An overstated divide
By Michael Slaven | July 29, 2004THE RACE for president has led many to believe that the nation has hopelessly divided itself. The label "Massachusetts liberal" alone can toss a candidate out of competition in 15 states.
THE RACE for president has led many to believe that the nation has hopelessly divided itself. The label "Massachusetts liberal" alone can toss a candidate out of competition in 15 states.
WITH THE Johns (Kerry and Edwards, that is) now all but united as the Democratic ticket, the two have formed a meticulously groomed chorus of sorts against the Bush administration's across-the-board tax cuts, advocating a repeal of the cuts for those earning more than $200,000 annually.
MAYBE I've been watching a bit too much Nick at Nite this summer. Recently, I had a dream that I was one of the Huxtable children -- that's right, Sandra, Denise, Vanessa, Theo, Rudy and me.
POLITICIANS who preach about religion are often met by pious protests invoking Mr. Jefferson's plea for a "wall of separation between Church and State." Entertainers would do well to observe a similar abstinence from mixing pop culture, politics and religion.
IN THE past few weeks, two influential African-American icons have made inflammatory remarks that have caught the media's attention and deserve a brief examination.
AS THE doors to Mr. Jefferson's University open to welcome a new class this fall, clouds of race are spoiling what would be an otherwise sunny day.
I KNEW what I was going to do with my life for as long as I can remember. And somehow, from the ideals of friendships, relationships and academic life to the realities of drama, breakups and procrastination, I made it through the labyrinth that is high school life with the same dreams I started with.
"THE UJC is pointless. Why do we need it?" This is a question that is not too uncommon and deserves to be answered, especially for all those incoming first years new to U.Va.
AS THE great and powerful fourth year that I am about to become, this is my last chance to pass on any of the meaningful, significant, perceptive lessons and advice that I have accumulated in my three years here at Mr. Jefferson's University.
WHAT DO the Mahogany Dance Troupe, Disciples of Bob Barker, One in Four, Hoos for Israel and the Virginia Alpine Ski Team all have in common?
AMID your rigorous academic course load, studying and the occasional nap or two (a college essential), you will find at first glance that you have a lot of free time.
CHARGED this week with writing a few pearls of wisdom for the incoming class, I thought deeply about what I wanted to say.
FUTURE first years, I wanted to write to talk a little about joining the University community and try to share some wisdom that was helpful to me in the hope that you may find some use for it.
WORKING in Charlottesville this summer has been incredibly enjoyable and memorable for me, not simply because of the beautiful weather and relaxed social scene, but also the influx of incoming students.
NEARLY two years ago when I first arrived at U.Va., I was not thinking about how I was attending the best public university in the nation, or that I was in the best city in the nation in which to live, according to Frommer's.
IF YOU'RE like the rest of college-bound America, you likely received at least three or four handbooks entitled "Things Every Freshman Must Know Before They End Up Failing and Friendless" or other such nonsense as graduation gifts.
BRACE yourself, I am about to say something unheard of in the Thomas Jefferson-devoted, orange and blue bleeding, Good Ol' Song singing world of Charlottesville: I never wanted to go to the University of Virginia.
WHILE the liberal media elite has been going gaga over attack dog Michael Moore for his partisan productions like "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Bowling for Columbine," it has overlooked the emergence of a socially significant genre known as the "Blacksploitation" film.
BEFORE I start disseminating my "elderly advice," I first want to tell all of you congratulations.
I AM A RACIST. In two years, four semesters and countless hours of studying anything from the laws of supply and demand to Greek and Roman warfare, I came to this shocking -- and invaluable -- epiphany. As a proponent of affirmative action, a die-hard liberal, a member of Sustained Dialogue (a group dedicated to an open discussion of race) and even a member of the Mahogany Dance Troupe, making an accusation against myself that is normally reserved for men like David Duke and Strom Thurmond seems shocking.