On
‘Chalk Up the Town 2012’ invited anyone to draw on Carytown sidewalks this past Saturday with chalk provided by the Carytown Merchants Association.
Results of an ongoing Virginia State Police investigation of voter registration irregularities from the 2008 general election may signal a more significant voter fraud issue than some state lawmakers realized.
As Virginia legislators hotly debated a voter ID bill that narrowly passed the General Assembly, many were unaware of a state police investigation that, so far, has resulted in charges against 38 people statewide for voter fraud. Warrants have been obtained for a 39th person who can't be located.
A majority of those cases already have resulted in convictions, and 26 additional cases are still being actively investigated nearly three and a half years after the state Board of Elections forwarded more than 400 voter and election fraud allegations from 62 cities and counties to Virginia State Police for individual investigation.
Many opponents of the voter ID law maintained that there was no evidence of widespread election fraud in Virginia, and the law would suppress the vote of minorities and others who don't have adequate identification. About 3.7 million Virginians voted in the 2008 election.
Richmond had by far the largest number of voter-fraud cases opened by state police – 124 – followed by Fairfax County with 37, Chesterfield and Prince William counties with 20 each, Alexandria with 19, Henrico with 17 and Petersburg with 13, according to state police data requested by the Richmond TimesDispatch.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Richmond City Council will vote Monday on a measure that would ban discharging firearms within the city limits, with a few exceptions.
The ordinance, proposed by Councilman Charles Samuels of the 2nd District, would change city code to prohibit discharging firearms “anywhere within the city limits.” That language would replace the existing code, which restricts shooting a firearm in “any street in the city or in any place of public business or place of public gathering.”
Samuels said the request to tighten the language came from Richmond police and the commonwealth's attorney's office. Though a state statute prohibits reckless handling of firearms, the new ordinance would ensure police have an additional tool to charge offenders, Samuels said.
Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael Herring said he has reviewed a draft of the amended ordinance and agrees with the wording.
Violators would be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Fort Lee is banning the use of metal detectors on the Petersburg Army base.
The new policy announced this week is intended to protect archaeological resources on the sprawling base that date to before the American Revolution.
Fort Lee's cultural resources manager, Amy Wood, says the policy is intended to safeguard those historic resources. Archaeological finds at Fort Lee have included Confederate cannonballs and 20th-century hand grenades.
At a nearby Civil War battlefield, a Petersburg man was convicted in December of taking more than 9,000 artifacts. He was sentenced to a prison term.
A Fort Lee spokesman said the new policy stems from incidents like that.
Brief by the Associated Press
A routine bail hearing for George Zimmerman took a surprising turn into remorse and explanation Friday when the neighborhood watch volunteer got on the witness stand and told Trayvon Martin's parents: “I am sorry for the loss of your son.” “I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am. I did not know if he was armed or not,” Zimmerman said, marking the first time he has spoken publicly about the Feb. 26 shooting of the unarmed black 17-year-old.
The hearing wrapped up with a judge ruling Zimmerman can be released from jail on $150,000 bail while he awaits trial on second-degree murder charges. Zimmerman, who has been in jail for more than a week, could be out within days and may be allowed to live outside Florida for his own safety once arrangements are made to monitor him electronically.
Brief by the Associated Press
The college class of 2012 is in for a rude welcome to the world of work.
A weak labor market already has left half of young college graduates either jobless or underemployed in positions that don't fully use their skills and knowledge.
Young adults with bachelor's degrees are increasingly scraping by in lower-wage jobs – waiter or waitress, bartender, retail clerk or receptionist, for example – and that's confounding their hopes a degree would pay off despite higher tuition and mounting student loans.
An analysis of government data conducted for The Associated Press lays bare the highly uneven prospects for holders of bachelor's degrees.
Opportunities for college graduates vary widely.
While there's strong demand in science, education and health fields, arts and humanities flounder. Median wages for those with bachelor's degrees are down from 2000, hit by technological changes that are eliminating midlevel jobs such as bank tellers. Most future job openings are projected to be in lower-skilled positions such as home health aides, who can provide personalized attention as the U.S. population ages.
Brief by the Associated Press
The U.N. Security Council threatened sanctions against the perpetrators and supporters of the military coup in GuineaBissau on Saturday if the legitimate government isn't restored.
A presidential statement adopted by the council and read at a formal meeting reiterated the council's “strong condemnation of the military coup by the military leadership and political elements” on April 12.
The Security Council rejected “the unconstitutional establishment of a Transitional National Council by the military leadership and its supporters.”
It demanded the immediate restoration of constitutional order, reinstatement of the legitimate government, and unconditional release of the interim president, prime minister and other officials who were detained during the coup.
Brief by the Associated Press
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Presenting the first “End the Drug War Concert & Rally” in Monroe Park on Friday, VCU students, activists, bands and speakers rallied to support drug legalization in Virginia and an end to the drug war across the states through music and activism.
“We're here at the ‘End the Drug War Rally’ to show the public that cannibis consumers … are tired of being arrested, and we think our substance of choice should be legal,” said director of Virginia NORML, Ed McCann.
“We're here to support the rest of the groups and the whole idea of ending the drug war,” he said. “I think it's going to be effective in really rekindling the conversation about drugs in Virginia.”
Students for Sensible Drug Policy had planned the event since last November. The group decided to host the rally on 4/20 in Monroe Park to bring awareness to people who celebrate the use of marijuana on the day and to represent a shift in policy change, said co-president of SSDP Jurriaan van den Hurk.
Continued on page 4
Students gathered in Monroe Park on Friday afternoon to listen to a variety of bands and speakers on the topic of drug policy and law enforcement. The rally was organized by VCU student group Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
VCU child care can cost more than tuition • 4 Phi Kappa Sigma sponsors Dunk-A-Cop fundraiser • 5
“It needs to bring around awareness to this issue instead of bringing awareness to the fact that people choose to use drugs,” van den Hurk said.
“We feel that the issue is not discussed anywhere near as much as it should be,” he said. “The effects of the drug war stretch much farther than that, and we're trying to … start this conversation.”
SSDP member Kyle Hughes was pleased with the turnout and optimistic about what effect the rally could have on the future.
“Hopefully it should just bring awareness to how many people are actually in support of drug policy reform,” Hughes said.
Hughes joined the SSDP after he received a marijuana-possession charge last year.
“You don't really get involved until it's something that effects you,” he said. “Once you open yourself to it, it's just hard not to become more passionate about it. … Hopefully this should convince some people that drug legalization
is not really as much of a taboo opinion as some people think it is,” Hughes said.
Not everyone believed that the rally would be as successful as Hughes wished. Some students, like Julina Hinton, only came for the music.
“I don't know if it's going to effect anything,” Hinton said. “I think people are just enjoying themselves, and I don't know if it's going to change any policies really cause it's mostly just kids here to listen to music.” Hinton came to the event after hearing one of the local bands she knew was playing.
Local bands People's Blues of Richmond, Antero, Night Idea, Young Adult Fiction and Midair all played sets at the event.
Kevin Touhill, who also came to listen to the bands, agreed with the cause but did not believe it was going to have much of an effect.
“I don't think that it'll ever happen,” he said, referring to legalization of marijuana. “It's going to take more than this to actually make a change.” CT
Think tuition is high at VCU? The cost of putting a child in the university’s day care center can be even higher.
The VCU Child Development Center charges $820 a month for children 3 and under, and $700 a month for older children.
In contrast, tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students total $9,517 this year – which works out
to about $793 a month.
And typical college students don’t have to worry about the extra charge parents must pay if they’re late picking up their child from the development center: It’s $5 for every minute after the facility closes at 5:45 p.m.
“It would cost less to send my child to VCU as a college student than to pay what I am now at the Childhood Development Center,” said a faculty member who uses the facility. She asked that her name not be printed because she plans
to keep her son enrolled at the center for the next few years.
“It’s shocking,” the faculty member added.
But it’s the reality because quality child care is expensive and the VCU Childhood Development Center must reflect what other facilities charge, said Muriel Azria-Evans, the center’s director.
“If you make calls to other child care providers, we are very, very reasonable for a full-time, five-days-a-week, three-
meals center,” Azria-Evans said. “I’m sure $820 a month is a lot to a student. I don’t doubt that. Of course it’s a challenge.”
As other VCU units suffered budget cuts, the VCU School of Education, which oversees the center, raised the program’s fees to market levels. This past year, the center increased the monthly fee for children 3 and under from $760 to $820; the fee for older children went from $650 to $700.
Continued on page 5
Continued from page 4
Azria-Evans said the change was needed to help “cover basic operating costs” and was “related to looking at comparable centers in the area.”
She said the price of quality child care is a “national issue.”
According to a report released last year by the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agen-
cies, the cost of day care in the U.S. is continuing to rise.
The VCU center enrolls children age 16 months to 6 years old. It serves no more than 76 VCU-affiliated children at one time. The center is open only to children of VCU faculty, staff and students.
“There is quite a long wait list,” said
Azria-Evans. “We have some families that put their child’s name down when they’re pregnant.”
The VCU Child Development Center is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children – a highly coveted distinction that recognizes staff training, staffing levels and other factors. Accredited
centers often have waiting lists.
Azria-Evans said the wait to enter the VCU program varies – depending, for example, on the child’s age.
“We may have on paper a really long wait list, but a lot can change within a year,” Azria-Evans said. “What we offer – I think we are quite reasonable. I think we’re quite a catch.” CT
What’s an effective way to make $300 an hour?
Dunk the police.
Under normal circumstances, dousing an officer in water would be considered a crime, but thanks to the charitable efforts of Phi Kappa Sigma and VCU Police, it was not only legal, but encouraged last Thursday.
The joint effort between the fraternity and the police department drew a sizable crowd to the VCU Commons Plaza. Students gathered for the opportunity to sink an officer via a dunk booth for the low price of $2, which went to each organization's respective charity. The event brought in a little more than $1,200 in four hours.
Students were able to try one throw for $2, three throws for $3, or $10 for six throws and a T-shirt. Other throws could win a shirt for sinking an officer. Students wanting to get in the dunk tank had to get a special donation to be placed into the tank.
Phi Kappa Sigma’s organization, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, received the fraternity’s half, while VCU Police will send theirs to the Virginia Special Olympics. Khiem Tran, philanthropy chair for the fraternity, said the event was far more successful than they were expecting.
VCU Chief of Police John Venuti said that the Virginia Special Olympics does a lot of good in Virginia with their programs and the games they host. When Phi Kappa Sigma contacted the police station there was no hesitation getting the event together.
“When they contacted us, we jumped all over it,” Venuti said. “It was a good chance to get out and interact with the students and raise a little money while we’re at it.”
“For four months we were organizing the event and it finally paid off. … The event was a total success, and we're definitely doing it next year,” Tran said.
The key to the events success? According to Tran, good-spirited revenge.
“Who doesn’t want to dunk a VCU officer that has written them a ticket?” he said
Besides Venuti, Officers Barney Burns and Matt Ruland, Captain Mike O'Berry, Captain Grant Warren, Assistant Chief Chris Preuss, Officer Stephen Adt, Officer Joe Demro, Officer Shawn Kelley, Officer Blake Neace and Corporal Rebecca Ellison participated. CT
VCU vs. William & Mary baseball photo essay • 7
VCU men's tennis wins CAA Championship • 8
Quinn Casteel
Assistant Sports Editor
Friday (William & Mary 4, VCU 3)
The VCU baseball team fought tooth-and-nail with William & Mary in the opener of the weekend series on Friday, losing 4-3 to the Tribe in 11 innings.
The Rams led 2-1 after seven innings, but William & Mary collected four hits and posted two runs in the top of the eighth to take a 3-2 lead heading into the final frame. Kevin Nutter tied the game by scoring from third on a throwing error by VCU pitcher Kyle Pelchy, who pitched 4.2 innings of relief and allowed three runs, two of which were earned. Following Pelchy’s error, Tribe right fielder Josh Smith drove in the goahead run on a single to right.
In the ninth, Landon Prentiss delivered the clutch hit for VCU, driving in Taylor Buran to tie the game at three and send the contest to extra innings. William & Mary reliever John Farrell surrendered the Prentiss single, but would eventually get the last laugh. The Tribe gave Farrell a second one-run lead to work with in the 11th by scoring another unearned run on a VCU throwing error. Farrell went 4.1 innings of relief and would only allow the one run; he shut down the Ram offense in the 10th and 11th innings to improve his record to 2-0 on the season.
Saturday; first leg of
(VCU 7, William & Mary 4)
In the first of two games played on Saturday afternoon, VCU had its best offensive output of the weekend, tagging Tribe pitchers for seven runs on 14 hits. Four Rams turned in multihit performances and they won the game 7-4 despite trailing going into the eighth inning.
VCU posted three runs in the fourth inning but William & Mary chipped away at the lead and posted two in the top of the eighth to take a 4-3 lead. However, in the bottom of the eighth, Prentiss continued his impressive weekend by tying the game with a leadoff home run on the first pitch of the inning. Three pitches later, Nice made it back-to-back home runs by launching one off Tribe reliever Ryan Williams and the Rams took the lead for good.
Things would continue to unravel for Williams in the eighth as VCU added two more insurance runs. Cullen hit his 18th double of the season and Weymouth laid down a bunt single
before Brent Mikionis drove them both in with a two-RBI double.
Blake Hauser recorded the final four outs of the game for VCU and earned his second win of the season as the Rams evened the series at one, heading into the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Saturday; second leg of doubleheader (VCU 5, William & Mary 4)
VCU rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the final game of the weekend series against William & Mary 5-4 on Saturday afternoon.
Buran and Vimael Machin led off the ninth inning with back-to-back singles for VCU, chasing Tibe starter Shain Cole out of the game. Farrell came in to earn the save, and seemed to have the game in-hand when he forced a Prentiss fly-out and struck Paul Nice out looking to take the Rams down to their final out, still trailing by two. However, Billy Cullen followed with a two-out, game-tying double in the left-center field gap. Then, with an 0-2 count, Jason Weymouth laced a walkoff single to left to send the fans at The Diamond home happy.
With the rally, the Rams negated what had been a solid start for Cole, who until the final inning had allowed just one earned run and struck out five. Seth Cutler-Voldez turned in another quality start for VCU, pitching 7.2 innings and allowing only two earned runs. However, he was not a factor in a the decision thanks to the Rams’ ninth inning comeback. Matt Lees pitched one inning of scoreless relief and earned his third win of the season for VCU.
By winning the series, the Rams improved their conference record to 9-12 and are now 22-18 overall. They face the University of Virginia at The Diamond in their next contest on Wednesday evening, with first pitch slated for 7 p.m. CT
Bill Cullen hit his team-leading 20th double of the season on Saturday afternoon.
The VCU baseball team (22-18, 9-12) has now won five of its last eight outings dating back to April 10. After taking two of three games against William & Mary, the Rams improved to 22-18 overall and 9-12 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Next up for the Rams is a match with Virginia Friday night at The Diamond before they embark on a four-game road trip beginning at Old Dominion Saturday.
Since joining the CAA 17 years ago, the VCU men’s tennis team has reached the conference’s tournament championship match 16 times.
Saturday morning, the Rams beat Old Dominion 4-0 in the tournament semifinals behind Junior Jaime Vazquez, who has won nine straight matches and has a team-leading 24 singles wins this year.
Alexis Heugas (VCU) d. Krzystof Muzalewski (ODU), 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
Max Wennakoski (VCU) vs. Carlos Lopez Villa (ODU) – DNF, 6-2, 3-6, 5-2
Filip Svensson (VCU) vs. Albert Ochagavia (ODU) – DNF, 6-4, 5-7
Antoine Baroz (VCU) d. Wesley Barrett (ODU), 6-4, 6-0
Alejandro Argente (VCU) vs. Can Cetinel (ODU) – DNF, 6-2, 3-6, 5-0
Jaime Vazquez (VCU) d. Alfredo Rodriguez (ODU), 6-1, 6-3
Heugas/Baroz (VCU) d. Cetinel/ Fahoum Fahoum (ODU), 8-4
Ochagavia/Lopez Villa (ODU) d. Svensson/Wennakoski (VCU), 8-5
Argente/Vazquez (VCU) d. Muzalewski/Rodriguez (ODU), 8-4
Sunday morning, the Rams brought in their 13th CAA title in 17 years by dominating UNC Wilmington 4-0 in the tournament finals. VCU will wait nearly a month to find out its NCAA Tournament opponent. It will be the Rams 19th tournament appearance under head coach Paul Kostin.
Alexis Heugas (VCU) vs. Rafael Aita (UNCW) – DNF, 6-2, 5-2
Max Wennakoski (VCU) d. Chris Cooprider (UNCW), 6-1, 6-2
Filip Svensson (VCU) vs. Kosta Blank (UNCW) – DNF, 6-2, 5-4
Antoine Baroz (VCU) d. Pedro Mol (UNCW), 6-3, 6-4
Alejandro Argente (VCU) vs. Kaue Pereira (UNCW) – DNF, 0-6, 6-2, 2-2
Jaime Vazquez (VCU) d. Michael Reilly (UNCW), 6-4, 6-1
Heugas/Baroz (VCU) d. Cooprider/Blank (UNCW), 8-4
Svensson/Wennakoski (VCU) d. Reilly/Sam Williams (UNCW), 8-4
Argente/Vazquez (VCU) vs. Mol/ Pereira (UNCW) – DNF, 7-7
The VCU women’s tennis team reached the CAA Tournament Championship for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. The Rams defeated Old Dominion 4-0 in the tournament semifinals Saturday afternoon.
Ana Bara (VCU) vs. Diana Ivanova (ODU) – DNF, 6-1, 3-3
Alex Bara (VCU) vs. Aleksandra Mitrovska (ODU) – DNF, 6-4, 3-1
Olga Terteac (VCU) vs. Melissa
Esnal Olguin (ODU) – DNF, 6-3, 4-2
Alena Gerasimova (VCU) vs. Nika Khmolovska (ODU), 6-2, 6-3
Salome Kvitashvili (VCU) d. Juliana Pires (ODU), 6-1, 6-0
Marketa Placha (VCU) d. Faith Atiso (ODU), 6-0, 6-0
Bara/Bara (VCU) vs. Ivanova/Mitrovska (ODU) – DNF, 7-4
Terteac/Daria Yakauleva (VCU) d. Olguin/Khmolovska, 8-1
Kvitashvili/Gerasimova (VCU) d. Pires/Atiso (ODU), 8-3
Rams Community Bazaar offers handmade spirits which �definitely probably work.� • 11
‘Chalk Up The Town� draws in artists of all ages • 12
Intrepid CT reporters asked attendees of the ‘End the Drug War Concert and Rally� what their opinions were on the war on drugs.
�Honestly, it’s pointless because people are just going to do what they want, especially with weed because you never see people dying of weed.�
Malcolm Stewart Freshman, Criminal justice�I think it’s overrated.� Allie Ayers Freshman, Art education
�I think it is dumb because they say we have this free country but we have rules and restrictions like this. At this point, we should educate people on pot. �
Maggie Stumpf Freshman, Fashion design�I’m a member of SSDP, the organization that set up this whole event. I think it’s thinly veiled classism. In urban areas such as this, it’s a form of racism. At this point in history, marijuana use has almost been mainstreamed.�
Kyle Goldzung Freshman, English�It’s dumb. Just kidding. I think the war is evil and wrong.�
Alan Kyte Freshman, Engineering
�I think the war on terror and the war on Christmas and the war on women are not real wars, because I know what war is. Justin Smiley is responsible for the war on drugs.�
Madison Jennings Political science, Sophomore
�I think it’s wrong. That pretty much sums it up. I think it’s misguided and political.�
Justin Smiley Sociology,
Junior
�I think it is a terrible and out-of-date policy that needs to end soon.�
Bradley Unitas Electrical engineering, Junior�I believe it’s pretty futile.� Gonjoe Winn Masters in consoling
�War is bad.�
Vladmir Sullivan Freshman, Painting and printmaking�It’s a waste of resources that could be used in other areas.�
Grace Blackburn Mass communications,Sophomore
�I feel like it’s too involved. (Doing drugs) should be a personal decision.�
Emily Corson Elementary education and French, Junior
Warm weather, live music and hula hoopers were all a part of the Rams Community Bazaar’s Earth Day event this past Friday. Local and student vendors within the VCU and greater Richmond community came out to display and sell their homemade and reused items to event goers and also to educate people on the importance of buying locally produced items.
In addition to the plants and herbs being sold, the bazaar had a wide spectrum of things to offer. Communication arts major Johnathan Toum was selling handmade replicas of household spirits. Toum claimed the spirits could improve little things around the house such as WiFi strength and keeping coffee from burning.
“They definitely probably work,”
he said.
One popular aspect of the event was the 9-foot canvas on which anyone
Anderson, a former teacher and Occupy Richmond participant enticed many curious people to his area. These balls, made out of upcycled or reused items, were created for trash storage.
“People can keep them in their neighborhoods to put trash in, and then when they’re full, kids could just kick them down the street and play with them,” Anderson said. His organization “Save the Trash” offers recycling services and encourages people to reuse items to their full potential before they decide to throw them away.
mainly sells hand-painted surfboards and skateboards, by artist Bob Langston, as well as flip flops made from discarded motorcycle tires.
“A large sum of our proceeds goes to charity. We’re community-based, and we try to steer away from big European conglomerates,” Burch said.
A few feet away from all of the stands, in the Commons Plaza, the Recyclemania Fashion show took place, giving students who had submitted their work earlier in the semester a chance to showcase their creations. As a regulation, they were only allowed to use certain materials for their pieces, and most of them were required to be reusable.
Despite this being the first Rams Community Bazaar, there was a great turnout.
“It’s colorful, there’s so much energy, and it really shows the range of talents at VCU. This kind of a thing could sustain itself,” political science major Max Ross said of the event’s future.
was invited to paint, creating a collage of random thoughts and ideas, mostly relevant to the message of the bazaar.
Across Park Plaza was a giant tent and massive “Earth balls,” where Carter
VCU alumni had quite a presence at the bazaar as well. Daniel Burch, a 1997 graduate, ran a stand advertising a company by the name of Tribu, based out of the Phillipines. The company
The event would also give Richmonders who have a passion for creating things of this nature to put themselves out there and create a customer base. CT
“People can keep them in their neighborhoods to put trash in, and then when they’re full, kids could just kick them down the street and play with them.”
Staff
Boys, girls and others: advancing to gender neutrality • 14 “Groups for Schools” a useless innovation • 15
In the movement toward gender equality, it seems that Sweden has surpassed most nations. The European country recently introduced a new term to its vocabulary, the word “hen,” a gender-neutral pronoun that is a combination of the pronoun “han” for girls and “hon” for boys. The term became official when it was added to the country’s National Encyclopedia.
This is not Sweden’s first attempt in their drive toward a world absent of gender distinctions. In fact, a clothing company in Sweden, Leklust, recently stopped separating the boys and girls sections in its stores. The CEO of the
company, Kaj Wiberg, stated that gender roles are an outdated thing.
Many preschools have also taken part in this gender-neutralizing process by no longer referencing their students by their gender. The preschool that originally made use of the term “hen,” even banned fairytales such as Cinderella and instead carries books that concern homosexual couples, single parents and adopted children.
While many parents approve of such actions, these schools have also been met with criticism because due to many people viewing their ultimate goal of gender neutrality as absurd.
Personally, I am rooting for Sweden’s attempts at gender neutrality, especially with starting the process at
preschool level. I’ll admit, however, that the thought of society existing without gender distinctions seems slightly unrealistic. This unrealism comes from the fact that we have been raised in a world where gender is assigned at birth through one’s reproductive organs, and it is an essential part of our identity.
Gender dictates a large part of our lives from our behavior, our appearance, to even which bathroom we use in a public place. Considering the significant role of gender assignment in our lives, it’s not too surprising that this idea introduced by Sweden seems like the beginning of a dystopian novel to many.
Still, it’s not as though societal change happens overnight. We will not wake up tomorrow to a world where everyone refers to one another as “it” –the closest gender-neutral pronoun in our own vocabulary. If this change is to occur, it will happen slowly. It would be decades before we could really think of men and women without any specific distinctions, and Sweden’s own attempts are only stepping stones if their ultimate goal is a gender-neutral society.
If this idea were to succeed, many of the discriminations that exist today would be erased. The assignment of gen-
der places limitations on all of us, even those we may not recognize.
Women and men both have certain expectations that come with their gender assignment, as dictated by society. For example, it is rare and often discouraged for little boys to take up the hobby of playing with dolls or engaging in other cross-gender activity. Boys or girls who adopt traits that are traditionally associated with the opposite gender are often regarded as abnormal because ultimately such actions disrupt the status quo of gender.
We need to understand that much of the ideas that exist concerning gender are manufactuered by us and are not embedded into our biology. Gender is not rigid; it is evolving and changing.
So why not let this change lead us into a society where we are not limited or judged by our behaviors as either a man or woman? Maybe the actions of many of the people in Sweden are ridiculous to us because the notion of gender neutrality strays so far from our gender-obsessed world today. We have never attempted to ease gender distinction, and Sweden’s ultimate goal to do this is one that should be applauded. CT
This month, Facebook released a new feature that reminds us of the original use of the social-media site – not pointless games, not gaudy photo albums, not ostentatious statuses that journal of the lives of uneventful people.
Facebook’s new “Groups for Schools” feature seeks to connect college students for both scholarly and extracurricular pursuits in a more organized and concrete way than the current group/fan page setup allows.
But I predict “Groups for Schools” will ultimately end up as an unused, haggardly option that amounts to the Google Plus of new Facebook features.
The ability to network is one of the most alluring options about Facebook. While simultaneously playing Farmville, you can read the latest reviews on businesses, catch up on what new events or meetings your student organization will be holding and find out about a variety of events in your area.
While the new feature expands this option for collegiate organizations, it doesn’t fix or address the problems that currently plague social networking sites,
by Andy Kay
like spam and inane posts.
Furthermore, the included file-sharing feature poses issues of legality for some individuals wishing to share content, problems that will doubtlessly lead to squabbles over a consumer’s right to privacy and what constitutes intellectual property. What starts as an innocent collaborative project or presentation on a Groups page may easily lead to litigation over who owns said project.
Those issues aside, it’s inevitably going to be unused. Trial runs at Oberlin College found that students weren’t actively interested in doing anything academically related on Facebook.
It goes back to what every critic says about Facebook, and social media/ networking in general: It’s an escape. You don’t want to take your homework on vacation with you, so why would you engage in a literary critique of Frank Kafka on the same medium you post passive-aggressive rants?
All Facebook has succeeded in is reinventing the wheel; they’ve developed what could have been considered innovative a decade ago and hyped it up as some scholastic tool of the future. In reality, the only logical discerning use for Groups will be setting up real-life
study sessions or class note exchanges, which would be useful if we already didn’t use Blackboard and the our VCU email accounts for the same purposes.
Attempts to revive innovations like Facebook for their original purposes have often ended badly (see Myspace and LiveJournal). Once a system or innovation has been co-opted by the masses, it’s difficult to reverse that trend without ultimately killing the product.
At the end of the day, Facebook is annoying and unattractive enough without this effort to reenergize it and make it relevant to academia. The growing stigma associated with using Facebook is enough to turn people off from using it as a social network, let alone a serious resource or academic network.
There’s something to be said for oldfashioned, person-to-person meetings. We can return to the traditional use of Facebook and social networking sites, or we can return to the traditional use of communication and set up real-life meetings. CT
ADAM STERN Executive Editor SHANE WADE Opinion Editoropinions expressed are those of individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commonwealth times or Virginia Commonwealth university. unsigned editorials represent the institutional opinion of the Ct
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In last Thursday's issue of the CT, Reuban Rodriguez was incorrectly referred to as the associate vice president of student affairs and enrollment. His actual title is the associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students.
