UVA Community Garden

Many things in life go unnoticed even though I pass by them every single day. For instance, the UVa Community Garden at the northwest corner of the intersection of Alderman and McCormick. I see it all the time, but I've never really paid attention. Intro to Urban and Environmental Planning has changed that. Last Thursday a group of students took a "field trip" to learn more about the Garden and to see how it works. I wasn't on said field trip, but I've been doing my research.

I had no idea the UVa Community Garden did as much as it did. Not only is the garden, which was founded last August, a food source for the volunteers who work there, it's also a food source to area food shelters and the Campus Kitchen project at Runk, which donates surplus food to those who need it. The Garden also brings a bunch of people from various backgrounds together in pursuit of a common goal. Any student, staff or faculty member can volunteer at the Garden and reap its benefits.

Following the spirit of Mr. Jefferson, the University's most famous farmer, the UVa Community Garden serves as a place to learn, be active with the community and harvest.

 

http://uvagarden.wordpress.com/

 

To Work or not to Work? That is the dilemma...

Yesterday I attended a panel discussing the pros and cons about working during college, entitled Is it Worth It? Can You Work It?

From what I listened to, yes it is possible to work during your undergraduate career, it takes a good amount of balancing and prioritizing, but the benefits can be extremely rewarding.

Of course you get paid for your work, but the people you meet and the connections you may make as an employee are far greater than your paycheck.

One panelist said she works for Alderman library, checking out books. One day she began conversing with a graduate student who was checking out a book in a specific field she was interested in. As the two continued to talk, the graduate student was able to offer a internship to her in this particular field of study.

Each panelist had similar stories of  various connections they made with people who lead them to internships or other jobs. The saying, it's not what you know, but who you know was stressed at this meeting. Working on grounds has its many perks. You are able to interact with faculty, your peers, and older students, who can serve as your mentors. When applying to graduate school or a job, employers and schools ask for letters of recommendation. An employer in college can be a great source of recommendations because they can attest to your work skills, which employers would like to know about alongside your academic performance.

After going to this very informative meeting, I am sure I will seek employment through UVa my 2nd year. It will be nice to make a little extra cash but even more rewarding to make various connections that can lead to my career in the future.

-VG

Deserted Charlottesville this weekend? I don’t think so!

With the majority of students anticipating the reading days this coming week, bags are starting to be packed and dirty laundry collected to bring home to mom.  Although it feels like grounds will be fairly empty over the break, don’t let this fool you to think that Charlottesville is closing up during this time!  From the O’hill trails walk this Friday, to the 30^th Annual Fall Festival on Saturday at Oakland Baptist Church, and the City Market which is open every Saturday, there is no doubt that Charlottesville won’t be empty.  I have yet to go to the City Market but that remains on my list of “things-to-do”.  Consisting of various vendors selling produce, baked goods, and crafts, the Charlottesville City Market seems like a fun opportunity to experience something completely different.  Meanwhile, since the market is in downtown Charlottesville, you can finish the day off with some shopping, watching a movie, or enjoying some non-dining hall food at a small restaurant.  I know if I was staying in town this weekend, I would definitely not miss out on these opportunities and would hop on the trolley to explore the other side of Charlottesville, off-grounds!

Visit http://www.charlottesvillecitymarket.com/ to find out more details on the local city market!

-AB 

Behind the Prestige

Following Mayor Norris' visit to our class, I have really been thinking about UVA in a new light. It is easy to get caught up in the hype of UVA: the new people, classes and parties. Although UVA has a stigma of being a wealthy and snobby community, there is more to UVA and the Charlottesville Community than just Polo Ralph Lauren, Sperry's and pearls. During a Friday night stroll through the Corner, I witnessed a glimpse of the Charlottesville poverty Mayor Norris was talking about. There was a striking middle-aged man with stringy white hair, black tights, a cut-off black t-shirt, and high heeled boots roaming the corner. His presence was alarming. He was ranting derogatory names toward a police officer who said he needed a light for his bike. The reason I felt so astonished by the man was because it was out of normal UVA culture. I had somehow forgotten that Charlottesville has a diverse culture full of poverty aside from its prestige. Now that we are residents of the Charlottesville community, it is important that we engage ourselves in the issues that Charlottesville faces. The Madison House would be a great venue to make a difference in the lives of Charlottesville residents who are plagued by poverty. - Mina Asghari

The Housing Search Begins

Due to an unofficial UVA tradition, students feel pressured to start signing leases for off-grounds housing on October 1^st or any date close to that. Ask anybody on the Housing Staff, however, and you will get advice much different than this. They will tell you to not consider signing a lease until early 2011 or at the very least until December. While it is true that the most competitive apartments along JPA may go soon, there are plenty of apartments that will still be available in January. Perhaps the most important consideration when looking for housing for next year is roommates. Finding four people that will tolerate each other is hard enough; it is even harder to find four people that will still tolerate each other after a full year in close quarters.

Another consideration is on-grounds or off-grounds housing. While it is true that an apartment will give more freedom, that comes at the price of more responsibility. I am sure many UVA students could tell horror stories about their greedy landlords. On-grounds housing does offer apartment style housing, which is also at a significantly lower price than most apartments. Though there would be an RA, I truly doubt that a lot of freedom will be lost at all. At this point my best advice would be to really not worry too much about housing, but do apply for on-grounds in December.

UVA and Sexual Orientation

On September 22, Tyler Clementi, a student at Rutgers University in New Jersey, committed suicide after his roommate posted a video online of him having sexual encounters with another man. Besides the news media closely following the incident, popular culture broadcasts have been raising their voice as well regarding the situation. MTV News and Ellen DeGeneres both put together informative pieces dealing with violence and oppression of gay individuals, especially through digital media. Tragedies similar to Clementi’s are not unusual, and discrimination towards homosexual individuals has made its way into the UVA community as well. Last year, there were a couple incidents in which students were beaten up on the basis of their sexual orientation and appearance. One of the violent incidents that Dean Groves informed the student body of last week involved a UVA student being punched in the neck on Chancellor Street on the night of September 18^th. It is believed that the victim was attacked due to his sexual orientation. Obviously these attacks and assaults are not rare and affect our university directly.  As young students, we are here to learn not just about our majors, but about ourselves and each other. This means accepting differences whether they are on the basis of political opinions, race, gender, sexual orientation, abilities etc. Hearing about the Rutgers and UVA occurrences alike is deeply disturbing to me. I would hate to think that this type of outward hatred and oppression towards our peers is present here. But apparently it is. We are not at this place for four years just to regress in terms of acceptance for others. Our social awareness needs a great amount of work as a whole if something of this sort just happened last week near Grounds.

Sydney

Time to Vote

It’s that time of year again: the temperature drops, the blue sky becomes clouded, the leaves begin to fall, and campaign ads populate our favorite shows. As is always the case around late September into October, we’re bombarded with campaigning politicians and paid actors telling us why “so-and-so” is great and his or her opponent is going to take their money and their rights. All campaigning aside, I think that voting is a great, relatively easy way to get involved in politics without having to knock on doors or hand out flyers. It often forces you to weigh the issues and form opinions, which then direct you to consider who will best represent and voice those opinions. Some may have already registered to vote in the Virginia elections, which is great, but for those of us who are out of state, you can also register to vote absentee. Generally what this means is you request a ballot to be sent to your UVa address from your home state and then you mail back your votes within a few days of the November elections. It’s a fairly simple process and it allows you to have a voice in who will take office in your home state. If you’re not able to vote in this election, I would encourage you to take advantage of one or more of the many different facets that exist to engage our political system, which is everything from debating issues with your peers to volunteering on a campaign to contacting one of your representatives.-MA