I'd like to begin with a brief message to a childhood friend, Ricky Guenette. Ricky, the following refers to an argument we had April 27, 1993.
Discussions about differences in backgrounds and customs are common among the students at the International Residential College. "There are many representative cultures, and people can learn about many perspectives," said fifth-year Engineering student Lydia Abebe. Meeting and forming relationships with students from other parts of the globe is an experience a student can expect when living in an environment suited both to students from abroad and those simply interested in learning about other nations. First-year College student Bitania Ephrem, an international student from Ethiopia, commented on the welcoming and respectful environment she found living there. Third-year College student Mai El Gasim, a student of Sudanese heritage, said individuals at the IRC are "especially open to differences to things that are not of the American culture, like me wearing a hijab, [a traditional Muslim head-scarf]." Such perceptions help to make the IRC a comfortable environment. Abebe described the community as being engaging and interactive.
Every day I seem to lose some of them. I don't know where they go; they just slip through the cracks, never to be seen again, and I'm a little poorer for it.
The school paper is often a popular extracurricular activity for students of varying academic interests --- the cognitive science major who snaps photos at a basketball game, the pre-law student who also happens to be a columnist or the foreign affairs major who comes in once a week to do layout and design.
I like technology. My friends know this, but they still insist I'm living in the past, as if I were some sort of unattractive Neanderthal.
Girls do it all week long Every spring, more than 1600 Inter-Sorority Council members and sorority hopefuls gather in Charlottesville three days before classes begin to engage in the rush process that allows sororities to select their new members.Former ISC president Massie Payne said, over 750 women participated in recruitment this year, and between 500 and 540 women accepted bids. According to first-year College student Nancy Graves, the process starts with "round robins" in which each participant visits the 15 ISC sororities for a short period of time. Graves said this was the worst part of the process for her because the day lasted so long. During the second phase of rush, known as "themes," sorority houses decide which potential new members to invite back,while participants narrow down their lists and return to only ten houses. "Themes was my favorite day in the process," Graves said.
T o some, affirmative action in college admissions is a useful tool to create a student body of diverse faces, beliefs and experiences. To others, affirmative action is a policy of reverse discrimination that infringes upon students' rights. "I think there is a sense of frustration with the idea of affirmative action because [some applicants] are doing all that [they] can, and even if you do more, you may not get in" because of racial preferences, second-year College student Grayson Lambert said. Asian Student Union President Patrick Lee said he does not believe students' rights are violated by a policy of affirmative action. "Just because you had these test scores doesn't mean you're going to be the best," Lee said.
Where do you wear your pants? This is not a trivial question. If I asked this question 20 years ago, you might answer, "Above my belly button," and then turn up the Dire Straits tape playing in your Walkman.
If you're on Facebook at all, you've probably heard of the group called "Overheard at U.Va." Students all over Grounds get online and post funny quotes they have heard from passers-by, usually taken out of context.
Recall the unified effort to wear black ribbons, the Grounds-wide "Reject Hatred" campaign and the fact that the University boasts the highest black student graduation rate of any public college or university in the country.
That's seriously what a fortune cookie I once got at Runk read. Well howdy, time-travelers! My name's Erik Silk, and I'm not going to be anywhere near any of you for the next three and a half months.
While most professors typically provide students with a semester of insightful instruction and a few office hours a week, Civil War Professor Gary Gallagher takes the concept of student-professor interaction to the next level by leading an interactive battlefield visit. "I've always done the field trip," Gallagher said.
It was late at night last week, and I was sitting in my friend's Lawn room, talking aimlessly about the world and enjoying the beauty of a warm room in the middle of a cold Charlottesville night.
A couple of generations ago, environmentalism was associated with Birkenstocks, free love and granola.
Many students eagerly enrolled in the History of World War II this semester after learning that Philip Zelikow, director of the 9/11 Commission, was going to teach the course. "First, when I signed up for classes, there was no professor name down," second-year College student Cameron Jones said.
At the dawn of this new semester, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss (and vent) openly about certain aspects of class etiquette that go unmentioned in a general sense.
Priority registration at the University will be altered so scholars and athletes will be able to register before their classmates only, rather than before the whole undergraduate population.
Occurrences of gross stupidity are among those unique events that can either be maddeningly frustrating or absolutely hilarious, depending on your role in the event.
"It's never just fluff," said fourth-year student Megan Ross, the director of this year's production of "The Vagina Monologues," with regard to the content of Spectrum Theater shows. Ross said the group has produced such shows as "The Bad Seed" and "The Importance of Being Earnest" on stage in the past and strives to create socially challenging and provocative drama for its audiences, as opposed to "just fluff," or something simple and straightforward such as sheer comedy. "We want it to be interesting and to make people think," Ross said. The cast of ten actors for "The Vagina Monologues" was chosen at auditions held last weekend. Ross said she helped with "Monologues" during the first semester of her second year and got a part in the group's production of "Arcadia" that spring.
Off-Grounds housing may be some students' first step into the real world, and without the right information, it can be a slippery slope into late fees, landlord fights and roommate blues. The University provides assistance to make this transition into independent living a smooth and easy one for all students.
