Thursday, November 10, 2022

DOMeNiCK

This week in-brief

CD News Staff

Organizers of the 19th annual Pancakes for Parkinson’s aim to raise $75,000 for Michael J. Fox Foundation

Approximately 150 volunteers and 1,000 attendees filled South Lawn to flip and enjoy pancakes at the 19th annual Pancakes for Parkinson’s. Held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., student organizers of the event raised money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation to research Parkinson’s disease and raise awareness.

Pancakes for Parkinson’s event is a yearly pancake breakfast run by students. In addition to complimentary pancakes, there was a silent auction and raffle with prizes as well as a variety of musical performances by many a capella groups on Grounds, including The Virginia Gentlemen, the Hullabahoos, The Virginia Belles, No Tones, The Silhouettes and The Flying V’s.

Before the event Saturday, the organizers connected with local businesses and families for sponsorships. In an email statement to The Cavalier Daily, Anna Ward and Parker Kreiser, Pancakes for Parkinson’s co-chairs and fourth-year College stu dents, said this year they aim to raise $75,000 — compared to $50,000 last year — for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

“We are already more than halfway there, so we are hoping the event brings in a lot of donations,” Ward said.

As donations are still being made to the organization, Kreiser said that the total would be released in the next few weeks on their website, Facebook and Instagram page.

Ward and Kreiser said that they are thankful to the people and organizations who have helped them put on a successful event that serves not only the University but also the Charlottesville community.

“The Parkinson’s community has taught us so much about the disease and helped us improve our awareness efforts,” Ward said. “University staff are always willing to offer a helping hand or advice. We are so thankful for everyone’s hard work and generosity.”

Katie Couric announces $1 million scholarship donation in conversation with University President Jim Ryan

Cavalier Daily and Class of 1979 alumna Katie Couric was interviewed by Univer sity President Jim Ryan in front of a standing-room only crowd at Alumni Hall Fri day evening. The pair discussed Couric’s time at the University, her memoir “Going There” and career, among other topics. Couric also announced a $1 million donation to the University, which will go towards the creation of the Blue Ridge Scholarship for disadvantaged students.

Couric was the co-anchor of the NBC TODAY Show from 1991 to 2006 and later became the first woman to solo anchor a network evening newscast as anchor and managing editor of CBS evening news from 2006 to 2011. Couric’s New York Times bestselling memoir “Going There” was published last year.

“The University of Virginia is such a special place for me,” Couric said. “I wanted to give back and I have been grossly overpaid for years — it’s so much more fun to be able to give back when you’re alive instead of after you die, and I’m really excited to help support some students here.”

Couric’s donation was matched by the University, meaning the scholarship will begin with a $2 million fund.

Couric began her time at the University just five years after it became fully coed ucational. While a student, Couric majored in American Studies and wrote for The Cavalier Daily. She also served as a resident advisor for three years, lived on the Lawn as Senior Resident and was a member of Tri-Delta Sorority.

Couric emphasized the importance of encouraging young people to pursue journalism professionally and ensuring that truly accurate information reaches the public, noting that the landscape of journalism has changed drastically from when she began her career.

“Journalism is such an important profession — it’s so critically important, particu larly what we’re seeing happening in our country, where it’s post-truth,” Couric said.

The Honor Committee met briefly Sunday to discuss its Honor Constitutional Convention meeting Wednesday and a need for another Engineering representative on the Committee. Following a roll call, 15 members marked present and the meeting reached quorum, meaning the Committee could vote on constitutional matters.

During this week’s Convention meeting, delegates will conduct an analysis of the current constitution to determine what works well and what needs to be revised. The group will also clearly determine an Honor offense. Following last week’s meeting, no additional meetings of the Convention are open to the public.

Rep. Kevin Lin, third-year Engineering student, said there is a need for more rep resentation on the Committee from the School of Engineering. Currently, Lin is the only representative from the school.

“It was brought up during the Constitutional Convention that a lot of cases come from the School of Engineering and I’m the only rep here,” Lin said. “So there’s been talks [with the] Engineering Council about getting a representative. There’s people interested.”

The Committee also discussed upcoming events to increase interactions between the Committee and students and improve the relationship between Honor and students across Grounds. Rep. Hannah Shapiro, fourth-year College student, gave a brief overview of two of the events that are currently being planned.

The first event involves handing donuts out at Clark Hall to in crease the visibility of Honor. The second event included giving out snacks and coffee to students study ing for finals in Clemens Library.

“The plan is to have a laptop out that way students who walk by, if they want to, can get interaction with Honor [by leaving contact information],” Shapiro said.

The Committee would use their contact information to notify them of any up coming events or initiatives concerning Honor.

Honor Committee sets date for next Constitutional Convention meeting, discusses lack of Engineering representation

EVA SUROVELL | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Ryan and Couric discussed Couric’s time at the University, her memoir “Going There” and career, among other topics.

Bob Good defeats Josh Throneburg in re-election bid

Avery Donmoyer & Caroline Yu | News Writers

Republican incumbent Bob Good defeated Democratic nom inee Josh Throneburg in the race for Virginia’s fifth district for the House of Representatives seat. The race was called by the Associ ated Press at 9:04 p.m. — Good re ceived 57.9 percent of the vote and Throneburg received 42.1 percent.

“I would like to thank the vot ers of the 5th district for giving me the honor of continuing to represent you in Congress,” Good said in a statement released Tues day. “It has been one of the great est privileges of my life to serve as your representative these past two years, and I am truly grateful for your continued support.”

The fifth congressional dis trict includes parts of Albemarle County and Charlottesville as well as Louisa, Amherst and Flu vanna.

Good defeated Dr. Cameron Webb, University alumnus and professor of medicine, with 52.4 percent of the vote in the 2020 election. According to Good’s campaign statement, he decided to run for reelection to push back against illegal immigration, “left ist indoctrination” in schools and “reckless” spending by Democrats in office.

In 2021, Good was one of 147 Republicans who voted to re ject election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, and has previously cast doubt on the legit imacy of the 2020 election. Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics and professor of politics, has characterized Good as one of the most conservative members of Congress.

Throneburg ran on a platform that included combating the cli mate crisis, reinvesting in Vir ginia towns and addressing prej udicial systemic issues as his top priorities.

“I will pray for Bob Good, and pray that he can rise to the chal lenge of being a representative who helps these people build the world they seek,” Throneburg said in a statement conceding the race.

Polls opened at 6 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m. across the state. Students living on and around Grounds voted at a variety of lo cations, including Slaughter Rec reation Center, Alumni Hall and Venable Elementary.

Student Council offered free rides to the polls for students through Charlottesville Yellow Cab Services for early voting and on Election Day itself. Other stu dent organizations also engaged in get-out-the-vote efforts in the

days leading up to the election, such as voter registration drives and phone banking.

This year marked the first time the University canceled classes for all undergraduate students on Election Day in an effort to remove barriers that might oth erwise prevent students from voting. The decision was made after Student Council advocated for easier access to voting for stu dents.

This year’s election was also the first time Virginia has allowed same-day voter registration, al lowing voters to either register for the first time or change their registration location on the spot at any polling place. Same-day voter registration was champi oned by the Democratic Party in 2020 as part of a sweeping set of reforms.

Fourth-year Architecture stu dent Teo Blazquez said he forgot to change his voting registration

to Charlottesville before the deadline, and the new same-day voter registration law allowed him to still be able to vote.

“I think what changed a lot this year was that you can register on the same day that you vote,” Blazquez said. “Also having no school I think helped a lot too.”

Despite same-day registration, turnout this year in Virginia and Charlottesville was lower than in 2018. Approximately 2,991,000 people voted in this year’s mid term elections, while 3,374,382 voted in 2018, a 13 percent de crease. The City of Charlottesville reported that 14,481 people voted versus 20,490 people in the 2018 midterm elections. Vote counts are still being finalized, and turn out is approximate.

Carissa Kochan, president of University Democrats and thirdyear Batten student, said Virgin ia Democrats have continued to advocate for voter accessibility

expansion.

“Our expectations for turn out in majority-student precincts were exceeded today,” Kochan said. “Young voters were impor tant today and will be especially important as we turn our atten tion to the 2023 election cycle.”

College Republicans did not respond to a request for comment.

Second-year College student Avery O’Kane said the Univer sity provides its students with resources that help students gain access to voting, which makes it easy to participate in elections.

“I think it’s more a matter of effort than accessibility, at least at this school,” O’Kane said.

First-year students said they were excited to be able to partici pate in the electoral process.

“I’m a first-time voter, so I wanted to come out here and make sure I was doing my part, no matter how small it is,” First-year College student Carson Diggs

said.

At Venable Elementary, com munity members Luciano Mateo and George Johnson volunteered for Good’s campaign. The pair listed border control and Second Amendment rights as the issues they viewed as most important this year.

“Every citizen sort of has this civic duty as an American, so no matter what side you go on, I think it’s important to practice that because we are privileged to be Americans at the end of the day,” Johnson said.

Throneburg was supported by community members Cathryn McCue and Christa Bennett, who said climate change and women’s reproductive rights were most im portant to them.

“I’ve had … a better feeling about being a part of a democracy this year than I ever have had be fore when I just show up to vote,” McCue said.

DOMENICK FINI THE CAVALIER DAILY

This year marked the first time the University canceled classes for undergraduate students on Election Day.

Students and community members headed to the polls Nov. 8 to cast their ballots in the 2022 midterm election

Advisory Council members share motivations, goals

dent Council and graduate stu dent, said she wonders why Ryan wants to establish a new group to advise him on student matters when Student Council’s repre sentative body already exists.

“The Student Council repre sentative body already is and has been, for decades, serving as the advocacy group that President Ryan is seeking here,” Cain said in an email to The Cavalier Daily.

“Representative elections are al ready baked into the long-stand ing system of student self-gov ernance.”

Cain proposed that the Stu dent Council representative body could also serve as an advi sory board to Ryan as a way to honor students and their agency.

Bowen said Student Council remains an important resource for the president, adding that the Advisory Council is not intend ed to replace or replicate Student Council, but to act as another way to build relationships with students.

“Student Council is an in valuable resource and sounding board for President Ryan, and that’s why, over the years, he has continued to meet with the Stud Co president on a regular basis,” Bowen said.

When planning the Advisory Council, Bowen said the office wanted to give “a broad range of students” the opportunity to get involved, not those who were “al ready established in leadership positions.”

New members of Universi ty President Jim Ryan’s Student Advisory Council named student well-being and representation for transfer students as their rea sons for applying to the Council.

Members plan to improve Uni versity communication with stu dents, provide better financial support for student health-re lated matters and strengthen the relationships between individual schools in the Council’s first year.

Ryan announced the names of the twelve members who com prise his new Student Advisory Council Oct. 17.

The Council includes 10 third and fourth-year undergraduate students and two graduate or professional students — thirdyear College students Hamza Aziz, Zach Hallock-Diaz, Lauren Horan, Jonathan Marter and Liz zie Weschler, fourth-year College students Grant Blumberg and Carlos Rodriguez, fourth-year Commerce students Nellie Phil pott and Tianxiao Yao, fourth-

year Education student Quana Dennis, graduate Engineering student Russell Hawes and Law student Annie Somerville.

Jonathan Bowen, special advi sor to the president for external affairs, said the Council will have its first formal meeting Monday and will begin holding regular monthly meetings next semester.

“This is a pilot year for the new Council, and President Ryan plans to reassess at the end of this first year,” Bowen said in an email to The Cavalier Daily.

Marter was one of the students selected to serve on the Council and said he looks forward to pro viding Ryan with input on how his decisions will affect students.

“I applied to the Student Ad visory Council because during my time at U.Va., I have been on the receiving end of many deci sions made directly by adminis trators,” Marter said in an email to The Cavalier Daily. “From students’ past reactions to reg ulations during [COVID-19] to

the demonstrations surrounding the release of information about University incidents, we see that there are areas for improving the well-being of students on Grounds.”

Marter said he hopes to im prove communication between the University and the student body, financial support for stu dent health issues and cohesive ness between different schools during his time on the Council.

Bowen said Council members will not serve as representatives for their respective schools. In stead, they will participate in discussions with Ryan “on issues related to the student experi ence” and serve as “open lines of communication.”

Dennis, another student ap pointed to the Council, said that as a transfer and first-generation student, he hopes to help stu dents with similar paths to the University.

“I want to be a sounding board for transfer students, and

I would like to increase the en gagement and presence of trans fer students, especially students from the Virginia Community College System,” Dennis said in an email to The Cavalier Daily.

Ryan announced the Council’s creation in an Instagram post Sept. 12, and applications were due Sept. 23. Comments on the post praised Ryan’s decision, and gave examples of potential topics for the Council to explore — in cluding first-year student ad vising, diversity initiatives and more.

Ryan’s idea for the Council has been in the works “for some time,” according to Bowen, mir roring many of the student-out reach initiatives which Ryan has undertaken during his time at the University — such as Runs with Jim, office hours and Lunches on the Lawn.

Not all members of the stu dent body are convinced of the need for a Council, however.

Ceci Cain, president of Stu

“With an application process that was open to all third and fourth-year students and grad uate and professional students, we think we have formed a coun cil that complements — rather than duplicates — other student leadership groups and will bring a broad and diverse view of the student experience to the group’s conversations,” Bowen said.

Still, Cain said she agrees that students need to be better inte grated into the University’s deci sion-making process.

“I do hope that this Council is productive in bringing forth the true and diverse student experi ence and does not simply serve to undermine pre-existing stu dent-run institutions,” Cain said.

“It’s also my hope that President Ryan’s engagement with student issues begin, and do not end, with this Council.”

DOMENICK FINI THE CAVALIER DAILY

According to Bowen, Ryan’s idea for the Student Advisory Council has been in the works “for some time.”

The new initiative has been met with both praise and criticism as the community awaits the Council’s first meeting

Mimi Lamarre & Grace Thrush | Staff Writers

New Dean

Christa Acampora found her love for higher education during 20 years of teaching across mul tiple states and, after expanding into administrative roles, joined the University in August as the Dean of the College and Gradu ate School of Arts and Sciences. A native Virginian, Acampora found the mountains calling her back home to professors and fac ulty at the University — where she hopes to foster a sense of community among students.

Acampora succeeds Provost Ian Baucom, who spent eight years in the role. The dean is re sponsible for overseeing both the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, along with interacting with alumni, facili tating research development and recruiting faculty.

As a first-generation college student who graduated with a bachelor of arts in philosophy from Hollins University, Acamp ora later obtained her masters and PhD from Emory University.

Acampora said her time in the classroom proved key to her student-based approach to edu cation.

“I learned more from my stu dents than I could have ever im agined teaching them,” Acampo ra said.

During Acampora’s under graduate years at Hollins Univer sity, she received a grant to study the papers of Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which detail the sepa ration of church and state. This experience — along with growing up in Virginia — created a tie between Acampora and the Uni versity.

“I already had strong attach ment to U.Va. in particular, and then the opportunity to lead the School of Arts and Sciences, the

names student success top priority

Lexi Baker & Merrill Hart | Senior News Staff

heart and soul of the institution, that was just irresistible,” Aca mpora said.

During her time at the Uni versity, Acampora plans to pri oritize student success over ad ministrative processes in a large university. She said that it can be easy to get lost in the idea that the University is just a business and forget that the main point is to educate students.

“Put the student experience at the center,” Acampora said. “[We exist] really to deliver the very best outcomes for our staff, our faculty and our students.”

The lasting power of the Uni versity experience on students’ lives, Acampora said, is evident in her conversations with alum ni, and sometimes even with whole families that remain con nected with the school.

“Finding ways of amplifying [stories and connections] and making that accessible to as many people as possible so that U.Va. continues to have that spe cial place of pride in people’s hearts and minds — that’s great and important work that lies ahead,” Acampora said.

Prior to arriving at the Uni versity, Acampora was a facul ty member at Hunter College, City University of New York and Emory. Additionally, she held the title of associate provost for fac ulty affairs and research at Hunt er and most recently she was dep uty provost at Emory.

During her time at Emory, Acampora played a vital role in creating a comprehensive faculty data system — which includes in formation from faculty and staff — and shaping the first Office of Faculty Affairs at Emory. Aca mpora said she hopes to bring the same attention to faculty at the University.

One prominent issue among faculty members is pay. At this August’s Board of Visitors meet ings, Chief Operating Officer J.J. Davis described a “war on talent” in reference to high vacancy rates among faculty and staff. These vacancies are the result of less competitive pay — the Universi ty currently sits at the 29th per centile of competitors in terms of faculty salary. Acampora said that in conversations with pro fessors, she has noticed both con cerns with pay along with a de sire for more connections.

“Ultimately, U.Va. will have to be a place that’s harder to leave than it is to stay, and the most talented people want to stay where they’re surrounded by oth er talent and where they feel like they’re supported to do their best work,” Acampora said.

Acampora also said the Uni versity could improve condi tions for professors by support ing a strong graduate student

community that can participate in research with faculty.

In addition to faculty reten tion, Acampora worked to im prove the advising process at Emory by helping to create a center that incorporated academ ic advising and career services. When faced with recent student dissatisfaction with University advising, she said she plans to utilize this previous experience.

A survey conducted last spring by Josipa Roska, associ ate provost for undergraduate education and asst. sociology professor, found that 60 percent of undeclared students were satisfied with the quality of ad vising, compared to 80 percent of students who had declared a major. Students are randomly assigned to an advisor as a first year and receive a major advisor in the relevant department after declaring.

In a similar vein, Acampo ra hopes to improve advising at

the University by looking at the whole student experience and removing any bureaucratic road blocks.

“I’m really keen to take on advising, but I hope that we’ll have a process that helps us take a more holistic view on what stu dents need and what their aspi rations are for how they come to the University,” Acampora said.

Ultimately, Acampora said she is glad to be back in a stu dent-facing role. She said that as dean, the responsibilities allow for much more time interacting with students than in the role of provost.

“One of the big draws for me and taking on a dean’s role instead of a provost’s role was getting to spend more time with students and just having been in the classroom for decades I crave those experiences,” Acampora said.

Christa Acampora succeeds Provost Ian Baucom as Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

LIFE

Top 10 things to bring to a Friendsgiving party

The key to a successful Friendsgiving party is good friends and good food

Katrina Samaan | Top 10 Writer

As Thanksgiving approaches, there are a lot of holiday plans to prepare for between traveling and pre-break midterms. But, before the long-awaited Thanksgiving break arrives, it is time to gather your close friends and have the annual “what are you thankful for?” conversation around the din ner table. If you are hosting or attending a Friendsgiving, a casual Thanksgiving dinner with your friends, here are some helpful ideas of things to bring to the table.

1. Charcuterie board

Hosting a Friendsgiving in college means that not everyone is going to arrive on time. Having a charcute rie board is a great appetizer to fill your friends’ appe tites while people start trickling in. This way, everyone has something to munch on while waiting to dig in on the amazing food that is to come. It does not have to be one of those elaborate boards that you see on Pin terest — consider buying some cheese, crackers, salami and maybe a few grapes and you will have an appetizing charcuterie board.

4. Board games

After a delicious dinner and the food coma that will most likely ensue, you might need a fun game to play so that everyone can relax and digest the tremen dous amount of food that was devoured. If you have a smaller group of friends, try playing a card game or a classic like Monopoly. If it is a bigger group, you can try playing interactive games like Heads Up or Mafia.

5.

Dessert

As we all know, dessert at any Thanksgiving dinner is essential. Baking or buying a pie is a tasty origi nal, but consider spicing the dessert up with some unique fall recipes, like apple cinnamon blondies, pumpkin spice oreos or cinnamon rolls. If you de cide to make your Friendsgiving a potluck style, you can have some of your friends bring in different as sortments of dessert options, so that you can have something sweet for everyone.

6.

Specialty cocktail

A great way to make this gathering of friends special is to serve a creative drink that commemorates the occasion. You can look for recipe ideas on Pinterest or come up with one of your very own. Some of my personal favorites are hot spice buttered rum and warm apple cider mulled with cinnamon for a virgin cocktail. Of course, for those who do not or cannot drink, you can make a mocktail version with some simple substitutions.

7.

Decor

Set the tone for your Friendsgiving soirée with some creative decor so you can celebrate the holiday in style. One idea is to buy some Thanksgiving-themed paper plates, which are not only cute, but also make for an easy clean-up. Or you may even try purchasing some pumpkin scented candles. You can also include some party favors, like turkey hats, so that you and your friends can make the dinner seem as festive as possible.

8. A gift for the host

If you are not hosting Friendsgiving at your place, consider buying a gift for whoever is. Whether it is a contribution to the meal or a bouquet of flowers, think of something simple but sweet to give to the host. A lot of preparation goes into hosting Friends giving, so getting something for the host is a nice way of saying thank you.

2.

Polaroid camera

You can always take photos on any person’s phone and send it around, but nothing beats a hard copy version to hang on a wall or put in a scrapbook. A great way to keep your Friendsgiving memories forever is to bring a polaroid or disposable camera. You can take candid photos or make a Thanksgiving-themed photo backdrop for your friends to pose with so you can have digital photos to remember the night.

3.

Playlist

If you are anything like me, you have a playlist for everything — pre-games, workout sessions and even holidays. A social event is never complete without a playlist, and making one for Friendsgiving could be a fun way to get in the holiday spirit. One approach to making a Friendsgiving playlist is to have all your friends contribute to a shared playlist on Spotify. Play ing some great tunes during Friendsgiving is a fantastic way to liven the celebration.

9.

Comfortable clothing

This is one of the most important ways to prepare for Friendsgiving. You want to be able to move around and eat a lot of food while being cute and comfort able. If it is a potluck style dinner, you know there will be a grand array of food options — appetizers, the main entree and of course, dessert. So grab your most expandable pair of pants and get ready to eat — a lot.

10.

Turkey

Do not worry — I did not forget. The most necessary accompaniment to a successful Friendsgiving — the turkey. Now, in my experience, a homemade turkey is better than a store-bought one.If you would like to take the store-bought route, some options are Trader Joe’s, Harris Teeter and Costco. If you want a vegan option, there are some great turkey alternatives on line as well. If you are up for the challenge, consider teaming up with the best cook in your friend group and cooking the turkey.

LEXIE GAGNON- | THE CAVALIER DAILY

LEXIE GAGNON THE CAVALIER DAILY

LEXIE GAGNON | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Iron Paffles brings an interesting twist to the classic sandwich

Alison Tashima | Food Writer

Located between The Space Downtown and Hot Yoga Charlottes ville at 214 W Water Street, Iron Paf fles is owned by English immigrant and entrepreneur Kathryn Matthews. The restaurant is hard to miss, with gear decals on the restaurant’s exte rior windows and a chalkboard out side the door advertising sandwich specials.

When I walked in, I was met with a dynamic mural and local art avail able for purchase displayed on the wall. Their ‘90s R&B playlist adds to the atmosphere and can be found on their @ironcville Spotify account so you can bring their good vibes with you out the door.

The idea for the restaurant came after Matthews found herself one day with a shortage of sandwich bread in college. She opted to use leftover puff pastry dough instead — and thus her vision for Iron Paffles was born.

With Matthews’ hospitality de gree and experience working in the restaurant and bar industry, her vi sion for a paffle restaurant has come to life and contributed to the eclectic collection of restaurants that makes Downtown Charlottesville so special.

Iron Paffles and Coffee opened in 2017 and has thrived ever since.

The paffle is a puff-pastry waffle — wonderfully flaky and the perfect canvas for both sweet and savory fill ings. Matthews learned to make puff pastry from scratch with her Grand mother’s recipe. When baked on a waf fle iron, the delicate dough puffs into a perfectly sized waffle with many flavor-filled, flaky pockets. The paffle is a delightfully crispy — albeit, a bit messy — sandwich vessel that makes for an interesting and exciting eating experience.

Iron Paffles has a broad menu ranging from sweet paffles stuffed with Nutella and banana filling to sa vory fried chicken and mac ‘n’ cheese paffles that are easily customizable at a price point of about $9 each. Iron Paffles also caters to most dietary preferences offering gluten free, ve gan and build-your-own options.

The delicious combinations keep you coming back for more with the restaurant’s ever-improving menu featuring seasonal paffles — such as the Thanksgiving-inspired “Southern Thanksgiving Sammy” filled with cornbread stuffing over fried chicken

and maple syrup — as well as week ly specials and unlimited sandwich combinations. Through sourcing ingredients locally, Iron Paffles con tributes to the Charlottesville food community and helps support other small businesses.

Iron Paffles has an excellent on line presence — with an easily-navi gated website and engaging Facebook and Instagram pages where it is trans parent about business values and de tails how it seeks to change the restau rant industry to create a sustainable and inclusive work environment. The restaurant’s online ordering system is streamlined and straightforward, making it easy to order paffles from your phone and on the go.

I opted to order my first paffle on line for in-store pickup. I was greet ed with a smile walking in and my order was already waiting for me on the pick-up counter. My first order was the Nutella with Sliced Banana paffle, which I customized by add ing peanut butter. Served warm with a light dusting of powdered sugar, it was divine.

The paffle certainly delivers on texture and allows the filling flavors

to shine through. Breakfast sandwich es made with croissants are the closest concept to a paffle I’ve experienced before, but the flimsy croissant sim ply can’t compare to a buttery and flaky puff pastry waffle.

While the sweet paffle filling op tions are certainly delicious — the caramel cannoli being my personal fa vorite — savory paffle sandwiches are the way to go. The Egg, Cheddar, Ba con and Sriracha Mayonnaise paffle is a great, hearty brunch option. The texture of the soft and juicy baked egg contrasts beautifully with the crispy paffle which makes for an interesting and unique eating experience.

In addition to the delicious food, I also appreciated the straightforward and streamlined ordering process. Customers use a self-serve tablet and the paffles are then served warm in an adorable and functional paper pack age that makes them easy to hold and devour. This well-thought-out pack aging makes eating them on-the-go a breeze.

A recyclable cardboard box en cases the paffle and helps control the inevitable puff pastry crumble. Befit ting of the industrial theme of the res

taurant, a gear wheel design is on the half-circle folds of the container each paffle comes in — which generates continuity and adds to the unique ambiance of the restaurant.

For additional accommodations, Iron Paffles also offers online orders for pickup and delivery as well as ca tering with classic savory, breakfast, lunch and dessert platters to choose from and a variety of customization options. However, the paffle is not the eatery’s only claim to fame — the restaurant also serves coffee, tea, kombucha, craft beer and other bev erages. Iron Paffles offers seasonal and weekly limited specials like its pumpkin spice latte and pickle spice drinks. With T-shirts and stickers — and even their own coffee blend — this wonderful restaurant has a lot to offer.

Iron Paffles is open Wednesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and accepts their last orders at 2:45 p.m. While a bit of a trek from Grounds, Iron Paffles is well worth the trip and I highly recommend checking it out — the paffle may very well become your new favorite brunch go-to.

Hoos First Week spotlights first-generation students

Facing a myriad of challenges, first-generation students share their experiences about navigating life at the University as Hoos First Week commences

Miriella Jiffar | Features Writer

Finding a sense of belonging and community is an integral part of the college experience. For first-gener ation students, this goal can be es pecially difficult to achieve as they venture into unfamiliar territory. To create a scaffold of support that ad dresses the specific needs of first-gen eration students at the University lev el, the Department of Student Affairs has a fully staffed office dedicated to the Hoos First Program, which or ganizes events like Hoos First Week in celebration and recognition of the first-generation community at the University.

The week is being celebrated from Nov. 7 through Nov. 11 and recognizes the achievements of more than 1,700 first-generation students, faculty and staff.

The University defines first-gen eration students as “any student where neither parent or guardian ob tained a four-year degree.” Third-year Education student Alvin Nguyen, a first-generation student, said he feels the week-long celebration was a cru cial step in increasing the visibility of the first-generation student experi ence at the University.

Nguyen said he hopes the Univer sity will keep up the momentum and continue supporting first-generation students.

“A whole week dedicated to stu dents like me is nice,” Nguyen said. “I would just hope that after this week is over, [the University] continue[s] to be open about things and have an open door policy.”

A variety of programs and events are scheduled for the week, such as the Career Center’s First Generation Career Conversation Drop-ins, First Generation Study Café at the librar ies and the First Generation Day Party hosted by Student Affairs. Re sources such as the Walentas Scholar ship, QuestBridge Scholars Network Chapter and the First Generation/ Low Income Partnership also aim to empower first-generation students and create community.

Aiding specifically in the transi tion from high-school to college, the Engineering Summer Bridge Pro gram is designed to support first-gen eration college students and other underrepresented minorities in the domains of science, technology, engi neering and mathematics.

Fourth-year Engineering student Thomas Ortega participated in the program the summer before his first year. The program enabled him to become acquainted with the rigor of college classes, resources offered to students and the culture on Grounds.

As an out-of-state student origi nating from California, Ortega cred its his time in the Bridge cohort to streamlining the transition to college. To this day, the fellow students Orte ga met that summer are still his best friends, four years later.

“By the time I was a first-year, because I had done that program … I knew a lot about U.Va., where my classes were and had a group of friends already,” Ortega said.

First-generation students at the University make up a small percent age of each graduating class, with only 15 percent of the Class of 2026 being first-generation students. As such, it can be difficult for first-gen eration students to find others who relate to and understand their unique experience.

Ortega said he experienced substantial social obstacles during his first year at the University as a

first-generation student. He found that students who shared his back ground struggled with a prevalent sense of imposter syndrome and dis covered his peers felt like outsiders at the University because most students couldn’t relate to them. As such, he made conscious efforts to connect with other first generation students to build a sense of solidarity.

“Sometimes [being a first gener ation student] makes it hard for you to feel like people understand you,” Ortega said. “A lot of students aren’t first-gen or can’t really understand the certain types of mindsets firstgen students can have. So finding that community is really important, because then you know you’re not alone.”

In addition to programs initiated by the University such as Hoos First Week, there are also some outside organizations who are committed to supporting first-generation students in their college journey. For example, the Charlottesville-based nonprofit Rise Together, is dedicated to provid ing first generation students as well as low-income students with the re sources to succeed in post-secondary

education. Nguyen volunteered as a first-year at Rise Together, and his experience there gave him a sense of belonging during his first year.

“It was my first chance to feel at home at U.Va.,” Nguyen said. “There was some type of purpose. I had somewhere to be. I had some type of obligation and I could say I’m doing more than just studying all the time.”

Nguyen recalled an event for first-generation students similar to Hoos First Week during his first se mester first year. President Ryan, a first-generation student himself, spoke at the event. Through the event, Nguyen found self-confidence as he entered the University, which is exactly what Hoos First week strives to foster.

“Just to see hundreds of people in that position and [learn] that the president of the University was once in that same situation, seeing that there are people that are successful, and there are people that are going to be navigating the same obstacles alongside me was amazing for me as a first-year,” Nguyen said.

This unique restaurant is sure to impress the adventurous foodie

Sam Brunelle’s return comes at the dawn of a new era

Graduate student forward Sam Brunelle is no stranger to John Paul Jones Arena. She grew up a short drive away in Greene County, Va. and be came a Virginia women’s basketball fan at the tail end of legendary Coach Debbie Ryan’s tenure. As she grew up, Brunelle made frequent trips to John Paul Jones with her family, getting so close to the program that she even served as a ball girl, dreaming of the day she might get the chance to take the court herself in an orange and blue uniform.

“When I was a ball girl I was always thinking, ‘Ooh, I could wear that jer sey someday, playing in front of my family and friends.’” Brunelle said.

While she is now able to live out that fantasy, she didn’t arrive at this moment quite how anyone would have expected.

Brunelle grew and developed her basketball skills at Virginia-hosted camps alongside her favorite players. By the time she was playing at William Monroe High School, she had begun to receive national attention.

In high school, Brunelle was se lected as a member of the U16, U17 and U18 USA national basketball

teams from 2016 to 2018. Her small home county celebrated the star it had generated, holding a parade after she returned from a Team USA victo ry with one of her three gold medals. She was equally dominant on William Monroe’s court, helping end a regional championship drought.

It seemed like the stars had aligned and Brunelle would have her pick for which collegiate program she would continue her playing career at — and why wouldn’t the hometown heroine pick Virginia?

Unfortunately, Virginia’s pro gram had not flourished alongside Brunelle’s ascent to the top of many college recruiting boards. At the time of Brunelle’s recruitment in spring 2018, the program was coachless and directionless after the surprising resignation of Ryan’s successor Coach Joanne Boyle.

Meanwhile, top programs in cluding South Carolina, Kentucky and even UConn actively pursued Brunelle. She eventually landed on Notre Dame, wanting to play under legendary Coach Muffet McGraw.

“I don’t think that at the time when she made that decision there was an

other choice for her,” Sam’s mother Katie said. “You’ll know when you know.”

It seemed that Brunelle and Vir ginia had just missed each other and that her childhood dream of donning the orange and blue uniform would remain just that — a dream. Instead, Brunelle returned to John Paul Jones Arena in 2020 wearing the Fighting Irish’s green and gold.

However, unexpected circum stances in both Notre Dame and Virginia’s programs, as well as in Brunelle’s career, set a course for an unlikely reunion. McGraw announced her retirement in 2020 after Brunelle had a standout freshman campaign, averaging 13.9 points per game to lead all ACC freshmen. Under a new coaching staff, Brunelle faced injury concerns and saw a diminished role over her next two seasons. After her junior campaign, Brunelle fully tore her labrum.

Meanwhile, Virginia was floun dering under the leadership of former coach Tina Thompson, and the added complications of COVID-19 exacer bated the issue. A suspended season followed by a 5-22 record the following

year were enough to warrant a change. Both Brunelle and the Cavaliers need ed a fresh start. Brunelle entered the transfer portal, while Virginia re lieved Thompson of her duties and announced it had hired Coach Amaka “Mox” Agugua-Hamilton.

The new coaching staff recruit ed Brunelle as soon as she entered the portal. Coach Mox brought an excellent resume and two mottos to Charlottesville that resonated with Brunelle, ultimately leading to a deci sion to transfer to Virginia — “Grind now, shine later” and “Culture wins.” Brunelle is now excited to make her dream of playing at Virginia a reality while helping establish Coach Mox’s new culture.

“Obviously, my path was a little bit different in getting here,” Brunelle said. “But now I’m here, and it’s gon na be exciting to be able to wear that jersey.”

Coach Mox is equally as excited to receive a player like Brunelle in her first year at Virginia, emphasizing her offensive impact and ability to stretch the floor.

“Her versatility really fits into our style of play,” Coach Mox said. “If

she didn’t fit … hometown or not I wouldn’t recruit her. She has to fit our culture and she has to fit our basket ball style to play.”

While it may seem like a fairytale reunion between program and player, Brunelle knows she will face adversi ty helping to build a program from the ground up while recovering from severe injuries. She received nine an chors in her shoulder and required five months of rehab and recovery be fore she received clearance to return. Brunelle relied heavily on her new teammates, coaching staff and sports medicine team to help her through the recovery process.

Now, Brunelle relishes the oppor tunity to overcome that adversity with her team.

“Being able to be resilient is huge for me,” Brunelle said. “That’s my word for the season … resilient. I’m gonna look at it every day before games [and] before practice to remind me [that] it’s not going to be easy. My journey has not been easy since I’ve been in college, right?”

Being close to home has helped ease the stress of recovery, fitting in at a new school and adjusting to her third collegiate coaching staff in four years. Brunelle is now able to easily drive home and visit her parents for dinner throughout the week or catch up with old friends.

“It’s been everything I thought it would be,” Brunelle said. “I’m lucky to be able to go home. Before it was 10 hours [away]. Now I’ve got my support system here in the backyard basically.”

Brunelle fully expects John Paul Jones Arena to be full of Greene County residents for her return.

For Coach Mox, Brunelle’s return is the perfect way to begin the new era and reestablish a winning culture for the women’s program through recruit ing and retaining local talent.

“I want to keep the hometown kids home,” Mox said. “Especially in a storied program like this. They under stand right away what it means to have [Virginia] on their chest.”

Though Brunelle took a winding road home, she is confident that the decisions she has made and trials she has faced thus far will only stand to benefit her as she makes her childhood dream of playing as a Cavalier come true.

“I don’t regret my journey,” Brunelle said. “I think it’s made me a better person. It’s made me who I am now. I’m thankful and blessed that I can be here now for these next two years.”

PROUD CHANDRAGOLICA THE CAVALIER DAILY

Graduate student forward Sam Brunelle transferred to Virginia with the hopes of building a successful program under new Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton.

The Ruckersville native has taken a winding road home with hopes of reestablishing Virginia women’s basketball as a powerhouse

Jacob Tisdale | Senior Associate

HEALTH & SCIENCE

U.Va. Health professionals warn of possible ‘twindemic’

Bhavya Guduru | Staff Writer

With the winter season right around the corner, risk for COV ID-19 outbreaks has increased and influenza rates are high, especially in densely-packed communities at the University. Health officials warn about the strong possibility of a simultaneous spike in flu and COVID-19 cases causing a rare phenomenon — a twindemic.

Though COVID-19 cases in Charlottesville are low, they are expected to increase as winter sets in. At the moment, over 400 deaths involving COVID-19 occur each day in the U.S. This number is predicted to increase, possibly upwards of 1000 daily deaths by March if current booster vaccina tion rates persist, per an updated analysis from the Commonwealth Fund and the Yale School of Pub lic Health.

The rise of new variants, in creased indoor interaction com pared with the past two years and waning levels of community immunity are leading to increased risk of COVID-19. Combined with high flu rates, the U.S. is facing a viable risk of a twindem ic this winter, as Dr. Costi Sifri, director of hospital epidemiology at U.Va. Health, detailed at a U.Va. Health media briefing.

“We could [and] should antic ipate a flu season this year,” Sifri said. “We saw a fairly robust flu season in the Southern Hemi sphere this summer, their win ter in Australia, for example. We should expect to see that now.”

Australia is currently arriving at the end of its worst flu season in five years. The flu season began earlier, and hit children hardest. Notably, this is Australia’s first severe flu season since the COV ID-19 pandemic began.

“People are back together, [so] there’s a lot more opportunity for the flu to spread,” Sifri said. “There is a lot less level of im munity to flu since people have not had the flu for a couple years. At the same time, there are op portunities for COVID-19 to be transmitted over the next couple months.”

The CDC reports that the 2020-21 season had the lowest re corded flu activity, furthering the risk of infection, especially among the most vulnerable.

Increased rates of influenza can also be attributed to reductions in community-based preventa tive methods. Face mask usage, physical distancing and reduced

travel helped to stave off a twin demic last year. Now, nearly half of Americans rarely or never wear face masks indoors, despite CDC recommendations. The Universi ty’s mask mandate has been lifted, though students are still encour aged to wear masks in public, es pecially when feeling unwell.

Experts agreed that a lack of mask usage and disregard of vac cine recommendations are the primary factors causing the high risk of a twindemic this winter. If the twindemic is realized, hospi talization rates will rise, putting stress on an already overburdened and understaffed healthcare sys tem.

Housing and Residence Life no longer has isolation housing avail able to all students who contract COVID-19, so students must take their own precautions if infected.

First-year Engineering student Yashasvisai Veeramasu is one of many students who have planned how to isolate themselves.

“My roommate [and I] are ac tually not from far [away], so we do have the ability to go home if we do end up catching some thing,” Veeramasu said.

Charlottesville community members and University students can still take several precau tionary measures in an effort to remain protected against COV ID-19 and the influenza. Most importantly, doctors recommend getting COVID-19 boosters and influenza shots.

“The best thing that we can do to protect ourselves is to make sure we are up to date with our vaccines for both COVID-19 and influenza,” Sifri said.

During the media briefing, Dr. Max Luna, associate professor of cardiovascular medicine, urged University students to take prop er precautions.

“Vaccination remains tremen dously successful to prevent hos pitalization and death by COV ID-19,” Luna said.

The current COVID-19 boost er is bivalent, targeting two Omi cron variants — BA. 4 and BA. 5.

The CDC recommends that peo ple five years or older get the biva lent booster if it has been at least two months since their last COV ID-19 vaccine dose. For those five years or older who have recently tested positive for COVID-19, the recommendations allow for re ceiving the next vaccine dose once three months have passed since

testing positive.

There are many options to get flu shots and COVID-19 boosters in Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Health District offers vaccina tions at local health departments, a mobile health unit, community events and local pharmacies. Inde pendent pharmacies such as CVS also provide these shots.

Boosters and flu shots are also available through on-Grounds organizations, such as Madison House. Students can make such appointments at any time by reg istering with the Student Health and Wellness Department.

Most students and staff are fully vaccinated with the first two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, but they are strongly encouraged by U.Va. Health officials to get their updated boosters.

With an upcoming chance of high influenza rates and COVID outbreaks, the community discusses how to actively protect themselves

AMANDA HAIL THE CAVALIER

OPINION

Listen to the community — support Swords into Plowshares

Despite the efforts we have made to heal and move forward as a community from the events of summer 2017 and the centu ries of racist history preceding it, there are those who continuously try to hinder this progress. One of these community efforts at heal ing, Swords Into Plowshares, is an ongoing project by community leaders to melt down the Robert E. Lee statue that once stood in Market Street Park. The project would transform the Confederate monument’s materials into a new piece of public art. The original proposal came from the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center after the statue was final ly removed in 2021. This removal followed years of local protests and organizing efforts, including a petition authored by fourthyear College student Zyahna Bry ant, who was a high schooler at the time. As an Editorial Board, we wholeheartedly support SIP. We are eager to see it take mate

rials of hatred and turn them into tools of reclamation spearheaded by the community itself — to, as the proposal states, “move history forward.”

The project is currently at a halt, however, as the Trevilian Sta tion Battlefield Foundation and the Ratcliffe Foundation filed a lawsuit claiming melting the stat ue is illegal. After City Council approved the project and donated the statue to JSAAHC, these foun dations claimed that while Char lottesville may remove the statue, it cannot destroy it. We are not fooled by these foundations’ at tempts at misconstruing commu nity reclamation into destruction as a means of preserving Confed erate ideology. TSBF and the Rat cliffe Foundation are both dedi cated to this preservation, albeit in different ways. Let us be clear — the Confederate legacy is one that glorifies racism and enslavement. Monument erection and re moval is inherently local. Virginia

allows individual localities to de cide what monuments go up and come down within their bounda ries. This means that national and even state interests fall secondary to the interests of cities and coun ties themselves. JSAAHC and SIP have held this in mind while plan ning for the transformation of the Lee statue. SIP’s polling thus far indicates that residents want the statue to be repurposed — one set of respondents actually said they hoped for a functional outcome, such as a public garden. JSAAHC and SIP understand the distinctly communal nature of monument removal that Virginia law dictates, and have incorporated community engagement into their project with this in mind.

TSBF and the Ratcliffe Foun dation are not local to the Char lottesville area, however. TSBF is primarily dedicated to preserving the Trevilian Station Battlefield site in Louisa County — not Char lottesville. And the Ratcliffe Foun

dation operates the Ellenbrook Mansion, where it hopes to gath er Confederate monuments, in Rosedale — again, not Charlottes ville. These are undeniably outside groups hoping to disrupt a com munity project here in Charlottes ville. It is the same lawyers arguing in the current court case that suc cessfully won the 2017 lawsuit that delayed the Lee statue’s removal. While the students serving on this Editorial Board may not be perma nent residents of Charlottesville, we express solidarity with SIP. We do not support either TSBF or the Ratcliffe Foundation’s efforts to preserve Confederate monuments and we thoroughly oppose their efforts to halt progress made in Charlottesville.

While state law is vague, the fact of the matter is that the stat ue has been placed into the hands of JSAAHC — it is no longer the City’s property. If declared legal by the circuit court, then JSAAHC and SIP would presumably have

the right to use the monument’s materials to reflect the communi ty’s wishes. These outsiders have no right to overstep these boundaries and tell JSAAHC what it can and cannot do with the Lee monument. This case is not scheduled to take place until February. In the meantime, we stand in solidarity with those working on SIP and we admire its truly community-based practices. We believe that, if even tually enacted as we hope it will be, SIP will create an artwork or community space that benefits Charlottesville residents — par ticularly its Black residents who have time and time again been the ones to establish and lead projects like these.

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

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

No part of The Cavalier Daily or The Cavalier Daily online edition may be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without the written consent of the editor-in-chief. The Cavalier Daily is published Thursdays in print and daily online at cavalierdaily. com. It is printed on at least 40 percent recycled paper. 2022 The Cavalier Daily Inc.

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

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Lawsuits stalling Swords into Plowshares’ progress stem from attempts to glorify Confederate ideology

U.Va.’s use of land acknowledgement is performative

If you are a current or even past student at the University, you may have seen it. A land acknowledgement statement that appears at the end of your class syllabus. Perhaps the pro fessor has even read the statement out loud. Maybe the professor even went as far as having you pull up a Native American land map so you could see what Native land your hometown sits on. If you did not already know, the University occupies Monacan land. However, most students’ un derstanding of the Monacan land and people does not go beyond that. Some may believe the inclusion of a land acknowledgement statement is sufficient, or that all professors should include one in their syllabi. I argue however, that this is not enough. In stead, the University benefits when land acknowledgement does not go any further than just recognizing that you occupy Monacan land. Rarely do you learn about the history of how the land which the University sits upon was forcibly taken, or about the peo ple from whom the land was stolen. The University must move beyond the performative aspects of land acknowl edgement and start taking further ac tion towards making amends with the Monacan Nation.

The history of land acknowledg

ment spans cultures and has historical ly allowed Native people to fight back against lack of representation and cultural erasure. As Native American people are not a monolith, each Tribal Nation has its own definition of land acknowledgement. Similar to the defi nition of land acknowledgment, the purposes and ways to acknowledge the land may also differ by Tribal Nation.

According to the Monacan Nation

part to atone for its role in cultural erasure. The University claims it wants “to engage in meaningful relationship building for our shared futures and acknowledge with respect that we live, learn and work on the traditional ter ritory of the Monacan Indian Nation.”

It seems that at every attempt to make amends, however, the University fails. Few resources are offered for Native students, there has been no attempt

would be offering free tuition for Na tive students — an initiative that is al ready underway at several universities. Perhaps most egregiously has been the University’s acquisition of Morven Farm. Morven Farm was the property of the Monacan people in the 17th and 18th centuries before it was forcibly taken by white settlers. It came to be the property of the University in 2001 through its most recent owner John

website, the purpose of land acknowl edgement is to “create awareness of Indigenous presence and land rights in everyday life.” Land acknowledgement can appear in a variety of formats from lectures, to ceremonial openings to email signatures. Land acknowl edgement is not the end goal for every nation however. Ideally, land acknowl edgment would lead to land back.

While the University has attempt ed to acknowledge its history of for cibly using enslaved laborers to build on stolen Monacan land, there has been little effort on the University’s

at land back, and as of 2020 there was only a single Native American profes sor. Additionally, the University has been slow in hiring a tribal liaison, and it has been slow to build a Native American Student Center despite years of student-led advocacy.

Even the University’s past at tempts to reach out to Native Ameri can communities has been minimal. In 2012, the University tried to increase Native American student attendance through a series of educational videos on college life. However, it failed to consider that a more effective solution

Kluge, who donated the property to the University. The University has only recently designated Morven Farm into a sustainability lab. It is very ironic that the University believes it can do a better job at taking care of the land and fighting climate change than the actual community it belongs to. This property should never have been ac quired by either of its previous white owners, or by the University in the first place. It is stolen land.

We have the tendency to see co lonialism as a thing of the past, but it continues to happen and the Universi

ty is complicit in it. The University has been hypocritical in its use of land ac knowledgment. It claims to care about the land and the people, but it con tinues to do the bare minimum and is slow to action while Native activists continue to fight for change. What can be done? Well the University can begin by following the lead of other institutions and offering free tuition for Native students. It can require stu dents to take a Native American his tory class so that they can expand their knowledge on Native culture beyond the obligatory land acknowledgment statement. The University must hire more Native professors so that the burden of teaching these cultures does not rest on the shoulders of a few Na tive professors who are then expected to be the sole voice for thousands of different Tribal Nations. It must also return Morven Farm to its rightful owner, the Monacan people. The Uni versity cannot rewrite the past, but it can do everything in its power to make the future better for Native American students and the Monacan communi ty.

YSSIS CANO-SANTIAGO is an Opinion Columnist for The Cavalier Dai ly. She can be reached at opinion@cava lierdaily.com.

Divisive concepts are not what’s threatening our schools

Governor Youngkin’s obsession with divisive rhetoric only causes more rifts and ignores real problems in Virginia’s public schools

Since the beginning of his term, Governor Glenn Youngkin has been spouting divisive rhetoric — ironical ly, about “divisive” rhetoric. This has come to a laughable end. Announced in late January, Youngkin’s adminis tration initiated a tip line to connect parents to his office in an attempt to survey the education of our Virginian children to ensure it did not violate his recent policies, specifically his mask mandate opt-out. However, he soon encouraged it to be used to also report “divisive” content in curricu lum. An unfettered tip line open to all parents, students and Virginians alike — what could go wrong? Un surprisingly, quite a lot. Youngkin’s tip line is not only ridiculous, but his arbitrary idea of “divisive concepts” makes it dangerous as well. A tip line designed to stop Critical Race Theory and LGBTQ+ rhetoric in schools wel comes division rather than warding it off. What’s more, Youngkin’s emphasis on the imaginary problems of division leaves real problems in schools — like disabled student accommodations and education quality — on hold.

As I have written before, Youngkin won the election by panicking par ents with trigger words like “critical

race theory” and “divisive concepts.”

Youngkin’s idea of disruption, how ever, did not stop there. He recent ly reversed former governor Ralph Northam’s gender identity policies, revoking students’ rights to use their preferred pronouns, bathrooms and sports teams without parental con sent.

So, it is no surprise with this track record that Youngkin orchestrated

a helpful way for parents’ concerns about education to be heard — espe cially by making it state-wide instead of district-run. The idea of creating a tip line specifically to report teach ers based on the imaginary critical race theory curriculum in our public schools or to further derail LGBTQ+ representation is not just unhelpful, though — it’s harmful to our progress.

The very nature of Youngkin’s

ments. The latter is a topic that should be presented to school boards, but instead, Gov. Youngkin is on the hunt for eliminating Critical Race Theory, not improving Standards of Learning test scores. This further confuses par ents on how to express valid concerns on students’ education.

Complaints like the last one ex emplify my point. More important matters dominating the tip line may

The tip line was immediately met with backlash and it ultimately backfired. ”

a poorly-organized and ineffective witch hunt against Virginia public schools and their teachers through his tip line. The tip line was immediately met with backlash and it ultimately backfired. People mocked the tip line, flooding it with fake tips and praising teachers rather than ousting them as Critical Race Theory witches. As of Nov. 2, the tip line has been shut down.

While not inherently a bad idea, a tip line is far too unorganized to be

tip line proved to be arbitrary. One comment complained that a teacher was trying to convince the class that certain books were sexist — it almost sounds as though the teacher is teach ing an interpretive subject like English and took a stance on it. There also seems to be utter confusion about the purpose of the tipline as one comment encouraged offering advanced math classes for certain grade levels so stu dents could excel beyond the require

be ignored in favor of tips that actu ally complain about “divisive” curric ulum. It was not created to spotlight more harrowing concerns in Virginia’s public school systems, and I wonder if these complaints will even be ad dressed by Youngkin’s administration.

The tip line shows that Youngkin’s concerns are not that of the parents. While outlined as a way to stop crit ical race theory or “oversexualized” content in schools — a code word for

LGBTQ+ representation — some of the emails complained about mask mandates and remote instruction. Others brought forth topics of curric ulum and course placement.

Real problems in Virginia’s schools, such as remote learning and the qual ity of education, should be the real fo cus for Virginia’s policies, not erasing trans students or white-washing his tory. Perhaps we should focus on the concerning retention rates of teachers in Virginia, the even less appreciative average pay in the state or the fact that standardized testing is not only reliant on harmful information, but ineffec tive for testing understanding. We should focus on the fact that Virginia public schools still have zero tolerance policies for minor offenses, or that Virginia does not have universal free school meals, despite stark poverty and income disparities.

Youngkin, your policies are disap pointing and even those parents who did vote for you are fed up. Virginia’s students deserve better.

SHALEAH TOLLIVER is an Opinion Senior Associate for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at opinion@cavalier daily.com.

Rarely do you learn about the history of how the land which the University sits upon was forcibly taken, or about the people from whom the land was stolen.”

The University’s land acknowledgement does not go far enough and is instead hypocritical

Dear first years,

Your first semester of college is almost over and you are either think ing that this is the most fun you have ever had or you are questioning if you peaked in high school. Regardless, I am here with some third-year wisdom to show you that there are still a few things you can look forward to and others … not so much. Let’s dive right in, my young, impressionable friend.

This is the most you will care about anything.

Your first semester of college is the equivalent of stepping off the bus for your first day of middle school. Everything is shiny and new because you have things like lockers to put your two pencils in and no teacher sitting at your lunch table, telling you not to curse while she eats her pre made salad from the supermarket. You

Dear first years — an open letter

are basically a free spirit and nothing can dull your sparkle. You will put a lot of effort into making friends, do ing well in school, going to parties, joining clubs, yada yada yada. But then the mediocre grades will come back and the “bestie” you met at orientation will sit with someone else at Observa tory Hill Dining Hall — when you are literally right there in front of them!! — and your proverbial sparkle will be dulled. I am so very sorry to have to break this to you. One way or another, you will start skipping classes like the rest of us and calculating the lowest grade you can get on an assignment to pass.

Classes get better. One of the biggest shocks of col lege is the huge lecture halls. Why do we need to sit in a room with 500 other people to learn about photo synthesis? How am I supposed to get

this professor to worship the ground I walk on when I can barely get two words in during office hours? Do not worry, the class sizes get smaller as the years go on. Your professor will start to recognize you once you cannot answer their question after they cold-call you to talk about the readings you did not do, or when you do your best to avoid eye contact after they ask the class a question that literally nobody wants to answer because we all have no clue what is happening.

Dining hall food is not good.

This is a fact and I absolutely do not want to hear any back talk. Okay, I will admit that Runk is the Disney land of dining hall food, but the other two dining halls are seriously lacking. The allure of unlimited pizza, burgers and ice cream will fade as the stomach aches kick in and you will be begging for a homemade meal by Thanks

giving. The stale cookies will get you through midterms and emotional breakdowns, but your trauma bond to them does not make them objectively delicious. The only thing that will keep you coming back to these places is the people who work there. These angels will love you more than your own par ents and brighten your day so much you will be willing to gaslight yourself into eating the food. Sure, this chicken breast might be pink in the middle, but you also might just be hallucinat ing that.

Ms. Kathy will always be there for you.

Ms. Kathy, the Queen of Newcomb and the glue holding this crumbling institution together, will always have your back. Even as the years go by, her whole face will light up when you convince yourself to enter Newcomb, and she will hug you tight enough to release all of your built-up stress

es. She’ll tell you how much she has missed you since you were last able to make the pilgrimage to see her and do a little happy dance depending on the day. Even as classes begin to kick your butt more and more, Ms. Kathy will never fail to convince you that you are the butt-kicker. By the time you grad uate, the only person you will actually miss is your biggest fan, Ms. Kathy.

This concludes the knowledge I am willing to part with for today. Some things you will just have to learn on your own — I cannot take all the fun away from you! I will talk to you later, my special little snowflakes.

Yours Truly, Maggie

MAGGIE MCHATY is a Humor Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at humor@cav alierdaily.com

CARTOON

Fall Time Feelings

Nicole Piatko | Cartoon Editor

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Fralin’s fresh take reevaluates power

“Power Play” exhibit tackles representation in mainstream media

Emily Pitts | Staff Writer

“Power Play,” the latest exhib it at the University’s Fralin Mu seum of Art, reimagines popular feminine figures like Disney prin cesses and American girl dolls to criticize mainstream media’s definitions of gender and social roles. Organized by curator Han nah Cattarin, assistant curator Adriana Greci Green and curator of exhibitions Laura Minton, this photography exhibit features the work of five female artists — Sa rah Maple, Tokie Rome-Taylor, Cara Romero, Martine Gutierrez and Wendy Red Star — that har ness fashion, color, and staging to construct powerful messages.

Each artist uses her cultural upbringings and individual tech niques to criticize reinforced ide as of femininity, gender roles and identity. Together, their photo graphs aim to override the pre dominant narratives in media, challenging traditional standards and connecting the past to the present — an aim solidified by the written introductions placed next to each artists’ work in the exhibit.

“I love the variety that’s shown,” museum-goer Glenna Ohlmes said. “I think the first time I came through it, I didn’t appreciate it until I read about each one.”

Maple’s “Disney Princess” series confronts harmful rep resentations of femininity through her depiction of prin cesses in occupational settings. Each princess can be seen per forming tasks outside of the domestic environment — Snow White works in a chemistry lab, Sleeping Beauty is the surgeon in a hospital, Belle coaches a soccer game and Ariel leads a business meeting.

Maple intentionally portrays each princess in her traditional outfit from the films to confront stereotypical gender roles and il luminate how media influences society’s creation and enforce ment of these roles. As the ex hibit describes, the British art ist uses her “mixed religious and cultural upbringing” to inspire her pieces, challenging the status quo.

Tokie Rome-Taylor’s work confronts the representation and erasure of Black culture in West ern history. Her series depicts three African children in wealthy traditional European attire to convey the idea of “creolization”

— the blending of European and African cultures that resulted in extensive violence.

In the exhibit, Rome-Taylor explains how her work “[reach es] back to address the erasure of worth in how black bodies are perceived and represented,” countering inaccurate stereo types and historically inferior depictions of people of color.

Romero’s “First American Girl” series lies in the center of the exhibit, with three pieces that portray Native American women in stereotypical attire to critique traditional assumptions of Na tive culture in media and reclaim the modernity of Native peoples. The women are in brilliant colors with bright backgrounds that imitate doll packages to address disrespectful representations of Native Americans in toys.

Each woman is from a differ ent Native American tribe, and Romero herself is a citizen of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of Cal

ifornia. Her upbringing on the Chemehuevi reservation informs her approach to representing Na tive identities in modern art, and enables her to accurately address the issues that these communities find important.

To the right of Romero’s series in the exhibit is Martine Gutier rez’s “Lineup” series, which uses photographs of thin yet curvy mannequins and dolls to critique the unrealistic physical ideals that society sets for women and the way that these ideals shape the construction of feminine identities. The pieces are both self-portraits, capturing Gutier rez attempting to blend in with the mannequins she poses with.

The purpose of the work, as Gutierrez explains in an intro duction to the exhibit, is for Gutierrez to discuss her own identity and how it fits within society, not just as a woman but as a “trans woman, Latinx wom an and a woman of Indigenous

descent.” Gutierrez’s insertion of herself among idealized female bodies expresses the reinvention of queer embodiment and pro vokes the viewer to see society through a new lens.

Finally, Wendy Red Star’s “Four Seasons” series is show cased. Using her background on the Crow Indian Reservation, the Apsáalooke artist comments on the erasure and disappearance of Native peoples using life-size di oramas similar to natural history museums.

While traditional dioramas often depict landscapes and an imals that are extinct, Star uses herself as the subject and meets the viewer’s gaze to communicate the often ignored truth that Na tive people still exist. Dressed in honorable attire and using witty techniques such as irony, Star confronts widespread ideas of Native disappearance and West ern representations.

“We are hoping to shift our

audiences’ perceptions about sites and objects of consumerism which play an important role in reinforcing gender construction and stereotypes,’’ the curators said. “We were able to purchase ten of the artworks in the exhibi tion, one or more by each artist, for The Fralin’s permanent col lection. You might see the pho tographs again in future exhibi tions at the museum.”

“Power Play” is truly a moving exhibition. Not only does it en tertain museum-goers, but it also inspires them to investigate the standards and cultural values at play in their own lives. For addi tional information, the museum will host a virtual panel with all five artists over Zoom Nov. 18 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The exhibit will be on display until Dec. 31 and is located in the J. Sanford Gallery on the second floor of the Fralin.

HENRY MOUNTCASTLE THE CAVALIER DAILY

Cara Romero’s “First American Girl” series lies in the center of the exhibit, with three pieces that portray Native American women in stereotypical attire to critique traditional assumptions of Native culture in media and reclaim the modernity of Native peoples.

Dustin Lance Black honored at Virginia Film Festival

Omega Ilijevich | Staff Writer

Throughout his screenwriting career, Dustin Lance Black has been lauded as a prolific biogra pher who meaningfully immor talizes the legacy of impactful figures in his films. Most famous ly, he painted a very timely por trait of trailblazing gay politician Harvey Milk in his Oscar-win ning script for the 2008 film “Milk.” In his 2019 memoir “Ma ma’s Boy: A Story of Our Ameri cas,” Black takes on the most per sonal biographical subject of his career — his mother, Anne Bisch.

The piece memorializes his mother as a figure of persever ance, while also presenting a nar rative of change and acceptance. Black’s close relationship with his mother is challenged by her com mitment to the Mormon faith. This rift is eventually superseded by their mutual love and empa thy for one another. A documen tary adaptation of the book, di rected by Laurent Bouzereau, was released on HBO Oct. 25.

Using Black’s words, Bou zereau adds new dimensions to

the story for the screen, layering a biography of Bisch with a biog raphy of Black himself to present an intimate portrait of a family’s journey to understand them selves and each other. Black was involved in the film as a subject, but explained that he wanted it to be produced separately from himself.

“I didn’t feel like I would ever be objective enough to write a movie about my life,” Black said during a panel. “So what I needed then was someone I could trust to take the book away from me and make a film.”

As a tribute to Black, the Virginia Film Festival hosted a screening of the documentary at Culbreth Theatre Sunday. The presentation began with remarks from Glenn Williamson, mov ie producer and member of the VAFF board, who presented the screenwriter with the Change maker Award.

Black began his career as a screenwriter uplifting the histo ries of the LGBTQ+ community,

and became a major figure in the fight for marriage equality af ter being inspired by his Oscar win. This award honored Lance’s commitment to inspiring politi cal action and empowering LG BTQ+ communites, both on and offscreen.

As Black accepted the award, he spoke about the special con nection he shares with Virginia on both a political and personal level. It is also the state that his mother and brother called home.

“I’m a mama’s boy with a mom that [lived] here in Virginia,” Black said. “So this place has my heart.”

Following the screening, Black joined a conversation with NPR reporter and Class of 2004 alumnus Bilal Quereshi to dis cuss issues raised by the film and answer questions from the audi ence.

Through a series of family photos, documents and home videos, the film visualizes the progression of Bisch and Black as individuals and as a family

across decades. In the film itself, images of Black’s family life are pushed forward by the narrative he provides in his to-camera in terviews. He recounts intimate family memories and moments of personal revelation. Black’s natu ral grasp on the power of story telling — and his passionate onscreen presence — is able to shine through in these segments.

In one particularly moving scene, Black and his brother re turn to a river near their child hood home, where the two used to play and hide away from their abusive stepfather. These mo ments of visual confrontation with the past add incredible lay ers to Black’s stories.

In exploring these personal topics, the story also unveils a profound political message of connection across differences and meaningful conversation as a path forward for change.

Black recalled learning that his late older brother was also gay, but was unable to fully em brace his identity in his rural

Virginia atmosphere in the same way Black was able to in his Cal ifornia community, remarking that it felt they were living in “two different Americas.”

Another emotional scene doc umented how Black and Bisch were able to reconcile after Bisch’s initial reluctance to ac cept his sexuality created a rift in their relationship. On the day of Black’s graduation from UCLA, Bisch showed up unannounced to his party, gained a better under standing of Black’s community and even put a good word in with his crush.

At the end of the discussion, Black tearfully explained how his mother’s influence keeps pushing him towards pursuing a better world, even as the future seems bleak.

“I am my mother’s son,” Black said. “You know, for better or for worse, if I see something happen ing, and it’s really hurting peo ple, and I know I have a solution or a way we could go, I was just raised to get in there.”

First Year Players rehearse for ‘Hello, Dolly!’

As the semester begins to wane, the University’s oldest student-run theatre organization prepares for their fall production

Emily Pitts | Staff Writer

For theare lovers on Grounds, First Year Players is an integral part of one’s University experience. Founded in 1977, the organization puts on a musical production each semester. This semester, the group is preparing to perform “Hello, Dolly!”

“Hello, Dolly!” follows match maker Dolly Levi to New York. There, she is to find a match for rich and single Horace Vandergelder, though secretly she wants the man to herself. The heartfelt story is full of adventure, romance, and classic Golden Age musical flair.

All of the actors featured in the FYP production are first-year stu dents or transfer students. Upper classmen direct and students of any year are welcome to join the crew or orchestra pit.

First-year College student Ca van Meade portrays Cornelius Hackl, one of the leads of the pro duction, who is an adventurous and outgoing clerk at Vandergelder’s store. Alongside other cast mem bers and directors, Meade has long rehearsals throughout the semester to focus on specific scenes and mu sical numbers.

Meade also spends time on his own preparing to perform well in these rehearsals — especially for one particularly challenging mono logue, which comes as Hackl solid ifies his love for his romantic coun terpart Irene Molly.

“I’d spent the week kind of fol lowing up to it going through my script, and for every line, just mak ing sure that I really understood what my character was trying to say and where he was trying to go, both within the monologue and within the entire story,” Meade said.

Though first-year students make up the cast, the organization serves as a home at the University for years.

For John Fitzgerald, technical director of the production and fourth-year Engineering student, this kept him coming back every se mester and encouraged him to take on a leadership role.

“We’ve made great friendships and made great bonds,” Fitzgerald said. “That just sort of kept me in volved and made me want to sort of become [technical director], to bring people into this community and then mentor them …That’s why

I stayed here for four years.”

Even during their first semester, the first-year students feel this same sense of community.

“What’s so cool about FYP is that it is equal parts a communi ty of people who love theater and a production,” Meade said. “You’re joining a club that is so much more than just the production itself, with a bunch of people who are always there to support you.”

Jacquelyn Bryant, pit director and fourth-year College student, ensures the orchestra is perfor mance-ready by show week. In the rehearsals leading up to show week, Bryant’s direction of the pit is cen tered around building the musi cians’ connection to each other, which she feels is integral to a good performance.

“In my opinion, musicians and ensembles do better when you are connected with people individually, and then as musicians you’re better connected in that way as well,” Bry ant said. “I usually like to get people talking for the first 10-ish minutes. We talk about our days or anything that went on over the weekend. Then we just go for whatever num

ber we’re working on that day.”

As the show approaches its pre miere, the team has moved into the Student Activities Building to be gin building sets and setting up the show’s technical elements.

“The main building compo nent actually happens all within one week,” Fitzgerald said. “From Monday till Sunday we basically just start from scratch, setting up the stage, lights, sound, costumes and show hair and makeup …Then the show week is, of course, a lot of rehearsals and tweaking of any technical elements that need to be fixed.”

The actors, crew and pit will soon be entering tech week, which some jokingly call “hell week.” The week entails long rehearsals each night where all hands must be on deck to put all elements of the show together.

It’s very time consuming,” Bry ant said. “It’s a big jump in rehearsal commitment from what we usually do, but it’s one of my favorite times of the year just because it’s another way of getting to know each other better and connecting with each other.”

During hell week, cast, crew and pit are tasked with the challenges of putting all elements of production together.

“Getting all the cues lined up with the pit and the actors is a real ly big challenge because they learn their music in a totally different way than we do,” said Andrew Cul bertson, assistant pit director and fourth-year Engineering student.

“We will put a metronome on and we’ll play, but [the cast] has to be acting when they’re going through the music. Sometimes that process can be tough.”

Despite the challenges that will arise in the coming weeks, the First Year Players are optimistic and ex cited about their upcoming open ing.

“As grueling as the process may be, it’s just going to be really special to get to perform that for people,” Meade said.

“Hello, Dolly!” is set to open Nov. 17 at the Student Activities Building, with shows at 7 p.m. Nov. 17, 18 and 20, and a matinee perfor mance Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. Tickets will be available in the coming weeks.

The screenwriter and activist was awarded the “Changemaker Award” before a special screening of the new documentary based on his memoir