Thursday, April 3, 2025

leiGh Bailey, Kayla MOOre & CaT WhiTe The Cavalier Daily

This week in-brief

CD News Staff

Dean

of

Students

Cedric Rucker reflects on

his past two years at the University

After serving approximately two years as interim Senior Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Cedric Bernard Rucker stepped down from the role this month. Rucker said that some of his goals coming into the role were to facilitate community and reinforce student self-governance at the University.

The dean of students works within the Division of Student Affairs to bridge communication between students and the administration. Rucker said he tried to do this by amplifying student voices, as well as by frequently engaging with students at different events across both undergraduate and graduate education.

“We are a whole university of 25,000 plus students and it was really important for me to connect with the students,” Rucker said. “That was critically important to me … to make sure that the multi-faceted nature of the University, especially its diverse student population, is really heard.”

Rucker is an alumnus of the University graduating with a master’s degree and doctoral study in sociology in 1984. He previously worked as Assistant Dean of Admissions from 1983 to 1989 before serving as Associate Dean of Student Activities at the University of Mary Washington from 1989 to 2022.

Rucker initially retired in June 2022 and intended to join the Peace Corps, but was asked back to the University to first serve in his role as Senior Associate Dean of the Office of African-American Affairs. He then assumed the role of interim Senior Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students after Robyn Hadley stepped down from the position in 2023.

Gov. Youngkin fires appointee Bert Ellis from Board of Visitors

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin removed appointee Bert Ellis from the University’s Board of Visitors Wednesday, following a meeting the two had Tuesday. Youngkin announced plans to appoint Ken Cuccinelli, who served as deputy secretary of Homeland Security and director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under President Trump’s first term, to the Board as Ellis’s replacement.

The news was first reported by The Washington Post.

The Office of the Governor released a letter sent from Youngkin to Ellis, in accordance with Virginia law which requires Youngkin to publicly state reasoning for the removal of a Board member. The letter said that Ellis’s conduct as a member had been sufficient cause to remove him from the Board.

“It is with sadness that I remove you as a member of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors,” the letter read. “While I thank you for your hard work, your conduct on many occasions has violated the Commonwealth’s Code of Conduct for our Boards and Commissions and the Board of Visitors’ Statement of Visitor Responsibilities.”

According to The Post, Youngkin had previously requested that Ellis step down from the Board due to his controversial approach to issues such as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University. Youngkin originally appointed Ellis in 2022 amid controversy over his political alignments. As a Board member, Ellis recently opposed every item on the agenda at a public December meeting, arguing that the University must reduce unnecessary spending in order to lower tuition rates for students.

Students express contentment with new Stellic advising program

The University announced its shift to a new advising and course planning program — Stellic — in an email sent to the community March 17. The program has been phased in over the past year to allow students a smooth transition, beginning with select students using Stellic last summer and adding a larger group of students in the fall. As of March, the program is officially open to all students.

The University has used SIS since 2009 to assist students with course planning and degree progress tracking. While other private course planning tools have been available, such as Lou’s List and Coursicle — two websites which allow students to view University class offerings each semester — some students favor Stellic for features they say are easier to use.

This program facilitates communication between students and advisors, and offers opportunities for students to connect with advising resources, according to Program Director for Stellic Josipa Roksa. She also highlighted that students can use the planner feature to explore different majors, while simultaneously viewing how a certain academic plan could meet major and general education requirements.

“We are excited that students will be able to plan classes and explore majors using a tool that will have built-in knowledge about requirements,” Roksa said. “Instead of using spreadsheets to plan their courses, students can use an intuitive, user-friendly platform to plan their educational journeys at U.Va.”

3.26 3.25

Gubernatorial race could result in first female governor

Spanberger and Earle-Sears are the leading nominees in the November election for Governor of Virginia

Grace Little | Senior Writer

Voters in Virginia will head to the polls June 17 with the opportunity to all-but-confirm the election of Virginia’s first female governor.

The two candidates expected to win their respective primaries are former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, and current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican. Victory for either of these candidates would result in Virginia’s first female governor, with Earle-Sears potentially becoming the first Black female governor in U.S. history. One other candidate, former State Sen. Amanda Chase, is also vying for the Republican nomination.

Incumbent Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin will be ineligible to run for re-election, as Virginia’s governors are prevented from seeking consecutive terms. That leaves Earle-Sears and Spanberger both vying for their respective party nominations in the primary, hoping to meet in the Nov. 4 general election in what will likely be a hard fought race.

To appear on the ballot, potential candidates must submit 10,000 signatures by April 3, including at least 400 from each of the state’s 11 congressional districts, something both EarleSears and Spanberger have achieved.

According to Kyle Kondik, director of communications for the University’s Center for Politics, Earle-Sears faces a more competitive Republican primary, though she remains the favorite. Spanberger is expected to dominate the Democratic primary, currently running unopposed.

Beginning her career as a federal law enforcement officer with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Spanberger later joined the CIA as a case officer. She also has a track record of winning competitive races — in 2018, she became the first woman to represent Virginia’s 7th congressional district, a district that Trump had carried in 2016. She then won re-election twice before retiring to run for governor.

Earle-Sears has served in the U.S. Marine Corps, the Virginia State Board of Education and the U.S. Census Bureau, and she was first elected in 2001 to the House of Delegates from the Hampton Roads area. She is the first female Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, presiding over a Democratic-led Senate for her entire term.

National politics have already come up in this race with key issues including federal job cuts by President Donald Trump, education policy and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. According to Kondik, the race will feel the impact of national politics, which will work to support Democrats.

“Virginia voters often vote for the party that does not hold the White House,” Kondik said. “This combined

with Virginia’s recent political evolution into a Democratic-leaning state in federal elections means that Democrats should have a leg up in the Virginia gubernatorial election.”

Spanberger currently has a lead in the limited public polls conducted of this race, but is it too early to name her the favorite with a large percentage of voters undecided.

Furthermore, Kondik said the federal worker layoffs spurred by Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency will work in Spanberger’s favor, especially as EarleSears has already come under fire by Democrats for recent comments she made in support of DOGE. The cuts could have a disproportionate impact in Virginia, which has around 145,000 federal workers.

According to Kondik, Republicans can still win the governor’s race as they did four years ago. However, they now face the dual challenge of being the party in power in Washington while also lacking key issues which could hurt Democrats — such as the backlash to school closures during the pandemic that were instrumental in securing Youngkin’s victory.

Keshav Vermani, University Democrats campaign chair and third-year College student, also foresees Spanberger’s win given the Republican power in national government. Furthermore, he considers Spanberger to be in touch with the federal bureaucracy and how governments should be run. He said she leads a campaign based on more moderate views, all of which should boost her chances of winning the election.

“I think it’s definitely a more middle-run campaign — I wouldn’t say it’s incredibly progressive,” Vermani said.

“People that support Spanberger are people that want to return to normalcy.”

Vermani described Spanberger’s campaign as the “everyday Americans campaign.” He also said that Spanberger is focused on serving first and foremost as governor and not using it as a stepping stone to boost herself to higher political offices.

“When I look at her candidacy, I don’t see a person that’s looking to just jump from governor’s mansion to Senate to presidency,” Vermani said. “I see a person that wants to do the job and do it well, and I think her time in the Congress reflected that.”

Vermani said Youngkin did not share the same bipartisan focus during his term as governor. According to Vermani, Youngkin vetoed many bills solely because they were not proposed by Republicans, who never controlled the Senate during his term. This left Youngkin with the most bills vetoed by any governor in Virginia history, which Vermani said could hurt any fu-

ture ambitions he may have for higher offices, such as the presidency.

Second-year College student Lillian Buchanan is a member of Network of Enlightened Women — a group for conservative university women. Buchanan supports Earle-Sears both because of Earle-Sears’ background and key issues she cares about.

“Both these candidates are women, but more than this, [Earle-Sears] is a veteran, she served as a Marine, and she’s also an immigrant from Jamaica and she’s a Black woman, and I think that that’s really, really cool,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan also cited issues including promoting parental input in a child’s education and transgender women competing in sports to be some on which she agrees with EarleSears’ views.

While Vermani touted Spanberger’s bipartisanship as a strength to pass laws for the good of all Virginians, Buchanan believes that Spanberger is focusing on her bipartisanship as a tactic to most likely swing more voters.

“I think that is kind of a tactic used called overreach, where you are really on one end of the political spectrum, but you kind of pretend to be more [bi]partisan than you are so that you satisfy the middle,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan said voter fatigue will play a prominent role in the leadup to this election. Immediately following the presidential election, she said both candidates will have to wrestle with voter mobilization after a presidential

election that was “more exhausting than normal.”

Both students acknowledged the sway that the federal workers in Virginia may have. Buchanan said she agrees with the premise of DOGE, although she understands the implementation of DOGE’s job cuts has been hard on many individuals. Vermani said he finds the cuts to federal spending and jobs worrisome and predicts this subject will play a prominent role in the race.

“My biggest fear is that we fire so many federal workers in Northern Virginia and a lot of places that are reliant on these individuals,” Vermani said.

Despite differing opinions on the race, both Vermani and Buchanan believe Spanberger will win the general election later this year.

“I [do] believe that Spanberger will win the election,” Buchanan said. “I’m kind of a realist.”

Buchanan said that other factors such as women’s healthcare and DEI policies will probably hurt Earle-Sears and lessen her chances of winning the election.

“[This] fear [of] what’s going to happen to abortion, and what is it going to be like to be a woman? What is it going to be like to be a minority? I don’t think that [those subjects are] on her side,” Buchanan said.

She added that it is still too early to tell, even if Spanberger has an early edge.

Buchanan addressed the gender

dynamics she foresees in a race between two women. According to Buchanan, people typically vote aligning with their party rather than gender preferences. She said she is glad that in this race, no matter who wins, gender can not be pinned as the deciding force that unfairly gave one candidate the advantage.

“I’m glad that it’s two women campaigning against each other … [so that] the sex of the candidate doesn’t matter,” Buchanan said. “No matter who wins, it’s not like, oh, well we just lost because we have a female candidate.”

Vermani said that parties have a tendency to nominate a candidate that matches the opposing candidate in terms of demographics such as gender. He said he is also glad that policy, rather than gender, will be the primary determinant of this election.

“When you equalize the race just based on those characteristics, it makes everything based on policy, which I think is great,” Vermani said.

A representative from College Republicans could not be reached for comment.

Primary elections will take place June 17, and the general election will occur Nov. 4.

COURTESY GLENN YOUNGKIN FROM VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES AND UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Spanberger currently has a lead in the limited public polls conducted of this race, but is it too early to name her the favorite with a large percentage of voters undecided.

U.Va. says it stands by student self-governance

Students remain in control despite the Quinn Emanuel shooting report

Ford McCracken | News Editor

After the Nov. 13, 2022 onGrounds shooting left three students dead and two others injured, an investigation and ensuing external review into University threat assessment procedures was commissioned by the University to understand how the shooting could have happened and how to prevent another like it from happening in the future.

One of the two reports, conducted by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, was tasked with reviewing University threat assessment leading up to the shooting. It identified shortcomings with the Threat Assessment Team, designed to respond to imminent threats to safety. In addition, the report identified flaws with the student self-governance system, saying it might hinder the University’s ability to respond to threats and effectively discipline students.

Student self-governance has long been a major tenet of student life at the University. Between the Honor Committee, Student Council and the University Judiciary Committee, students have the unique opportunity to oversee their own discipline and some rule-making decisions. Specifically, the student-run UJC handles all violations of the University’s Standards of Conduct — regardless of severity.

The primary critique of student self-governance in the report is that Honor and UJC are slow-moving bodies with long case processing times — and that the UJC is not taken seriously by students. Legitimacy with students is key for a body that has full disciplinary authority over students.

The report also suggested that the Honor Committee’s historic change from a single-sanction system to a multi-sanction system in 2023 could lead the system to be taken less seriously.

“The Honor system has recently undergone changes to eliminate the single sanction (i.e., expulsion) for violations, opting for a more flexible sanctions regime that likewise may reduce the severity with which students view potential violations,” the report states.

The UJC is critiqued several other times throughout the 87page report and is mentioned a total of 10 times on pages 12, 13, 53, 74, 78 and 79. In addition, the phrase “student governance” is mentioned in a critical fashion four separate times. Additionally, the report states that TAT and other University officials were

unwilling to ensure compliance with investigations for especially serious cases because they did not want to encroach on student self-governance. The report concludes by recommending that the University administration consider whether it should take additional care to ensure disciplinary matters are handled appropriately.

“The University should consider whether its governance model should be modified to allow for more direct University intervention in threat assessment or other high-risk cases,” the report states. The report only reviewed University procedures leading up to the shooting and did not make claims about the causality or culpability of the University and self-governance organizations.

Two former UJC chairs spoke to The Cavalier Daily about their experience leading the disciplinary process at the University and broadly disagreed with the Quinn Emanuel report’s statements about the Committee. Despite the report’s critiques of student self-governance, the University maintains that it has no plans to strip power away from students.

The Cavalier Daily made multiple attempts to reach administrators in the Division of Student Affairs, but the administrators directed all commentary through the University Communications office.

A central claim of the report is that the two disciplinary committees move too slowly to process cases. Page 74 of the report states that case processing for the UJC can take up to a year.

Harper Jones, former UJC chair and fourth-year College student, said that these claims are false.

“At one point … it talks about case processing taking up to a year … that is not the truth.” Jones said. “We have to maintain a delicate balance between protecting the rights of students and ensuring that we are upholding due process, and so we can’t necessarily resolve a case in a matter of days, but when we do have a case come through our system, we work as quickly as and efficiently as possible to adjudicate that case.”

In the Fall 2024 semester, the Committee’s mean case processing time was around 51 days excluding University breaks — that time was a significant increase from Spring 2024, which had a mean case processing time of about 27 days excluding breaks. The Committee saw a similar case processing

time in the Fall 2022 semester as well as the semesters immediately preceding it, when the report examined the UJC’s process.

Jones also added that when the UJC receives a case that demonstrates the need for urgency, the Committee can resolve a case more quickly. She said that in 2022, the Committee received two other gun-related cases, with each processed more quickly than a standard case.

“That same term, the Committee heard two other cases involving violations of university weapons policy … in those two instances, the Committee worked incredibly quickly to turn those cases around,” Jones said.

In October 2022, just weeks before the shooting, defendant Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. was informed that he would be referred to the UJC for non-compliance with the TAT’s investigation into his concealed weapon’s charge. These details are not included in the publicly released version of the report, likely because any details pertaining to the defendant himself are redacted to comply with federal privacy laws.

But the UJC never ultimately received that case, according to Jones, something she said that the report does not make totally clear.

Lisa Kopelnik, another former UJC chair and fourth-year College student, echoed Jones’ sentiment that more serious cases are processed more quickly. Kopelnik referred to the option for the University administration to issue an interim suspension for particularly serious cases, preempting a UJC investigation. An interim suspension means a student is barred from remaining at the University while their UJC trial plays out.

“There are situations that are more unsafe or where there was a more serious violation of the Standards of Conduct. The Judiciary Committee can hear those cases quicker, and it has before,” Kopelnik said. “It’s also important to remember that the administration has the ability to issue an interim suspension, and they do that.”

University Spokesperson Bethanie Glover said in a statement to The Cavalier Daily that while the UJC is delegated the authority to handle all violations of the University’s Standards of Conduct, the University can issue an interim suspension.

“The University has the ability to issue interim suspensions or take other more immediate actions in situations where an al -

leged violation of the Standards of Conduct leads a University official to reasonably believe that a student poses a threat to health or safety, University property or to the educational process,” Glover said. “The underlying disciplinary allegation is later adjudicated by the UJC.”

But the report did not only critique the length of the disciplinary process — it also questioned the UJC’s legitimacy with students.

“These student-run bodies can be slow-moving and there is a sense that the UJC may not be taken seriously by the student body as a tool to ensure discipline and safety,” the report states.

Jones took issue with this claim, saying that Quinn Emanuel did not interview any students in the generation of this report.

“The report didn’t talk to any students, including students who had gone through our process … we have multiple students who have cases before the Committee … and who, in the end, offer really productive reflections on the result of their sanctions,” Jones said.

The UJC can issue a variety of sanctions, ranging from a reflective essay to expulsion. Kopelnik said that while the Committee is never proud of issuing a sanction as serious as expulsion, as it did during her term, it shows the seriousness of the UJC to the community.

“We’ve issued those very serious sanctions that I think the community has taken seriously,” Kopelnik said. “All you need to do is read through other people responding to the sanctions that we’ve issued over the years. And I think the community takes this body seriously.”

In response to its critiques, one of the report’s recommendations is that the University consider taking more authority in handling threat assessment.

“The University should consider whether its governance model should be modified to allow for more direct University intervention in threat assessment or other high-risk cases,” the report states.

According to Jones and Kopelnik, it is unclear whether modifying the governance model would not change how much power the University has to handle threat assessment — both former chairs made clear the idea that the UJC is not intended to respond to or investigate immediate threats.

“We’re not ever hearing immediately threatening cases,” Kopelnik said. “We’re hearing cases

in which there could have been serious violations of standards of conduct.”

Jones agreed, saying the report does not make that distinction as clear.

“The Committee is not responsible for threat assessment and for emergency response, and I think there was some conflation in the report between case processing and emergency response,” Jones said. “Threat assessment and emergency response exists within a separate sphere of the university, and the Committee is responsible for adjudicating cases after those processes have occurred on a much more accelerated timeline.”

Despite the report’s recommendation for the University to reconsider the student self-governance system, Glover said the University will continue to back students.

“The University is firmly committed to student self-governance, which has long been a defining feature of the U.Va. experience,” Glover said. “The Honor Committee and UJC [manage] student accountability with seriousness and integrity. U.Va. continues to support their work while also evolving the ways we engage with and support students.”

The Quinn Emanuel report did not only focus on the Committee either — it focused primarily on the TAT and the ways it could be improved, such as hiring more full-time employees.

To address the recommendations in the report, the University created the Policy, Accountability and Critical Events unit within Student Affairs. Jones said PACE has not taken any power from students, only changed the way the University interacts with the UJC by centralizing pre-existing administrative resources into one office.

Kopelnik thinks that the University’s commitment to student self-governance is even stronger, saying the University has stood firm in its commitment.

“I think that the University has doubled down on a commitment to student self-governance,” Kopelnik said. “I think you can see that in the people that are leading this University, who really, in my opinion, commit to students being able to have agency over these different organizations that are critical to student life.”

Students share positive experiences celebrating Ramadan

Students said U.Va. Dine accommodations and student-led iftars fostered a sense of community and belonging during the holy month

Nina Broderick | Staff Writer

Ramadan, an Islamic holy month of reflection and prayer, began the evening of Feb. 28 and ended Saturday.

Between after-hours meals provided by U.Va. Dine, community events hosted by student organizations and accommodations from professors, students observing Ramadan said they felt supported throughout the month.

Students also said that they had noted an increase in overall awareness of Ramadan. Third-year Engineering student Nema Saleh said that the University has continued to improve in educating students about the holy month.

“U.Va. not only accommodated Muslim students in terms of observing the month of Ramadan, but they also made an effort to help the general U.Va. population understand what the month is,” Saleh said. “All my friends knew what [Ramadan] was. I think U.Va. is doing a really good job educating the whole student body.”

Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, is a month of fasting from sunrise to sunset. This year, U.Va. Dine featured a new buffet option at Za’atar at The Castle with hours reflecting the fasting period. Pre-dawn meals, known as suhoor, and meals to break the fast, known as iftar, were provided at the buffet each of the 30 days of Ramadan.

In past years, only pre-packaged meals were offered as an accommodation. The new system allowed for students to further customize their meals based on personal preference with an option to get hot food from the buffet to eat at Za’atar. Students were able to use a meal swipe to check in through the GrubHub app and could choose any items they liked once they joined the buffet line. According to Firstyear College student Mustafa Ali, the buffet included items such as chicken, sausage, croissants and eggs, as well as classic Ramadan foods like dates Ali expressed contentment with the new system, which he utilized almost every day that he was on Grounds during Ramadan. Living in first-year dorms, he found the Za’atar buffet to be very convenient.

Ibrahim Ahmed, Muslim Students Association president and fourth-year College student, also appreciated the new system, specifically the reduction of food waste that came with the buffet style as opposed to the pre-packaged meals from years past. Although Ahmed did not frequent the Za’atar buffet himself much, he said he had heard only positive things about the system.

“From what I heard, the system and what they used to order was really good, because there wasn’t that much food waste,” Ahmed said. “It was really efficient … I think last year was really good, but this year was even better.”

Saleh especially enjoyed the kindness of the U.Va. Dine workers and their positive attitudes even at early hours in the morning.

“[The food accommodations] have been great every year, but this year it was amazing,” Saleh said. “Something I really enjoyed was that the workers were so nice and so accommodating … even at 4:30 a.m. they were so happy to see us.”

Ramadan’s atypical hours have an effect on students’ academics as well, as they have expressed concern in past years about receiving accommodations from professors. Students may have to miss evening classes to break their fast, or need extensions on assignments due to the lack of sleep during the month.

This year, students found professors to be more supportive than in past years. Ali found all but one of his professors to be accommodating in needing extensions on assignments or having to miss class.

“During the day you’re going to class, you’re exhausted, and then you break your fast, and you’re at the mosque until about 10 or 11 o’clock, and then you’re kind of burnt out,” Ali said. “[Professors are all] very accommodating, and I’m really thankful for it, because it made it a lot easier to process.”

Ahmed said that two of his professors reached out to him first, as opposed to him having to reach out to them, offering to provide accommodations if needed.

“It’s definitely been an improvement on the end of professors, like realizing that students actually do have messed up schedules during Ramadan and they might not be getting as much sleep,” Ahmed said. “It’s obviously not perfect … but there are a couple classes that started [providing accommodations] which is really nice.”

Alongside these accommodations, student organizations also hosted events centered around Ramadan.

MSA hosted a Fast-a-Thon event March 5 in Alumni Hall. Non-Muslim community members were invited to fast in solidarity with Muslim students, and at the end of their fast, all were encouraged to attend the evening iftar. At the iftar, MSA members presented about the holy month and educated attendees about the significance of fasting. According to Ahmed, there were more than 200 attendees. The event was catered by Dino’s WoodFired Pizza & Grill, free of charge.

MSA also hosted iftars throughout the month in collaboration with College Council, Student Council and contracted independent organizations, such as the Bengali Student Organization and the Indian Student Association. Ali attended several of these communal iftars, which he said made Ramadan less stressful and in-

stead more enjoyable.

“Almost every night, I went to some sort of iftar led by some sort of student organization,” Ali said. “It was really nice that I wouldn’t really have to worry about where I’m going to eat or when I’m going to eat … because all these clubs were hosting.”

Saleh similarly expressed gratitude toward the student organizations for coordinating iftars to bring the Muslim community together.

“Another thing I love about U.Va. is that all the student [organizations] around had Ramadan events almost every day, which has been great,” Saleh said.

Celebrating his first Ramadan away from home, Ali described Ramadan as a time to focus on his religion and connect with the Muslim community.

“[Ramadan] is the month of dialing in on your religion … For me it’s really important because I think sometimes I get so caught up in everything else,” Ali said. “I get so worried about school … so it was really nice for me to be able to … fully dial in one month on our religion, and having people around me do the same.”

Initially, Saleh was worried about missing the sense of community that comes with being around family during the holy month. However, Saleh said she never felt isolated because of the unity she has found at the Univer-

sity through the Muslim community.

“I think the one thing I miss is that family aspect. When I’m at home, we have family come over, or we’ll get invited to other people’s houses,” Saleh said. “But it’s kind of the same deal here … You have these community iftars where literally you see so many of your Muslim friends around.”

Despite initial nerves, Ali said he thoroughly enjoyed his first Ramadan away from home, especially with the support from the University community.

LILLY PEPPER THE CAVALIER DAILY

This year, U.Va. Dine featured a new buffet option at Za’atar at The Castle with hours reflecting the fasting period. Pre-dawn meals, known as suhoor, and meals to break the fast, known as iftar, were provided at the buffet each of the 30 days of Ramadan.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Women directors usher in a new era of theater

This school year, woman directors are taking the stage at the University and confronting gender norms in a variety of diverse shows

Fiona Goo | Staff Writer

From Broadway musicals to Shakespearean tragedies, the theater community at the University is a thriving one, with organizations for any and all who care to get involved. This year, many of the student directors — in both theater-focused Contracted Independent Organizations and drama department productions — are women. And these directors are using their roles to reshape the way that gender roles and norms are depicted in their plays.

While directing “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” with Spectrum Theatre this semester, second-year College student Brianna Whitaker has focused on empowering herself and her actors to make the changes they want to see in theatrical spaces.

“Let’s mold the show to be mine. Let’s mold it so that it is forced to accept who I am as an artist and an actor,” Whitaker said.

Meanwhile, second-year College student Claudia Hunn is directing “Romeo and Juliet” for Shakespeare on the Lawn this semester — a student-run organization with a goal of “Bringing Shakespeare Alive on Grounds.” Hunn is taking her own twist on this famous text by emphasizing Juliet as the central character who motivates the play’s plot.

“I came at it and said, we’re gonna do this very famous show, but we’re gonna come at it from a completely different angle,” Hunn said. “We’re gonna talk about female subjugation. We’re gonna talk about female relationships, and really flesh those out so that those aren’t an afterthought in the grand scheme of all of these male characters.”

Third-year College student Emily Wartel has also taken her own spin at this issue while directing the First Year Players’s upcoming show, “Catch Me if You Can” — by creating three new female roles in the play, opening up more opportunities for female actors.

Additionally, Wartel is using the show as an opportunity to emphasize how the male gaze can perpetuate unrealistic ideas of women. She plays with technical elements like lighting and set design to contrast the real world with a fantasy one, switching from neutral to brighter colors.

“[The protagonist] is honestly

a very misogynistic character, but my concept for it was kind of to flip that on its head, and I really leaned into the fantasy versus reality elements of the show,” Wartel said.

Outside of theater CIOs, the University’s drama department is also working to confront these dynamics. Second-year College student Kate Hovey focused on themes of gender stereotypes while directing the show “Be A Doll” with the department last month. The plot of the show follows a woman whose childhood dolls come to life, and pressure her to fit into a specific role, like a doll with only one purpose. Bolstered with an all-woman cast, Hovey focused on building a space for every actor to bring their own experiences to the production.

“It was really great to be able to talk with the actors about growing up. Did they have dolls that were like this? How did that affect them? Did they feel like they needed to act like this doll, or did they feel like they could have been something else?” Hovey said.

First Year Players’s performance of “Guys and Dolls” last semester was directed by third-year

College student Maggie Polistina. She also played with traditional gender norms, flipping costume colors from pink to blue as one of the leading women gained power.

But, Polistina is looking further than surface level presentation and pointed to the fact that most scripts have gender bias baked into them.

“A lot of these classics that we want to keep coming back to don’t have a lot of female representation or they were written at a point when it was not meant to serve a female perspective in any capacity,” Polistina said.

She highlighted theater as a field with an obligation to represent diverse voices and perspectives because of its commitment to stories. According to her, there is both a value and necessity in reframing approaches to classic material in order for new voices to emerge.

“You have the same script that you’re using, but depending on who’s directing it or who’s working on at any given time, the take on that particular thing can change and morph itself in so many ways,” Polistina said.

“I think that theater has kind

of an obligation to take what’s been there — and then rework it, and find creative avenues to do that,” she continued.

Similarly advocating for a change of view, Whitaker is committed to creating a space for herself and for those whose voices have been overlooked in the theater community. This goal emerged from her own experience of fighting to find a niche in the community and failing to find one that truly encompassed who she was as an individual and an actor.

“There aren’t a lot of roles for me because I have a unique [vocal] register, and because I’m a Black woman, I just don’t see a lot of me being represented in the most popular musicals on Broadway,” Whitaker said.

Hunn also mentioned how gender dynamics — such as the competitiveness of being an actress and the double standards women contend with — can impact the behind the scenes of every theater production.

“‘Oh, am I being bossy? Am I being a bitch?’ Right? And, quite frankly, I just don’t think that’s anything that male directors have to worry about,” Hunn said. “Be -

cause you’re not bossy, you’re driven, you’re not being an asshole, you’re, you know, taking charge. And it is such a double standard that I just think women have to contend with in an arena like directing.”

Wartel shared this sentiment, speaking on the pressure that stems from this tension.

“I think also a lot of times women are pitted against each other in the arts, because it’s a female dominated area. You’re kind of seen as a dime a dozen, and you feel like you have to work a million times harder,” Wartel said.

Still, the directors of University theater are ready to take on this challenge. Moving forward, Whitaker has plans to make her mark in other spheres of the theater industry and continue to push for the space she wants to see come to life.

“I have plans to just produce my own works that reaffirm … the uniquity of my experiences and my talents,” Whitaker said.

COURTESY CHLOE COMBS

This semester, second-year College student Claudia Hunn is directing “Romeo and Juliet” for Shakespeare on the Lawn.

Jenna Pastuszek wants you to “Get Happy!”

The University alumna is set to perform her one-woman show at the Virginia Theatre Festival this summer

Richard Townsley | Staff Writer

Bringing “Get Happy!” to the Virginia Theatre Festival this summer is not just a regular performance for Jenna Pastuszek — it is a homecoming.

“As I was building my own professional career … I always thought about Charlottesville,” she said. “That is every U.Va. alum’s constant question of like, how can I get back there?”

Pastuszek, an alumna from Class of 2010, will be paying homage to Judy Garland July 24-27 at the Ruth Caplin Theatre, singing the iconic performer’s uptempo medleys & ingénue ballads while also incorporating personal stories in a cabaret performance she has taken to over 10 states and 20 regional theatres.

In this Virginia Theatre Festival iteration, guest performer Will Connell will join Pastuzek on stage for several duets. Additionally, Class of 2005 alumnus Nate Patten — a Broadway music director who was the accompanist in Pastuszek’s first class in the drama department — will be accompanying the performances on piano.

Pastuszek began work on the show in 2019 after receiving a call from East Lynne Theater Company — a theatre she had never performed for before — in Cape May, New Jersey.

“[East Lynne Theater Company] called me and said, ‘We’re doing our annual gala, and it’s a tribute to Judy Garland … we’d love for you to put together this show. As long as you sing some songs that are iconic to Judy’s catalog, you can really do whatever you want,’” Pastuszek said.

For Pastuszek, performing songs from her catalogue has allowed her to explore the life of an iconic creative woman. Judy Garland spent her entire life in the limelight — her first stage appearance was at age two. She is most famous for her role in “The Wizard of Oz,” but went on to have a successful career on stage and screen as a cabaret singer.

“The thing that is interesting about the show, and what I love to do about it, is it’s paying tribute to one of the original American Idols,” Pastuszek said.

Having studied history at the University, Pastuszek was keen to research Garland’s life and career. She combed through everything from television recordings to concert performances — forming a personal understanding of her subject beyond the familiar highs and lows of her career.

“I kind of approached it like writing a history paper,” Pastuszek said. “I collected all of the data and collected all of the research, and then thought to myself, ‘Okay, what’s the thesis? And what do I want to say about this?’”

Pastuszek, however, is not only

performing a “greatest hits” compilation. She wants to tell audiences a story — one that is uniquely hers.

“The music brings people back, but the stories and the jokes and the things that I talk about during the show are all from my life, it’s my COVID story,” Pastuszek said. “People are interested again in hearing what happened to an artist living in New York when [the pandemic] was happening.”

Becoming a musical theatre performer was not always Pastuszek’s plan. While at the University, she balanced a double major in history and elementary education with a cappella and theatre performances. She then went on to become an elementary school teacher, until she came to a realization.

“I had a quarter life crisis at 22, while I was teaching, and realized, ‘Wait a second. I don’t want to be an elementary school teacher — I want to perform!’” Pastuszek said.

Pastuszek moved to New York City to get a second master’s degree from New York University in vocal performance and voice teaching — marrying her two loves of teaching and singing.

Once she then began embarking on musical theatre auditions, Pastuszek credited her a cappella background with the Virginia Sil’hooettes as surprisingly useful.

“The songs that they ask for the most in auditions are pop rock songs,” Pastuszek said. “They’re not musical theater. I got an education on pop rock just by singing in [the Sil’s].”

Since then, Pastuszek has built a successful career in theatre and performance — appearing in Off-Broadway shows and singing the national anthem at the Dodgers v. Giants game last year. Additionally, she works as a voice teacher and co-founded Innovative Voice Studio — in which she gives voice lessons in New York City, Los Angeles and online — in 2016.

When performing “Get Happy!” in particular, her career has taken her everywhere from The Yale Club, in New York City, to Bucks County Playhouse, in Pennsylvania. The show, she says, was designed to be flexible — Pastuszek can modify it to fit both the venue and current world events.

No two performances of “Get Happy!” are exactly the same — following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Pastuszek wanted to pay homage to her Ukrainian family members by discussing their stories during her moments of personal asides.

“My grandmother immigrated over from Ukraine in 1948, right after World War Two, and she had all of these incredible stories,” Pastuszek said. “Now here I am, up here on the

has performed “Get Happy!” in over 10 states and 20 regional

stage singing songs that they heard Judy Garland sing at the Palace [Theatre] in 1957.”

Pastuszek hopes that “Get Happy!” will not only resonate with longtime Judy Garland fans, but inspire a newfound appreciation for Garland’s career in younger generations.

“It’s a great way to get to know [me] through a household name’s music and catalog, but also get to walk away with a new appreciation of something classic,” Pastuszek said.

As Pastuszek takes the stage at the Virginia Theatre Festival this summer, she is sure to bring a unique version of the show. “Get Happy!” will run July 24-27 at Ruth Caplin Theatre. Tickets are available at the Virginia Theatre Festival website starting April 22.

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COURTESY JENNA PASTUSZEK

Pastuszek

theatres.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

JoVia Armstrong proves a music career is not just a lofty goal

As an active performer and artist, Armstrong offers a unique perspective on life as a working musician

Maxwell Mitchell | Staff Writer

Assistant Professor of Music

Dr. JoVia Armstrong has worn many hats throughout her life — performer, composer, producer, band leader. And in 2022, she added another as a professor, bringing her talents and experience to University classrooms. Armstrong encourages her students to think practically and creatively, teaching a range of topics from working within the music business to composing contemplative music, all while maintaining her career as an independent artist and performer.

Armstrong grew up in Detroit and attributes her musical beginnings mainly to her father, who helped nurture her love for music from an early age as a vocalist, and to her sister, who bought her various percussion instruments to explore. Despite studying other instruments throughout high school like cello and French horn, Armstrong always found herself drawn to percussion.

This family of instruments lent itself to the music she was listening to, which included Latin and Afro-Cuban jazz, as well as music from Cuba, Brazil and Peru. Armstrong was fascinated with how these genres differed in rhythm from most American music.

“As a percussionist, those other styles taught me the most. It taught me way more than American music,” Armstrong said.

While on tour with a group of South American musicians, Armstrong learned to play the cajon, a small wooden box-drum on which she sits, and eventually created her own play style. Instead of having separate drums for her kick and snare, she creates both sounds by slapping the cajon. Surrounding her is a myriad of cymbals that she hits with a drumstick, similar to a typical kit.

This unique performance style offered her opportunities to play with Chilean Latin rock artist Joe Vasconcellos and compose for soul artists like JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound. In 2009, she released a solo album titled “Fuzzy Blue Robe Chronicles,” and in 2019, Armstrong founded her band Eunoia Society. The band fuses intricate rhythms with jazz chord progressions, heard in their two albums “Inception” and “The Antidote Suite.”

“There’s this jazz component that I put there because I am a person who absolutely fantasizes about freedom and liberation and whenever I have these mo -

ments in life where I feel free, that’s when I’m the most happy,” Armstrong said.

Although she has been writing original music for decades, Armstrong did not start thinking of herself as a composer until recently. She points out how noticeable the lack of diversity was in her field as she went through school.

“I was doing all these things that said I was a composer, but because I was in undergrad in the 90s, the only composers I saw were white men,” Armstrong said. “And so I just didn’t see myself in that world until a few years ago.”

Today, Armstrong balances her life as a musician with her job as a professor, educating University students through her unique musical and cultural perspectives. Armstrong began teaching at the University in 2022, currently teaching two graduate courses and four undergraduate courses, including MUSI 3060, “Motown vs. Everybody,” MUSI 3559, “Contemplative Music Ensemble” and MUSI 3559, “Black Music Composing and Performance.”

This past fall, Armstrong cre -

ated a brand new class, MUSI 3373, “Creative Strategies for Independent Artists,” which she is teaching again next semester. Her goal for this class was to educate students about the practical ins and outs of working as an independent musician.

“I was just thinking that a course like that, as basic as it was, could possibly give students a little bit of confidence leaving school and entering this world of music,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong noticed that even if students were not necessarily music majors, there was a large community of University students in bands or performing in some capacity. She designed the class to be accessible for any University student, regardless of major or musical background.

The class covers topics such as understanding and negotiating contracts, online and physical record distribution, tour management and merchandise creation. For the final project, the class organized a music showcase and food drive in partnership with Visible Records — an artist-run gallery and studio space in Charlottesville. Armstrong’s favorite aspect of the class is how students

began wanting to apply lessons to their musical work outside of the classroom.

“There were a lot of students coming to me after class with more questions about things they were actually doing or wanted to try,” Armstrong said. “They were coming to me for advice, saying things like ‘Me and my musician friend want to play this new cafe, how do you think we should go about doing X, Y and Z?’ I wanted to create that curiosity.”

Recently, Armstrong herself has focused on bringing more curiosity and exploration into the process of collaborative composition. In December, Armstrong went to Detroit to meet with her band and work on their next project. They went into the studio on day one without having anything previously planned or practiced — the first time the band had ever tried that. This was a challenge for Armstrong, but it also gave her fellow musicians, including Leslie DeShazor, Damon Warmack and Tony Cazeau more agency to bring their ideas to the table.

“I allowed Tony to come up with some really cool piano riffs, I allowed Leslie to create her own

melodies,” Armstrong said. “And what happened is that I was able to play my rhythms, those things that influenced me as a kid, I was able to play those underneath what they were doing.”

Her upcoming solo album, set to release in August, will have sounds from instruments she has never worked with before, including a string quartet and a didgeridoo, a long hollow wind instrument traditional in Northern Australian Aboriginal culture.

As Armstrong continues to build her legacy at the University through her dual roles as artist and educator, her advice for music students is to find their voice and be persistent in trying to be heard.

“Maybe your message is way stronger than the chord progressions you choose or how tight your production is,” Armstrong said. “If you want to be a dope musician, you practice. If you want to be an artist and get your message out, and have these wacky ideas on how to produce your work, then do that. Ultimately, I’m saying ‘be yourself.’”

COURTESY JOVIA ARMSTRONG

Instead of having separate drums for her kick and snare, Armstrong creates both sounds by slapping a cajon, a small wooden box-drum on which she sits.

SPORTS

Virginia’s future belongs to ‘the silent assassin’

Ryan Odom’s “core values” have remained the same at his four previous head coaching stops

Michael Liebermann | Sports Editor

Ryan Odom stands close to the wall. Khakis. A V-Sabre quarter-zip. He is a khaki-and-quarter-zip guy this time of year, more of a joggers-and-sweatshirt guy come basketball season. In this video, Odom begins, after a second, to speak. What he’s saying is not the important part.

The important part is what is behind him. Odom is in the head coach’s office. The wall is unchanged since Tony Bennett’s tenure, still with that large image from the 2019 national championship. And below the image? Five words. The five pillars, the last one visible over Odom’s right shoulder. Over his left shoulder is blank space.

It might soon get filled in.

Odom has six of them. He calls them core values, not pillars. He has lugged the words to all his head coaching stops, with five of them the same as Virginia’s previous regime’s — humility, unity, passion, servanthood, thankfulness — and one of them different. Accountability.

Those six core values have existed since Odom’s head coaching career started at Lenoir-Rhyne in 2015, and they have stayed with him since, from UMBC to Utah State to VCU. Now they will inhabit Virginia, as the new head coach takes root this offseason and his personality infuses the basketball program.

The core values materialize on the first slide of every recruiting pitch he makes and are central to his program, according to Billy Bales, who played under Odom at Lenoir-Rhyne and has coached with him everywhere since his final season at UMBC.

“Coach always said, when he became a head coach, that was really important to him,” Bales said. “Like, ‘We’re going to have core values, we’re going to have words, and we’re going to spend time on those words.’”

Many programs also employ groupings of words, even put them on the walls. But Noah Ralby, a member of Odom’s staff at UMBC and Utah State, says it’s not necessarily the same as in Odom’s case.

“I know a lot of people who listen to podcasts,” Ralby said. “They talk about it. Not all of them are about it. He’s really about it.”

Keenan Palmore knew that from the first visit, could tell this was someone who meant what he said. Back in 2015, Palmore, looking for transfer destinations after his junior year at Old Dominion, took a visit to see the new head coach at Divi-

sion II Lenoir-Rhyne. He could tell pretty quickly that this was a guy he wanted to play for.

The thing Palmore remembers most from that season? The aftermath of one game in particular, a big win. He cannot remember which game it actually was. He thinks it might have been the Bears’ firstround NCAA Tournament game, in which No. 7 seed Lenoir-Rhyne upset No. 2 seed King (TN), 83-79.

The team, in the locker room, waited for their coach. Then there he came, running in, jumping up and down, and everyone was screaming, and water bottles were spraying, and they were all dancing around.

“He was, just as we were, jumping up and down, screaming, yelling,” Palmore said. “He loves it. That was a great moment.”

It was also unusual. Odom is more reserved, people around his programs say. He tends not to yell except when necessary, and he is eminently approachable, always with an open door, ready to hear any suggestion. He is “very calm,” according to Bales, with a “laid-back mentality.”

He is also a fiery competitor. And so Tony Shaver, Odom’s college coach at Division III Hampden-Sydney, has a name for him — “the Silent Assassin.”

“He looks very calm, and his demeanor on the sideline is that way,” Shaver said. “But inside there’s a fierce competitive fire burning, and that’s what people don’t see sometimes.”

This past season, Odom’s VCU squad traveled to George Washington in early February for another important road game in an Atlantic 10 schedule packed with big matchups. The conference slate had entered its back half. At stake was a regular-season title, and this game, like all the others, meant a lot.

VCU came out flat. Stumbling. It committed four turnovers in its first four possessions. At the first timeout, Odom’s players clustered around him. He ripped into them.

“He was very aggressive, got after them, lit a fire under them,” Bales said. “And the guys responded.”

VCU came back and won the game, 80-72.

“He knows just how to push the right buttons,” Bales said.

That is one thing about him, his judgment. The other is his consistency. People use the same words to describe him, just about everywhere he has coached, and he has done the same things, just about everywhere.

People say these things about Odom. Then they come true. Take, for example, something Palmore said in conversation with what Odom did on his first day in Charlottesville.

“[Odom] approaches people who are there when he joins a new program, and then he gets to know the people that are still there, that were already there before,” Palmore said. “He leans on a lot of people that have been in that environment already, how they do things and the culture there.”

Odom and his staff ran a practice with Virginia’s roster from last season the day of his introductory press conference. Present at the practice? Kyle Guy, Isaiah Wilkins and Chase Coleman, all members of the previous staff.

Take, for another example, something Ralby said in conversation with a point Odom made early in his introductory press conference.

“Virginia has been a really storied program,” Ralby said. “And what Virginia does going forward, a lot of it has to do with the people that came before [Odom]. That’s [the kind of thing] he talked a lot about.”

Ralby said this a few hours after the press conference, having not listened to or read any of the press conference material. In the press conference, though, Odom’s introduction last week to his new school, he said basically the same exact thing.

“This place has existed long before Ryan Odom,” Odom said. “This place has existed before Tony Bennett.”

The place will enter its new era in the fall. Just with one more word on the wall.

Xander Tilock contributed reporting to this article.

MARIAM SESHAN THE CAVALIER DAILY

Women’s lacrosse will face a gauntlet — here’s what to expect

With a pair of top-20 matchups remaining and the ACC Tournament on the horizon, the Cavaliers have a lot to play for

Lauren Halak | Staff Writer

Virginia’s women’s lacrosse team has, so far, experienced a highly difficult schedule — the ACC itself currently features five teams who sit within the top 10 of the NCAA’s rankings. The Cavaliers are one of them, holding strong at No. 9 with an 8-4 record. However, three of those losses were against ACC opponents, relegating Virginia to seventh place in the conference standings. In order to earn a top postseason seed, a triumphant push is needed.

After a grueling loss to No. 2 North Carolina in early March, the Cavaliers bounced back exceptionally, winning three games in a row. Most notably, Virginia rallied from behind to defeat No. 19 Duke March 15. The Blue Devils are currently third in the ACC rankings. However, Virginia has not yet survived its most difficult portion of the regular season. Two remaining games in particular will be crucial leading up to the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament selection in early May — No. 16 Maryland and No. 1 Boston College. Together, these games have

the potential to either make or break Virginia’s positioning in the ACC Tournament and its hopes for a strong seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

Currently, the Cavaliers sit seventh in the ACC rankings. If these standings hold through the regular season, they would be slated to play the No. 2 seed — which is North Carolina, currently ranked No. 2 nationally — in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

However, if Virginia can perform to its full potential in two key matchups, the Cavaliers may be able to secure stronger positioning in the postseason.

April 9 against Maryland In a matchup where both teams will be desperate for a ranked win, the Cavaliers will take on No. 16 Maryland in a neutral-site matchup in Towson, Md. The Terrapins sit comfortably at 7-3 and third place in the Big Ten, but their recent non-conference loss to No. 11 Pennsylvania may hurt their national ranking. Both Maryland and Virginia will be hungry to come

back from recent one-goal losses, and the Terrapins bring a strong offense led by an Inside Lacrosse mid-season First Team All-American — junior midfielder Kori Edmondson.

Clearly, Virginia’s defense will be tested. Edmondson, who was also ranked as the No. 36 player in the nation in Inside Lacrosse’s Preseason Top 50 Players list, leads Maryland’s offense with 29 goals this season. Edmondson has been a consistent force for the Terrapins over her three years with the program and is not afraid to drive to the opponents’ goal by herself.

The Cavaliers may also be looking to rebound defensively after a less outstanding performance in goal against Pittsburgh March 22 — between junior goalkeeper Mel Josephson and senior goalie Abby Jansen, Virginia had just four saves to the Panthers’ 10. If it can stop the Terrapins’ offense, Virginia’s defense would continue proving itself despite its offensive unit often receiving much of the attention.

A win over Maryland may not hold as much weight as the inconference matchups Virginia has

on the horizon, but it is still a hugely consequential match. The last time Virginia met the Terrapins on the field was in 2022, when the Cavaliers fell 13-17. Defeating Maryland will certainly not be easy, but if it is able to hold off Edmonson and her offense, Virginia has the chance to defeat the Terrapins for the first time since 2008 and get the ball rolling for the Cavaliers heading into the home stretch of their regular season.

April 12 at Boston College

In its final away game of the season, Virginia will face No. 1 Boston College, the reigning national champions. Frankly put, the Eagles have been a force to be reckoned with this season.

The Eagles are one of just two undefeated teams remaining in Division I lacrosse. At 13-0, they have been unstoppable and seem far from slowing down as May’s national championship game draws nearer.

Leading the NCAA in scoring offense and ranked fourth in goals allowed per game, Boston College has defeated its opponents — seven of whom are ranked within the top

25 — by large margins this season. Boston College has threats across the field. Five of its players are currently on the Tewaaraton Award watch list — including senior attacker Rachel Clark, who averages over 4.5 goals per game.

However, one thing Virginia has going for itself is the fact that the Cavaliers were one of just three teams to defeat the Eagles last year. They are familiar with what it takes to stop Clark and the offense as well as how to break down junior goalkeeper Shea Dolce and her defense, who are fourth in the nation in points allowed per game.

The Cavaliers would need many things to work in their favor to leave Chestnut Hill, Mass. with a win given how much dominance Boston College has displayed this season. However, if Virginia can stick with a team that is surely a contender to win a national championship, it will prove the Cavaliers have the potential to perform well in both the ACC and NCAA tournaments, where they may be tested by highcaliber teams, including the Eagles.

Ryan Odom’s resume does not inspire confidence

Odom was successful elsewhere, but a deeper look complicates this outward success

Emory Huffman | Senior Associate

New Virginia men’s basketball coach Ryan Odom’s 2024-25 season with VCU, his second as the program’s head coach, was undeniably excellent — 28 wins, 15 Atlantic 10 victories and a clean run through the A-10 Tournament en route to an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Rams’ performance seemed suggestive, on the surface, of his potential as a coach at the highest level of competition.

However, in spite of VCU’s excellence this season, doubts about Odom’s coaching abilities may still be warranted. Odom’s positive impact was certainly felt at UMBC, Utah State and VCU, but more credence must be given to the situations he inherited, particularly with the Aggies. In short, his coaching pedigree is sparse, raising concerns about his ability to quickly rebuild Virginia into a national contender.

Odom began his Division I head coaching career at UMBC in 2016-17. In just his second season, the Retrievers upset No. 1 Virginia in the 2017-18 NCAA Tournament, becoming the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in tournament history. It

was an obvious watershed moment for UMBC, which had made only one NCAA Tournament appearance prior to that season.

There is no doubt that Odom improved the Retrievers, who won just seven games in the season prior to his arrival. In his first year at the helm, UMBC won 21 games, a massive swing. In subsequent years, though, the Retrievers’ prospects declined. They failed to build upon the prior season’s success and missed the tournament the next year, then fell below .500 with a 16-17 record in 2019-20 — in part a result of roster turnover, as UMBC lost most of its productive players from the previous season. Odom’s time at Utah State, beginning in 2021-22, is perhaps a more illuminating display of the favorable circumstances Odom often inherited during his career, circumstances which have contributed to his successes. Odom signed a seven-year contract with the Aggies but departed for VCU after just two years, cutting his time with Utah State short and preventing him from building the program into a long-lived con-

tender.

The Aggies worked their way into the NCAA Tournament before Odom’s arrival, losing in the first round in 2020-21 after finishing second in the Mountain West and winning 20 games. Odom’s first season was a downturn, as Utah State went 18-16 and missed the tournament — a season later, they were back in the dance but fell to Missouri in the first round.

Overall, Odom left the Aggies without producing any particularly impressive results. Utah State did not defeat a ranked opponent in the 2022-23 season despite winning 26 games. The Aggies also lost games to SMU and Missouri, their only two Power Five opponents, with the latter coming in the first round of the tournament. Odom’s abrupt departure left Virginia with little information from his time with his first midtier Division I program, but Odom’s two seasons in Logan, Ut. were not especially encouraging.

As he did with Utah State, Odom spent only two years with the Rams, culminating in a successful 2024-25 season. This year’s campaign comes

on the heels of a less successful 202324, as VCU missed the tournament and played to a 24-14 record.

Even though the 2024-25 campaign quieted some doubts about Odom’s ability to coach at the highest level, Odom still failed to find success against programs better than the Rams’ Atlantic 10 competition. Losses against Seton Hall, Nevada and New Mexico — although all three were relatively close — represented key chances for VCU to assert itself as a squad belonging amongst upper-tier competition in the NCAA Tournament. Instead, the Rams failed to capitalize on these opportunities, making it no surprise that they faltered in the first round of this year’s NCAA Tournament to No. 6 seed BYU.

Despite the early exit, VCU’s success in the regular season and appearance in the tournament propelled Odom to the top of most lists projecting the Cavaliers’ next coach. Perhaps such optimism was premature. Odom’s 2024-25 may have been a successful season by traditional metrics, but based on the Rams’ performance against more competitive

competition, there is little evidence to suggest that Odom is prepared to coach against the best teams in the Power Five — fostering legitimate doubt in his abilities to take on the Virginia coaching job.

Odom arrives in a tough situation in Charlottesville, at least initially — only one scholarship player remains out of the transfer portal. Odom may have a wealth of resources at his disposal, certainly more than he had at VCU, Utah State or UMBC, but he inherits a system with little continuity. Although Odom was successful at every stop in his career, he did not achieve enough at any given program to prove that he is an ACC-caliber coach. He benefited from continuity in his rosters, often returning several starters from previous seasons, but still failed to secure signature wins and make deep playoff runs. Odom will have all the necessary tools at his disposal to rebuild the Cavaliers into a force to be reckoned with, and Virginia fans are certainly expecting him to do so sooner rather than later. They should likely temper their expectations.

Professors who parent: Navigating motherhood at the University

With growing childcare resources and institutional support, parents at the University find ways to balance academics, careers and family life

Malaika Rehman | Senior Associate

Between early morning lectures, late-night research sessions and an ever-growing email inbox, parenting as a University faculty member is no small feat. The demands of childcare, from sleepless nights to school pickups, add another layer of complexity to an already full plate.

However, these professors say that University-sponsored resources make it possible for them to flourish in both their academic careers and family lives. From paid parental leave to Child Development Centers, they note that the University has taken steps to ease the challenges of parenting and create a more family-friendly environment on Grounds.

Assoc. Commerce Prof. Ann Backof is well-versed in balancing motherhood with an academic career. She began working at the University just after giving birth to her first child, which meant she had to simultaneously adjust to two new and demanding roles — mother and professor.

“There was no guidebook for either of these two new jobs I was taking on at that point in time,” Backof said. “There’s a lot of trial and error in a sense when you’re trying to figure out, ‘What am I going to be successful at?’”

Navigating the transition to a new workplace while becoming a mother also proved to be difficult for Asst. Economics Prof. Jessica Kripalani, who joined the University in 2023 after working at the University of Lynchburg.

“It’s a new University [and] a new experience,” Kripalani said. “And being a mom is all-encompassing.”

To ease the transition into parenthood, the University provides up to eight weeks of fully-paid parental leave or sixteen weeks with half-pay following the birth or adoption of a child. This leave, which can be taken all at once or in increments, must be used within a year of the qualifying event. New mothers in need of extended recovery time due to surgery or complications from pregnancy may also access shortterm disability leave, which potentially adds six to eight more weeks of paid leave.

While these benefits offer crucial support, not every faculty member is immediately eligible for them. Backof started her faculty position at the Universi -

ty in 2012, just one month after giving birth to her first child. This rendered her ineligible for the paid-leave benefits, as they only apply to employees who had a childbirth or adoption event while working. Backof’s husband, therefore, took time off from his job to care for their first son.

Despite the challenges she faced, Backof said that the support from her colleagues at the McIntire School of Commerce made a difference.

“Everyone was empathetic and caring and obviously wanted me to succeed at both jobs,” Backof said. “I think that helped me from day to day, to hear affirmations of ‘You’re doing a good job’ … As a new mom and a new employee, [it’s] something that you can’t forget.”

Another challenge for parenting professors is finding reliable childcare, and the University offers solutions. For example, the U.Va. Child Development Center — with North Grounds locations at Copeley Road and Earhart Street — serves children from six weeks old to pre-kindergarten, with rates ranging from approximately $1,100 to $1,500 per month. In addition to providing care, the Center emphasizes cognitive development through a structured curriculum that includes instruction in phonics, music and STEM.

Backof, who went on to have twins in 2014, enrolled all three of her children in the University’s Child Development Center. Backof not only felt her kids were being well taken care of but also that the Center supported their intellectual development.

“As an educator, [I] loved [that] they had a structured program to help develop the kids, not only socially and emotionally, but a cognitive side to it as well,” Backof said. “They would actually do little assessments of your kids to help you know they are on track developmentally.”

In addition to full-time childcare, the University offers the Back-Up Care Advantage Program in partnership with Bright Horizons, a global childcare organization with locations in Charlottesville. The University’s program allows employees to pay $15 per child for up to 10 days of care, providing a solution for employees facing unexpected disruptions in their regular arrange -

ments.

While Kripalani has not used the University’s childcare centers — as she initially became a parttime instructor to care for her daughter when she was young — she emphasized how important this type of flexibility has been to her success.

“My boss has been wonderful about making sure my classes are scheduled during [my daughter’s] school hours,” Kripalani said. “My husband’s an emergency room doctor, so he doesn’t have a schedule, so I need to be the one that can pick her up and drop her off from school.”

Despite the merit of current resources, some faculty had to make do without them before they were implemented. For Kripalani, whose daughter was still breastfeeding when she started teaching, finding designated lactation rooms was a struggle. However, the University has since added more resources for mothers on Grounds, including lactation rooms in new construction like the Student Health & Wellness Center and the Con -

templative Commons.

While their experiences as mothers and professors have been shaped by University policies and resources, both professors have experienced moments when the rewards of parenting and academia beautifully overlap — moments that capture the unique, intertwined nature of being a mother at the University.

One such moment for Backof came when she took her children Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn and ran into her students, a moment that brought her professional and personal worlds together.

“It was the first time that I had my full family unit come together and see both my students, who I care so much about, and my kids,” Backof said. “It was just a very neat experience to share those two worlds.”

Likewise, Kripalani said that she looks forward to when her paths as a mother and a professor will cross.

“One of my former students is a softball player, and she’s graduated,” Kripalani said. “I’m plan -

ning to take my daughter to one of her softball games.”

Both professors spoke to the value of raising their children in a community where academic and personal lives naturally intertwine — whether in taking a child to a colleague’s picnic, attending a student’s softball game or running into familiar faces downtown. For Backof, these everyday interactions serve as a source of lasting joy and connection.

“[What] each of these experiences shows is connecting the things that are most important to me, being my family, and then taking pride in my work and what we do, and letting those two parties come together and benefit from each other,” Backof said.

LYLE DILLION THE CAVALIER DAILY

Feeding my homesickness

How I realized food was my key to home

Amanda Chung | Life Columnist

As I walked to Wilson Hall for a Monday 9 a.m. statistics lecture, I did not expect to spend the class sobbing. And yet, there I was, midclass, staring at my laptop screen and blinking through tears while my professor blissfully droned on about distribution curves. The culprit? A picture my mom sent of stir-fried fish cakes, glistening with sesame oil and plated next to a scoop of white rice. It was simple, familiar and exactly how I liked it. While the picture definitely sparked a sudden craving for Korean food, that wasn’t what sent me into an emotional tailspin. It was the fact that my mom remembered every detail that makes me who I am. She remembered that fish cakes are my favorite. She remembered that I hate the mushrooms served with it and instead prefer to have a side of rice. And in that moment, I realized how much I missed being known in the way only my family knows me.

Coming into my first year of college, I quickly packed my bags,

said my goodbyes and fully expected to fall into the rhythm of dorm life, new faces and meal exchanges. Homesickness, I assumed, was for the melodramatic. I was wrong. It hit me like a truck, or more accurately, in waves — sometimes small and fleeting, other times crashing over me in the most inconvenient moments. Like in statistics. Over fish cakes, of all things.

As I stared at the picture, one thing became clear — I missed my dinner table. In this new and sometimes lonely place, I longed for the meals that were served on top of it and the people who surrounded it. Food has always been at the center of my home — not just as nourishment but as communication. Growing up as a Korean American, I learned early that love doesn’t always come in the form of saying “I’m proud of you” or “I love you.” Instead, it came as a plate of freshly cut chamoe, or Korean melon, slid in front of me silently during a study session. It came as doenjang jjigae, or soybean stew,

bubbling on the stove after a long day. It came as banchan, side dishes arranged on the dinner table like a love language spelled out in chili flakes and sesame seeds.

A lot of Asian Americans probably find this relatable. There’s something deeply personal about how our culture uses food as a means to express feelings that might be too big, too vulnerable or just too awkward to say out loud. My mom has never been the type to gush, necessarily. But without fail, she will wake up at 6 a.m. to make me a thermos of seaweed soup when I’m sick, and that says more than any string of Hallmark card platitudes ever could.

Yes, there are Asian restaurants scattered across Charlottesville, specifically an overwhelming number of Thai places. But, let’s be honest, nothing compares to the taste of my home — the way my family seasons meals exactly how I like them, the smell of my mom’s kimchi jjigae drifting from the kitchen or the crunch of fresh-cut apples after

dinner, handed to me without having even asked. You can’t replicate that kind of familiarity — not in a restaurant, and definitely not at Newcomb.

That’s what I think made my fish cake meltdown so intense. It wasn’t about missing a specific food — it was about missing a specific feeling. The one of being cared for in that quiet, wordless way. When my mom sent that photo, it wasn’t just to say “Look what I made.” The text was a reminder that said “I’m still thinking of you. I still know what you love. You’re still my kid, even if you’re two hours away pretending to be an adult now.”

Asian households are experts in “actions over words.” While others choose to love out loud, we love by doing. By cooking. By remembering tiny details, like your go-to snack or your very particular hate for mushrooms. And while that kind of love might not always be heard, it’s felt — particularly when it’s missing.

Being away from home has made me appreciate this more than I ever

have before. I used to roll my eyes at the fruit plate, but now, I dream about it. I used to groan when my mom packed me leftovers to take to school, yet I’d now give anything to have a container of food waiting in my fridge.

And so, when people talk about homesickness, I think they often underestimate just how much of it lives in the stomach, in the tiny rituals that make you feel grounded, like the specific spice of your mom’s kimchi, or the way your family always eats rice with every meal, no matter what.

Food isn’t just food — it’s memory. It’s identity. It’s home.

I’m still learning how to be okay with missing home. I’ve stopped pretending that I’ve figured it all out. And on the days when it’s hard — when West Range isn’t cutting it and my dorm bed doesn’t smell like home — I call my mom. We don’t say a whole lot. But sometimes, she sends me a photo of dinner. And that’s enough.

COURTESY AMANDA CHUNG

Amanda Chung is a Life columnist for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at life@cavalierdaily.com.

As I climbed to the top of the O’Hill trails behind Kellogg Dorm, I welcomed the cool spring breeze blowing through my thin sweatshirt, a welcome change from the icy bite of the 30-degree weather we faced only a few weeks ago. I was racing the fading sunlight, trying to get to the other side of the hill before the sun fell behind the mountains. I took off my headphones and paused when I reached the trailhead. Then, I took off my shoes.

That afternoon, I had decided to escape the mid-semester crush of my to-do list and the cloud of sickness that seemed to have settled over my entire first-year class. I wouldn’t say the workload of college hit me like a brick, but maybe more like the thick stack of readings I was suddenly required to do for my Biology class every night. It was certainly an adjustment, and that’s without even mentioning the weekend nights spent hopping between frats and bars until 2 a.m.

I have realized that this new college lifestyle is always moving, there is always something to be finished and then something else to immediately start. And unlike at home, I didn’t yet

Why I walk barefoot in the woods

Learning to ground myself both physically and emotionally at the University

Rosie

Strickland | Life Columnist

have the same layers of memories and routines on Grounds that helped to keep me balanced. In short, how I was approaching this new life was unsustainable. I knew that I needed to find a way to ground myself in this new home and lifestyle, to slow myself down and reconnect to the things in life that may not fall on my agenda, but are important all the same.

Luckily for me, I was taking an Engagement designed specifically to teach students practices to access their consciousness and better their well-being, called “In-Consciousness: How We Know Who We Are.” One of the techniques we learned about in this class is forest bathing, a practice that originated in Japan.

The practice places an emphasis on staying quiet and being truly present in the natural world that surrounds you. By focusing very closely on what you are experiencing through your senses, the goal of forest bathing is to completely immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the forest instead of just taking a distracted nature walk.

I have always loved hiking and walks in nature as sort-of meditative

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practices that allow me to step out of my day-to-day life and just enjoy the moment. In my senior year, I would often take a break from the chaos of college applications by driving to a nearby trail around a pond, just to spend an hour or two in the woods. However, I would still listen to music or bring another person to keep me company, and I definitely never took my shoes off.

One of the modules in my Engagement was titled “Nature,” and its goal was to practice accessing a deeper consciousness and mindfulness state through the options of three different practices, provided by our professor, throughout the week. One of these was barefoot forest bathing. So, after learning about the concept, I decided to embark on a barefoot forest walk on the O’Hill trails behind my dorm. I wanted to try a new experience, one where I could develop a deeper awareness of my consciousness, and I was confident that forest bathing would completely fit the bill.

It was late winter when I decided to try it for the first time. Music off, shoes off, I started walking, careful to avoid the snow on the ground. As there was suddenly nothing between

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my skin and the forest floor, I truly felt my senses and thoughts become clearer, easier for me to understand. Physically, it’s amazing how much walking barefoot can improve proprioception — body awareness. Feeling the ground beneath my feet changed the way I experience my own body, especially when walking. Part of this, of course, is the extra awareness necessary when choosing where to place my feet without any shoes to protect them. The other part is the fact that I can actually feel my connection to the ground. Barefoot walking — fittingly, also known as earthing or grounding — is a very unique sensory experience that has undoubtedly changed the way I am aware of my body.

Mentally, barefoot walking can improve sleep and decrease stress. I’ve noticed over the past months that I have practiced this that my stress and anxiety levels have noticably gone down, and my mental balance is much healthier than it was six months ago. But what’s most important to me, personally, is the increased mindfulness that I’ve gained through being immersed in the present, as I am able to quiet my stresses and as a result, protect my inner peace.

When I returned to Grounds for the spring semester, I had the mindset that I needed to work on establishing my life here as a University student and find ways to deal with the new sources of stress that came along with it. Though walking around with my feet out was not how I expected to accomplish that, it seems to be working. I have started to feel significantly more comfortable calling Grounds my home.

Since my first shoeless venture on the O’Hill trails, I have tried to go at least once a week, or just whenever I need a way to slow things down. I go most often right before sunset and stay for about an hour, just listening to the birds and the wind and grounding myself through the dirt, rocks and leaves. I’m surprised that I’ve never gotten tired of it — it’s the same trail, the same trees, the same silence — yet the experience is always different.

I have found the path to centering myself in the present — and I walk it slowly, quietly, observantly and, unexpectedly, without shoes.

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OPINION

LEAD EDITORIAL

Commit to protecting noncitizens on Grounds

For its own sake, the University must remain committed to safeguarding the rights of its students and faculty against a hostile federal government

All eyes are on college campuses, as the federal government amps up on immigration — particularly noncitizen students. With immigration enforcement swarming campuses, fear has taken control. The Trump administration’s actions make clear that the use of force against noncitizen students is part of its broader agenda to remove constitutionally protected rights to free speech. But students on Grounds have not been so quick to give in. Hundreds of students and faculty protested at Madison Hall last week to call for greater protections for international students. It is essential that the University carefully heeds these demands and commits to protecting both noncitizen students and their rights to free speech.

Noncitizens have become the easiest targets in the mission to crack down on colleges. They are subject to a convoluted system of political rights and are at risk of deportation. In utilizing these murky laws to its advantage, the Trump administration has executed a series of draconian

measures that have seeped into higher education. This inculcates a climate of uncertainty, with noncitizen students and faculty fearing that their status on Grounds is in jeopardy should another outrageous executive order come in.

Students on Grounds have already begun to reckon with this reality. This year’s Student Council elections saw campaign platforms with promises to expand Student Legal Services to cover noncitizen students. Similarly, the International Students Office has focused on advising students about renewing their statuses and planning return trips, ensuring continuous information in an uncertain time. And Mar. 26, students walked out of their classes in part to advocate for noncitizen students. The coupling of organizations protecting international students and international students defending their peers emphasizes the importance of grassroots and institutionalized support for noncitizen students.

And this fear is well-founded due to the increasingly concerning pat-

tern emerging on other campuses. Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder and graduate student at Columbia University, was detained and is facing deportation for leading pro-Palestinian protests. Last week, immigration enforcement staged an operation to arrest a Turkish student outside her home in Boston. And the crackdown extends far beyond students. A Brown University assistant professor was deported against a judge’s orders despite possessing a valid visa. Meanwhile, an Indian national and professor at Georgetown University was detained and deemed “deportable.” He has yet to be charged with a crime. The common thread among all of these cases is a blatant violation of noncitizens’ rights.

In their curbs on immigration, the administration has not only violated students’ rights, but they are also denying the benefits that the international community has on campuses. From an economic perspective, international students contribute $44 billion to the economy through housing costs, tu-

ition and fees, supporting thousands of jobs despite making up a fraction of the student population in the United States. Beyond economic questions, noncitizen students are essential to the fabric of universities. Language barriers and cultural differences are how we learn to develop a multicultural perspective that reckons with the diversity of the world. During this time, the University must embrace its mission to facilitate a vibrant residential learning environment bound by a diverse community.

For many noncitizens, American academic culture remains an emblem of success and excellence. The University alone has a plethora of noncitizen faculty and students who consistently punch above their weight on Grounds. Non-citizen students are regularly awarded for both their academic excellence and leadership. The University encourages noncitizen participation through departments and scholarships dedicated to their complex needs. The University has also led the charge in expanding financial aid to undocument-

U.Va. must defend affordability

ed students. Despite these past actions, the current landscape for noncitizen students means that the continuation of these protections is vital, even as it is more difficult to guarantee.

In this pivotal moment, the University must stand as a bulwark against policies that threaten academic freedom. Failing to protect our noncitizen students represents a radical step backward. The administration must reaffirm our commitment to inclusion, ensuring that these grounds remain open to all. Only by taking a firm stance today — and reaffirming our commitment to the rights of our noncitizen students, faculty and staff — do we truly come to honor them as our peers and equals.

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

Now is the time to think proactively about how to best maintain the University’s position as the top public university for financial aid

The University has long been recognized as the number one public school for financial aid. This status has been a cornerstone of the University’s commitment to affordability, ensuring that higher education remains accessible to students from all backgrounds. However, this distinction may be at risk as sweeping federal cuts threaten the programs that make such accessibility possible.

Recent policy changes — including layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education and an executive order dismantling the agency — threaten to disrupt the financial aid system that many students rely on. With fewer federal staff managing FAFSA, student loan oversight and grant distribution, the University faces hurdles in ensuring students receive aid. In this uncertain environment, the University must act creatively to maintain its commitment to affordability.

On Mar. 11, the Department announced a reduction in force, cutting its workforce by nearly half. 10 days later, President Trump signed an executive order intending to “begin eliminating the federal Department of Education,” leaving millions of students and universities uncertain about the future of

financial support for higher education. The Department plays a pivotal role in ensuring the effective financial aid administration. Trained experts from the Department communicate with financial aid officers to ensure students receive the financial assistance they need. However, the recent workforce

government with fewer resources and less expertise. This movement will have downstream effects on students who rely on aid. These effects could include a lack of support for completing the FAFSA and delays in processing. For 37 percent of the University’s students, these disruptions could mean delayed

services, abrupt personnel reductions and grant funding cuts could lead to long-term inefficiencies. These disruptions will have the greatest impact on lower- and middle-class students who rely on financial aid.

The University has already established programs to provide financial

As the nation’s top public university for financial aid, the University has a responsibility to step up where the federal government is stepping back.”

reductions have already begun to disrupt these operations. Of the nearly 2,000 laid-off employees, 320 were cut from the Office of Federal Student Aid, which oversees FAFSA. The next day, students nationwide reported technical difficulties accessing and completing the FAFSA form. While the remaining department staff may resolve these issues, losing experienced personnel significantly weakens the system’s ability to provide timely support.

With the new executive order, FAFSA and the administration of federal student loans for higher education could be moved to a new part of the

or incomplete financial aid packages, creating uncertainty about tuition payments and enrollment decisions. Without intervention, these setbacks could create long-term barriers to higher education, disproportionately affecting students who depend on federal aid.

The University must recognize these recent orders as serious threats to its mission of providing affordable access for its student body. Without a dedicated department overseeing financial assistance, students may struggle to receive the necessary support. Meanwhile, the uncertainty regarding the future of many of the Department’s

aid to students outside of traditional, federal pathways. Programs at the University, like AccessUVA, ensure aid for low and middle-income students. Amid the University’s efforts toward economic accessibility following the rollback of affirmative action, it has relied on these programs to ensure that talented students from diverse financial backgrounds can attend. When federal systems falter, the University should actively expand its financial aid institutions to fill the gaps, or otherwise risk losing its status as an innovator in the post-affirmative action landscape. This could mean increasing funding for

AccessUVA, streamlining its aid application process or providing additional resources for financial aid advising to ensure that students needing federal support are not left behind.

Many universities have announced hiring freezes to cut costs, but in order to preserve commitments to affordability, the University should take the opposite approach. This means ensuring that financial aid services remain robust and accessible. If these executive actions are not met with countermeasures, uncertainty could deter prospective students, pricing out the lower and middle classes and exacerbating socioeconomic disparities in higher education. As the nation’s top public university for financial aid, the University must step up where the federal government is stepping back, ensuring students do not lose access to higher education due to bureaucratic failures.

RYAN COHEN is a viewpoint writer for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.

Closing the Federal Executive Institute fails local residents

The federal training institute’s shutdown jeopardizes the livelihoods of Charlottesville employees and represents a loss for the community

Tucked away off Emmet Street, the Federal Executive Institute cuts an austere figure. However, Feb. 10, President Trump signed an executive order dissolving the FEI, a leadership development college for public sector senior management and a Charlottesville mainstay for close to six decades. The institute was founded by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 to function as an in-house college for the federal government, with a focus on leadership training and interagency collaboration. While Trump claims that it did little beyond bolstering the managerial class, the FEI was locally significant, representing a point of pride for the community and employing scores of Charlottesville locals. Its loss will be felt by both the University and the broader Charlottesville community.

Since its inception, over 30,000 senior federal employees have been trained at the FEI, and the overwhelming majority consider it an experience that improved their capabilities as a leader. Classes offered at the FEI include Leadership for a Democratic Society, a four-week course to create more conscientious leaders, with an emphasis on constitutional values. Other classes include training on crisis

leadership, efficacious project management and team development, all integral skills which we should hope that our governmental leaders have.

The benefits of the FEI go beyond enhancing the leadership aptitude of the federal workforce. One alumni praised the inter-agency connections

by extension, the federal government. The relationship between the two has been highly beneficial for the University, establishing pathways into the federal service from Charlottesville.

In particular, the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy had an intimate connection with

and FEI extends beyond Pennock, with the two organizations hosting networking dinners that allowed Batten students to learn from the professional acumen of FEI attendees. The relationship also created an internship pipeline wherein several Master of Public Policy students would intern at

The FEI was locally significant, representing a point of pride for the community and employing scores of Charlottesville locals.”

the Charlottesville institution cultivates, establishing robust social and professional networks that create an enhanced positive impact on the careers of attendees. The presence of the FEI in Charlottesville transformed the city into an important destination in the careers of thousands of high-ranking civil servants. It also established a quasi-pipeline between Washington, DC and Charlottesville that has since been somewhat hamstrung. The existence of a federal leadership school in Charlottesville created a connection between the University and the FEI, and,

the FEI. One connection between the two is Andrew Pennock, associate professor of public policy. Pennock is a part of the Leadership for a Democratic Society course, teaching workshops on topics such as Systems Changes, which enables FEI attendees to better understand the organizational structures that they participate in, and how to extract the most out of them. Pennock’s real-world experience has been a boon to students, providing them with a litany of experiences and insights that cannot be found in a textbook.

The partnership between Batten

the FEI’s center for leadership development. As such, the shuttering of the FEI will deeply and negatively impact many aspiring University students, reducing their networking and learning opportunities.

The fallout of the FEI’s closure extends beyond the classroom. Somewhere between 50 and 100 employees have been offered the “Fork in the Road,” wherein employees could choose between resigning with nine months’ worth of pay or relocating to the Office of Personnel Management’s headquarters in Washington. Regardless of which option an em-

HUMOR

ployee chooses, they are placed under an immense amount of stress. It is important to note that career bureaucrats are not the only ones affected by the shutdown. The upkeep of the FEI required the diligent work of those such as Charley Burton, manager of the 18-person janitorial team at the FEI. It is easy to handwave the consequences of the shutdown as overpaid bureaucrats getting their just desserts, as the language of the Executive Order does. Yet, this is a disservice to the 50 contracted staff whose dedication and hard work has been repaid with a less than ceremonious goodbye.

The departure of the FEI represents the severing of a constructive accord between the government and Charlottesville. Students have been deprived access to an invaluable network of academics and career professionals, educators have lost an outside source of scholarly knowledge and dozens of Charlottesville residents have had their lives thrown into disarray.

CONALL CASTAGNO is an opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.

U.Va. enacts DUMB initiative to reduce employment

Editor’s note: This article is a humor column.

Tuesday, the University announced a policy calling for a 50 percent reduction in employment. It will take effect for the 2025-26 school year, placing a quota on new hires to student employee positions. In reaction to this change, many students fear longer Grubhub wait times, which, at Chickfil-A, could surpass four hours if understaffed.

The force behind these changes is the University’s new Department of Utmost Measurable Bestness, or DUMB, headed by Dr. Elaine Muss, executive director of the Great and Good Talent Career Center.

“University operations are inefficient, and plagued with senseless, simpering simpletons,” Muss said. “We need serious reform.”

DUMB’s creation has been sponsored by President Jim Ryan, who hopes the competitiveness of University jobs will increase. Ryan watched a YouTube video narrated by Andrew Tate which described recent federal government layoffs as improving vibes, inspiring Ryan’s decision.

So far, student jobs have been the first to face cuts.

“We’re cracking down.” Ryan said. “DUMB can raise standards for students who currently plague University gyms, libraries and the University Bookstore.”

Muss has championed the reduction, condemning frequent “sitting around” at desk jobs. She believes that many are taking advantage of federal work-study, becoming spoiled off the minimum student wage they earn out of the University’s $14.2 billion endowment.

“Take the Aquatic and Fitness Center,” Muss said, referencing the front desk manned by students. “Are they scanning ID cards at maximum efficiency? And for 12 whole dollars an hour…”

There have, in fact, been several reports of extreme ID-card fumbling. Inn Pagence, self-proclaimed ‘gym mouse’ and first-year in the College, reported dissatisfaction with AFC staff.

“I don’t work out often. But one time, I saw first-hand the poor work ethic.” Pagence said. “This guy took

three seconds to notice me, and five to scan the barcode. I left immediately.”

Other gym goers have reported excessive lollygagging.

“They aren’t dialed in.” Jim Lunk, second-year Commerce student, said. “These hires have a disgusting level of whimsy.”

In response to complaints, the DUMB executive board issued a statement announcing their goal to eliminate sub-par Clem 1 receptionists and Saxby’s baristas.

Vice-top-president-executive Karyn Bott stated that the University’s terminated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies have been to blame.

“Many student workers are being scrutinized because their natural talents are misplaced,” Bott said. “We’ve received reports of shredded, 5-foot-6 frat bros making lattes, and unathletic Drama students managing North Grounds gym.”

But students aren’t the only employees facing scrutiny. Some professors in the College fear potential layoffs, though Muss insists that the only targets are those handing out ‘friggin packets’.

However, significant cuts are planned for the Department of Economics, putting those professors at risk. Strangely, the McIntire School of Commerce seems to have more DUMB approval.

ECON 3100 Professor Dolla LeMarket has concerns. “We’re aware students treat us as an alternative if they aren’t accepted to McIntire, but it’s a double standard. Under DUMB, everything has to be application based — let students declare on DocuSign!”

Yet the DUMB executive board dismisses the possibility of harming students. Instead, proponents of the agenda insist cuts will help students streamline their education.

“Economics?” Bott said. “They trickle down. Time to move on.”

DUMB remains insistent that the University must meet the 50 percent mark. Muss’ most controversial targets so far have been two University icons – CavMan and Ms. Kathy.

“There’s speculation that CavMan is a communist spy. Or worse, ugly. If we’re going to have a mascot, he must be looksmaxxing in and out of costume.”

Meanwhile, Ms. Kathy told The Cavalier Daily that she’s received threatening emails from Muss.

“She told me I’m too rude,” Kathy said between greeting students as they walked into Newcomb Dining Hall.

Despite criticism, DUMB has remained persistent, striving for unprecedented changes. Ryan, for instance, has taken a strong liking to the number 50.

“It’s the perfect percentage to slice employment. You slice it in half, like a bagel. But you cut it with one of those big slicers at O’Hill — it’s very efficient. Probably the most efficient we’ve ever seen. Then you have the best half of a bagel in all of history, you’ll never find a better bagel than this one…”

It is unclear whether bagels will stay in the budget next August.

NATALIE BOUCHER is a humor columnist for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at humor@cavalierdaily.com

CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 What might hit a jaywalker at O’Hill crosswalk

4 Place to buy fingers?

6 How Amelia Earhart flew across the Atlantic

7 Hat for soldiers or artists

8 Partners, affectionately DOWN

1 McLaughlin of “Stranger Things”

2 2025 Best Picture winner

3 Rapp singer?

4 Might be a yellow 1-Across

5 Tennis units

ACROSS

1 Grape, in Guatemala

4 Second syllable of an acclaimed 2017 war movie

6 Giant computer of the 1940s and 50s

8 ¿Como ____ ?

9 What U.Va. did not have in March Madness DOWN

CARTOON

Fairness Reimagined

Isabel Angulo | Cartoonist

1 Instrument from HI

2 Where you might find 1-Across

3 What one might struggle to do for their 8 a.m.

5 Queen consort-to-be

7 Common designing software

Winner Takes All (Anxiety)

Blake Maguire | Senior Associate

Olivia Boynton | Puzzlist

Heer Patel and Nathan McCarty | Puzzlists