THE CONCEPT of "survival of the fittest" applies to more than just evolution. The phenomenon can be seen in the academic arena: First year pre-med wannabes who are at the bottom of the curve in the introductory chemistry classes realize that majoring in art history might be a better option.
AS MANY of you know, President John T. Casteen III directed the Strategic Planning Task Force to develop goals for the Department of Athletics that address a number of different areas, but the one which is making the news has to do with the financial model, which is supposed to reflect the next 20 years.
WITH THE end of the semester appearing on the horizon, it felt appropriate to break out my renowned powers of observation and foresight to predict what might happen with a few upcoming issues over this summer of 2001.
DURING his 2000 State of the University speech, President John T. Casteen III relayed a quote by John Ciardi: "A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students." Casteen claims that's not what the University is now, and it's not where it's heading, yet many actions of this University have indicated precisely the opposite. Rather than a treatise on the responsibility of the University to teach students, the speech was mere window dressing for big business 101.
THE UNIVERSITY was flooded with thousands of guests from near and far for the Dave Mathews Band concert last weekend.
M ANY PEOPLE may have been won- dering where the police force was after the Dave Matthews Band concert.
SCHOOLS generally don't try to fail. Perhaps there are a few ill-intentioned educators out there, but common sense and experience suggest that most teachers and administrators want their schools to succeed.
I HAVE watched with sadness over the years as competing perceptions of Thomas Jef- ferson have served to divide our community along racial lines.
LIKE CHRISTMAS in April, Republican lawmakers in Richmond are enjoying visions of spoils resulting from newly redrawn district lines in the Commonwealth.
ONE OF the best feelings in the world is the relief of finishing final exams. Unfortunately, this feeling is soon ended by a trip to the bookstore, where you find out just how little your books are worth.
THE MORE I hear about Government Prof. James Sofka's peremptory dismissal from the government department, the more confused I become.
TURNS OUT that the execution will be televised after all. On May 16, almost 300 survivors and relatives of victims of the Oklahoma City bombing will watch on closed-circuit television as Timothy McVeigh is strapped to a table and given a series of lethal injections.
WHETHER you're a fraternity brother, a sorority sister, an avid attendee of Greek functions, a person who despises the Greek system or a Mennonite who doesn't wear zippers, you should take a serious look at the University's decision to help fund high speed Internet connections in fraternity and sorority houses.
INSTITUTIONAL memory can be a tricky thing. For the average student, it probably runs about five or six years at the most.
TALKING sex isn't sexy because social conservatives make it a taboo topic. It's time we change this. The federal government, according to an American Psychological Association report, subsidized $250 million in education that only teaches abstinence in 1999 and it continues to do so.
ONE of my favorite CDs was put out in 1993 by a hard rock band from Wisconsin. A line from one particular song's chorus comes to mind whenever the latest cause du jour pops into the headlines: "You can't change the world." Granted, this line was used in reference to alcoholism, but it has become a personal motto of sorts. I used to bemoan the lack of student involvement with issues surrounding the University.
THIS is my last column as The Cavalier Daily's ombudsman. It has been an honor and a privilege to be given free rein to critique this paper for a year - in public, at that.
IF WORDS had a texture, "no" would be sandpaper - coarse, spike-adorned sandpaper. Fourth years shouldn't say "no" to the class gift. As adults, we've realized through experience the power "no" can convey, but even little children recognize its abrasive nature as they torment their parents behind two-year old giggling.
EVERY year around this time, as warm beautiful days become common outside, many University students are stuck in Alderman Library researching for papers.
WOMEN have always had it rough. Despite the fact that we make up half of the world's population, no group has been as universally, quietly and consistently discriminated against throughout history.
