With a bang or a whimper? A year earlier than expected, I find myself writing my last column for The Cavalier Daily. That's right.
Will someone please slap some sense into the women in my family? I've given up -- they just won't listen to me. Arranged marriages are making a comeback in 2006, and I'm trying to keep the Parsley girls on the cutting edge.
With spring break officially starting this weekend and having unofficially begun for my brain and motivation last week, destinations around the world are about to be bombarded with drunk college students. This is my first Spring Break going somewhere exciting (not that painting the rooms in the house wasn't thrilling last year, Mom), and I'm headed to Acapulco, Mexico.
While the University's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is easily filling its classes, less and less students nationwide are interested in pursuing engineering, according to Mechanical Engineering Prof.
The 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy concluded this past Sunday after 16 days of international competition. University students reflected on their favorite Winter Olympic sports as well as controversies that arose out of this year's contest. Fourth-year Engineering student Kara Parsons said she watched the Olympics because it showed sports that don't always get television coverage. "They're not on TV except for the Olympics, so you've got to take the opportunity," she said. Other students said they enjoyed watching sports they partake in during their free time. "I snowboard so I like watching all the different competitions," second-year College student Warren Waterman said. Waterman said he thought the United States snowboarding team did very well this Olympics, except for one controversy that came out of the women's snowboard cross competition. Problems arose when Lindsey Jacobellis nearly won gold for the United States in the Snowboard Cross competition, but left with the silver medal after crashing on one of the last jumps of the race.
With polls closing today, it's time to bid a fond farewell to University election season yet again.
By a narrow margin, the Virginia Senate passed a bill to ban smoking in all indoor public facilities, including restaurants, bars, banks and hotel lobbies. The bill was not expected to pass in the House of Delegates and it died in committee unanimously last Friday. Most lawmakers said they did not think the bill would pass in a state that is the third-largest tobacco-producing state in the nation and is home to Philip Morris national headquarters. Conservative lawmakers said they were hesitant to endorse the bill because they were worried the government would be overstepping its rights over business owners if the bill had passed. Second-year College student Jonathan Massell said he agreed with the lawmakers' responses. "I realize there are health risks, but places tend to be unfair to smokers," Massell said.
The University Party swept to a complete victory at the polls yesterday, winning every contest in which it had a candidate, bowling over the rival Students' Party with the smooth precision of a jet fighter.
Did you know that the chief export of Chuck Norris is pain? Or that outer space exists only because it's afraid to be on the same planet as Chuck Norris?
As spring draws closer, people become inspired by a heightened sense of excitement and anticipation, yet there are some who aren't able to experience that joy.
The flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, the snow is melting away ... and the high schoolers are here -- it's that time of year again.
There are many difficult aspects to Virginia life: Parking, for one, is miserably minimal, the traffic makes you want to reconsider higher education and lines outside of bars on weekend nights make me want to scream because I am actually allowed to be inside and yet, I'm the one waiting. Another tricky part of being a Wahoo is that moment when you have gone on a few dates or hung out with a person you are romantically interested in and have no idea whether or not you have a boy/girlfriend.
Since the World Wide Web was introduced over a decade ago, the Internet has become a fixture of daily life. "It's something we've all gotten used to at home, like cable TV," Haw said.
Philanthropy has brought together members from all different sects of the culturally and racially diverse Greek community. After months of planning and fundraising, the Inter-Greek Habitat for Humanity House began construction on Saturday.
Here at my research facility, also known as "Club Clemons" to lay people, I've been doing some background research on the effects of Spring Break on the student psyche. Boy, are the effects awesome. In one week, many of you, my faithful readers, will be lounging, drinking, clubbing and building houses. Wait, what? Ah yes, those of you with a conscience will be doing wonderful things for the good of humanity.
As the Cav Daily reported on Monday, the Semester at Sea program has recently met with skepticism from some faculty members concerned about the program's educational integrity.
One name has circulated more than most around Grounds in the last year: Student Council President Jequeatta Upton.
With the polls opening today for Student Council, Honor and University Judiciary Committee elections as well as a variety of referenda, the University finds itself caught up in election fever -- or not. Second-year College student Abi Hymes said although she is aware of the elections, she is not sure how she intends to vote. "I know that elections are happening because of Facebook invitations to join groups and the Cav Daily," Hymes said.
On its debut excursion last week, the Couchcar received enthusiastic cheers mixed with confused stares from the University community. With "Couch me if you can" spray-painted on its back, and a #1 racing number displayed on its side, the combination of a love seat-style couch and a big kid's tricycle makes the Couchcar an unusual sight. "It was just a random idea that occurred to me one night," fourth-year College student Dave Lee said. Lee said the tricycle was found in the dumpster and the love seat was household furniture. After stripping the plastic seat off the tricycle, Lee constructed a frame out of scrap wood to attach the love seat.
On Tuesday I spent the afternoon visiting the hallowed grounds of Monticello with my parents. The sky was blue and stripped of any ominous clouds that might hamper our endeavor.
