Monday, November 28, 2016 by The Cavalier Daily

VOL. 127, ISSUE 28

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016

STUDENTS WEIGH IN ON SULLIVAN, GROVES see POLL, page 2

LUCAS HALSE | THE CAVALIER DAILY

WHAT’S INSIDE ELIMINATE THE HATE LOOKS TO FUTURE PAGE 2

WES BELLAMY’S TWITTER UNDER FIRE PAGE 3

UP AND COMING: MAMADI DIAKITE PAGE 4

CHECK OUT THIS WEEK’S CROSSWORD PAGE 9

TOP 10 FOODS TO EAT DURING FINALS PAGE 10

THE CAVALIER DAILY

Top 10 stress foods for finals Staying nourished in desperate times MARGARET MASON | LIFE EDITOR

1. The granola bar in the bottom of your backpack When did you put that in your backpack? Last week, last month, last semester? At this point, it is undoubtedly crushed into no more than a powder of crumbs — but that just makes it easier to eat right? Dig it out of the bottom of your bag in shame, and accept that your meal tonight tastes like cardboard. It’s probably a step above dining hall food anyways, and you can take solace in the fact that you’ll be home soon where the pantry is filled with real food — not three packages of oatmeal, a cup-o-soup and sadness. 2. The pages of the textbooks you never read We all have that friend who actually keeps a tally of how many pages they didn’t read for class in a semester. My roommate’s is over 1,000 pages strong — which should be enough to sustain someone all the way through finals. Might as well not let that article on the economics of the QWERTY keyboard go to waste, at this point it’s the only way you’ll possibly digest the information. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and some finals are meant to be winged — at least that’s what I tell myself. 3. An entire carryout jug of Starbucks coffee I may or may not have done this before, and I truly believe “drink a jug of coffee” should be the next YouTube challenge taken on by children across the world lacking proper adult supervision. This is not for the weak of heart — quite literally. Instead of spurring productivity, my heart was pounding probably at the same rate as a hummingbird’s wings, and I went home to stare at my bedroom ceiling until I stopped feeling as if I could either run six miles or throw up. That being said, I highly recommend it — especially during a highstakes time like finals week. 4. Alderman sushi Has anyone ever actually seen them put out the sushi? When does it even get placed in that open refrigerator that I don’t trust to actually keep things chilled? As if your table neighbors don’t already hate you for listening to music too loudly and whispering in the quiet

section, might as well throw in the weird odor of library sushi. The best part about this choice of food is the lingering scent of soy sauce that will follow you throughout the day. If you avoid any queasy feelings for 24 hours after consumption, it’s a sign you should have more sushi for dinner tomorrow!

wait for the perfect meal. That microwave meal that takes six minutes to heat up — there’s no way what’s-his-name is going to wait patiently the entire time. The second he looks

5. The chewed gum beneath your desk Practical and cost effective, this snack is just waiting for you beneath the library table. Someone left it there as a

the Kroger brand? Disclaimer — having purchased off-brand 5-Hour Energy before, I will admit I did fall asleep shortly after chugging an entire bottle. I expected it to have similar effects to the aforementioned coffee jug incident, but instead found myself falling asleep in the library. I don’t know if this says more about my general level of caffeine consumption — which is very high — or the quality of Kroger 5-Hour Energy. Either way, it’s currently available for purchase in bulk. 9. The fruitcake in your freezer A gift from

gift just for you. With a never-ending supply, you’ll have the perfect treat to get you through finals and keep you full until you make the trek home. I hear gum helps keep you alert, and the germs of your fellow students will just help build up that immune system. What’s the flu once you’ve mingled with the germs of half the student body? 6. The Pie Guy How is he still here? Who is buying his pies? Why are they so expensive for something so small? Truthfully, I have never purchased a pie from The Pie Guy, but finals seems like the perfect time to experiment. Instead of pondering the economic market of the 1760s, your time is probably better spent pondering the culinary market of U.Va. that somehow sustains and supports overpriced pies. 7. Someone else’s microwave meal Every day around 7 p.m., the microwaves of Alderman and Clark Libraries provide the perfect opportunity for free dinner. Select a seat near the microwave and take vigil to

away, it’s your time to swoop. Note — I am not endorsing this violation of the Honor Code. Enjoy at your own discretion. 8. Off-brand 5-Hour Energy Why buy brand-name 5-Hour Energy, when you can purchase

freezer burn. Your roommate’s grandma will be happy to hear that you enjoyed their thoughtfully baked treat months later in the wee hours of the morning. This is best washed down with the milk you’re not totally certain is still good and the eggs that are expiring the next day. 10. Free food from that club you’re not in Like most students, you’re probably on at least five listservs you still haven’t taken the time to remove yourself from. Usually, this results in a weekly sigh of frustration as the

secretary of [insert organization name here] is sending out yet another set of meeting minutes that likely nobody will read. VICTORIA GIRON | THE CAVALIER DAILY However, during finals these listservs your roommate’s grandma back are highly lucrative. during fall break, the family You’ll have the scoop on several recipe fruitcake is just waiting sources of free food, coffee and for a sad college student to get blue books. Be sure to throw an hungry enough to defrost it. enthusiastic thumbs up, and say Have your most adult friend “see you at the next meeting!” double check that the weird to the executive board member film on the cake is not indeed guarding the swag.

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016

New models to improve employee health Health Employer Exchange looks for ways to reduce costs DIVYA VISWANATHAN | STAFF WRITER Members of the Health Employer Exchange, a group of health systems interested in leading health reform, recently met in Charlottesville about the significance of improving the wellbeing of employees. The Health Employer Exchange includes individuals from nine well-established medical centers — such as Cleveland Clinic, UCLA Health, Duke Health and the University Health System — who have recently been looking into the benefits of fostering a healthier workforce. “We principally discussed issues around managing stress and mental health among employees … the idea of working in healthcare is stressful and that if you’re stressed as well as have chronic conditions that your absenteeism from work and your ability to perform your job are greatly limited,” Dr. Richard Shannon, University executive vice president for health affairs, said. Shannon said that stress plagues a large proportion of employees, as working in healthcare often brings situations closely tied with life and death. Workers also deal with the daily stress of their personal relationships outside of the work environment, which adds additional pressure on certain employees. Stress increases one’s risk of injury and can also increase blood pressure, which causes dizziness and can even lead to heart disease if untreated.

Therefore, health systems are focused on managing both physical and mental health of their employees to ensure a safer, happier work environment. University employees are given the option to be a part of the “Be Well” initiative, which gives them access to online tools to help with stress and offer consultations with other behavioral health experts. “What we learn is that most people take a health risk assessment. They sit down with a coach and then see their doctor, but all of that is organized for you as an employee and then all of the facts are put into an electronic record,” Health Employer Exchange CEO Stephanie McCutcheon said. “So, if you talk to a coach and see a doctor there’s an economic reward for you as an employee because we all want to be healthier together.” The Health Employer Exchange tries to tackle the problems of both physical illness and mental illness. “Part of the issue has been that we have separated [physical and mental illness],” McCutcheon said. “And part of the reality is that as people they should be highly integrated for all of us.” Of the 1,600 members in the Be Well initiative, around 330 individuals identified the primary cause of their unhealthiness as their weight. Utilizing the resources of the new program, Shannon said these individuals were able to work closely with their physicians and patient advocates to

build a personalized weight reduction program, leading to a total of 2,645 pounds lost from the 330 people after a six month time period. In addition to creating a stronger, happier and more efficient workforce, a healthy employee population also reduces the costs of healthcare for the University. By providing more convenient, affordable sources of healthcare to employees, the University allows employees to save money, attend work and perform to the best of their abilities, which, in turn, reduces costs. “When people are unhealthy and they engage in unhealthy be-

haviors, it definitely costs you, and everyone at the University more money because health benefits to U.Va. employees are paid through University sources, right? When healthcare costs go up somebody has to pay for them … the fact that healthier people cost less is basically a truism across all of America,” Shannon said. McCutcheon also mentioned models are being created to provide this type of accessible care to workers so that they do not need to spend unnecessary money going to the emergency room on days where their physicians are not available, such as Saturdays and Sundays. By providing ap-

propriate care that is close to their workers, employers can help ensure individuals are able to come back into work on Monday after they fall sick on a Friday, further reducing costs. She believes that with these new reforms, health systems can prosper and health plan costs can be reduced by an estimated 15 percent. “This is a wonderful time for healthcare, and U.Va. has a particular set of leaders who understand that it’s our responsibility to design the health system of the future that meets the needs of the people we serve, as well as physicians, clinicians and folks who serve with us,” McCutcheon said.

CELINA HU | THE CAVALIER DAILY

UHS executives met with counterparts from health systems including Duke Health and UCLA Health to discuss employee healthcare.

Saving patients’ lives by giving them hypothermia Reducing heart attack victims’ core temperature decreases likelihood of brain damage ANUGYA MITTAL |STAFF WRITER The University Health System adopted target temperature management for patients post-cardiac arrest as a means to improve survival after the American Health Association approved the measure. The goal of targeted temperature management is to reduce the core temperature of the patient to 31 degrees Celsius after a patient has been resuscitated in order to minimize neurological damage. Mark Adams, program coordinator of the therapeutic temperature management program, has been using this technique for years at the UHS. Adams said the target of this procedure is not the heart, but the brain. “You can get a pulse back, you can get the heart beating, but if the brain has sustained a degree of inju-

ry — that injury continues for hours and days,” Adams said. “It’s not like once blood flow is reestablished everything is well. There are over 30 different pathways — neurochemical pathways — that have been discovered ... and the cooling stops many of them and slows many more so the brain tissue that’s at risk does not get destroyed.” Two methods can be employed to reduce the core body temperature of patients. The first technique involves administering cold saline in combination with cooling blankets and cold packs. The other more invasive way to lower the body temperature uses an IV line and catheter that cools the blood and thereby chills the body through circulation. While this procedure improves

chances of survival, not all patients qualify as suitable candidates for this procedure. The primary criterion for candidates is that the cardiac arrest is the result of a heart-related issue that can be treated rapidly. Cardiac arrest due to other diseases or traumas such as stroke or a car accident preclude patients from being candidates for this therapy. Emergency Medicine Prof. Dr. William Brady noted the significant impact of the use of targeted temperature management resulted from a change in the timeline of prognostic determinations — the assessments made by physicians regarding the condition of patients. “Prognostic determinations would be made in the first 24 hours prior to us having and using ther-

apeutic hypothermia,” Brady said. “But now that we have therapeutic hypothermia … we need to chill [patients] for at least 24 hours, and any determination of survival and other issues needs to be delayed until the targeted temperature management has been completed and the patient is allowed to wake up if they are going to wake up.” Targeted temperature management has moved the prognosis determination to 48 hours after resuscitation and improved survival rates. The survival rate over the past few years for patients in this program has ranged from 28 to 35 percent, with three-quarters of the survivors resuming normal day-to-day activities. “I’ve been here 20 years and for the first nine years of my career as a

bedside nurse, I don’t recall but one patient leaving the Coronary Care unit alive following their cardiac arrest admission,” Adams said. “Now we’re sending multiple patients home a year who have benefitted from this therapy.” However, Brady acknowledges that the improvement in survivorship and in effectiveness of targeted temperature management needs to be taken with a grain of salt. “[Targeted temperature management] is a very important tool and it does have significant positive impact, but not everybody that’s a cardiac arrest survivor is a candidate and not everyone that is a candidate will survive because of its use,” Brady said. “It has increased the survival rate, but it’s not a magic treatment.”

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Students express high favorability for Groves Sullivan receives moderate favorability in Cavalier Daily poll ANKITA SATPATHY | ASSOCIATE EDITOR Approximately 41 percent of students have a favorable impression of University President Teresa Sullivan, while approximately 76 percent said the same for Dean of Students Allen Groves, according to a recent poll conducted by The Cavalier Daily with assistance from the Center for Survey Research. In the poll, students were asked to rate their favorability impressions of each administrator. About 14 percent of students said they had an unfavorable impression of Sullivan, while about 5 percent said the same of Groves. Approximately 30 percent and 13 percent of respondents said they didn’t know enough about Sullivan and Groves, respectively, to form opinions of them. The Cavalier Daily also found nearly 60 percent of students reported not knowing enough about the Board of Visitors to report an opinion about the University’s governing body. Groves said he thinks his favorability ratings turned out the way they did because of his attempts to make himself approachable to students. “I believe this helps students feel comfortable approaching me with

problems or concerns, and I try to be a good listener,” Groves said in an email statement. “Most important, I have a very experienced and caring team in ODOS and I benefit from the work they do in supporting our students.” With regard to the students who did not have enough information to comment, Groves said ODOS has a wide reach, but many students may interact with the office without realizing they do. “Perhaps they don’t realize that ODOS includes units such as Housing and Residence Life, Student Activities, Fraternity and Sorority Life, Multicultural Student Services and student spaces such as Newcomb Hall, Ern Commons and the soonto-open 1515 Building on the Corner,” Groves said. Similarly, Sullivan said although students might not recognize they are experiencing the results of the Office of the President’s work, they likely do in their daily lives. She also noted her personal efforts to engage with the student body. “One of the most enjoyable aspects of the presidency is getting to know students,” Sullivan said in an email statement. “I do this through the COLA I teach, by eating with students at one of our dining halls, attending meetings with student

groups, cheering on the Cavaliers at athletic events, and in other venues. I’m also active on Twitter, which helps me engage students in social media.” Second-year College student Alexa Iadarola said her impression of Groves and Sullivan is neutral because although she appreciates their emails to the community, she has never interacted with either of them directly. “Dean Groves and President Sullivan come across as making significant efforts to consistently remain in touch with the student body,” Iadarola said in an email statement. “I have generally agreed with the way they have responded to University events and the fact that they haven't been afraid to take stances or opinions with which some students likely will not agree but which are consistent with how they seek to represent the University.” Third-year College student Clay Kulesza added that Sullivan’s emails make her seem more vocal. “She’s usually commenting and making her voice heard,” Kulesza said. Third-year College student Gordon Knapp said he didn’t think the favorability ratings necessarily reflected Sullivan’s actual work. “Teresa Sullivan has been thrust

into a very forefront media presence, she has to be the face of all the bad things associated with U.Va.,” Knapp said, noting her responses to the disappearance of then second-year College student Hannah Graham and Rolling Stone’s now-retracted article on sexual assault. Kulesza also commented on the student body’s generally positive impression of Groves. “I know Dean Groves is a likable guy because he’s always smiling at

students when he walks around and getting lunches and dinners with them,” Kulesza said. However, Knapp said Sullivan’s role at the University may not be as well-defined to students as Groves’s, leading to the discrepancy in their favorability ratings. “Dean Groves is always a positive fun guy,” Knapp said. “I feel like they perform very different functions and because of that students interpret that differently.”

Student favorability of U.Va. governance

President Sullivan Favorable

Dean Groves Neutral

Unfavorable

Haven't heard enough to form opinion ANDREW SHI AND LUCAS HALSE | THE CAVALIER DAILY

What’s next for Eliminate the Hate? Coalition’s future presence on Grounds remains topic of discussion KATE BELLOWS | SENIOR WRITER The Eliminate the Hate campaign — organized by a coalition of groups on Grounds — sought to combat hate speech at the University, planning daily events for the week of Nov. 1418. The campaign culminated Nov. 18 with “Occupy the Rotunda” — a silent protest Nov. 18 in which students marched from dorms and the Corner and ended on the steps of the Rotunda. It is not yet clear what Eliminate the Hate’s future holds. Fawaz headed the committee that organized the Teach-In — an event in which professors and students spoke about the history of hate speech. She said those involved in organizing the campaign will keep working with their constituent organizations to plan more events and dialogues. “There’s so much to come in the next couple months, because every organization has

definitely been very inspired and a lot of people are planning a lot of events at the moment,” Fawaz said. “There’s definitely always going to be something to do and something to go to regarding hate and bias, and just these issues in general on Grounds.” Third-year Commerce student Ryan Hindle, who tabled one day for Eliminate The Hate, said he believes the campaign will have a lasting impact at the University. “There were a lot of people who had reached out and said, ‘This was incredible. Thank you so much. It really spoke to how I was feeling,’” Hindle said. Sam Magnes, a fourth-year Batten student and chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, was also involved in organizing Eliminate The Hate. Magnes said the campaign was very successful in having a visible presence on Grounds.

“We wanted to make sure that our events were in strategic locations,” Magnes said. “So no matter whether you’re in the E-School or if you’re walking around Central Grounds every day that you would see our events and know that this was happening.” Queer Student Union President Jack Chellman, a third-year College student and Minority Rights Coalition executive board member, helped plan the Occupy the Rotunda protest. He said another goal of Eliminate the Hate was to continue support for minority communities throughout the year. “I think it absolutely was successful in raising awareness of these issues, showing minority communities and minority students that they’re not alone — that they do have these communities that are here for them,” Chellman said.

Organizers said one of the challenges of the week was putting on a campaign in the wake of a contentious election. “Our goal was always ‘bring the community together’ — no matter who you are or what you look like or what your political beliefs are,” Magnes said. “With such a unique election season, it was difficult to keep everyone focused on that goal.” Incidents of hate speech on Grounds prompted the creation of Eliminate the Hate. In September, the N-word was written on the walls of the Kent-Dabney Dorm Association. In October, the GrandMarc apartment complex was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti. Later in October, the word “terrorist” was written on a wall in Brown Residential College, with an arrow pointing to the room of two Muslim students. These were just a few of several incidents of hate speech

around Grounds this semester. “I think it’s easy to assume that we live in a community where everyone is accepted,” Magnes said. “But the events of this semester have hinted at an ugly undercurrent of racism and bias at U.Va.” MRC Chair Attiya Latif, a third-year College student and campaign organizer, said several groups that were part of Eliminate the Hate will put on a town hall on diversity, equality and inclusion at the University Dec. 2. “This is not a one-time campaign, this [is] something that should be constantly on people’s minds,” Latif said. “And if people are still thinking about it, they should continue to be fighting for equality and fighting for a safe and inclusive campus.”

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016

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Opioid addiction declared public health emergency Virginia state health commissioner responds to rapid rise in fatal overdoses KATE LEWIS | SENIOR WRITER Virginia State Health Commissioner Marissa Levine declared the state’s opioid addiction crisis to be a Public Health Emergency Nov. 21. By the end of the year, the number of deaths caused by opioid overdose is expected to increase by 77 percent compared to five years ago, according to a Virginia Department of Health statement. This increase applies to users of all ages, especially college-aged young adults. “It’s affecting the entire state, as well as the entire age demographic,” VDH Chief Deputy Commissioner Dr. Hughes Melton said. “It’s worsening in all categories. We have seen some steeper uptick in the 19- to 25-year-old age range.” From July 2015 to June 2016, the Charlottesville-Albemarle area had a rate of 0.1-3.0 fatal prescription opioid overdoses per 100,000 residents, but some areas of the state — especially southwestern Virginia — had a rate up to 49.6 prescription opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 residents. Public Policy and Economics Prof. Christopher Ruhm, who is currently researching how to more accurately quantify drug overdose deaths,

said such statistics for fatal opioid overdose are likely an underestimate. “In a lot of cases, there will be a death that’s classified as being due to a drug poisoning, but the drugs involved are not specified,” Ruhm said. “So it’s unclear whether it’s opioids or heroin or psychotropic medicines or so forth.” Because the VDH’s emergency declaration does not have the force of law, the department plans to spread awareness about the severity of the crisis and spur community intervention. Levine also issued a statewide standing order for Naloxone, a drug administered in response to opioid overdose, which allows anyone to buy Naloxone at a participating pharmacy without a prescription. “This declaration is an effort to raise continued awareness among all Virginians about this worsening problem and emphasize that we must treat it as a public health issue as we have done for other health emergencies,” Levine said in a statement. “Our law enforcement partners have repeatedly claimed that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem.” A major goal of the declaration, Melton said, is to combat the stigma

around the disease of addiction. “There’s a lot of new science out now that shows [addiction is] a chronic brain disease not that dissimilar to depression,” Melton said. “The stigma gets in the way of people seeking treatment, it gets in the way of decision-makers making the right policy decisions on how to combat the problem and we believe that the most recent science around the disease of addiction helps to dispel some of the myths that addiction is a choice.” The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health — which Melton said complemented the VDH’s declaration — said chemical changes in the brain in response to drug abuse make it increasingly difficult to quit once addicted. “Healthy adults are usually able to control their impulses when necessary, because these impulses are balanced by the judgment and decision-making circuits of the prefrontal cortex,” the report read. “Unfortunately, these prefrontal circuits are also disrupted in substance use disorders. The result is a reduced ability to control the powerful impulses toward alcohol or drug use despite awareness that stopping is in the person’s best long-term interest.”

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The state’s opioid addiction crisis was declared a Public Health Emergency on Nov. 21.

In addition to the human costs of drug addiction, an estimated $193 billion is spent each year in response to illicit drug use and related disorders, according to the Surgeon General’s report. The best way to fight the opioid epidemic is to know the symptoms of opioid abuse and where to seek help for addiction within the community, Melton said. “Many of us know the signs of other common diseases, such as asth-

ma,” he said. “Just like those other common diseases that the public has a basic understanding of what to look for — to see, to recognize the disease — people need to learn the same thing about addiction.” The governor’s office said it encourages people to speak openly with family members about addiction and to properly dispose of unused medications by obtaining a drug disposal bag from a local health department.

Vice mayor’s old tweets contain slurs, profanity Wes Bellamy’s social media posts contrast with other published messages of unity, empowerment ANNA HIGGINS AND TIM DODSON | ASSOCIATE EDITORS This article contains language some may find offensive. All tweets attributed to Bellamy have been quoted as written. Charlottesville Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy published several tweets between 2009 and 2014 using gay slurs, offensive slang for female genitalia and other profanities. Many of the old tweets show a stark contrast between his more recent posts lauding women’s and LGBTQ rights. The tweets surfaced on social media after local blogger Jason Kessler posted criticism of the tweets on Nov. 24. The post led some members of the community to call on Bellamy to leave office. In an October 2011 tweet, Bellamy answered a question prompted by another user, “Does it make males uncomfortable wen [sic] girls are so upfront about sex??” with “It only makes faggots uncomfortable …” The anti-gay slur also appears in tweets about the number of times someone has sex and having a clean house. These tweets contrast with Bellamy’s tweet pushing for unity im-

mediately following the mass shooting at Orlando gay nightclub Pulse in June, which left 49 dead. “I don't care if you're gay, straight, trams, black, white, blue, or purple … YOU DESERVE EQUAL RIGHTS AND YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE SAFE!” Bellamy tweeted on June 13. In November 2015 Bellamy was elected to the City Council, which selected him as the city’s vice mayor at the start of their term in January. Bellamy unsuccessfully ran for City Council in 2013, and works as a computer science teacher at Albemarle High School. Governor Terry McAuliffe appointed Bellamy to the State Board of Education in March. In October 2011, Bellamy tweeted about the prevalence of female teachers in schools and how it may negatively affect male students. “I’m all for equal opportunity..but a Female Principal with a school full of female teachers is fkn a sure fire way to fk up our lil boys smh,” he tweeted. Tweets that expressed criticism of white people led Kessler to label Bellamy as an “anti-white racist.”

Other tweets compared white women to the devil and criticized the appearance of white women in sundresses. Virginia Flaggers, a group which has opposed removing statues of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson from Lee Park and Jackson Park, respectively, urged people to contact City Council and “demand he be removed from office” in a Facebook post Saturday. “I am not a black supremacist, a racist, a misogynist nor am I any of the other things [Kessler] purports me to be,” Bellamy said. “What I am is a son, a husband, a father, a teacher and a proud member of this community who works every day to improve the city we live in.” Another one of Bellamy’s tweets from October 2011 commented, “word…” on a tweet describing sexual assault. “Word...RT: TAXSTONE: Eat it while she asleep if she moan it aint [sic] rape,” the retweet read. Several tweets also linked white women to rape accusations, and one retweet said white women “smell like future assault charges n deli meat.”

Other tweets from 2009 explicitly described sex acts using vulgar terms to describe women’s genitals. More recent tweets, however, show support for women’s empowerment, including links to Instagram photos supporting the Sexual Assault Resource Agency and a mentoring program for young African-American women. Following the publication of the now-debunked Rolling Stone article, “A Rape On Campus,” in November 2014, Bellamy called for people to stand up against rape culture. “I sincerely apologize for the inappropriate things I posted to social media many years ago,” Bellamy said in his Facebook post. “Elected officials should be held to a higher standard, and while I was not in office at the time, in this instance I came up short of the man I aspire to be.” Bellamy made his Twitter account private this Saturday. He attributed the tweets to an immature phase of his life. “At the time of the tweets that I saw posted on the website, I was a young man in my early 20s living

outside the Deep South for the first time,” Bellamy said. “In the course of trying to mature and find my way I came to some false conclusions about the world around me and made them known.” Bellamy is from Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to moving to Charlottesville in 2009, he attended South Carolina State University. He noted that since the tweets were published, he has furthered his education, become a father and gotten married. Bellamy also serves as vice president of the 100 Black Men of Central Virginia and is president of the Young Black Professional Network of Charlottesville and the Charlottesville/Albemarle Alliance of Black School Educators, according to his biography on the City Council website. Bellamy was unavailable for an interview Sunday evening. The Cavalier Daily reached out to City Council members, Albemarle County Public Schools and the governor’s office Sunday evening and will update this article with any responses.

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MAMADI DIAKITE JUMPS INTO HIS ROLE

nnouncers for future Virginia men’s basketball games may want to learn how to pronounce redshirt freshman forward Mamadi Diakite’s name. That’s because the Guinea, Africa native has literally made leaps and bounds in Virginia’s last five games. It’s pronounced mama-DEE, deeah-KEE-tay, by the way. Diakite attended Blue Ridge School in St. George, Va. for two years after moving to the United States. He averaged 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots in his final high school season. After forgoing his senior year of high school, Diakite took a redshirt season last year at Virginia — watching while Anthony Gill and now-junior Isaiah Wilkins locked up the forward positions. This season was supposed to be

another year of development for the 6-foot-9 forward, but the past weeks have brought about a turn of events. After coach Tony Bennett dismissed junior forward Austin Nichols for a violation of team rules, many wondered what the loss would mean for Virginia’s already young roster, which lost four key players to graduation. With Nichols’ dismissal, however, came the opportunity for Diakite to jump into the mix and prove himself as a young forward, and he hasn’t wasted any time doing so. Diakite debuted as a Cavalier against St. Francis Brooklyn Nov. 15, where Virginia fans got the first look at his athletic ability as he tallied eight points and four rebounds off the bench. Against Yale last Sunday, Diakite tallied four blocks along with five points and seven rebounds. “You just don’t find quick jumpers … and that’s huge because defensively, you cannot be in perfect position every time,” Bennett said. “If you have a guy behind that can block some shots and clean up some things then that’s good.”

Diakite has quickly become a Cavalier fan favorite, as the crowd at John Paul Jones Arena has responded enthusiastically to his impressive blocked shots through two home appearances. His ability to leap over opposing players while blocking shots and collecting rebounds is hard to beat. According to senior point guard London Perrantes, his athletic ability is also unrivaled by former Virginia players, including Dallas Maverick Justin Anderson. “I don’t think Justin’s athletic ability compares to Mamadi’s. Mamadi’s is through the roof,” Perrantes said. “We see some stuff in practice that is just unreal, and we sometimes have to stop practice to double take and think about what he just did.” Diakite’s ability didn’t let up in the Cavaliers’ most recent games. The redshirt freshman continued to post impressive stat lines. He played consistently against Grambling State, recording eight points off the bench, four rebounds and three blocked shots. Diakite can come off the bench and back up the defense with his ability to block would-be points for op-

posing teams. “When we do have a breakdown, we’ve had some nice shot blocks,” Bennett said. “As the competition continues to step up, that will be tested.” Virginia’s competition did continue to step up going into the weekend in the Emerald Coast Classic, and so did Diakite. First on the slate was Iowa. The stifling Cavalier defense kept the Hawkeyes, who had averaged 96.2 points before Friday’s game, to just 41 points. Once again, an instrumental part of that defense off the bench was Diakite. He tallied four rebounds and added two blocked shots in just 16 minutes of play. Against Providence in the championship game Saturday, Diakite had a career-best outing, scoring 10 points. Diakite also tacked on three blocked shots to help lead Virginia to a 63-52 victory. However, while adding onto the score is important for Diakite, it’s his defensive ability that he sees as most valuable. “I think the team needed me to

step up and block more shots,” Diakite said. “It is more exciting to me to block people, better than scoring. Scoring, that comes along with time, so I am not really worrying about whether I have five, two, one point or zero points in a game. It is okay as long as I play defense and I can contribute for the team to win, that would be of great satisfaction to me.” As long as Diakite keeps it up, he is sure to find more satisfaction playing defense while causing the JPJ crowd to roar after witnessing his impressive blocked shots. The addition of his raw talent to the defense is one of the reasons why Virginia finds itself sitting at 6-0, and has kept four of those opponents to less than 42 points. As if that wasn’t enough, the prospect of his development with increased playing time this season is something that should cause Cavalier fans to get even more excited. MARIEL MESSIER is a senior associate sports editor. She can be reached at m.messier@cavalierdaily.com.

Men’s basketball wins Emerald Coast Classic The Virginia men’s basketball team withstood a 9-0 run from Providence at the start of the second half Saturday to win the Emerald Coast Classic final, 63-52. Finishing with 11 points apiece, senior guard London Perrantes and junior guard Darius Thompson led the Cavaliers (6-0) in scoring. Perrantes, the tournament MVP, added a team-high eight rebounds and five assists. After the Friars cut the deficit down to just five points ear-

ly in the second half, Perrantes drilled a huge three on the right side — his third of the evening — to increase Virginia’s lead to 37-29. Providence rallied again, using ball screens to break down the pack-line defense and get to the free-throw line, but redshirt freshman forward Mamadi Diakite stepped up for coach Tony Bennett’s team. Diakite scored all 10 of his points in the final 12 minutes. The Blue Ridge School alum hit on two-of-three high-arch-

ing attempts from three-point range, previewing what kind of matchup nightmare he might become in the future. Virginia received small contributions from a wide cast in what many considered to be its toughest test of the 2016-17 season to date. With their go-to post scorer junior forward Austin Nichols dismissed, the Cavaliers continue to rely on a trio of big men — junior forward Isaiah Wilkins, sophomore forward Jarred Reuter and sophomore

center Jack Salt — to produce in the paint. Entering Saturday, there was concern over how they would hold up against stronger competition. All three collectively faced junior Rodney Bullock, one of the top forwards in the Big East Conference, but the trio did well to match his and fellow junior forward Emmitt Holt’s effectiveness. Wilkins recorded nine points, while Salt and Reuter chipped in eight and five, respectively. Salt snatched a ca-

reer-high six rebounds. Bullock tallied 16 points and six rebounds, while Holt contributed 11 and six. Junior guard Jalen Lindsey led all scorers with 18 points. Virginia returns home to face Ohio State at the John Paul Jones Arena in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge Wednesday at 9 p.m.. — compiled by Grant Gossage

Women’s basketball splits matches at South Point Shootout

CALLIE COLLINS | THE CAVALIER DAILY Junior forward Lauren Moses earned All-Tournament honors after scoring 19 points against Nebraska.

The Virginia women’s basketball team spent its Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas at the South Point Shootout tournament. After an opening game loss against St. John’s Friday, the Cavaliers (5-1) defeated Nebraska Saturday. Junior forward Lauren Moses was selected to the All-Tournament Team. Virginia opened its first game evenly matched against the Red Storm (2-3), taking a slim three-point lead into halftime. However, St. John’s came out strong in the third quarter, taking the lead midway through and pulling away in the fourth quarter to secure a 66-55 victory over the Cavaliers. Junior guard Aliyah Huland El led Virginia with 16 points,

while sophomore guard Akina Wellere dropped 20 points to lead the the Red Storm. St. John’s would go on to lose to Arizona State in the tournament’s final. Virginia responded to its first loss of the season with a solid team win over Nebraska (4-3) Saturday. The Cavaliers made 56.3 percent of its shots in the first half to take a commanding lead and never looked back after a strong third quarter, taking down the Cornhuskers, 73-51. Moses earned All-Tournament honors after dropping a game-high 19 points en route to the win. She was aided by a trio of Cavaliers guards who scored in double figures – Huland El with 14 points, freshman guard Jocelyn Willoughby with 12 and

junior guard J’Kyra Brown with 11. The Cavaliers will take a strong 5-1 record into the ACCBig 10 Challenge, in which they will take on Northwestern (5-1) in Evanston, Ill. Thursday. — compiled by Alec Dougherty

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016

www.cavalierdaily.com • SPORTS

‘FIRST IS THE WORST’

y varsity basketball coach used to remind us when we were out of sync during our first practice of each week or playing fatigued and struggling to hit shots in our opening game of each season, “First is the worst.” Coach Roth would repeat this over and over again, driving home the point that we would only improve with time — we had no choice. Virginia football fans are hoping first really is the worst when it comes to coach Bronco Mendenhall’s inaugural season. The Cavaliers finished 2-10 and 1-7 in conference, which tied Duke for the worst record in the ACC. They scored the third least amount of points in the ACC, 270, and allowed the third most points, 405, ahead of just Syracuse and Pittsburgh. I didn’t project Virginia to end the 2016 season at the bottom of the ACC Coastal Division like media personnel did. I didn’t think the Cavalier record would actually worsen from one year, 4-8, to the next after Mendenhall, a proven winner, arrived. Boy, was I wrong. Results-wise, Virginia had a bad

season, and maybe even an ugly one. But there were good moments. Granted, these were few and far between. The Good Sept. 24 For several reasons, Sept. 24 was a good day for the Cavalier program. Virginia outscored Central Michigan, 49-35, at Scott Stadium to earn its first win of the season. Mendenhall recorded both his first victory as head coach and the 100th of his career. His players waited for him to enter the locker room before celebrating, a move Mendenhall said was “gratifying.” In his fourth ever start, junior quarterback Kurt Benkert set the program single-game record for passing yards with 421. Benkert also tossed for five touchdowns to only one interception. It all left Virginia fans feeling more positive about their team than they had in a long, long time. Sideline report: There was a noticeable difference in attitude up and down the Cavalier sideline this season. Guys were up on their feet, reassuring teammates on the field, running with them step for

step. The towel whip became a rallying cry, so did the swag surf. I remember when Virginia received a sideline warning in the middle of the Duke game. The referee had every right to issue it. The bench had leaked out onto the field, shouting and clapping as someone made a big play. Rather than shying away or sitting down after the referee had intervened, the bench took a couple steps back and went crazy. The Cavaliers, including several coaches, jumped up and down, flinging bottles and towels into the air. This season, I never once questioned the cohesiveness of Mendenhall’s team. The Bad Benkert’s decline: Benkert went from savior and school-record setter early on to soul searching back-up by season’s end, and in between it was tough to watch him lose his confidence at such a steady rate. After his back-to-back stellar performances against Central Michigan and at Duke, Benkert did not exceed 300 yards passing again. He threw for three touchdowns in only one other contest, the 32-25 loss

against Louisville. His average adjusted quarterback rating fell over his final six games. Benkert threw one fewer interception during that span, with five compared to the six he tossed through his first five games, but he also didn’t have the same yardage. The Ugly Alleged hazing: Former Cavalier wide receiver Aidan Howard filed a lawsuit in October alleging the University, administrators and coaches and players on the football team had not done enough to prevent a hazing incident in the locker room this past summer. Two Virginia receivers, junior Doni Dowling and sophomore David Eldridge, are listed as defendants, and the suit alleges that both ridiculed Howard “because of his soft-spoken and mild-mannered nature” and pressured the freshman into fighting another player. As a result of the fight, Howard allegedly suffered a concussion and orbital-bone fracture. Wide receivers coach Marques Hagans and graduate assistant Famika Anae, the son of offensive coordinator Robert Anae, are also listed as

defendants in the suit, which alleges the behavior of each coach created an atmosphere conducive to discrimination and hazing. It might not be proven, but it still isn’t pretty. Even though he isn’t named a defendant, the incident happened under Mendenhall’s watch. Rivalry romp: I’m going to keep this bit short, because it’s too soon, too personal. I don’t want to relive it for too long. Our bitter rivals dominated us in Blacksburg. They put up 52 to our 10. From the start, the Cavaliers looked overmatched, clueless on offense with the quarterback rotation and on defense with coverage breakdowns. Our rivals outgained us 579-247 in total yards and kept the Commonwealth Cup for the 13th straight year. There’s nothing more to say.

GRANT GOSSAGE is a senior associate sports editor. He can be reached at g.gossage@cavalierdaily.com.

Virginia Tech takes Commonwealth Cup, 52-10 The Virginia football team lost its seventh consecutive game this season Saturday against rival Virginia Tech, 52-10. The loss marked the end to coach Bronco Mendenhall’s first losing season as a head coach, after 11 years at the helm of Brigham Young. The Hokies (9-3, 6-2 ACC) seem prepared for their ACC Championship matchup against Clemson next Saturday since Virginia Tech compiled 579 total yards against a hapless Virginia (2-10, 1-7 ACC) defense. Virginia Tech junior quarterback Jerod Evans ran for one touch-

down and threw for two en route to go 16-for-27 for 253 yards. Senior quarterback Brenden Motley replaced Evans in the third quarter and went 2-for-3 for 37 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers couldn’t get into any sort of rhythm offensively, finishing with a paltry 247 yards. Mendenhall and offensive coordinator Robert Anae opted to play with a two-quarterback system, in which senior Matt Johns and junior Kurt Benkert rotated as often as every other play. Senior quarterback Connor Brewer played one snap, which re-

sulted in a fumble and was returned for a Hokie touchdown. Benkert, who was responsible for Virginia’s sole touchdown in the fourth quarter, went 9-for-26 for 122 yards, while Johns went 4-for-10 for 17 yards and two interceptions. Senior tailback back Taquan Mizzell led the Cavaliers with 113 rushing yards in his final game — putting him over the 2,000 yards rushing for his career. Junior linebacker Micah Kiser recorded 14 tackles to lead Virginia, while junior safety Quin Blanding followed closely behind with 12. — compiled by Mariel Messier

LAUREN HORNSBY | THE CAVALIER DAILY

Senior tail back Taquan Mizzell rushed for 113 yards, putting him over 2,000 rushing yards for his career.

Virginia falls to Stanford in NCAA Tournament in 2OT The Virginia men’s soccer team traveled across the country to continue its quest for a national championship with a third-round match against the reigning defending national champions Stanford. In what was a highly-anticipated match, the 12th seeded Cavaliers (11-4-5, 3-2-3 ACC) fell to the fifth-seeded Cardinal (13-3-4, 8-11 Pac-12), 1-0. The match lived up to its hype and was tightly-contested throughout, with college soccer’s last two national champions battling it out in a double overtime CHANDLER COLLINS| THE CAVALIER DAILY

Goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell tallied three saves in the double overtime loss to Stanford.

affair. Strong defense from both teams

prevented either offense from getting into a rhythm throughout the match. Stanford outshot Virginia, 7-3, in the first half, but the Cavaliers held the edge, 3-0, in shots on goal. The second half and the first overtime period played out in similar fashion, with the score remaining 0-0 as both teams remained locked in a defensive battle. Finally, in the 106th minute of the match, Stanford junior forward Foster Langsdorf punched in a controversial header after junior goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell was knocked to the ground for the game-winning goal, giving the

Cardinals the victory. With that goal, Virginia’s 2016 season came to an end. Stanford finished with a 17-9 edge in shots on the night. In what was largely a defensive battle, both the Cavaliers and the Cardinals only racked up four shots on goal apiece. Stanford tallied four saves to Virginia’s three. The Cavaliers will now head into the offseason looking to improve on another strong season and get ready for 2017. — compiled by Rahul Shah

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016 COMMENT OF THE DAY “Serving as a juror in an honor trial is a very emotional undertaking and we should be thanking those jurors, not attacking them personally based on the gratuitous comments of unnamed observers.” “Publius” in response to the editorial board’s Nov. 21 editorial, “Once again our honor system proves unfair”

LEAD EDITORIAL

Trump’s education pick is an attack on public schools DeVos stands to undermine our nation’s education system Last Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump picked Betsy DeVos as his nominee for education secretary, further intensifying what was already a polarized debate about education policy. DeVos, a strong proponent of ‘school choice’ — especially in the form of vouchers — will enact policies that could harm our public education system. Many University students attended Virginia’s highly rated public schools, and we would hate to see them suffer under the coming administration. While charter schools and vouchers — which give parents the ability to choose the school that their children attend — might seem like reasonable propositions, their im-

plementation has failed to produce consistently positive results. Charter schools and vouchers are bandaid solutions that, though they can provide some students with better educations, lead state legislatures to neglect public schools and their students, who are desperately in need of more resources. Twenty-three years ago, Michigan attempted to fix its deteriorating public education system through the expansion of charter schools. The effort, of which DeVos was a major sponsor, left Detroit in an educational vacuum for nearly a quarter of a century. Half the charter schools performed as well or worse than the existing public schools in a city

where only 10 percent of rising high school seniors scored “college ready” on reading tests, according to The New York Times. DeVos’ selection is a sign that Trump intends to pursue his campaign promise to enact extensive school choice through a federal investment of $20 billion — a dangerous move toward a disproven and inefficient policy. Since it’s unlikely DeVos will undergo an ideological transformation before her appointment, the Virginia state legislature should continue to pour resources into our already exemplary public schools, with an eye toward offering equal resources to all our students.

THE CAVALIER DAILY THE CAVALIER DAILY The Cavalier Daily is a financially and editorially independent news organization staffed and managed entirely by students of the University of Virginia. The opinions expressed in The Cavalier Daily are not necessarily those of the students, faculty, staff or administration of the University of Virginia. Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the editorial board. Cartoons and columns represent the views of the authors. The managing board of The Cavalier Daily has sole authority over and responsibility for all content. No part of The Cavalier Daily or The Cavalier Daily online edition may be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without the written consent of the editor-in-chief. The Cavalier Daily is published Mondays and Thursdays in print and daily online at cavalierdaily.com. It is printed on at least 40 percent recycled paper. 2016 The Cavalier Daily Inc.

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2016

www.cavalierdaily.com • OPINION

WHY WE MAY NOT BE COMPLETELY DOOMED There are some reasons for hope in the Trump administration

n the wake of the election — and I mean that in two senses, for Grounds really does feel like a wake — I thought I’d highlight the potential benefits of a Trump presidency. Take a pause from dwelling on the reality that the West Wing will soon be occupied by perhaps the most morally abhorrent and unqualified person ever elected president, and instead consider the opportunities a President Donald Trump provides. You’ll find that in addition to Republicans, Democrats and unaligned cynics also have reason to be optimistic. Republicans don’t need to look too hard to see the bright side: Tax cuts, Supreme Court nominations, the enforcement of immigration laws, the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and the overall repudiation of the Obama years provide reason enough to celebrate. But to be frank, until Trump assumes the office of president, policy isn’t the most rewarding aspect of Trump’s win. Rather, even anti-Trump Republicans like myself can’t help but delight in the fall of the Clinton dynasty and the collective freak out currently consuming the Democrats’ party press. How can you not laugh at the spectacular failure of the Clinton campaign, which somehow managed to lose to the most reviled nominee in U.S. history,

a man they intentionally propped up during the GOP primary? And immature as it is, it’s hard not to revel in the horror of Samantha Bee, Lena Dunham and various other criminally unfunny comedians who spent the last year “destroying” Trump’s candidacy. Witnessing them react exactly how we knew they would — blaming white people and saying women who voted Trump hate themselves — is just icing on the cake. But the potential good news isn’t just limited to Republicans. For Democrats, the bitter pill of a Trump presidency might be tough to swallow, but there’s a decent chance they’ll like the results. Trump is already making overtures to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), possibly to signal to Republicans he won’t be constrained by his party label. Additionally, after meeting with President Obama, there are signs Trump is already wavering on his commitment to scrap Obamacare. Despite House Speaker Paul Ryan’s strangely ominous-sounding pronouncement of the dawn of a new Republican government, we essentially have an independent candidate in the White House. Trump himself has changed parties several times, and while the RNC certainly helped him win the presidency, Trump’s past indicates he has never had an issue stiffing his

creditors. Even better opportunities for Democrats lurk just down the road. Midterm elections generally punish the party in power, so while Democrats have an unfriendly Senate map in 2018, they can expect to make further gains in the House of Representatives and gubernatorial races. If

“a person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest rather than acting for honorable or unselfish reasons.” Could anyone deny the cynics have been vindicated this year? We’ve already seen the party of family values and free trade rally around a philandering protectionist; simultaneously, the party that

For Democrats, the bitter pill of a Trump presidency might be tough to swallow, but there’s a decent chance they’ll like the results. the Trump presidency is especially disastrous, 2020 may bring a Democratic wave election with massive ramifications: Democrats could then assume greater control over the redistricting process. This would allow Democrats to gerrymander the states they control, reforge safe red seats in the House into safe blue ones and create a favorable House map for the next decade. If I had to place a bet on who gets the most enjoyment out of a Trump presidency though, I wouldn’t wager on either Republicans or Democrats, but on the unaligned cynics. Type in “cynic definition” on Google and the first one to pop up reads:

mocked Mitt Romney for naming Russia a geopolitical foe spent the last few months calling Trump Putin’s puppet in a campaign effort that’d make McCarthy proud. And this is just the beginning. The GOP and their allies at Fox News and other right-wing media outlets have spent the bulk of the Obama years raising hell over government spending and the federal debt, yet they’ll soon defend Trump’s massive tax cuts and a trillion dollar infrastructure package. The talk radio crowd excoriated the “establishment” for failing to live up to their campaign promises, yet Trump is already hinting at reneging on many

of his. The response to these heresies from nominal conservatives will be telling, and I suspect the silence to be deafening. Similarly, I eagerly await the Democrats becoming concerned with executive overreach again. Somehow I can’t imagine any of those who railed against the GOP’s “obstruction” during the Obama years expect or desire Democratic elected officials to allow all of Trump’s policies to pass without a fight. We might even see those “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism” bumper stickers that were so popular during the Bush years come back into vogue. The case for optimism isn’t strong — the appointment of Breitbart chairman Steve Bannon as strategic advisor to the president is particularly concerning — but it’s there. At the very least, we can be grateful to Trump for being perhaps the one presidential candidate in modern times to offer a glimmer of hope to so many disparate factions. May you live in interesting times.

MATT WINESETT is a Senior Associate Editor for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at m.winesett@ cavalierdaily.com.

GIVE PEOPLE THE RIGHT TO DIE WITH DIGNITY

n June of this year, California implemented the End of Life Option Act in an effort to permit “terminally ill adult patients with capacity to make medical decisions to be prescribed an aid-in-dying medication if certain conditions are met.” Within the past year, the aid in dying movement, otherwise known as physician-assisted suicide, has slowly but surely advanced — California was the fifth state, alongside Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Montana, to permit this policy, taking a step forward in the campaign to allow patients to have the power to end their lives on their own terms. As the times have changed, how we die has also changed, so we must follow suit and change the standards surrounding assisted death in states across the country. We should legalize physician-assisted dying so the patients may retain some amount of control over their death. The greatest contenders of this advancement are the doctors themselves; it is time that they jump on board with the assisted suicide movement in an effort to let the suffering more freely determine their fate.

All states should permit physician-assisted suicide

Death is inevitable. It’s something human beings have a tremendously hard time talking about and, more notably, accepting. Our society’s taboo against talking about death and dying is harmful to our process of living — we leave it up to “experts” to figure everything out for us when the time comes, letting the culmination of our lives rest in the hands of another. Haider Javed Warraich, fellow in cardiovascular medicine at Duke,

physicians have the utmost duty to do no harm is a thinly made fabric stretched to shreds, for “medical harm is already one of the leading causes of death” apart from assisted suicide. Echoing Dr. Warraich, “Isn’t preventing patients from dying on their own terms its own form of medical harm?” Simply the option of regaining “a semblance of control over their lives as disease, disability and the medical machine tries to wrest it away from them,” gives

With breakthroughs in medicine and technology, the lines are beginning to blur.

recalls a conversation with one of his patients who requested that he kindly let him go in the event that his heart stops, for he believes “there are worse states than death.” Yet, doctors’ continued resistance to assisted suicide denies each and every one of us of our right to die. The argument that

patients a peace of mind that the thought of death cannot always provide. In Oregon, 35 percent of the very few patients who have requested assisted suicide in the past 18 years do not end up actually following through and using it. It is a means of reassurance, a means of jurisdiction. The resistance to assisted

dying stems from tradition and the unwillingness to change with the times. Doctor Warraich explains how the Hippocratic oath is becoming increasingly harder for doctors to translate, as what is meant by “do no harm” in this day in age is different than what was meant even a few years ago. With breakthroughs in medicine and technology, the lines are beginning to blur. As the tools for keeping people alive improve, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for a patient to die without a doctor putting an end to life support. The current legal methods do not differ tremendously from active euthanasia. Warraich affirms that his administration of terminal sedation “felt closer to active euthanasia than assisted suicide would have.” The current stigma surrounding physician-assisted dying is mistakenly rooted in the past; it implies this method would validate the horrors of eugenic sterilization from the times of Nazi Germany. To counter this stigma, medical schools should begin a conversation with students about all facets of the end of life much earlier in their educa-

tion pathway. This topic is often neglected, creating a myopic view of a complex subject. This is not to be mistaken as a sales pitch for euthanasia. Yet, I do believe that patients should have the option to seek this method if they so desire, for it is their personal choice in the end. In his TED Talk, Peter Saul acknowledges the apparent shift in the way that people die, concluding that we should have meaningful conversations about death and dying with the elderly. We need to ask them what they want, and if they think it is their time to go, they should have the right in every state to make that decision for themselves and die knowing they had control through the very end. Respect for life and respect for independent individual choice must weigh in the conversation of how we view the ultimate choice: how to gracefully plan our exit.

LUCY SIEGEL is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at l.siegel@ cavalierdaily.com.

THE CAVALIER DAILY

OPINION • www.cavalierdaily.com

MANDATE ENCRYPTION FOR ALL DEVICES Strong, mandatory encryption is more important than ever

he most publicized battle over encryption began in early 2016, when the U.S. Department of Justice sought to force Apple to create a “backdoor” (i.e. security vulnerability) in its product after it was unable to access the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook. Apple refused to do so in a rare public letter, claiming, “Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case… we fear this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.” The court case ended abruptly after the DOJ claimed to have found a third party capable of unlocking the device; however, this incident highlights the need — moreso more than ever — for the support of encryption. Encryption is, in essence, “the most effective way to achieve data security. To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secret key or password

that enables you to decrypt it.” As a result, encryption is used to protect nearly every aspect of modern society, including Internet users, confidential documents and files, credit cards and ATM transactions and phone calls. Indeed, failing to encrypt devices oftentimes leads to disaster — on Nov. 15, 2016, a purported “backdoor” was found to have been inserted in Android devices by Shanghai Adups Technology Company, which allowed Adups to transmit the text messages, contact lists, call logs, IP addresses and other data of at least 120,000 phone users to a Chinese server. Although Adups denied any malicious intent behind its actions, stating it “was just there to provide functionality that the phone distributor asked for,” U.S. authorities stated that “it is not clear whether this represents secretive data mining for advertising purposes or a Chinese government effort to collect intelligence.” Richard Clarke, former national security official, has noted the dangerous ramifications if the federal government was

able to undermine encryption efforts in the United States. According to Clarke, “this is a case where the federal government, using a 1789 law, is trying to compel speech. And courts have

in the event of a terror attack. The FBI, for example, argues “When changes in technology hinder law enforcement’s ability to exercise investigative tools and follow critical leads, we may

In today’s ever-connected society, the need for strong, mandatory encryption for all devices is more important than ever. ruled in the past, appropriately, that the government cannot compel speech…. They want the precedent that the government can compel a computer device manufacturer to allow the government in.” In addition, former NSA inspector general Joel Brenner has noted: “the likelihood that others will gain access is quite high” if a company creates a security vulnerability in its own product. Some may argue that the creation of a “backdoor” system would facilitate communication between the federal government and the private sector

not be able to identify and stop terrorists who are using social media to recruit, plan and execute an attack in our country…. Of course, encryption is not the only technology terrorists and criminals use to further their ends.” The FBI, however, can only blame itself for its inability to bypass these security measures. Covering the Apple case, The Washington Post reported the FBI unlocked the San Bernardino shooters’ phones “with the help of professional hackers who discovered and brought to the bureau at least one previously unknown software flaw….

They were paid a one-time flat fee for the solution.” It is not the responsibility of the private sector to account for the FBI’s failures; weakening encryption so that the FBI has “easier access” to devices would carry grave effects for American privacy and safety. In today’s ever-connected society, the need for strong, mandatory encryption for all devices is more important than ever. Current events have shown us the dangers which an unencrypted society faces — from losses of personal information to leaking critical vulnerabilities in our nation’s infrastructure. If the federal government wants to ensure a greater degree of safety (and privacy) for its civilians, it should reverse its stance on encryption and learn to embrace it as a valuable security tool.

WILLIAM WONG is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at w.wong@ cavalierdaily.com.