UVA Today News Blog

Virginia Sailing competing in the 2013 ICSA Coed Dinghy Semifinals

The Sailing Association at the University of Virginia — a student-run club sports team open to all U.Va. students — recently qualified for the 2013 College Sailing Spring National Championship, the first time the U.Va. club has qualified for the national finals.

During a semifinal back in April, a team comprised of then-fourth-year Gordon Wolcott, third-years Chris Stessing and Ellen Hubbard, second-year Hannah Varden and first-years Caitlin Grumbling and Sam Patterson traveled to the ICSA Coed Dinghy Semi-Finals at Old Dominion University and took ninth, good enough to qualify for the Gill/ICSA Coed Dingy National Finals on May 28-30.

The team practices at Lake Anna, about a 45-minute drive from Grounds, where it has a fleet of nine FJ boats.

Stessing and Hubbard recently sent along these accounts of going through semifinals and qualifying for nationals.

Chris Stessing – Commodore:

“Although we are only a club sport here at U.Va., the ICSA (Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association, the highest level of sailing available to college athletes) sees varsity and club teams in the same light. This mean that everyone weekend we compete against the top teams in the country who are fully funded, have multiple coaches and practice five days a week. It is a very tall order for us to be able to sail at the level of these other teams seeing that we practice at most once a week, and have a volunteer coach that only meets us on the weekend. Everything else is done by the sailors on the team from administrative duties to finding vehicles to take each weekend around the country and running our own practices.

When I came to U.Va. it was a far-out dream to even qualify out of our conference (MAISA – Mid Atlantic Inter-collegiate Sailing Association) to make it to the semifinals of the National Championship. Our “A” skipper Gordon Wolcott and I (“B” skipper) have long been talking about how cool it would be to make this happen and it still feels surreal.

Sailing at the semifinals felt slightly out of place when we arrived. The top 36 teams in the country arrived all in large 15-passenger vans with their head coach, assistant coach and a full team of starters and backups of at least 10 sailors. They were all wearing their provided team gear and looked really official. We were definitely out-matched off the water with our six sailors showing up in a small SUV with our assistant coach in tow. Even though we may have been outclassed off the water, the actual racing takes place on the water and it was clear from the first start that we were good enough to hang with the top teams in the country. After the first day of racing with a great performance from Gordon (winning one race), U.Va. was in seventh with the top nine teams qualifying for the finals. The second day of the regatta started off great with me winning a race in B division and us moving into the top five. Things quickly changed as the wind picked up and the increased level of fitness of the varsity teams took over in the breezy, more physically demanding conditions. We slid all the way to ninth place and had to fight off the 10th-place team in the last two races of the regatta.

In the end we were in disbelief at the accomplishment that we had achieved, and it is still hard to wrap my head around the level we have achieved with so many odds against us. For the first time ever, U.Va. is a ranked team in the country (18th), and we are sailing at the final round of our sport’s national championship. I hope we can represent U.Va. well!

From left: Chris Stessing, Caitlin Grumbling, Hannah Varden, Ellen Hubbard, Alexandra Brenin, Gordon Wolcott, Sam Patterson, and KC Fullmer.

Ellen Hubbard – Co-Captain:

We are all very excited to have the opportunity to compete with the best of the best down in Florida. Going to semifinals was an accomplishment in and of itself, and it was electrifying being in Hampton once we realized we were moving on to the finals. Sitting among some of the best college sailors in the country at the closing awards and now among them in the rankings at No. 18 will undoubtedly remain highlights of my time at U.Va., and I’m sure the rest of the team would say the same.

The team will be practicing twice a day for the week leading up to the championship, which may be more practice than we have had the luxury of conducting all year! This is the first time in school history that the sailing team has competed in either the semifinals or the finals of the co-ed ICSA national championship, and we are enjoying every minute.

For more, visit the Virginia Sailing website.

News | Monday, May 20th | By: Rob Seal @3:51 pm | 0 Comments     

Among the many impressive images from Final Exercises this weekend were photographs of mortarboards decorated by members of the Class of 2013.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest written record of the term “mortarboard” (as it applies to graduation hats, anyway) came in 1854 in “The Further Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, An Oxford Under-Graduate” by Cuthbert Bede.

In it, the author describes the mortarboard as an “academical cap,” a term we suspect Mr. Jefferson would have approved of. So here’s a look at the academical caps worn at the Academical Village during Final Exercises 2013. Click for bigger versions.

Any favorites?

(Photos: Cole Geddy and Justin Ide)

News | Sunday, May 19th | By: Rob Seal @4:03 pm | 3 Comments     

Here’s a time-lapse view of a past Final Exercises graduation ceremony, courtesy of the Rotunda Cam.

(Or click here if it doesn’t play automatically.)

News | Friday, May 17th | By: Rob Seal @11:52 am | 3 Comments     

The University’s staff photographers have been visiting the Lawn this week, documenting the changes taking place in preparation for Final Exercises 2013. Staff photographer Cole Geddy took these shots on Wednesday and Thursday. See a post from earlier this week for comparisons. Click for bigger versions.

News | Thursday, May 16th | By: Rob Seal @4:12 pm | 0 Comments     

The preparations for Final Exercises 2013 are in full swing this week. University of Virginia staff photographer Cole Geddy took these pictures on the Lawn as work continued Tuesday. Click for bigger versions.

Of course, those working to transform the Lawn aren’t the only ones getting ready. Fellow U.Va. photographer Dan Addison put together a GIF to capture the sentiment among members of the Class of 2013.

Want a live look on the Lawn? Check the RotundaCam.

News | Tuesday, May 14th | By: Rob Seal @3:33 pm | 1 Comment     

Meg Jay, an assistant clinical professor in the Curry School of Education, delivered a TED talk back in February that was just posted online.

In it, she discusses why 30 is not the new 20, and says 20-somethings need to make the most of an important period in their lives.

Check it out:

Curry School, News | Monday, May 13th | By: Rob Seal @1:24 pm | 0 Comments     

As always, final exams meant a relatively peaceful time around Grounds (outdoors at least; not for the libraries). The University Communications staff snapped a few Instagram photos during the week to capture the feel. Click for bigger versions.

Community, News, Student Life | Friday, May 10th | By: Rob Seal @4:33 pm | 1 Comment     

Anyone who has been on the Lawn recently has probably noticed the Rotunda’s gleaming copper dome, a temporary condition related to its ongoing renovation. UVA Today recently reported that plans are underway to paint it white once again, but there’s been some comment from those – including Dean of Students Allen Groves – who really enjoy the copper look and think we should keep it that way.

The University of Virginia Magazine has set up a poll to survey public opinion, and the results as of this posting show the paint-it-white contingent in the lead. Click here to see the poll and vote.

In other Rotunda-related news, here’s a great video from Limeworks US, a company working on the restoration:

News | Thursday, May 9th | By: Rob Seal @5:22 pm | 59 Comments     

Thanks to our friends at the Thomas Jefferson Center For The Protection of Free Expression for this video, which shows a mural of Stephen Colbert – keynote speaker for the 2013 Valedictory Exercises – appearing on the Free Speech Monument on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville.

News, On Grounds, People | Wednesday, May 8th | By: Rob Seal @3:34 pm | 1 Comment     

U.Va. Today’s Robert Hull Reports:

For two months, U.Va. students met with Buford Middle School students in Desmond Cormier’s art classes to develop ideas for a garden-themed mural design for the side of  Buford’s gymnasium, facing the school’s garden.

U.Va. students work to fill in the final spots of the mural at Buford Middle School.

This creative exchange had been established through a partnership between the U.Va. Student Arts Committee, Buford Middle School, the Charlottesville Mural Project and City Schoolyard Garden solely to plan a 2,200 square-foot mural adjacent to Buford’s garden.

Based on the conversations with students in the art classes at Buford, U.Va. first-year student Mary Kate Bailey designed the mural – with Photoshop assistance from second-year student Monica Mohaparta – as an intricate and geometric depiction of a garden landscape. Using a digital projector and a boom lift, the design was traced onto the wall at night.

For a month, students and teachers diligently worked at painting a colorful mural that would serve as a cornerstone of the arts and natural sciences for the students and faculty of Buford Middle School. They used over 25 gallons of paint in the creative process.

On Friday at 12:30 p.m., the garden-themed mural will be dedicated at Buford Middle School in a formal ceremony that will include Buford’s principal, teachers and students; U.Va. Student Arts Council students; Ross McDermott, director of Charlottesville Mural Project; Jody Kielbasa, U.Va. Vice Provost for the Arts; Sarah Lawson, director of Piedmont Council for the Arts; and many other local community leaders in the arts and education.

All visitors should access the school from Cherry Avenue, and sign in at the office before walking down to see the mural.

The Buford mural project will continue to expand the mission of the Charlottesville Mural Project, helping to facilitate the talents of local artists and designers while creating a more interesting visual landscape for the Charlottesville community. It also creates a model for more school-based murals that instill a sense of artistic sensibility and community collaboration.

Arts, Arts & Sciences, Community, News, Student Life | Tuesday, May 7th | By: Robert Hull @3:34 pm | 0 Comments     

To hear him tell it, William Faulkner had a good time as U.Va.’s first writer-in-residence. On June 5, 1957, during a reading from his novel “The Town” in Rouss Hall room 202, he had this to say of his stay at the University:

“It’s been so much pleasure that I am a little concerned about whether it could have done any good or not, that anything this much fun must be bad.”

Now, 56 years later, Faulkner still has deep ties to U.Va. A recent article in UVA Today describes English professor Stephen Railton’s plan to build a digital version of Yoknapatawpha County, the fictional northeastern Mississippi County that serves as the setting for 15 of Faulkner’s novels and 48 of his stories.

It’s also worth taking a look at – and giving a listen to – Railton’s previous digital humanities project, Faulkner at Virginia: An Audio Archive, which contains audio recordings of Faulkner’s speaking engagements at U.Va. in 1957 and 1958. You can hear Faulkner read from his works and respond to questions. His favorite work at the time?

“The one that—that failed the best, which was ‘The Sound and the Fury.’ None of them are quite good enough to suit me yet. That’s why I keep on writing another one. I like ‘The Sound and the Fury’ because that gave me the most anguish, the most trouble.”

Faulkner fans will also find a lot to like in the extensive William Faulkner Collection in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, which contains manuscripts, typescripts, letters, photographs, documents, books and other printed materials.

News | Monday, May 6th | By: Rob Seal @4:17 pm | 3 Comments     

UVA Today’s Matt Kelly reports:

The last scaffolding encasing the Rotunda at the University of Virginia is coming down.

The scaffolding, erected around the building last May, was part of the first phase of extensive renovations and restorations to the centerpiece of the University. Workers replaced the leaking roof and the oculus skylight, and repaired the exterior brick walls, windows and ornamental sheet metal.

The scaffolding is coming down ahead of schedule. The exterior restoration work was to continue into the summer, and workers planned to remove the scaffolding for graduation and then re-erect it. But construction crews have finished the bulk of the work and once the scaffolding is down, it will remain down.

Continue reading…

News, On Grounds, Student Life, Traffic | Thursday, May 2nd | By: Dan @3:37 pm | 1 Comment     

The calendar has flipped to May, and there on May 19, in big red letters, is “GRADUATION.” (Or, as well call it here on Mr. Jefferson’s Grounds, “Final Exercises.” Like the British, we seem to have a fancier way of describing things that have perfectly good names elsewhere.)

Assuming the fourth-year students (no “seniors” here, either, unless you’re over 65) pass all their final exams, there will inevitably arise a need for more information, i.e. “Can anyone go to Stephen Colbert’s talk?”

UVA Today will be publishing a lot of words about Final Exercises in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, there is one central resource that you should bookmark: The 2013 Final Exercises homepage.

The page is maintained by the pros at the Office of Major Events, headed up by Pam Higgins, who has been running graduations for a long time. (Clearly, she was a child prodigy.) When the site offers “Frequently Asked Questions,” it really means “frequently asked” — as in, asked hundreds of times over many, many years. So definitely take advantage and check out that site.

News, On Grounds, Student Life | Wednesday, May 1st | By: Dan @2:58 pm | 0 Comments     

The World Wide Web has been second nature for so long, it’s sort of like oxygen.

That’s why it was so startling this morning when a colleague of mine sent me a link to a Gizmodo story celebrating the Web’s 20th anniversary. Really? Could it only have been two decades?

Life before the Web is sort of hazy. How did people find information quickly? Phone books and libraries and newspapers … You pretty much had to go to a bookstore for a book and a record store for music. Well, you could order things from home, but that required a catalog and some patience. Video was accessed on TV or at movie theaters.

Think of the fortunes that have been made, and lost.

Heck, 20 years ago I was a newspaper reporter. The paper I worked for is now defunct, and I’m writing a blog post. It could be argued that the Web is the most disruptive technology invented since the printing press.

CNN has a more in-depth piece on today’s cyber-significance. The Web itself actually dates back to 1989, when it was founded as “a way for scientists at different universities and other institutes to share information,” the article says. Today is the 20th anniversary of the day when “The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN … released, for free, the technology and software needed to run a Web server.”

It’s all very mind-boggling. And exciting.

News, technology | Tuesday, April 30th | By: Dan @5:58 pm | 0 Comments