How to wrap a tuition increase

UVA’s Board of Visitors approved a tuition increase on April 12. That means UVA in-staters will pay 8.3 percent more per year ($655) in tuition and fees, bringing their yearly total to $16,133; out-of-staters are due for 7 percent more ($1,805), yielding a $35,383 annual total. Luckily, nobody puts a positive spin on a tuition […]

T.J.'s b-day

Dear Ace: I noticed that UVA and Monticello are commemorating Jefferson’s birthday on Friday, and I got to wondering: How would Thomas Jefferson have celebrated?—Celia Brating Celia: Images of T.J. in a pointy hat, hopped up on Sprite and Doritos, tearing open presents with abandon and harassing a party clown are certainly tempting to conjure, […]

Black is white

O.K., kids, pop quiz: In the last few weeks one member of Virginia’s U.S. Senate delegation issued a statement condemning the homophobic views of General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Pace had publicly opined that homosexual acts are immoral). He then proceeded to pile on embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales […]

Correction from previous issue

Due to a data entry error, the write-up in last week’s calendar for the April 6 David Sedaris reading at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing Arts Center incorrectly included the phone number for the Wilson School of Dance. We hope that fans of Sedaris’ humor appreciated the mix-up, and we commend the good-natured way […]

Robin Campo and Cynthia Burke

art Realism is back—at least that’s the impression given by two shows, by Robin Campo and Cynthia Burke, currently at McGuffey. Within a postmodern context, the quest to faithfully represent the world finds two quite different champions in these artists, a sculptor and painter respectively. Campo’s show, “Offering,” tends more toward the deadpan, while Burke’s […]

The Blood Brothers, with Celebration and Ultra Dolphins

music There are new fliers around the Satellite Ballroom tonight: Two hang loosely from the PA system near the stage, a third sits above the bar and all of them read: “Have Fun. No Stage Diving. No Crowd Surfing.” Danny Shea, manager of Plan 9’s Corner location and booking agent for the Ballroom, says that […]

Folk Music for the End of the World

cd A friend recently mentioned how he couldn’t help but listen to depressing music. “I try to find upbeat stuff, but I always end up going back to really sad music,” he said. “It’s just better.” He has a point. Unless you’re out for a rousing night on the town, pensive and existential music is […]

Grand jury indicts White supremacist

An Earlysville man known as one of the neo-Nazi movement’s prominent leaders has been indicted for soliciting sex from a minor, in addition to several counts of child pornography and obstruction of justice. Federal prosecutors allege that Kevin Alfred Strom, 50, used the Internet to try to persuade a 10-year-old girl to engage in sexual […]

Teacher accused of child sex crimes

Neal Willetts, recent graduate of the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education and former social studies teacher at Western Albemarle High School, is facing federal charges of sexual enticement and exploitation of minors. Initial proceedings April 4 resulted in a ruling by Judge B. Waugh Crigler that Willetts, 26, should remain in custody until […]