Editor’s Note: The Cavalier Daily’s Editorial Board internally solicits applications each semester for new senior associate opinion editors and a new opinion columnist. Because of this, the Board’s membership changed halfway through the 135th term. To paint a more complete picture of our term this article includes perspectives from current and former members of the Editorial Board.
Each Monday, we, The Cavalier Daily Editorial Board, have sat down in The Cavalier Daily office — occasionally opting to move outside. Here, we have debated, outlined and written on topics which we believe have impacted and will continue to impact University students. This is a process which has encouraged each of us and hopefully our readers to engage deeply with the spaces we inhabit as University students.
Over the course of the 135th term of The Cavalier Daily, we have written 28 editorials. Our editorials are intended to be conversation starters which invite discourse and debate, not perfectly reasoned solutions. So at the end of our term, we thought it fitting to share with you which of these have been our favorites — this does not mean the best ones, but rather the ones which have shaped each of us in unique ways.
Nate Onibudo, Editor-in-Chief
If you knew me, you would not be surprised that my favorite editorial is our Feb. 22 editorial — “EDITORIAL: Someone has stolen Honor’s ingenuity” — which endorsed Laura Howard for Honor Committee Representative. Showcasing our Editorial Board at its best, this article is punchy, pragmatic and principled in its defense of the transformative work the Honor Committee has done over the past few years.
As a first year, I applied to The Cavalier Daily to help articulate the need for a multi-sanction Honor system. By last February, I was a third year and a multi-sanction Honor constitution had been created, ratified and partially implemented. This editorial felt like the continuation of that movement — proof that the University is a place where ideas beget action.
Our endorsement turned heads because we only supported Howard for Honor Rep. But Howard seemed to uniquely understand two things — Honor had changed a lot in the past few years, but its commitment to cultivating a community of trust must remained steadfast. For me, this editorial shines for its ability to reconcile these two truths and leverage them in support of the project of perfecting Honor.
Naima Sawaya, Executive Editor
My favorite editorial of the year was our Sept. 2 editorial regarding the University’s decision to suspend the University Guides Service — “EDITORIAL: University admin — guide us through your decision to suspend the Guide Service.”
As an Editorial Board, we are accustomed to operating with a degree of certainty, with evidence and sub-arguments that weave together to hopefully produce a well-reasoned argument. But when we sat down to write about the Guides suspension, we realized that we had more questions than answers.
Opinion pieces, by their very nature, are creative exercises. There is no one right way to write an opinion piece — in fact, each one necessitates a different approach. But occasionally, I think that our Editorial Board falls into the trap of normative structures — we do not write the middle school five paragraph essay, but sometimes we get awfully close.
This editorial required us to think outside of the box. Instead of layering sub-arguments and counter arguments, we asked questions. I love this editorial because we were able to experiment with form in a way that made this editorial exceptionally discursive while also still being pointed and poignant in its critique.
Dan Freed, Opinion Editor
My favorite editorial of this term was the Nov. 19 one entitled “EDITORIAL: Reckon consistently with our history” — a piece that advocated conversations about the history we choose to honor.
We discussed this topic at least a handful of times this fall. Unfortunately for me, stories seemed to have a habit of breaking in the days prior to our meetings. There was always something more pressing to write about. The journey for this editorial started long before this fall, though. It has its roots in a dorm party that inspired my first piece for The Cavalier Daily. In this first piece, I urged University administration to remove Joseph Cabell’s name from Old and New Cabell Hall.
What bothered me enough to pester the board to write about this again was not a deep rooted vendetta against Cabell. Rather, it was the blatant dissonance of the University triumphantly announcing the renaming of Alderman Library and Maury Hall all the while students drove on streets bearing their name. It may seem petty, but the names we elevate matter — if they didn’t we wouldn’t elevate them in the first place. What’s even more important is the nuanced discussion that surrounds these names. I hope this editorial stirred up some of that discussion.
Songhan Pang, Opinion Editor
I really enjoyed our Sept. 26 editorial on the University’s geographical expansion — “EDITORIAL: Draw the line on University expansion.”
As members of this University community, our time in Charlottesville is exceptionally brief. Still, by virtue of our membership, we have the privilege and responsibility of being a great and good neighbor. What empowered this editorial was its clear call to action, demanding the University to think critically about the intersections of student interest and the Charlottesville community.
We hoped that in doing so, the University would balance corporate motive with the interests of local communities that have been historically marginalized. While taking the lead on this editorial, I discovered that the editorial’s greatest strength lay in its lesson for all of us to foster excellence within our own communities — within and beyond the University.
This editorial highlights the importance of fully engaging with Charlottesville — if only for a moment — to leave this place in better shape for those who follow. I continue to come back to the opinion section and The Cavalier Daily at large to do just that.
Paul Kurtzweil, Senior Associate (Spring 2024, Fall 2024)
My favorite editorial of the term was one which helped crystalize the importance of issues which were both economic and social — “EDITORIAL: Scapegoating students will not stop hazing.”
Unlike most of the Editorial Board, I am not a philosophy or English major, so finding ways to mobilize my interest in theoretical subjects was challenging. I thought that the issues facing the University need to have a financial impact on students to be important. Through the Editorial Board, the wall that divided economic issues and social issues in my head began to crumble, specifically with this editorial on hazing.
Fraternity life and mathematical thinking are not particularly intertwined, save the use of the Greek alphabet. However, the University used, and continues to use, punishment to stop hazing as opposed to incentives to prevent it. Hazing should not be dealt with as a “one bad apple” situation, it should be treated like an institutional problem, and the stick that beats it would be better used to hold a carrot.
After this piece, economic concepts like incentives became visible in a wider swath of issues. The Editorial Board has given me the opportunity to practice analytical thinking in a wide variety of contexts in methods that have real impacts on students.
Wylie Brunman, Opinion Columnist (Spring 2024) and Senior Associate (Fall 2024)
I really enjoyed our Oct. 2 editorial titled “EDITORIAL: Student self-governance should be for all.” For me, this editorial really encapsulated the duality of being a young adult and a future leader, both of which are possible to embrace simultaneously at the University.
This interplay of personal and educational worlds inspired me to join The Cavalier Daily and inspires many of my fellow students to play a meaningful role in student organizations at the University. Our tradition of student self-governance literally encapsulates this — we have the youth of being a student, but the maturity of being capable of self-governing.
So, noticing the positive improvements made by these organizations, I was excited. And seeing the lack of institutional support for many of these student groups, I felt the impulse to oppose the University’s devaluation of our worth.
It might be cliché to say, but I love being a student. Maybe not the gazillion Spanish assignments this semester, or the hellish finals period we are all experiencing, but I love being a student. Student pride — the same pride inherent to our self-governing student leaders — is the bedrock of our four years, even if the University administration treats it like a lump of coal sometimes.
Scarlett Sullivan, Senior Associate (Spring 2024)
40 minutes before April Fools Day, I fought for my life over a bootlicking-themed subheading for my favorite editorial, “Long live President Ryan!” “The soul of President Jim Ryan,” I repeated, “Or the sole?”
This would be one of many fights I continue to pick over borderline unintelligible titles. And just as witty labels remain an art form to me, so too does humor cement itself in this editorial as one of The Cavalier Daily’s tools for social commentary. This foray into satire emerged from our first editorial which received heat from the community, so much so that bootlickers became the label by which this Editorial Board was identified on social media.
The piece operates as many things — as an interpretation of the Editorial Board’s relationship with students, as a portrait on the importance of nuance or as an eye-roll towards the glorification of otter-bodied President Ryan. For me, this editorial exemplifies the multifaceted role that humor can play in commenting on our community, and with every sharp-exhale-laugh, prompts readers to reexamine what truly separates an op-ed from a humor column.
Farah Eljazzar, Opinion Columnist (Fall 2024)
For me, the most enjoyable editorial was our Oct. 10 editorial commending the University’s efforts in a post-affirmative action landscape — “EDITORIAL: Affirm the actions of U.Va.’s admissions programs.”
The University’s work on this front prioritized imaginative solutions to a problem that many institutions have failed to address. What I most loved about this editorial, though, was how it underlined a larger virtue that any institution must prioritize — continuing to meet roadblocks with innovative solutions to ensure that this institution is accessible to a vibrant community.
As an Arab American Muslim and daughter to immigrant parents, it was of utmost importance to me to attend an institution in which I found a sense of community and a diverse student body. This is also why I chose The Cavalier Daily. The staff here comes from a multitude of backgrounds, holds various viewpoints and writes on material encapsulating students’ diverse interests on grounds. More importantly, the Editorial Board is a space where seven diverse voices come together to discuss issues affecting the Charlottesville community.
As the University continues to grow and as The Cavalier Daily continues to be a voice for the student body, we must be cognizant of protecting the diverse student voices that contribute to this institution.
The Cavalier Daily Editorial Board is composed of the Executive Editor, the Editor-in-Chief, the two Opinion Editors, the two Senior Associates and an Opinion Columnist. The board can be reached at eb@cavalierdaily.com.
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