Tuesday, October 31
Currying favor
The Curry School at UVA escaped the scathing admonishment of education schools in a Washington Post piece today, which reported on the shoddy state of ed programs across the country. David F. Labaree, an educational historian at Stanford, wrote in his book: “The ed school is the butt of jokes in the university, where professors portray it as an intellectual wasteland.” But, the piece excepts UVA’s Curry School, because it offers a five-year degree program with students teaching full-time their fifth year. One in 12 bachelor’s degrees awarded nationwide are in education, as are a quarter of master’s degrees, the article reports.
Wednesday, November 1
Sore lesson
Former Albemarle High School student and computer whiz Christopher Soghoian was picked up by the FBI late last week for creating a website that could produce fake Northwest Airlines boarding passes, The Washington Post reports today. The student wanted to expose a loophole in airline security—the passes were convincing enough to let a terrorist through security checkpoints, but not through the electronic scanners that allow passengers to board a plane. Soghoian’s house in Bloomington, Indiana, was searched and his computers were confiscated by the FBI and Transportation Security Administration. Soghoian graduated early from AHS and is currently a doctoral student at Indiana University’s School of Informatics.
Thursday, November 2
Curse of the Deamon Deacon
The UVA men’s soccer team has been on the verge of greatness all season long. The Cavaliers, ranked No. 3 nationally with a 14-3-1 record, advanced to the semifinals of the ACC tournament, after shutting out Clemson 2-0, thanks to goals by Adam Cristman and Yannick Reyering, and a shut-out from goalkeeper Ryan Burke. But in the semifinals, UVA ran into this year’s nemesis, Wake Forest. The Deamon Deacons beat the Cavs on their last game of the season and knocked them out during the semifinals in a game decided by penalty kicks. Despite the loss, UVA will likely earn a place in the NCAA tournament.
Friday, November 3
Ball-gazing
Larry Sabato released his “crystal ball” election predictions today, and it’s another thumbs up for a Democratic congressional takeover, WCAV-TV reports. “We edge this slightly to Webb because we have to pay attention to the last four surveys that have come out including one last night that have Webb up,” Sabato told the Charlottesville Newsplex. Sabato’s not the only one calling the tight congressional race for the Dems. Evans-Novak on Human Events Online, a conservative weekly journal, wrote that Senator George Allen has “gotten his own hands too dirty in what is by far the dirtiest Senate race of 2006.” The piece compared Allen’s tactics to those that led to the fall of Republican Jerry Kilgore to Tim Kaine in the 2005 gubernatorial race.
Saturday, November 4
To every season…
UVA shut out against Florida State? Bowl hopes dependent on beating both Miami and Virginia Tech? Leave those football woes and join the basketball bandwagon. The basketball Cavaliers played their first exhibition game today against Augusta State, and while it was a 78-63 triumph, Head Coach Dave Leitao couldn’t be thrilled with 24 turnovers. Posters to the fan site www.thesabre.com were cautiously optimistic following the game, but not all were thrilled with the new John Paul Jones Arena: “Way too much of an NBA-feel,” writes nocamhoo. “Hopefully a packed house/student presence will make it feel more like a college joint.” We’ll see what UVA can muster when Arizona visits November 12.
Sunday, November 5
DMB: Stand up for your rights
The Dave Matthews Band this weekend joined acts like String Cheese Incident, O.A.R. and The Disco Biscuits for Headcount.org’s “get out and vote” campaign, as reported by MTV.com. The nonpartisan, nonprofit program seeks to send 1 million e-mails to encourage young people to exercise their democratic rights. As if Virginia’s marriage amendment referendum weren’t convincing enough, some of us now will have a personal note from Dave telling us to hike it to the voting booths on Tuesday.
Monday, November 6
Rolling in Staunton
Central Virginia is no stranger to playing backdrop in films, and a new Charlottesville-based production company has pledged to set its movies exclusively in our state. Barry R. Sisson, producer of 2003’s indie favorite The Station Agent, is shooting a new movie in Staunton, the Daily News Record online reports today. Disconnected, a family comedy about grown children who return home for Thanksgiving, uses the Whitmore Grocery in Broadway, Virginia. Other settings include the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton. The film is the first project from Sisson’s new Cavalier Films, which seeks to use real, and not rented, settings in Virginia.
