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Headlines @ U.Va.
U.Va.’s Case for Race
As lawyers debated race-conscious admissions before the Supreme
Court last week, the Christian Science Monitor examined how diversifying
the student body affected the University. The core question: Does
diversity really promote better learning? The article described
the University as dramatically different than it was 40 years
ago, before women and blacks enrolled in significant numbers.
Said constitutional law professor W. Edmund Moomaw, executive
director of U.Va.’s Office of Institutional Assessment and
Studies, “I graduated in 1961, but I tell my students the
University of Virginia today is the best it has ever been. And
a lot of that has to do with the fact that we have a diversity
of students.”
—Christian Science Monitor,
April 1
O’Neil:
Offensive Speech Still Free
Columbia University anthropology professor Nicolas De Genova recently
took the stage at an anti-war rally and advocated the defeat of
U.S. forces in Iraq, and added later his desire for “more
Mogadishus.” While the remarks drew the enmity of the nation,
Robert M. O’Neil, director of U.Va.’s Thomas Jefferson
Center for the Protection of Free Expression, appeared on Fox
News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” and defended De
Genova’s speech as part of the tradition of academic freedom.
“If what is reported is what he actually said, it strikes
me as tragically misguided. It’s a position of which I would
certainly strongly disagree. ... But we don’t fire professors
for making outrageous statements.”
— Fox News, “The O’Reilly Factor,” March
31
The
Enemy of My Enemy…
Saddam Hussein wasn’t always the object of vilification by
U.S. presidents. In fact, in the days of the Iranian Revolution
and the Iran-Iraq war, the U.S. sought to cultivate Saddam as
an ally, despite his human rights record. Strategists hoped he
could be reformed into a serviceable regional replacement for
the deposed, westward-leaning Shah of Iran.
“The
U.S. backed [Saddam] with the understanding that this was not
a lovely guy,” said foreign policy expert Taylor Fain of
U.Va.’s Miller Center of Public Affairs. “We thought
that by becoming engaged with him and making him dependent on
the U.S., we could moderate Saddam’s behavior. That, of course,
never happened.”
— Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger,
April 3
Beyond
the playing field
Sports agents can wreak havoc on college athletics, luring star
(and not-quite-star) players with cash and goodies well before
their eligibility expires. Such advances can lead to sanctions
against universities and financial peril for the players.
U.Va.
football coach Al Groh recently convened a seminar for his players
to educate them on issues of representation, drawing upon his
NFL connections to bring in a players’ union rep, a respected
agent and an NFL executive.
“By
exposing [players] to some of the gentlemen in that business,
we’re letting them know that there are reputable guys. …
Can I prevent contact? No. Can I prevent agreements being made
that shouldn’t be made? That’s up to the players, but
if they’re knowledgeable about the process and practices
of different agents, they’ll be the ones who protect us.”
— Boston Globe, March 23
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