Name: Kate Bagby
Year: 3rd
Hometown: Paoli, PA
Major: Economics and History

What activities are you involved in ?

I’m currently entering my second year as a counsel for the University Judiciary Committee, and was a First Year Judge for the UJC during my first year.  UJC is a student run organization that investigates and tries students who have allegedly violated the University’s Standards of Conduct.  I’m also a guide for the University Guide Service, a volunteer student organization that gives historical tours five times a day and admissions tours twice a day, seven days a week. 

I’m also a member of the sorority Kappa Delta, which I rushed and joined the second semester of my first year.  At UVA, students are only allowed to join a fraternity or sorority after at least one full semester as a student.  I think spring recruitment is a huge advantage to students planning on rushing or joining the Greek system.  It allows students to adjust to college and comfortably make the transition from home to dorm life without having to worry about the rush process and all that it entails.  By joining second semester, I was able to form solid friendships with people in my dorm and organizations that I might not have had I joined my sorority the first semester of college.

Have you taken a University Seminar? Which one? Why?

In my first semester as a first year, I took the USEM “The Black and White Sixties”, with Julian Bond.  USEMs are classes restricted to about fifteen first year students, the topics ranging from “Science Fiction and Environmental Literacy,” to “The Biology of Consciousness.” They’re taught by well-known professors in their fields, and are not restricted to the schools students are enrolled in, such as the School of Architecture or School of Engineering – any first year can take any USEM.  I saw on the course offering directory that Julian Bond taught a larger class of about 160 students that was open to the entire student body, and I knew that if I did not take this small seminar, I wouldn’t have another chance in the near future to be in such an intimate classroom environment with such a significant historical figure.  After all, when do you get another opportunity to be one of fifteen students learning about the civil rights movement from the Chairman of the NAACP?

How is college different from high school?

Besides being academic institutions, colleges and high schools have very little in common.  In high school, most things are regulated by an authority figure, whether it’s by parents, teachers or coaches.  Even as upperclassmen in high school, in many ways students are still treated as children.  Sure, they have more responsibilities and have a later curfew, but the curfew is still there, whether literally or figuratively.  Although the beginning of college is only separated by a few months from the end of high school, the changes that they force students to make within themselves are monumental.  No longer do students have teachers reminding you to do homework or stay on top of the reading.  In college, a professor just assumes that the work will get done. 

I realize that many people coming into college, myself included, worry about the workload and if they will be able to handle it.  While you are completely responsible for time management, the work itself is more rewarding.  Because students can choose their classes more freely and concentrate in their areas of interest, the work can feel less burdensome.  I’ve also found that busywork is eliminated in college, so that the work students are doing is more concentrated and directed.  In a typical class you might have only a few papers, a midterm and final exam to comprise your grade – a far cry from a typical high school class.

Above everything, college is a first step towards total independence as an adult.  Suddenly, there are no more curfews, no more dance recitals and no more early morning school bells.  Each semester and each day is a blank slate for students to assume the responsibilities that really matter to them, and not what might to their guidance counselors in high schools.

What are the arts like at U.Va.?

The arts are a vibrant part of student life here. Every student has sixty "arts" dollars which allow them to see plays and films at the annual Virginia film festival at no charge. I went to several plays during my first year with friends. We also have a fine arts library which is free to students and is centrally located on Grounds. Outside of the University, the arts are also very prominent in the Charlottesville community. We have a variety of movie theaters, including one that plays exclusively foreign and independent films as well as a jazz club and Starr Hill, which hosts musicians such as Pat McGee Band on a regular basis.

The arts in Charlottesville really are thriving, and I don’t think that Charlottesville would be the city it is if it weren’t for the University of Virginia.  There are so many small venues that local artists play in regularly, as well as large University owned concert halls and stadiums that sell out for large name bands.  Historic Charlottesville, which is a pedestrian walkway flanked by shops and restaurants, has a new outdoor arena called the Pavilion, where local as well as nationally known bands and artists perform regularly.

U.VA. itself provides students with many opportunities to get involved with the arts, whether it is through Lunchbox Performances, where every Wednesday students or faculty, regardless of their backgrounds, can perform in our Music Department’s auditorium.  In addition, students are given $75 worth of Arts Dollars every semester, $60 of which can be used for various music and drama performances throughout the semester, and $15 goes towards film, which can be used at the Virginia Film Festival held each fall.

How would you describe the students that attend U.Va.?

Because U.VA. has a substantial undergraduate population of about 13,000 students, the student body is diverse not only culturally and socio-economically, but also politically.  Despite the differing views and backgrounds of the students, I think that all students here are tied by their love of the school.  Whether talking to an alumnus of 50 years or a current second year student, I’ve found that U.VA students are tied to this school indefinitely. 

Students here are some of the most driven people I’ve ever met.  Yet their intelligence and will to succeed does not drown other parts of their lives.  I’ve found that most people at U.VA. have a subtle intelligence, for while they may be an absolute brilliant mathematician or political thinker, they won’t make it blazingly apparent.  We have a saying here that we work hard and play hard, and students are constantly striving to maintain that balance.