Every time I fly, I am reminded of society’s willingness to comply with the status quo when I am forced to pause my music until reaching the magical altitude of 10,000 feet, below which my Kindle would supposedly send aircraft, satellites and the International Space Station spiraling into Armageddon-style oblivion.
In the last decade, MIT, Georgetown, UC-Berkeley, all eight Ivy League schools and many other institutions have committed to paying their employees a living wage. At U.Va., paying employees a living wage would require a reallocation of a fraction of one percent of the annual operating budget. Why has U.Va. refused to join its peers?
The University may be proud of the “How Things Work” Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) I’m teaching, but my workload in producing that MOOC is my own doing.
For these little things — these little joys — the bottom why comes down to someone giving back.
Scrolling Facebook, looking at the many marriage-equality images, I question how many people posted the picture because they were aware of the Supreme Court cases and how many posted it because of peer influence.
Even if you do not use Google, you are probably aware of the search engine’s practice of stylizing its homepage logo into quirky doodles. The doodles normally reference a particular person or event, usually one that coincides with the date on which the doodle appears. Many users consider the doodles one of the site’s endearing characteristics. This past Easter, though, Google’s doodle incited controversy in a ridiculous instance of religious outrage.
Groves makes a point that should be self-evident but is not. For students looking to distinguish themselves and make a lasting contribution to the University, a better approach may be to work with the raw materials of a lesser-known CIO than to occupy a well-established leadership role, however coveted.
Vulgarity in humor is nothing new. One might even call it cliché. Whether in Shakespearean plays, on Vaudeville stages or on Comedy Central, offensive humor is everywhere. While it is nearly impossible to define exactly what makes people laugh, blatant and/or intentional offensiveness is often so different from normal behavior that it comes off as funny. Creating laughter seems harmless enough, but disrespectful jokes, though intended to be humorous, are often vilified when their content involves especially taboo subjects.
We autistics do not need your awareness. We walk these grounds every day. We are your fellow students, professors, friends and so on. We function quite well, and unless we identify ourselves as autistic to you, you will never know that we’re here. What we need is acceptance. Fortunately for me during my time here at the University of Virginia I have been met with open arms and acceptance from all my fellow students and professors.
Among the hundreds of bills Gov. Bob McDonnell signed into law last week, one in particular may have direct negative effects on Virginia’s public college students.
Writing a science article is a bit like coaxing a 5-year-old into eating foie gras. Upon seeing the plate, the kid will become suspicious. He will complain about the color, poke the spongy texture and make a few skeptical faces. He must be spoon-fed the first couple of bites. If he likes it, you’re lucky. More often, you simply realize a 5-year-old won’t eat foie gras and maybe jumping straight from chicken nuggets to duck livers wasn’t the best idea.
The managing board’s occasional survey of notable numerals
Because of tuition increases, financial aid will become more crucial for many students. It is disappointing that Sullivan’s financial plan does not include a more robust defense of AccessUVa. A strong financial-aid program is crucial for the University’s success. Such a program preserves the school’s public obligation to educate all worthy students, and it attracts bright thinkers from a range of communities who might not otherwise be able to afford attending college.
To add to the constant technological developments of our world, Google has recently unveiled its new Google Glass product: a device that seems to bring us even closer to the Orwellian dystopia we were all warned of in “Nineteen Eighty-Four.”
This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for two cases pertaining to the illegality of same-sex marriage in the United States. On Tuesday and Wednesday, supporters and critics of gay marriage alike gathered together in person and on social media sites to voice their opinions on the issue of gay marriage. Red equal signs proliferated on Facebook as many U.Va. students expressed solidarity with the rights of same-sex couples. However, the expressions of disapproval and support concealed the fact that the very organ of government that should hold and resolve the debate over same-sex marriage is not the Supreme Court. Whether you long for the day when gay couples can marry or you shudder at the thought, the collective resolution of the American people should not come through the institution of the courts.
On a purely legal level, there is not a single compelling reason to uphold either Prop 8 or DOMA. A common argument against same-sex marriage is that it provides a different set of rules for a select population. But any analysis of this claim shows it to be not only misleading but antithetical to the truth.
GradDays seeks to accomplish several important aims. The initiative provides support for minority graduate students; it gives graduate students opportunities to socialize with peers in other departments; and, in a hostile academic climate, it offers workshops and panels that provide professional-development tips.
There will surely be much debate about which animals deserve to be recreated. Scientists have compiled a list of around 24 animals that they hope to one day bring back. Most of those are species of birds that humans overhunted. Scientists selected some of target animals, however, because they are very recognizable. Wooly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers are among scientists’ top priorities. What, then, determines whether a particular species will be resurrected? Although I love the idea of seeing a saber-toothed tiger in the flesh, it makes sense to initially focus on bringing back species that were the most directly eliminated by human activity. Humans, for instance, hunted the dodo bird to extinction and were thus the primary reason it vanished. The same cannot be said for the saber-toothed tiger, which is believed to have died out as a result of a climate change. Species that humans needlessly destroyed should be given priority when it comes to recreation.
Opponents of the “be careful” message will say that women should be able to walk home alone at night without fear of being raped or assaulted, that it is the assaulters — statistically mostly men — who are entirely at fault. I could not agree more. But I still cannot condone people putting themselves in risky situations, based simply on the logic that they should be able to.
For me, the fall semester will be bittersweet: my next-to-last set of courses. As I complete my foreign affairs major, I find myself having a harder time selecting classes. The politics department has a number of fantastic classes offered on the Middle East, Europe, East Asia and Latin America. Yet middle and south Asia remain rather absent beyond perhaps one, at most two, courses being offered per year. While regions such as the Middle East receive a lot of media attention, a lack of focus on nearby regions such as the Indian subcontinent presents an incomplete picture of global relations and politics. India is slowly becoming more involved in the global community and has been gaining prominence as an economic force. Countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam, which are also gaining in international importance, are underrepresented in courses as well. While these countries may not have as large a role in world politics as many nations, they are still interesting to study.
