Editorials

Opinion

​The repercussions of rising tuition

By Managing Board | September 10, 2015

As a public school, the University of Virginia stands out amongst the elite, private institutions it competes against as more financially accessible to residents of its state. But though the University offers comparatively reasonable in-state tuition prices — subsidized by larger out-of-state tuition — this model still can’t make up for the unequal implications of education costs.

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Opinion

The General Assembly is ignoring its responsibility

By Managing Board | September 8, 2015

The General Assembly’s propensity to draw unfair district maps is already troubling, but it is especially troubling that legislators would essentially ignore a court order to address this inequality.

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Opinion

​The problem with Natty Beau’s window display

By Managing Board | September 7, 2015

Retail store Natty Beau, a recent addition to the string of shops in the Corner area where many students eat and socialize, currently has a window display meant to entice its young clientele, featuring crumpled red solo cups scattered along the floor under its mannequins.

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Opinion

Hazing is more than just a Greek problem

By Managing Board | September 3, 2015

In fact, Greek life, since it has institutional checks and balances in place — as well as an entire University office devoted to regulating it — can be more easily held accountable for reported acts of hazing compared with CIOs or other student groups.

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Opinion

​What we can learn from Columbia student activism

By Managing Board | September 1, 2015

The board’s decision to divest — and to refrain from investing in private prison companies in the future — serves as a reminder of the varied impacts universities can have. While this past year we became consumed with issues over which our University has more direct control, the impacts of a given school can extend far beyond its physical campus or student body.

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Opinion

​What’s wrong with Wheaton’s health insurance decision

By Managing Board | August 31, 2015

While there is merit to the debate over religious exemptions to this mandate, Wheaton officials were not yet being forced to act against their religious beliefs. Moreover, they did not even attempt to grandfather students into their new policy, halting coverage immediately for students who probably expected to remain covered through their school as long as they remained enrolled.

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Opinion

​The WDBJ shooting is shocking but not surprising

By Managing Board | August 27, 2015

We are devastated by a tragedy that is both proximate and exceptionally lurid. But this tragedy does not stand alone: a 2014 FBI study of 160 active-shooter events since 2000 showed an increase in shootings over time.

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Opinion

​Don’t privilege McDonnell

By Managing Board | August 26, 2015

McDonnell’s entire case, even though he is the first Virginia governor to be tried and convicted of corruption, has demonstrated the special privileges his title offers.

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Opinion

​In support of the University’s new insurance policy

By Managing Board | August 25, 2015

Though some of us may have felt blindsided by this change in our system, its benefits far outweigh any small annoyances we may have with filling out another form.

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Opinion

​By the numbers

By Managing Board | April 28, 2015

As the academic year comes to an end, the Managing Board recounts some notable numbers.

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Opinion

Yes to gender-neutral bathrooms

By Managing Board | April 27, 2015

Issues facing LGBTQ students can be complex, but one issue that almost uniquely plagues transgender and gender non-conforming students is the issue of invisibility. When spaces demarcate between just two genders — male and female — and force all students into one of these two categories, transgender and gender non-conforming students are rendered invisible to existing structures.

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Opinion

Reevaluating structures in higher education

By Managing Board | April 24, 2015

If it is not conscious decisions, but rather subconscious biases as a result of existing structures, that push administrators toward unethical tendencies, addressing ethical issues in higher education is that much more complicated. But this case-study provides some clear solutions: one could be that administrators be required to review their decisions in one consistent platform; another could be that outsiders come into college campuses over certain periods of time to discuss current ethical dilemmas.

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Opinion

​Eramo’s letter and Rolling Stone’s ramifications

By Managing Board | April 23, 2015

We cannot overstate the harm these generalizations have created. People who are survivors may not see themselves as such, or if they do, they may not report their stories. And those who work tirelessly on behalf of survivors and take all the right steps — such as informing survivors of all their options and allowing them the room to make a choice to give them back their agency, something Erdely condemned in her article — must fear that doing the right thing will be manipulated and distorted by an ill-informed public.

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Opinion

​Acknowledging our history

By Managing Board | April 22, 2015

Slavery was ubiquitous, and therefore markers of its existence and impact should be ubiquitous, too. As we strive to confront this history and best navigate the waters of simultaneously appreciating and condemning the contributions of major historical figures, making our physical spaces reflect that contradiction can only help.

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Opinion

​Free tuition is unrealistic

By Managing Board | April 21, 2015

As these colleges strive to raise revenue, they are attempting to do so without it being, literally, at the neediest students’ expense. It is unrealistic to expect a school to be completely or close to free, as wonderful as that would be.

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Opinion

​Student groups handled “American Sniper” right

By Managing Board | April 20, 2015

By turning the viewing into an opportunity for dialogue about the state of Muslims in America and globally and how the film contributes to perceptions of Muslims, the MSA made it possible for the film to be contextualized. Students who may not otherwise question the presentation of Muslims and Middle Eastern individuals in the film had the opportunity to do so this weekend. In fact, it was probably better for students to watch “American Sniper” in this setting — a setting that ultimately forced them to think critically — than to see it at a movie theater where they may not view the movie the same way.

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Opinion

​End racial gerrymandering in Virginia

By Managing Board | April 17, 2015

It is extremely disappointing that the General Assembly has yet to produce a new, fairer map. What the General Assembly has done so far has actually been contrary to the goal of undermining gerrymandering: this past session, the General Assembly passed numerous bills tweaking existing districts to make them less competitive instead of properly responding to the U.S. District Court’s initial ruling.

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Opinion

​Finally, a faculty Board member

By Managing Board | April 16, 2015

The Board has included a non-voting student member for a long time prior to this recent inclusion of a non-voting faculty member; this speaks to the disconnect at our school between the various populations in need of representation. With our commitment to student self-governance, students have the privilege of independence, and therefore fewer interactions with faculty members outside their academics. Compared to other schools, there is likely increased interaction between students and administrators, without interim faculty involvement.

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Opinion

​Don’t curb student protests against sexual assault

By Managing Board | April 15, 2015

There is a difference here between what public and private schools may regulate, but there is no difference between our University and Columbia in terms of what is right and wrong when it comes to the voicing of student concerns. In this case, Columbia students should not see their protests restricted.

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Opinion

​Lack of transparency in BOV led to member quitting

By Managing Board | April 14, 2015

Keeping information in the hands of only a few Board members is problematic for obvious reasons. But if it was so egregious as to lead to the resignation of a prominent Board member, transparency within the Board must be an even worse problem than we anticipated previously.