THE GOOD folks at The Cavalier Daily have asked for a column directed at incoming students. I suggested a general column with a catchy slogan: "Don't be a Derriere in Your First Year."
"Ha, ha," they replied. "Just answer some questions from incoming students, in the tradition of Tony Kornheiser."
Our first question comes from Miss Anita Grant, who asks, "How friendly is the financial aid office at the University?"
The financial aid people are extremely friendly. They smile a great deal, and they want to help. They'd love to help you fill out a FAFSA form, find the dental records of your parents from 1973, and locate an original ABBA record - all of which are essential to getting together your financial aid package. More importantly, they like to help you get a loan. They love loans. They love to show you loans from the federal government, loans from Wachovia, and even loans from Tony "Meat Hook" Scalipari. Most of their offices' artwork consists of a poster that reads, "How can I help you take a loan today?" - that, and a poster with a cat hanging from a tree that reads "Hang in there, baby."
By putting your educational future into the hands of such businessfolk, you may then gleefully engage in the freedom that accompanies Mr. Jefferson's Academic Village. Don't worry a bit about future earning potential.
Ms. J. Child wrote to us, asking "What's the best way to get a splendid, cheap meal in Charlottesville?"
This question represents a paradoxical question: Can food in Charlottesville be amazing and cheap? If you're a graduate student, the answer definitely is yes. Eat at the Tavern. Eat at El Puerto. Eat at Padow's.
If you're an undergraduate student and lack ready transportation, shoot for "good" food. The Corner's food offerings are generally passable but can easily take up a sizable chunk of your student loan. My best advice is to take the bus to North Grounds, sit between Darden and the School of Law, and beg. Just make sure you have a receipt for the Darden students - for tax purposes - and you'll be in the money. The third-year law students are made of money. No, really. Just ask them to dance, and $10 or $20 should shake loose.
T. One asks, "Aren't those Ethernet connections that are in most dorms cool? Do you ever go to class?"
While I didn't attend this institution as an undergraduate, I had the chance to watch what a combination of high-speed Internet access, hormones, and newly-found freedom can create. Somewhere, a computer gaming programmer works frantically to combine a live-action shooting game with a buxom, beautiful woman. ("Hey, Seth - ever heard of Laura Croft?") Okay, a computer programmer has successfully completed that project.
I'm convinced that if 10 percent of the energy used to locate naked pictures of Anna Kournikova was used for a better purpose, the Middle East would be as peaceful as central Iowa.
In any event, first-year students will have to decide eventually between the computer and grades. Some will choose wisely. Others will have to convince their parents that Doom 3000 - I have no idea if this exists, but I'm old - experts can lead prosperous and economically sound lives.
Our last question comes from a T. Haul, who asks, "With all of this press coverage about the 120-some people who were charged with an honor violation last semester, does the system still have the respect of the student body?"
When the national press started circulating the story of a physics class that discovered numerous multiple submissions, some folks thought it indicated that the system had failed. Some of those who allegedly cheated had taken the class years prior to being charged. Well, maybe.
The reputation for this particular class and the ease with which one could turn in previously completed papers was fairly well-known across campus. The professor didn't think about looking into this possibility until recently. If anything, the whole situation shows that professors who don't like students blatantly cheating in their classes probably can track down the offenders.
The system has the same strengths and weaknesses it always has. It's only as strong as the professors who want to enforce it. In the physics case, this particular professor has eliminated one obvious source of cheating.
Bottom line, in the words of Mr. T: be cool, stay in school, don't cheat.
(Seth Wood is a Cavalier Daily columnist. He can be reached at swood@cavalierdaily.com.)
Read More
PATEL: Personal development courses support students beyond the gradebook
By Heer Patel | 16 hours agoThe University must rethink its approach to education beyond traditional major-specific requirements and mandate personal development courses.
EDITORIAL: Commercialization threatens U.Va.’s educational mission
By Editorial Board | YesterdayAfter all, measuring the University’s worth in terms of accrued capital, operational efficiency and numerical rankings molds this space into just another cookie-cutter institution.
YOUNIS: Why every U.Va. student should say yes to English
By Ayat Younis | 5 days agoEvery student at the University, regardless of their primary field of study, can professionally and academically benefit from engaging with the English department.
