C&O’s Retreat Farm lamb, Mochiko’s Spam musubi, and Passiflora’s tacos are all delicious reasons to order out. Staff photo
In an effort to support local dining establishments during the pandemic, our writers have been enjoying a variety of takeout meals from
some of their favorite restaurants. Contribute to this ongoing series
by sending your own delicious experiences to living@c-ville.com.
C&O
From rounds of Greyhounds to late-night grilled cheeses at the bar, C&O has been a staple in my Charlottesville dining repertoire for years. So when I walked up to the restaurant’s Dutch door labeled “takeout” to pick up my order, I felt an overwhelming sense of comfort. Through the open window, I could see the downstairs bar where, despite my longing, I wouldn’t be taking a seat—instead I’d be taking my cocktail home with me.
To accompany my Retreat Farm lamb entrée and side of Brussels sprouts, I opted for the Half Smoke—reposado tequila, mezcal, agave, and bitters. When unpacking my meal at home, I was pleasantly surprised to find a handwritten note, instructing me to “sip, enjoy, repeat,” after pouring the Half Smoke over ice and squeezing the twist, which was included in its own small container. The chef had also thrown in an additional serving of Brussels because they had extra, and they truly abide by the adage that the dish is best served hot. The Brussels were delicately prepared, while the lamb entrée came with three different cuts of meat, accented by a rosemary jus. But it was the personal touches that made this a special takeout experience, like visiting an old friend.—Desiré Moses
Mochiko Cville
I’d heard great things from many friends about Mochiko, the Hawaiian BBQ and deli located in The Yard at 5th Street Station, and was eager to try it. The ordering process was easy to navigate online directly from the Mochiko website. Pickup was quick and simple, at the exact time specified when ordering, with ample parking outside the restaurant.
I opted for the Mochiko Chicken over white rice with a side of ahi (tuna) poke. The signature chicken dish reminded me of what you might get at an Asian-style restaurant at a mall food court, but well-balanced flavors (chicken marinated in garlic, ginger, and soy then lightly breaded in rice flour and fried) and the fact that it was freshly prepared elevated the overall meal.
The highlight was the ahi poke. Small pieces of raw tuna marinated in sesame oil, soy sauce, and green onions evoked memories of a vacation in Hawaii. In the end, I was sorry that I had only ordered a small side portion. Next time I will order poke as my main dish and perhaps add another Hawaiian classic, the Spam musubi. While I won’t be sitting on a beach in Hawaii anytime soon, the classic flavors of Mochiko allow me to close my eyes and imagine that I am there.—Paul Ting
Passiflora
Passiflora, downtown’s newest dining spot, is set to be a C’ville favorite, thanks to its fresh flavors and hospitable service. I was delighted by its takeout options, and, aside from a lack of utensils in the to-go bag, I had a speedy and pleasant experience. The restaurant’s Baja-Mediterranean style is something we haven’t seen much of in Charlottesville, so deciding on just a few dishes from Passiflora’s menu is almost an exercise in futility. Nevertheless, I managed to assemble a delicious spread of fajitas, tacos, grilled pineapple, and fruity cider.
Everything delivered a refreshing brightness, along with an authentic mix of Latin spices. The piquant chimichurri particularly stood out, deftly bridging the gap between the sweet char of the grilled pineapple and the spice of the pickled cherry tomatoes.
Of course, the best way to enjoy great food is with great company, and my friend loved the chicken fajita, though it was slightly messy as a finger food. The pico de gallo, sour cream, and queso perfectly exemplified the Tex-Mex half of Passiflora’s diverse menu.
The portions were generous as well; one appetizer and the single Baja fish taco were a perfect light dinner for less than $20. And the beer-battered cod, topped with red cabbage, creamy queso asadero, rich aioli, and wrapped in a flour tortilla, was just dense enough to be satisfying without the heavy decadence that usually accompanies fried foods. Paired with El Chavo, a flavorsome mango-habanero cider, our dinner from Passiflora provided an impressive array of flavors that will definitely prompt a return.—Will Ham
Mackenzie Davis and Kristen Stewart star as lovers who hide their relationship when they visit family for Christmas. Photo from hulu
A new relationship during the holidays is a recipe for hilarity and high jinks. There’s meeting the family, heavily enforced traditions, and all sorts of other religious and historical wrenches to throw into the spokes of what could be cozy couple time. Happiest Season takes on all of these elements, plus the added layer of hidden identity—with mixed results.
The hidden part of this Christmas comedy is thanks to Harper (Mackenzie Davis). She loves the holidays and her family—and her girlfriend Abby (Kristen Stewart). The fact that Harper has not come out to her family is not only a shock to Abby, but waiting to tell her until they are driving to Harper’s family Christmas puts Abby in the position of lying on Harper’s behalf and hiding her own identity as well. When Abby asks, “It is five days, how bad can it be?” she soon gets her answer.
Harper’s family is not only completely unaware of her sexual orientation, they are intense. Mom Tipper (Mary Steenburgen) is obsessed with posting pictures of their perfect family online. Dad Ted (Victor Garber) is running for mayor. Sister Sloane (Alison Brie) seems to be more uptight than everyone else, and sister Jane (Mary Holland) is the black sheep, though that is a fairly low bar in this high-profile, wealthy suburban Pittsburgh family.
From here we get the usual dose of expected family gags. Sloane has a pair of creepy twin kids who pop into rooms silently and judge. A trip to the mall ends in a massive miscommunication between Abby and the mall security. Ice skating bonds the three sisters through competition and knitted garments. And Harper has incidents with not one but two exes who still run in similar circles as her parents. We’ve seen this before.
Happiest Season shines when it takes its time to deal with the uniqueness of its premise. But the film insists on spending far more time on the less remarkable moments. Ted and Tipper forcing a dinner with Harper’s handsome and successful ex Connor (Jake McDorman) is awkward enough, but adds little to the plot and doesn’t deepen Harper’s character—things would be just as awkward were they all straight. It’s the moments Harper is with her secret high school girlfriend Riley (Aubrey Plaza) that help us understand how Harper got Abby into this situation, and bring nuance into the film. These brief windows into the complexity of their lives, more so than people who never have a closet to come out of, humanize and emphasize. This is not merely a white lie, it is Harper living in fear of being rejected for being her true self.
To that end, Davis feels a little wasted in this role. Aside from the inevitable emotional climax on Christmas morning, she plays a bland woman who is concerned with family appearances, and seems quite happy in her hometown. She effortlessly rises to the demands of the character, but as one of the more interesting actresses working today, the rest of the film feels like a lost opportunity. Others have to do the heavy lifting to make Harper seem intriguing and torn, as she glides through the visit relatively unscathed.
While Stewart does an incredible job of managing a smiling but disappointed visage throughout, Holland and Daniel Levy are the ones stealing the scenes. Holland takes what could have been a throwaway, comic sidekick and turns her into the confident but quirky sister standing in the shadows of Harper and Sloane. She seems aware of their differences but assured of her value in the world—and that confidence makes her the one to watch in any ensemble scene. Levy, as Abby’s best friend John, is the fast-talking supportive rock that Abby needs to get through these five days. He’s the only one looking out for her, and their chemistry sells the friendship.
Happiest Season should be lauded for not only addressing the complicated and weighty issues around coming out, but also for having a queer relationship at the heart of a traditional Christmas family comedy. Yet, it still stops short of condemning hatred and homophobia. There are hints of the negative impact that such outdated and ignorant beliefs can have on lives, thus justifying Harper’s reluctance to express herself, but the film never goes so far as to identify these beliefs as the real villain here. Sure, Harper’s repeated lies are problematic and the source of funny antics, but Happiest Season avoids connecting the dots to the homophobia that drove her to lie for all these years.
Happiest Season is a solid addition to the legions of heteronormative Christmas movies. Had Harper been a more engaging character or if it focused on what sets it apart from other holiday films, it might have been a great one.
The exhibit takes place
in front yards and businesses throughout Charlottesville Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5 from 6-9pm.
A few months ago, James Yates awoke from a nightmare.He was hosting “Let There Be Light”—the same luminesce-focused art exhibit he has helmed for the past 13 years at Piedmont Virginia Community College—but there was a problem. “Nobody was wearing masks, and everybody was crowding together,” he says. “I woke up in a panic and realized we can’t do ‘Let There Be Light’ at PVCC this year.”
Yates arranged a meeting with Beryl Solla, PVCC’s chair of performing and visual arts and curator of “Let There Be Light,” to weigh their options. They agreed immediately that the program shouldn’t be canceled outright—for a number of reasons, Solla says, “we need it more than we’ve ever needed it before.”
In years past, “Let There Be Light’’ was headquartered at PVCC. The programming—which consists of several Charlottesville artists’ effulgent creations—took place outside on the college campus with refreshments, conversation, and a chance to warm up inside.
But the exhibition couldn’t exist in its typical form, which necessitated creative problem-solving. Yates thought of “Yard Dreams,” a 2016 project he had organized where installations were set up on various Belmont lawns. After some discussion, he and Solla decided to adopt the same structure for the winter solstice event.
This year, 23 “Let There Be Light” exhibits will be scattered across the city. Maps will guide people from location to location, and everyone will be asked to follow standard safety procedures, like staying in their cars when possible and wearing a mask when outside.
The curators are excited to see what might result from the restrained event, and Solla wonders how the pieces might transform it. “Drive-by art…art that’s meant to be seen at 40 miles an hour, is just so odd and surprising,” she says.
The foundational aspects of “Let There Be Light” remain unchanged. For example, the program’s emphasis on the secular will be preserved. “Separating it from Christmas,” Yates says, was a priority since its creation. The seeds for an illuminated art event were planted in his head when he was a “wee child,” and he and his family would drive around town to see neighbors’ light displays. “I wanted to replicate that magical feeling,” he says, while providing an alternative to the “hyper-commercialization of the holidays.”
This year’s program features many familiar artists, including PVCC professor Fenella Belle whose latest creation, “Border Lines,” enigmatically promises an “exploration of the role lines play in dividing and connecting us.”
Choreographer and filmmaker Shandoah Goldman returns to present two short, COVID-related films in a drive-in format at the Woolen Mills Chapel, and C. James Cunningham’s piece, “SOS,” will “be floating in the sky above the Downtown Mall,” says Yates.
Yates and Solla say that even when the arts world returns to normal, they’ll consider keeping the multiple locations as a new level of interactivity. Solla doesn’t anticipate pushback from the artists, who are a “peculiar breed…ready to try anything.”
They were, after all, amenable to this year’s changes, and willing to adapt so that a program intended to combat darkness could continue to do so in a particularly dim year. Solla says they all agreed: “We need the light, we need the love, we need the vision for the future.”
Shelby Marie Edwards, daughter of beloved Charlottesville activist and former vice mayor Holly Edwards, is PHAR’s new executive director.
PC: Zack Wajsgras
For Shelby Marie Edwards, serving her community comes naturally. Edwards grew up watching her mother, Holly Edwards, advocate for low-income residents as a parish nurse for the Jefferson Area Board for Aging and as program coordinator for the Public Housing Association of Residents. Now the younger Edwards is following in those footsteps as PHAR’s new executive director.
“Especially over the past few months, with all that’s going on in the social justice arena, I felt compelled to shift my work to focus more to what was speaking to me,” says Edwards. At PHAR, “I can continue the work of my mom, but in a way that’s true to me.”
Holly Edwards was an institution in Charlottesville, serving as vice mayor and a city councilor. She helped to spark the city’s Dialogue on Race, which led to the Office of Human Rights, while remaining involved in a string of other community organizations, from the NAACP to PACEM.
Following her mother’s passing in 2017, Shelby Edwards felt drawn back to Charlottesville, where she was born and raised. She’d been teaching theater and writing in Chicago, and when she returned, she began offering performance art classes through the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia, while embarking on new projects, like writing and performing the one-person storytelling show, Holly’s Ivy.
“I certainly will not be the person inside of the Westhaven clinic where she used to work, taking temperatures,” Edwards says. “But what I can be is someone who continues to amplify the voices of residents, be a listening ear, and make sure we are looking at what makes the most sense in the short and long-term for all of the folks who live in public housing sites.”
While this is Edwards’ first time working in the public housing sector, she plans to draw heavily on her years of teaching performance art and fundraising for theater nonprofits in Chicago. She will also tap into her degrees in business and theater from Virginia Commonwealth University, which she received in 2017, as well as the masters in humanities she earned last year from the University of Chicago.
In addition, Edwards will continue to lean on her many community mentors for support and advice, including PHAR board president Joy Johnson, who will be helping with the transition.
“[Johnson] is a powerful force in the community, and I am humbled and honored to be stepping into this role, especially so under her guidance,” says Edwards. “I look forward to learning so much in this position. I wouldn’t have taken [it] if I didn’t already know the community had my back.”
Once her term begins, Edwards will oversee all of PHAR’s programs, including emergency food distribution. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the nonprofit has focused on providing food assistance to the city’s most vulnerable residents. Staff and volunteers currently bring groceries to 40 people each month. Almost all the recipients have COVID-19 risk factors, like diabetes, heart disease, and asthma.
Though the program is unfortunately at capacity and has a waitlist, PHAR has also given out $50 gift cards to every public housing resident twice during the pandemic, and plans to do that two more times before the end of February, when program funding is expected to run out.
In the new year, PHAR will also welcome its new class of interns. The nonprofit’s six-month paid internship program, open to all public housing residents, teaches participants about the city’s public housing policies and organizations, and how to get involved in community organizing and advocacy. “They’re ultimately becoming involved in the decisions that affect their lives,” Edwards says.
However, running the program during a pandemic has its challenges, says Edwards. Because PHAR has not been able to do face-to-face outreach, it has only received eight applications so far, slightly less than in previous years.
“Most public housing residents do not have laptops or iPads, and they often have challenges with limited minutes on their phones,” she says. “We got a grant from the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, which allowed us to purchase devices, but there will be a lot of learning for most of the interns to feel comfortable using them.”
As the city pushes forward with the long-awaited redevelopment of the public housing complexes Crescent Halls, South First Street, and Friendship Court, Edwards believes it is necessary for low-income residents to be involved in housing decisions. Affordable housing remains a crucial issue in Charlottesville, and adequate solutions cannot be created without residents’ voices, she says.
Looking forward, Edwards’ biggest goal for PHAR is to expand its outreach and membership, while building up existing community partnerships and forging new ones.
“I welcome any and everybody who supports PHAR’s mission, and wants to make sure that our housing sites are safe and equitable…and that our residents are heard all of the time,” she says.
The Front Porch’s Emily Morrison says a lot more adults have taken online music lessons during the pandemic. PC: Amy Jackson
“When the pandemic set in, it rendered our model impossible,” says Jayson Whitehead, executive director of PACEM, a local nonprofit that partners with area houses of worship to offer overnight shelter and meals for the homeless during the winter. Close contact in church buildings became unsafe. So did the buffet dinners served by congregation volunteers. “That interaction was a big part of our service,” Whitehead says. “It’s a big deal [for our clients], to be greeted and served by a smiling face.”
Big shake-ups have been the story for nonprofits all over town. And every organization serves a different community with unique needs, meaning each one has been forced to adapt in its own way.
For PACEM, that meant using the city’s Key Recreation Center as a temporary men’s shelter. Then, federal COVID support enabled the organization to tap local hotels to shelter women and the medically vulnerable, overseen by the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless. Still, Whitehead notes, “the pandemic cut our capacity to offer shelter in half.” As restrictions eased, PACEM has resumed working with eight of its former 30 church partners, incorporating professional cleaning and prepackaged meals instead of buffet dinners. While the organization’s annual fundraising event had to be canceled, Whitehead has seen increased support from long-standing donors and faith-based partners. “We live in a pretty amazing community,” he says.
Elsewhere, the Sexual Assault Resource Agency quickly pivoted to offer teletherapy for its clients, as well as redesigning its sexual violence prevention programs for schools to use online, says interim executive director Renee Branson. Normally, SARA’s on-call emergency room advocates would support survivors in person, but since that’s not possible now, they work remotely and in close coordination with ER nurses to connect survivors with support. Branson knows many clients “may have less reliable [internet] access, so we also offer support by phone or drop off materials at their homes.” With both its annual fundraisers—Walk A Mile for SARA in April and its November Community Breakfast awards banquet—canceled, SARA launched an online auction during Giving Tuesday on December 1.
Renee Branson, interim executive director of the Sexual Assault Resource Agency, says the center has taken a number of steps to adapt to life with the virus. PC: Zack Wajsgras
Pre-COVID, the Charlottesville staff of Project ID visited the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail weekly to help inmates due for release get the identification (birth certificate, driver’s license, or DMV-issued ID) needed to apply for housing, social services, and jobs. “We’d see four to 12 people a week, and a DMV representative came in once a month,” says co-chapter lead DeAun Sanders. “Now we have to do all that by phone, even walking them through online applications. But many of them don’t have computers, or smartphones.” The group used to have office hours at the Jefferson School and public libraries, which made assistance and online access available for the city’s underserved and homeless, but that’s been curtailed by pandemic restrictions. Luckily, though, since Project ID also facilitates voter registration as part of national organization Spread the Vote, money hasn’t been an issue in this hyperactive election year.
Many Sentara women’s health and breast cancer programs receive funding from the Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation’s Women’s Committee, best known for running Martha’s Market. But a three-day event with 40 vendors and hundreds of shoppers was impossible this year, so the committee went virtual—with an added twist of incorporating local businesses. “We didn’t expect to make as much money,” notes chair Amy Nolasco, “but we wanted to continue the event and support our health community.” The committee’s squash tournament fundraiser had to be scrapped, but the annual In the Pink tennis tournament went ahead—with COVID adaptations. “Usually we ask local small businesses to provide the prizes, as a promotion,” says Nolasco, “but we knew they couldn’t this year, so we bought their gift cards as prizes instead.”
Like other educational organizations, Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville/Albemarle had to take its tutoring activities and citizenship classes online. Executive Director Ellen Osborne says there’s been some upside: tutor training—formerly a full day and in person—is now several shorter online sessions, making it easier for some people to participate. (They’ve even had a few trainees from outside Virginia—which works, since tutors and students now meet virtually.) And, since online sessions mean no commute and no need for a sitter, LVCA’s citizenship classes are booming. Literary Volunteers had to cancel this year’s Wordplay, its big game-show fundraising event, which usually nets about $20,000. “It’s hard to make up that kind of money,” says Osborne, “but all our sponsors are carrying over their fees until next time.”
The Front Porch, a nonprofit community music school, has gone all virtual until fall 2021. “We’ve lost many of our children—they are spending so much time online now,” says Executive Director Emily Morrison, “but we have seen a lot more adults, and a lot more private students over group lessons—one of our teachers has students from New York, Illinois, Florida, even Alaska.” Building community is part of The Front Porch’s mission, “and the pandemic has cramped that,” says Morrison; on the other hand, its Save the Music livestreamed performances have supported local musicians and generated donations for area nonprofits. Its spring block party and fall square dance are on hold, but Morrison says, “We’ve had a banner fundraising year, largely on gifts from $10 to $100—in this scary and divisive time, people have really stepped up to support our local nonprofits.”
Price Thomas, director of marketing for United Way of Greater Charlottesville, agrees: “People see the effects on their neighbors, and have been very generous, especially toward pandemic effects and recovery,” he says. United Way has been able to hold many of its donor and community events online, but while virtual accommodates more people, Thomas notes, it lacks that all-important personal contact. “Our focus is staying connected with people and with our community.”
UVA detected 1,300 cases of COVID among students, faculty, staff, and contract workers this semester. Photo: Skyclad Aerial
It’s 11am on Thursday, November 19. The U.S. has reached an all-time high for COVID-19 infections in a single day. Colleges have reported record-high numbers as well, contributing to around 2 percent of national infections, according to the New York Times.
And UVA President Jim Ryan has declared victory.
In a video posted to the school’s website, Ryan said the university had accomplished “what many said couldn’t be done,” and showed the world “what being a great and good university looks like.”
It’s true that UVA has largely avoided the uncontrolled spread that worried community members in the summer, when the university first announced its plan to welcome students back to Grounds. At the time, Virginia was experiencing a Memorial Day spike in COVID-19 cases and inching out of its initial Phase 1 restrictions. After college students gathered en masse for the traditional Midsummer’s party weekend, some community leaders sounded the alarm.
“I, for one, don’t understand why the students are coming back into the community, from all over the globe, and why we’re taking that chance,” Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker said at a virtual press conference over the summer.
Some at the university also pushed back against in-person classes. The United Campus Workers union and Student Council both petitioned for an all-virtual semester. In early September, student and community activists held a die-in demonstration where 50 people protested by feigning dead on the Rotunda steps and the Lawn.
Three months later, the semester is in the books. (Students left Grounds before Thanksgiving, a little earlier than usual.) Since August, the university has identified just under 1,300 COVID-19 infections among students, faculty, and staff, a number the administration has deemed a success. Those cases resulted in zero deaths and zero hospitalizations, reports university spokesman Brian Coy.
This graph from UVA’s COVID dashboard shows cases detected at the school over the course of the semester.
“There were a lot of people who were skeptical that students, or the rest of our community, would follow those behaviors closely enough to avoid a major outbreak,” says J.J. Davis, UVA’s chief operating officer. “However, as a whole, this community showed that we were capable of coming together and doing the right things to protect each other and keep the semester on track.”
Provost Liz Magill says the university faced “impossible odds” when the coronavirus pandemic halted operations in March. She cited measures such as the high amount of isolation and quarantine beds, increased testing, and restrictions on gatherings when cases spiked. The measures “weren’t easy” but ultimately the university “overcame historic obstacles,” Magill says.
Final exams
An aggressive testing operation lies at the center of the school’s COVID prevention plan. As the semester wore on, UVA instituted a mandatory testing policy, periodically calling all students living in the area to report to the Central Grounds Parking Garage for a spit test. From November 15-21, as the semester wrapped up, the school conducted 9,453 tests. Virginia has 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students living on Grounds this fall; for comparison, Virginia Tech, a school of 34,000 students, conducted 4,910 tests during that same week in November. This semester, Tech has detected around 1,600 cases.
At the beginning of the semester, UVA created 1,500 quarantine beds for students who had been exposed to the virus. The ability to shift students into this quarantine housing proved pivotal in the early fall. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had to send students back home during the first week of in-person classes, when cases shot up and quarantine rooms dwindled to the single digits. UVA experienced a similar spike in cases during its first week of in-person classes (UNC had 130, UVA 199) but the school’s supply of quarantine beds was large enough to weather the storm.
Additionally, testing allowed UVA to monitor residence halls and identify clusters in places like the Balz-Dobie and Hancock residence halls. Regular dorm wastewater testing combined with mandatory dorm resident testing kept infections from exploding on Grounds.
Dr. Taison Bell, a pulmonary and critical care physician and graduate student who also works in the UVA hospital’s COVID-19 ICU, thinks the university learned its lesson from other colleges across the country.
“A lot of peer institutions were having issues with large-scale COVID outbreaks,” Bell says. “So maybe it was a combination of learning lessons from those institutions and effective messaging at the university.”
Laying down the law
Even with that containment structure in place, videos periodically surfaced during the semester that showed troubling scenes for those who had hoped to see social distancing.
In October, an anonymous student sent a video to CBS19 of students packing, mask-less, into the first floor of Trinity Irish Pub on the Corner. Weeks before, Ryan signaled out bars specifically in a video message sent to the UVA community, saying “If you can’t stay six feet apart, don’t go in.”
“It seems hypocritical to me that the administration tries to pretend like they’re enforcing these rules when in reality there are these events that are happening,” an anonymous student told CBS19 at the time.
Days later, students were seen waiting in long lines to enter bars on Halloween weekend.
Davis concedes there were “some issues of noncompliance,” but the school responded by laying down the law, tightening restrictions after the potential super-spreader weekend.
“There were a couple times where more strict messaging had to go out to the university community,” Bell says. “But it seems like, after that happened, the prevalence [of the virus] overall went down and the system wasn’t strained…I think overall they did a really good job.”
The Balz-Dobie and Hancock clusters prompted new gathering restrictions early in the semester, barring students from gathering in groups of more than five people. The university’s ambassadors, a school-run safety force that patrols areas on and off Grounds, enforced the rules strictly, and violations could result in academic punishments.
In a September video, Ryan alluded to several interim suspensions of students failing to adhere to social distancing policies. The university’s policy directory states that students cannot hold an event, indoors or out, that includes multiple groups from different households. The policy also outlines the face mask and social distancing requirements.
Fourth-year Hallie Griffiths says the stricter penalties had a real effect. “I know friends that would have gathered in bigger groups regardless of safety because they felt that if they got sick, they would be fine,” but they didn’t want to get expelled, she says.
The looming terror of the virus made it a strange time to be a student, Griffiths adds. In addition to the interruption of extracurricular activities, classes, and Greek life, students had to cope with ever-changing rules, the complexities of online classes, and fears of infection.
Constant safety adjustments were a whirlwind as well. The university has updated and added information to its Return to Grounds plan at least 24 times since August 4, an experience Griffiths says was “confusing and frustrating.”
“Every week there was a new email and a lot of people’s lives were turned to chaos,” she says. “And then we would adjust and then there’d be a new email.”
“It was scary in the sense that all of us came into it not really knowing what to expect and then it very quickly became very real,” Griffiths says. “All the traditions are gone. Time is stopped in one place but also going very fast. …Especially with classes ending this week, I’ve realized that time is gone and I’ll never get it back.”
Community containment
A central concern for observers in town was the possibility of community spread, especially for vulnerable communities surrounding the university. Although cases spiked at UVA in September and October, the numbers don’t suggest that on-Grounds cases resulted in large numbers of city and county residents getting sick.
But while UVA was cracking down on restrictions, the city was as well.
“Coronavirus ordinances in Albemarle and Charlottesville that were passed were aimed at being in conjunction with UVA returning,” says City Councilor Michael Payne.
In the summer, Charlottesville imposed more severe gathering restrictions than the rest of the state, in part to mitigate the effect of students returning. In Charlottesville, restaurants were unable to operate at more than 50 percent capacity and people weren’t allowed to gather in groups of more than 50.
“I think UVA was taking a huge risk in terms of having all these students come back,” Payne says.
“They have been able to prevent a massive community spread in a worst-case scenario. So in that sense it’s definitely been successful,” the city councilor continues. “But there’s no way around it: When you have that many people coming into the community, you’re going to see a big spike in cases, and that’s what we did see.”
And of course, the story is far from over. Students will return for the spring semester in February. As cold weather drives groups inside and students travel back to Charlottesville from COVID hot spots, the university could once again become dicey terrain. Referencing the cold weather and spring semester, Magill said that “vigilance will be more important than ever.”
“I’m never going to say that I feel comfortable with where things are, because there’s always the possibility that things can break loose,” says Bell. “But what I will say is that, in general, our area has done fairly well with controlling the pandemic compared to a lot of areas of the country…I think this means that, going forward, we have to keep that same diligence up.”
UVA Chief of Police Tim Longo came under fire recently for UPD’s treatment of a Black man on the Corner.
PC: Eric Kelley
Under fire
Shortly before midnight on November 15, a houseless Black man named Lawrence was reportedly violently detained by both Charlottesville and University police on the Corner.
According to eyewitness accounts given to Defund Cville Police, three UPD officers pushed Lawrence into the brick wall in front of Cohn’s. A dozen more officers soon arrived on the scene, and slammed him to the ground. Four pinned him down with their knees, digging into his back and ribs.
While witnesses and Lawrence’s wife asked multiple times why the officers were detaining him, they reportedly did not provide a clear answer. One officer accused Lawrence of trespassing on UVA Grounds, while another said they needed to question him and resolve a dispute with his wife.
The officers then pressed down onto Lawrence’s neck, claiming he was biting them, though witnesses say he was not. They allegedly did not let him go until another officer arrived and deescalated the situation.
Lawrence was then allowed to sit up and answer questions, which were not related to the incident, claim witnesses.
Because of the extent of injuries, Lawrence reportedly could barely walk or stand. When he was taken to the hospital, it was revealed he had three broken ribs, and multiple cuts and abrasions on his arms, wrists, side, and feet.
After Defund Cville Police’s account of the incident sparked outcry on social media last week, UVA’s Chief of Police Tim Longo released a statement about the “difficult encounter,” failing to mention Lawrence’s extensive injuries, or the large number of officers reportedly on the scene.
According to Longo, a UPD officer witnessed a verbal altercation between Lawrence and a woman outside a store on the Corner. He approached the couple and asked for identification. While the woman provided it, Lawrence refused, and walked away, crossing University Avenue onto UVA Grounds.
Another officer soon arrived on the scene, and recognized Lawrence from a previous incident at UVA hospital, during which Lawrence “became disorderly” and was banned from coming back onto UVA Grounds.
The officers followed Lawrence, told him he was trespassing, and tried to detain him. Lawrence went back to the Corner, which is off UVA Grounds, and attempted to leave the scene. The two officers then pursued and restrained him “for further investigation,” resulting in “several minutes” of “active resistance and struggle,” Longo writes.
A UPD supervising officer later deescalated the situation, ordering that Lawrence be allowed to sit up for questioning and evaluated by medical responders before allowing him to leave the Corner.
“Upon review of the incident, the Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney has determined that none of the officers acted unlawfully,” stated Longo, who has now begun an internal UPD review into the incident.
One officer has been placed on administrative leave. Defund Cville Police demands every officer involved in the incident be fired immediately, and calls on the community to support Lawrence as he recovers from his injuries.
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Quote of the week
“Enough is enough. When do we start fixing it and stop covering up things?”
—South First Street resident Angela Barnesadvocating for installing security cameras during a CRHA meeting last week, following a recent murder in the public housing community
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In brief
Get registered
Jackson P. Burley School, Charlottesville’s Black high school during the age of segregation, was added to the National Register of Historic Places last week. Burley opened in 1951, “part of an effort [by] many jurisdictions in Virginia to support segregation by constructing new and well-equipped separate but equal high schools for African American students,” reads the NRHP listing. The school was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register in September.
Jackson P. Burley School PC: Skyclad Aerial
Cool your jets
Just after Thanksgiving, UVA’s football team flew down to Tallahassee, ready to take on the 2-6 Florida State Seminoles. But upon arrival, the team was told the game had been postponed due to uncontained coronavirus among FSU’s players. It’s the third time this season the Cavaliers have had an opponent cancel on them due to COVID.
School outbreak
Five students at Woodbrook Elementary School tested positive for coronavirus last week, and are currently quarantined at home. The students and staff who attended classes with the students were also asked to self-isolate for 10 days. On November 9, Albemarle County moved to Stage 3 of reopening, welcoming about 2,700 students—mostly pre-kindergarteners through third graders—into schools for hybrid learning.
Supply chain training
Virginia is running its first round of vaccine distribution tests, reports the Virginia Mercury. The state Department of Health is overseeing 50 sites around the commonwealth as they practice transporting COVID-19 vaccines, in hopes of being prepared when the first shipments of real vaccines begin to arrive later this month.
