All right you spiffed up, blonde streaked, ruddy cheeked first years, it's Registration Day and everyone who's anyone knows what that means -- Lawn relay races at one o'clock sharp.
Welcome to Move-In Weekend at the Univer-sity, home to more mini-vans than a Chrysler dealership and enough 15-minute parking to accommodate half of them. Times like this often are filled with more questions than answers, making Move-In Weekend one of life's great mysteries.
The University is waiting. The Lawn, quiet all summer except for the occasional Frisbee-playing dog, now hosts an army of folding chairs ready for first years to sit for convocation. Businesses on the Corner are beefing up their inventory and staff in preparation for the return of their largest group of customers. Stores in the Barracks Road shopping center are filling the shelves and bracing themselves for the most intense weekend of the year. There is no wait at Littlejohn's.
By Adam Justice Cavalier Daily Life Editor Monday the University got a taste of Hollywood when Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke arrived to screen his directorial debut, "Chelsea Walls," and promote his new novel "Ash Wednesday." After the 4 p.m.
Last year's "The Million Dollar Hotel" had star power up the wazoo - Bono was involved - but still came up floundering, struggling for air.
Last month, I officially became a yuppie - well, sort of. I finally got a cell phone, the kind that folds in half so it doesn't look like I'm storing a brick in my front pocket. According to one wireless network provider, I should be dancing around in my pajamas while listening to a live symphony. Heck man, I'm connected.
Tapping into a steady supply of money is difficult for most college students. While some can parsimoniously budget their summer earnings for an entire academic year, many find on-Grounds jobs a convenient way to pay for everything from bar nights to groceries. But given the recent hiring freeze and faltering economy, options for student employment may be waning. "It's too early to tell really," said Lacinda Childs-White, University Director of Staffing for Human Resources "We could be dealing with a number of situations." Human Resources offers jobs to students based on the demands of departments within the University, so making projections for the school year can be difficult until late August or early September, when most departments begin posting positions and students begin applying. While "there are less dollars, there is no hiring freeze on student jobs," said Greg Helmuth, Special Assistant to the Chief Human Resources Officer. University Human Resources currently has 1,590 students on its payroll, and is the largest on-Grounds student employer.
By Derek Richardson Cavalier Daily Associate Editor Some world-class athletes challenge themselves and push their bodies to the limit by running in grueling marathons.
No one in their right mind would ever want to go to a meeting. Why? Because employees and executives have better ways to waste time, like surf X-rated Internet sites, play FreeCell or commit accounting fraud. "Meeting" comes down to us from the Latin word mitare, which means "to die of boredom while listening to stupid people talk." This happened a lot in the Roman senate, so they had to make up a special word for it. Sometimes it's possible to skip a meeting, unless the boss called it.
Starr Hill's restaurant, brewery and music hall serves as a mecca to students looking for food and a good time in a casual atmosphere. But despite its cosmopolitan flair, Starr Hill's history is as rooted in down-home Charlottesville traditions as the Foxfield races. Nineteen eighty-seven marked the beginning of Starr Hill's history, when Bok and Paul Summers - grandsons of Nobel laureate William Faulkner - founded the Blue Ridge Brewing Company and restaurant. Making a name for themselves right here in Charlottesville seemed the perfect way for Bok and Paul Summers to begin their careers. "We were both born and raised in Charlottesville," Bok Summers said.
Honestly, I didn't really give this column much thought until I was gassed out of my mind a week ago.
It's mid-July, and hot summer days aren't the only thing descending upon the University. Just as Charlottesville nestles in a bit more snugly for its long summers' nap, it's beginning to look a lot like ... first years. In recent weeks, scads of first years, accompanied by their anxious parents, have flocked to Grounds for summer orientation.
By Adam Justice Cavalier Daily Senior Writer With sun-dried dirt smudged all over his T-shirt and khakis, Adam Vandervort painstakingly sifted the newly dug dirt.
It was only a few months ago that Stephen Bach had 100 bright yellow bicycles sitting in his backyard. The Charlottesville resident had no problem turning his personal space into a parking lot if it meant getting a pet project off the ground. Extend mass transit.
Sitting in traffic is bad. It's hard on your car. It wastes your time. And for those of us who choose not to read books, eat a five-course meal or give birth while driving, sitting in traffic is the most boring activity on the planet. Some of us seem to be more cursed than others.
It's all in the execution, or so they say. David Auburn's "Proof," the most anticipated play in Heritage Repertory Theatre's summer season, can be thankful for that.
Maybe you've seen them sitting on the roof of Brillig Books around lunchtime. Six guys, only a year out of college, huddled together in what seems to be some sort of intense intellectual exchange.
By Adam Justice Cavalier Daily Life Editor John Rogers-Cotrone and his teammates knew the competition would be fierce. "It was kind of intimidating," the bus driver and fourth-year College student recalled. No, Cotrone wasn't anticipating a marathon or athletic competition. He, along with fellow University Transit Service bus drivers Damie Holligan, Chris Andino and Mike Goddard, was preparing for the Virginia State Transit Roadeo - the annual event inviting transit organizations around the state to compete in appearance judging (of the uniforms), safety quiz examinations, identifying problem with a defective bus and navigating an obstacle course. Cotrone placed 15th out of about 40 drivers in the obstacle course, and had to face down competitors from professional transit services across the state. Preparation involved reading through Virginia's commercial driver licensing manuals.
Ladies and gentlemen of the class of 2006 - bring a blanket! Sage advice to visiting first years, from the 28 current students who are hard at work this summer as Orientation Leaders.
T here are certain distasteful things all humans might have do at some point in their lives, like sitting down in the bathroom and realizing there's no toilet paper.
