Opinion

Opinion

Rethinking a historic space

By Managing Board | August 28, 2013

This gesture is a particularly positive way to welcome first-year students — some of whom are unsure which spaces are “allowed” — into the University’s symbolic and architectural center. By reserving Sunday through Tuesday evenings specifically for students, University officials have indicated in clear terms that they wish students to take advantage of the school’s most iconic space.

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Opinion

KEADY: A slap on the wrist

By Walter Keady | August 28, 2013

The final reason the United States’ proposed plan will not put the civil war on a track for conclusion is that there is no internationally favored figure for Assad’s replacement. The political crisis resulting from Assad’s military removal at the time being could plunge Syria into more violence, as competition for power would emerge. Fearing this consequence, other nations that are siding with the rebels will refuse to intervene forcefully enough to alter the current stalemate until such a leader emerges, if at all. In this light, it is clear that the United States’ response will be less about aiding rebel forces towards victory, and more about reprimanding the Assad regime.

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Opinion

SPINKS: A life half full

By Ashley Spinks | August 28, 2013

Sure, life as a pessimist would be devoid of a lot of disappointment. But would I be willing to sacrifice the rollercoaster ride that is existence just because the sudden drops gave me a stomach ache? Is a life without passionate, idealistic, slightly stupid faith (even if it means avoiding the heartwrenching let-downs as well) worth living at all?

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Opinion

BOGUE: Bring back the literacy test

By Russell Bogue | August 28, 2013

Applied properly, requiring voters to demonstrate knowledge of the candidates and issues—and perhaps United States history as well—could significantly improve the quality of our democracy.

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Opinion

BROWN: No end in sight

By Forrest Brown | August 28, 2013

All that changed in honor last year was the addition of informed retraction. Unfortunately, that does not do enough on its own to combat the serious faculty and student accountability issues facing honor, and some form of jury reform is still needed. I have no doubt that the Committee is talking about ways to either put another proposal on the table or to encourage students to put something forward themselves. And we, as a student body, have to meet that challenge.

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Opinion

KOURI: Heads in the cloud

By Andrew Kouri | August 28, 2013

Take Zipcar, for example. Some people do not need a car seven days a week. Rather than having a depreciating asset sitting in a car park, Zipcar users can rent a vehicle for only the time which they need. The proliferation of GPS tracking devices has reduced the risk involved in trusting customers to return a vehicle, which allows the Zipcar business to be viable.

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Opinion

YAHANDA: Netting a good-bye

By Alex Yahanda | August 28, 2013

After excelling in college and breaking into the professional tour, Blake was met with debilitating injuries. He broke several vertebrae after slipping and slamming his head into a netpost. Then, he developed a case of shingles so bad that it paralyzed his face and negatively affected his vision. Nevertheless, Blake returned from those setbacks and ultimately rose as high as number-four in the world.

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Opinion

KABIR: Putting off fun

By Fariha Kabir | August 28, 2013

The University has a long list of traditions, and partaking in these traditions or better experiencing the Charlottesville area enhances the four years spent at U.Va. Participation in these activities can help a person grow by exposing them to different ideas and environments. More importantly, it makes college an academic, social and cultural experience, which is important in helping an individual better understand themselves and the world around them. College is the last cushion before the “real world”; therefore, having a more rich college experience can be important in preparing students for the challenges they face after graduation.

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Opinion

A journey, not a destination

By Managing Board | August 27, 2013

The College’s 2012 destinations report hints at an argument that College officials should be making, or at least making more forcefully. Often, critics of the College make the mistake of judging an undergraduate experience not by the experience itself but by future earning potential. When faced with this limited perspective, College officials can still defend the worth of a liberal arts degree by pointing to the high number of students who win admission to graduate programs.

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Opinion

Wherever, whenever

By Managing Board | August 26, 2013

We will have some growing pains. Our redesign is ambitious, and we will learn as we go. At this time we welcome your feedback more than ever. Email us directly, or send a message to our new public editor, Christopher Broom, who we welcomed aboard this week, at publiceditor@cavalierdaily.com. And join us at our Sept. 6 launch party in the Amphitheater to mark a new year and a new Cavalier Daily.

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Opinion

KNAYSI: Debatable debates

By George Knaysi | August 26, 2013

In my experience, some of the best insights in recent memory were gained from late-night chats on a dorm room floor or drunken philosophizing at a friend’s apartment.

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Opinion

BERGER: See no evil

By Meredith Berger | August 26, 2013

The kind of fear “The Conjuring” struck in me was different. It prompted me to strengthen my faith and believe in something greater than myself.

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Opinion

BROOM: A declaration of independence

By Christopher Broom | August 26, 2013

My role is to serve as a voice for the readers of this paper, website and increasingly, Twitter feed and other outlets. I am charged with publicly critiquing and commenting on the work presented in all of these means of publication. I will look for honesty, rigor and fairness in reporting and writing. I will look for both the good and the places where work falls short of the high standards The Cavalier Daily has set over the decades.

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Opinion

Reflections on the founder

By Managing Board | August 22, 2013

Jefferson the man was more complex. Sandy-haired and gangly, fearful of public speaking, Jefferson was, like many gifted people, consistently inconsistent. Pick a quote from his voluminous correspondence. What he says in one letter he will contradict in another.

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Opinion

Saying “goodbye”

By Katherine Ripley | August 22, 2013

But despite the allure of social media, we still feel the need to meet up one last time—one last day at the beach, one last lunch, one last night out, all for the purpose of saying farewell to a friend, a family member, a summer romance. We get together again. We brace ourselves. We cry. We call out and say “I love you” as the car is driving away.

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Opinion

An open letter to the Class of 2017

By Russell Bogue | August 22, 2013

Going to college is a period in your life unlike any other. At no other point will you have such freedom to set your schedule, pursue your passions and educate yourself as a human being. That last bit is important, not because majoring in chemistry and taking all the pre-med requirements makes you an uneducated blockhead, but because if you leave U.Va having never considered J.S. Mill’s political philosophy, having never tried out a new language, having never Aristotle or Shakespeare or even the Bible, how can you call yourself an “educated” person?

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Opinion

Quiet magic

By Sam Novack | August 22, 2013

Newcomb Hall and O-Hill may not serve pumpkin juice, but students from first to fourth year will soon be packing into these buildings for feasts aplenty. New students will have a few days to get themselves situated, and then they—and all of us returners—will be heading to class. And while the University does not feature the winding staircases and secret passageways that crisscross Hogwarts, first years will still take a wrong turn here and there. I remember trying to figure out the numbering system for rooms in New Cabell my first year and thinking frantically that I could not be late for my first class in college.

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Opinion

The view from Topkapi

By Denise Taylor | August 22, 2013

“Can” (pronounced “jahn”) has no direct English equivalent. It’s one of the several Turkish words for “life,” intended to describe “life” as the thing that distinguishes organisms from inorganic matter. It’s more associated, however, with the soul and compassion independent of the conscious mind. In Turkey, it’s understood that there is “can” in every living thing—my grandmother once told me not to eat food while walking outside because “If even a bird saw it out of the corner of his eye, his ‘can’ could want it.”

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Opinion

Idealizing college

By Walter Keady | August 22, 2013

If you spend your time in college looking for the best four years of your life, you will not find them.

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Opinion

Scrubbing up

By Ashley Spinks | August 22, 2013

Many students make the same mistake of committing themselves to a course of study before they’ve given themselves time to change and grow. This early and unyielding decision makes a change of heart more challenging to deal with.