By Claudia Gohn The postponement of this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo (moved to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic) has disrupted the plans of athletes around the world—including several right here in Charlottesville. Ella Nelson, a University of Virginia swimmer and rising second-year, is one of many UVA athletes who were competing for […]
UVA
Cut off: UVA Health furloughs hundreds of employees
COVID-19 has stripped the pockets of businesses all around Charlottesville, including one of the city’s biggest: The University of Virginia Health System. Since the onset of the pandemic, the health system has lost $85 million per month due to a sharp decrease in surgeries and clinic visits. To offset these losses, it announced April 28 […]
Credit check: UVA students protest new grading policy
With courses moved online for a significant portion of the spring semester, colleges across the country have had to decide on the fairest way to grade students in the midst of the ongoing pandemic. While some institutions, like Yale and Columbia, have opted for mandatory pass/fail policies, others, like the University of Virginia, have implemented […]
In brief: Deadly disparities, graduation guesses, and more
Deadly disparities While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected people of all backgrounds across the globe, statistics show that it has had a disproportionate impact on black Americans. Data is limited, because only about 35 percent of U.S. cases specify a patient’s race, according to the CDC. But [...]
In brief: Church amidst coronavirus, feeding the frontlines, and more
Creative worship in the age of corona Pastor Harold Bare was met with an unusual scene when he stood in front of his congregation on Easter Sunday—a barrage of car horns during a Facebook-streamed drive-in service, which welcomed congregants to decorate their vehicles and watch Bare’s sermon [...]
Shut down: UVA’s dining hall employees unceremoniously dumped by Aramark
By Sydney Halleman When Cece Cowan first heard about Aramark Dining Services, the company that contracts with UVA to staff its dining halls, she was impressed. Cowan liked the global reach of the company and its potential relocation opportunities, especially Georgia, where she wanted to buy a [...]
Funny words: Expanding how we learn about sexuality
By Lisa Speidel What is the right way to talk about human sexuality? This debate is as timely and fiercely contentious as ever. Whether sex education is coming from parents or schools, many disagree on what is appropriate content. In the United States, each state mandates what is acceptable for [...]
Saying goodbye: Margaret O’Bryant on 30 years at the historical society
For most of her life, Margaret O’Bryant has called the library home. After receiving a master’s degree in library science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she worked in libraries at Ferrum College, Lenoir-Rhyne College, and UVA, later moving to the reference department at [...]
High spirits: A scientist and inventor perfects the art and craft of distilling
Robin Felder sees connections. For instance, when he installed the 250-gallon solid copper still at his and his wife Mary’s hilltop home near North Garden, he knew that the high-tech machine would need a considerable water source to cool and condense the evaporated alcohol into the final, [...]
Five years later: What has (or hasn’t) changed at UVA since Rolling Stone?
On November 19, 2014, Rolling Stone magazine dropped a bombshell called “A Rape on Campus: A Brutal Assault and Struggle for Justice at UVA.” Written by Sabrina Rubin Erdely, the article alleged that a UVA student named Jackie was gang raped at a party by members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity [...]
Natural high: A mountaintop home in Albemarle lets the outdoors in
The couple was living in Boston when they started looking for an architect to build their house on a mountaintop in Albemarle County. It would have to be a unique design, one that meshed with their reverence for nature and rigorous commitment to personal fitness (he’s a serious hiker and [...]
In brief: Not public domain, not homophobic, not best state to work, and more
Monticello not pleased The website of Ronnie Roberts, independent candidate for Albemarle sheriff, used one of the county’s most iconic images—Monticello—in its background. The only problem is, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns the mountaintop manse, does not allow images of the house [...]
An opportunity to lead: Will UVA follow through on its promises?
By Richard Dickerson I am a native of Charlottesville. I attended all-black Jefferson Elementary School, Johnson and McGuffey elementary schools, Buford Junior High, and Lane High School, class of 1973. Many things have changed since I left Charlottesville, shortly after graduation. The [...]
In brief: Beto’s back, Scott Stadium watering holes, candidate banned, and more
Beto shows up—again Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke made a second visit to Charlottesville August 31. O’Rourke, who is trailing in the crowded Dem field, hit Champion Brewing to support former School Board chair Amy Laufer, who is running to unseat state Senator Bryce Reeves. He [...]
Controlling the narrative: Panel looks at black Charlottesville’s stories
Why Charlottesville was targeted by a white supremacist rally, ostensibly to protest the removal of a Confederate statue, has led to several theories. That was the starting point for a panel sponsored by the UVA library August 12, two years after the Unite the Right rally. “Beyond the statues: [...]
Food with a view: Five great places to feast your eyes while you satisfy your hunger
Whether you’re kicking back with a cocktail or tucking into a hearty meal, a great view always enhances the moment. You may be on a patio in the country, gazing at a distant mountain ridge, or on a cozy porch in the city, surrounded by strings of sparkling party lights. Whatever your vantage [...]
Muzzled: Free speech wall creator shuts down
During its heyday, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression was known for calling out censorship with its Muzzle awards and for launching the Downtown Mall’s Free Speech Wall in 2006, where luminaries like John Grisham and Dahlia Lithwick turned out to chalk the first [...]
Gaston’s history: Idealism spurred civil rights activist
When Paul Gaston came to the University of Virginia in 1957, it was overwhelmingly white and male, and segregation was the order of the day. And that’s why the young history professor and early civil rights activist chose it for his life’s work. He brought Martin Luther King Jr. to Old Cabell [...]
Slower but steady: Cornering the summer market
By Caroline Eastham During the summer, the UVA student population dwindles from near 25,000 to around 4,000. Despite this significant decrease, it’s business as usual for many Corner restaurants and stores, which have learned over the years to use this time as an opportunity to cater to [...]
Last call for U-Hall
By Carroll Trainum On Thursday, May 16, at least a hundred people stood in line at the demolition site of University Hall—the former hub of UVA basketball—to get a brick. They all had their own memories of U-Hall, known to some as “the house that Ralph built,” and they wanted a piece of [...]
Beta Bridge’s tradition of expression
By Kate Granruth If you’re driving down Rugby Road on the way to Grounds, you can’t miss it. The bridge over the train tracks-—better known as Beta Bridge—somewhat resembles a Jackson Pollock painting. The walls and surrounding sidewalk are always covered in bright paint and an ever-changing [...]
On becoming a Hoo: Why Charlottesville’s best-known student activist said yes to UVA
By Zyahna Bryant Attending UVA in the fall is an opportunity for me to redefine what “home” looks and feels like. I initially did research about UVA when I was in 5th grade, and I knew then that that was where I wanted to go. It was not until 10th grade that I even considered […]
Running strong: A few words with UVA’s president at the end of his first year
UVA President Jim Ryan, a law school alum and former faculty member, took office August 1, just before the anniversary of the Unite the Right violence. As the year went on, he announced a new School of Data Science and watched the men’s basketball team take home its first-ever national [...]