this type of withdrawal myself, I’d like to propose a solution: the vastly underappreciated short story.

One should never forget the importance of judging quality over quantity. Short stories often prove capable of holding real substance.

The most recent Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Canadian author Alice Munro, a short story guru. Munro has a reputation for putting entire lifetimes into only two dozen pages.

"The novel is so much considered the most significant form for literary prose that it’s become almost a cliché to praise Munro by saying that her stories fit entire novels into a handful of pages,” English Prof. Victoria Olwell said.

Rather than judging a book by its word count, Olwell said short stories allow the reader to appreciate the work's “compression and narrative rhythms,” all consumed in the time it takes to watch the latest episode of "Scandal."

Put the remote away and try something new.

Besides Munro, Olwell recommends the collections of William Faulkner, Katherine Mansfield, Ernest Hemingway and Nadine Gordimer’s — or even a subscription to The New Yorker.

“We are readers whose lives are short — and our lives can change in an instant,” English faculty member Ashley Faulkner said. “Short stories accommodate and remind us of all that, showing us characters in dramatic encounters that can teach us new ways to live out our own limited time.”

Among Ashley Faulkner’s “not-to-bemissed” reads are Franz Kafka’s "In the Penal

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wikipedia.org

Therese Codd Staff Writer

popentertainment.com

Colony," Edgar Allan Poe’s "Manuscript Found in a Bottle," Nathaniel Hawthorne’s "Rappaccini's Daughter," W.B. Yeats’s “Out of the Rose," and, as she said, “absolutely anything by Zora Neale Hurston.”

Assoc. English Prof. Sydney Blair, who teaches "Modern American Story," attests to the merits of short stories. “In less time than it takes to watch a mediocre movie or catch up on Facebook and Twitter — or read a novel, a moving experience of an altogether different sort — you’re invited to bring your full attention and imagination to what’s on the page and to lose yourself there” she said. “In that intimate hour, reader and writer are united in a brief, thrilling adventure, the pleasure and power of which is limited only by your willingness to dive in and be undone by it.”

Blair recommends James Thurber’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” Grace Paley’s “Enormous Changes at the Last Minute,” ZZ Packer’s “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere,” and Nathan Englander’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.”

But beware of getting sucked into the worlds these stories create — Assoc. English Prof. Victor Luftig said short stories are often some of an author's best works.

“Short fiction spares nothing: 'Dubliners' is the hardest book [James] Joyce ever wrote, and [Joyce Carol] Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?' is way scarier than 'Dracula,’” he said. “The busy student who wants to sneak in a story here and there had better watch out —the stuff is habit-forming: a little Hemingway or Hurston and the next thing you know your homework's all to heck.”

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studentbranding.com

The Light ‘AFTERdark’

Jacqueline Justice Senior Writer

billboard.com

If you somehow managed to miss the swing dance flash mobs, the colorful chalk advertisements all over Grounds and the group of students in AFTERDARK Tshirts tossing out flyers on the Lawn, you really must have had a lot of midterms.

For everyone who got the memo, you had the chance to experience AFTERDARK, an event “where music and message meet” that featured heartthrobs Ben Rector and Tyrone Wells.

Despite the event’s billing, music wasn’t the main purpose of the event. Joe White, highly acclaimed speaker and former Texas A&M assistant football coach, presented the performance’s true colors, speaking on the the topic, “Is Jesus Relevant Today?” Music was, however, central to the event. Special guest and opener on Ben Rector’s tour, Tyrone Wells, sang a quick set with just a microphone and a guitar before the night got underway. In such an intimate setting, he immediately developed a personal relationship with the crowd, cracking jokes and telling stories.

After Tyrone left the stage, speaker Joe White promptly took over, building on the mood that Tyrone set by reciting a poem relating directly to the University community. He went on a rhyming tangent reciting stanza after stanza of descriptions like “Greeks and freaks.” Just when we all

thought he was about to run out of breath, he took in a quick gasp and kept going.

His poem eventually did come to an end, leaving him breathless and the crowd amazed, but the jokes never did seem to cease. Then, suddenly, the lights dimmed and a video began to play on the topic of what it meant to be significant in this world. Everyone forgot where White was until he reappeared among the crowd when the lights turned back on, carrying a big wooden log. He brought the log to the stage and chopped at it with an axe.

As wooden bits flew everywhere, he assumed the role of a Roman cross builder, calling himself the “scum of the ghetto,” but revealing that the prophet Jesus gave him hope.

When reassuming his authentic role as Joe White, he explained, “That’s the love of a dad.” Joe related Jesus to fathers, explaining his enduring, unconditional love and emphasizing the sacrifice of himself to allow forgiveness of all his “children.”

He told lengthy stories packed with emotion — stories of NFL linebackers crying their eyes out at hearing this message, his testing struggle with cancer and the story of Team Hoyt, a father-son tandem where the father pushed his disabled son in a wheelchair through triathlons and marathons. All of these stories related to his main premise that Christ’s love of his

people mirrors the love of a father.

Joe ended his testament by setting up the cross that he built on the stage, and allowing students to come up and nail a piece of paper on which they had written their sins. This somber mood lasted for 10 minutes or so, until Ben Rector took the stage, lightening the mood and getting everyone up on their feet.

Constantly attempting to get the crowd to yell, Ben’s enthusiasm was catching.

Clad in an untied bowtie, a grey blazer and some high-water dress pants, he stole hearts while crooning “There’s nothing like you and I, baby” in his opening number “No Ordinary Love.” Following that with summer anthem, “Thank God For The Summertime,” he tapped into his country roots, recounting his summers full of wiffle ball and Carrie Underwood’s rendition of the National Anthem.

The crowd only got louder when he announced he was doing a cover for his final song, and began belting out Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” As hundreds of students piled out of the arena, many continued singing Houston’s hit song at the top of their lungs, without fear of judgment. It seemed that the answer to the question the talk proposed, ‘Is Jesus Relevant Today?” was yes, according to the couple hundred U.Va. students that attended AFTERDARK.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Cavalier Daily

‘Carrie’ not scary:

Stephen King adaptation falls flat with sub-par direction, Robin Yeh trite script, mediocre acting Senior Writer Is it just me, or does the film industry seem particularly unoriginal as of late? Most popular movies tend to fall into one of four categories: sequels, remakes, novel adaptations and works inspired by a true story. Every once in a while we see original films like "Django Unchained" or "Gravity," but these productions are overwhelmed by the sheer number of prominent real-life figures dramatized in films, books redistributed with movie covers, and reappearances of Supermans, Batmans and Spider-Mans flying on the silver screen.

In many ways, the trend is understandable. It’s easy for filmmakers to do what’s already been done — the plot is outlined, the fan base is guaranteed and the probability of financial success is high. But films that play it safe risk boring the audience with predictability.

The recent adaptation of Stephen King’s 1974 novel "Carrie" is just the latest example of such a problem.

The remake of Brian De Palma’s iconic 1976 film addresses the deadly consequences of teen bullying through the eyes of a supernatural misfit. As the title suggests, the film focuses on Carrie (Chloë Grace Moretz) — a shy outcast raised by a fanatically religious mother (Julianne Moore). Under stressful conditions, Carrie unleashes a strange telekinetic power that frightens those around her. When classmates taunt her for getting her first menstrual period at age 18, Sue (Gabriella Wilde) feels guilty for participating and convinces her boyfriend Tommy (Ansel Elgort) to take Carrie to the prom. But the high school antics continue when Chris (Portia Doubleday) dumps pig’s blood on her at the dance. It’s your classic teen horror film and, frankly, you can guess what happens next.

The advertising campaign for the movie created a huge buzz prior to its release. A promotional video for the film was framed as a prank video — where workers installed mechanical wires and remote controlled furniture in a New York coffee shop and actors staged a Carrie-esque scenario in which an enraged girl telekinetically “lifted” a man against the wall as terrified patrons looked on. The video received more than 45 million

courtesy ABC.com views online.

Unfortunately, “Carrie’s” advertising campaign ultimately proved to be more impressive than the film itself. The remake exactly follows Stephen King’s novel and De Palma’s original adaption, leaving nothing more than a predictable and cliché-ridden cinematic experience. Director Kimberly Peirce attempted to modernize the plot with smart phones and social media, but these shallow inclusions add no excitement or ingenuity to the adaption.

Moretz and Moore do contribute strong performances — Mortez’s multifaceted Carrie elicits a gamut of emotions as she shifts between shy outcast, vengeful psychopath and guilt-ridden murderer. Her pairing with Moore delivers some of the film’s most frightful scenes. Nevertheless, these leads can’t make up for weak supporting actors — Wilde, Elgort and Doubleday’s second-rate performances provide nothing more than pretty faces and coiffed hair to the film.

With its predictable storyline and subpar acting, “Carrie” is most terrifying for what it says about the dearth of originality in the modern Hollywood landscape.

Real Romance: ‘Enough Said’ Jamie Shalvey A&E Associate Editor

Smart romantic comedies are surprisingly hard to come across these days, making Nicole Holofcener’s “Enough Said” particularly refreshing. The late James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus have true chemistry as middle-aged single parents of teenagers who are preparing to leave for college. Eva (Dreyfus) is a masseuse whose clients are either whiny, unnecessarily chatty or smelly. Albert (Gandolfini) is a divorced teddy bear of a man who makes up for what he lacks in handsomeness in humor and kindness.

The two meet at a party, but the connection is not that fairytale, I-saw-her-across-the-room-and-knew click. They fall for each other slowly, and the relationship builds not on sexual attraction but on actual enjoyment of each other’s presence. They’re able to laugh

about their age and their behind-the-times attitude, and they share the same fear of inevitable loneliness after their daughters leave for college.

This compatibility is the primary strength in their relationship — as the film progresses we learn that both of their previous marriages failed because they lacked this precise attribute. Eva and her ex-husband don’t have similar personalities, and Albert’s ex-wife was incapable of overlooking his flaws to keep a good relationship.

But the relationship hits a big bump when Eva, having discovered that one of her massage clients is Albert’s ex-wife, inquires what exactly it was that caused the marriage to end. Upon learning about all of Albert’s flaws (he stirs the guacamole to avoid onions, for one), she begins to find more. The little flaws she finds cover up the things about him that she originally liked, causing Albert to see parts of his ex-wife in her.

As much as the romance is idealized, you can’t help but believe in it. Eva is a regular woman, just like all of our moms, and Albert is just a realistic guy — not a Nicholas Sparks level dream man, but good enough.

Set in the California suburb, the scenery is simple and pedestrian. Each of the daughters share the same attitude that many of us college students had not too long ago: they can’t wait to leave but aren’t quite ready to go. The realism present in the characters and settings allow us to fully sink into the rapid-fire banter and witty one-liners. It’s calming and unobtrusive, but also touching and brilliantly funny.

Though “Enough Said” breaks the norm of romantic comedies in the best way and is surrounded

by Oscar buzz, it also serves as a great memorial to Gandolfini, who passed away four months before the release. For his family and friends, the film must be an excellent way to remember the man he was.

nypost.com & nydailynews.com & ktep.org

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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itional Jewish music hits hom d a r T : e with s e z i r Univ e Candace Carter Staff Writer

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courtesy UVA Music Dept.

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Thursday, October 31, 2013

“Klezmer” might not ring any bells, but chances are you've run across the style of traditional Jewish music at some point in time, perhaps most notably in the musical film "Fiddler on the Roof." Despite its relative obscurity, this form of music is alive and well, and the Klezmer Ensemble ensures it has a presence even on Grounds.

The group, led by Assoc. Music Prof. Joel Rubin, performed in Old Cabell Hall last Thursday night and incorporated a range of interesting, worldly sounds into each piece.

The group brings together the expected — three violins, a piano accordion and a flute — with the unexpected — a tuba, a piccolo and a banjo — to create a delightfully surprising instrumental blend. The three violins played beautifully together, harmonizing in rhythm and melody, while the accordion mirrored many of their tunes and quick jumps between measures.

Playing the accordion is an impressive feat in itself — its large size requiring awkward movements — but Klezmer accordionist Tom Krop played with a cheerful smile on his face and quickness in his fingers.

The upright bass and the tuba, both played by Nick Roane, provided the majority of the flat, heavy rhythm for the rest of the performers which gave many of the pieces an almost somber feel.

Just when the mood was getting too dark, however, the sharp, high pitches of the flute and piccolo lifted the audience back up. And if listeners ever grew bored with this mesmerizing interplay, Paul Rosen’s creative banjo playing provided a fascinating interlude. Instead of the fastpaced, toe-tapping rhythm a banjo characteristically produces, Rosen held down the frets and firmly plucked the strings, creating a stronger rhythm to the music.

The array was almost shocking as the band filed onstage, but many of the ensemble’s long-time fans in attendance at the performance reveled in the cohesive, sophisticated mixture of so many different sounds.

One piece, “A Freylekhs far di Mekhutonim (Recessional Dance after the Wedding Ceremony),” began and ended with a fast, constant rhythm and a melody that was heavily dependent on the clarinets; it was historically played as a signal of the end of a wedding ceremony and served to excite the wedding party and guests for the following matrimonial festivities.

In contrast, “Der Farzorgter Yid (The Worried Jew)” is a slow piece from Romanian or Ukrainian roots that exhibits a wandering, plodding rhythm and high pitched overtones that could easily capture the despair of a harsh winter, economic trouble or the death of a loved one.

With the weight of such ethnic implications heavy in mind, the concert was appreciated and enjoyed by the small audience that gathered for the show.

Tuesdays in Old Cabell

courtesy Charlottesvillearts.com

Jacob Overfelt Staff Writer

Music can tell just as good a story as any Walter White, a fact I was reminded of last Tuesday at the Tuesday Evening Concert Series in Old Cabell Hall featuring the Les Violons du Roy chamber orchestra accompanied by mezzo-soprano opera singer Stephanie Blythe.

I walked into this spectacle somewhat underdressed and underprepared, but thankfully the musicians did not.

The Les Violons du Roy opened with “Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C Major, BWV 1066,” a lively, naturalistic piece. It didn’t take more than bows across strings to evoke feelings of happiness, merriment and revelry before taking a dark turn into a somber, morose graveyard-esque tone. As the piece continued the pace and beat picked back up, as if the work itself was a widow coming out of mourning.

The powerful emotions were mirrored on the faces of the musicians as they threw themselves wholeheartedly into their music. They struck and lunged as if caught in the dance of the music they had created. Their obvious passion, vigor and intensity was infectious.

The same held true for Stephanie Blythe who came onstage for the second piece, “Arianna a Naxos, Hob. XXXVIb:2.” Blythe has performed everywhere from the Metropolitan Opera with the New York Philharmonic to the Opéra National de Paris and it showed. Or rather, it was heard.

The beautiful mezzo-soprano notes weren’t ear-

piercingly high, but beautifully measured and packed with emotion. Even though both operas were in Italian, you didn’t need to understand the language to understand know what she was saying — the tragic tale of a lost lover across the seas and her bitterness at his betrayal. There were translations of both works in the program, but I stopped following along after mere minutes.

The beauty wasn’t in what she was saying, but in how she said it. The standing ovation was well-deserved.

The post-intermission works, “Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069” and “Giuilo Cesare, HWV 17,” were much less dramatic, though no worse for it. They had a naturalistic style reminiscent of a movie soundtrack; I could easily see Frodo running through the Shire with Suite No. 4 playing in the background.

These works dragged a little compared to those in the first act, but that was mostly because they lacked the strong, dramatic switches in emotion. Instead of being swept up in fantastic tales of heartbreak and tragedy, I felt like I was meandering through the scenery around the tales. As the evening came to a close, I wasn’t sitting in Old Cabell but flying over a landscape of hills, valleys and rivers — probably in New Zealand.

The Tuesday Evening Concert Series is a valuable experience — and at only $5 a ticket for students, its hard to pass up. It’s not often in life so little money will grant you access to performances from great opera singers and professional violinists. Take advantage of it.

The next concert will take place Nov. 12, featuring the Ensemble Plus Ultra, a Renaissance vocal ensemble. I may have no idea what that means — but I assure you, I will be there.

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The Cavalier Daily

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Dillion Harding | The Cavalier Daily

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A Sobering Reality: U.Va. Tradition and the Fourth-Year Fifth Of the class of 2014’s suggested “114 Things to Do before We Graduate,” there are plenty of bizarre and exhilarating traditions.

There is one fourth-year tradition that does not make the list: the fourth-year fifth.

Abuse Prevention Team similarly reported that only 17 percent of fourth-years actually participated in the fourth-year fifth, with fewer actually completing it.

In addition, a representative from the Barracks Road Shopping Center ABC Liquors store reported they do not observe a significant increase in the sale of fifths before the last football game of the season.

A false tradition: Completion of the fourth-year fifth is no simple task; students who choose to participate attempt to drink an entire “fifth” (750ml) of hard liquor on the day of the final home football game of the season.

Although students can select their own brand of liquor, they must finish the entire amount before the game begins. Though a highly visible activity, the fourthyear fifth is not as common as many students believe, said Susan Brice, director of the Gordie Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.

“At no time has a large percentage of fourth-years engaged in this practice," she said. "This is a practice among a minority of students.

In 2012, the Alcohol and Drug

Raising awareness about health concerns: The potential health effects of participating in the fourth-year fifth may explain the gap between the tradition's notoriety and its practice.

In a letter to students last year, University President Teresa Sullivan cautioned against participating in the tradition, saying that the 17 shots in a fifth — if spaced evenly throughout six hours — would still results in dangerously high blood alcohol concentrations. For a 160-pound man, that level of consumption would lead to a BAC of 0.32. For a 130-pound woman, it would lead to a 0.42 BAC. "Most people lose consciousness and other bodily functions start to shut down at a BAC of

Benita von Lilienfeld-Berry & Jack Reynolds Staff Writers

more than 0.30," Sullivan said in the email.

"And a BAC of 0.40 or more is generally lethal.”

To raise awareness of the dangers of the fourth-year fifth, ADAPT has encouraged fourthyears to sign the “I’ll Remember the Game” pledge, promising those who sign a free stadium cup and sunglasses.

Other events intended to raise awareness include the Fourth Year Bagel Breakfast, the Susan Grossman Memorial Event, the Hoos In Recovery Panel, and the Fourth Year 5K, along with a short informational video promoting healthy behavior to be posted on YouTube.

Fourth-year College student Lacie Nixson, a member of ADAPT who sponsored the Fourth Year Bagel Breakfast, said the awareness events are necessary and often effective.

“As I am told, about 189 pledges were signed yesterday to not participate in the fourth-year fifth," she said. "ADAPT works extremely hard to increase awareness about alcohol, reduce the number of students participating in the event, and also advertise the large amount of students who do not participate in the event.”

A tradition continues: Despite these measures, many fourthyears continue to carry out the feat, though perhaps not always sticking to the true letter of the event.

“My fourth-year fifth experience was fun, but did not exceed my ‘normal’ weekend of drinking," 2012 College graduate Zach Starsia said. "I was more inclined to split a fifth of alcohol with a friend of mine as opposed to drinking one to myself. This allowed me to have a good time, yet able to function and stay in control during the football game.”

Even for more strict adherents to the tradition, the practice seems to be more about camaraderie than pushing health or alcohol limits.

“It is something that people have done for years and I don’t think you necessarily need to finish the fifth; it’s more just to say you

participated in Wik a tradition," i Media C fourth-year Col- ommon s lege student Sarah | The C a Carroll said. "I don’t have valier D a the intention of chugging a ily fifth of liquor in record time, but most of my friends and I are going to at least attempt to do it over the course of the day.”

But for some students, even tradition and camaraderie aren’t sufficient.

“Having a tradition to consume an unhealthy amount of alcohol is just stupid,” fourth-year College student Rachel Alexander said.