First-year student and Marine Corps veteran Romeo Sarmiento hopes UVA will provide more resources, like faculty advisors, for student veterans. Photo courtesy of subject.
Two dozen student veterans came together November 11 at Newcomb Hall to celebrate Veterans Day and share the struggles they’ve faced transitioning from military to student life—as well as the advantages being a veteran has afforded them. UVA President Jim Ryan, along with other university officials, also attended the event, hosted by the Student Veterans of America.
Student veterans detailed the struggles they faced adjusting to UVA. Alex, a second-year statistics major, shared that he had difficulty adapting to the amount of downtime he now has as a student, and learning to manage his own time and commitments.
However, many veterans praised UVA for offering them opportunities they may not have had elsewhere. As a first-year computer science major with a young daughter, Dalton expressed gratitude for being afforded early enrollment and graduate housing for his family. He felt that these advantages helped him better navigate the university as an unconventional student: “I felt the UVA hand reach out,” he said.
Halfway through the event, Ryan arrived to give the Veteran Student Center a check for $25,900 “due to the generosity of others,” he said, detailing the ways in which he wants to “make UVA synonymous with service.” He expressed admiration for those who have served in the military, and said he felt honored to be in the presence of student veterans, particularly on Veterans Day. UVA officials in attendance—many of whom were veterans themselves and work closely with student veterans—also shared stories about their time in the military.
Romeo Sarmiento. Photo courtesy of subject.
Though the students discussed their gratitude for the Veteran Student Center, some said they often faced additional stress because of the lack of representation in the upper echelons of UVA administration. Brett Schriever, a third-year aerospace engineering major, detailed his struggles getting help from the university when he faced complications with his GI Bill benefits. In the end, Schriever—who spent two years on active duty, and is now in his eighth year in the Army Reserves—said he had to ask another student veteran for advice.
Marine Corps veteran and first-year student Romeo Sarmiento, treasurer of UVA’s Student Veterans chapter, expressed similar concerns. Sarmiento, who spent seven years as an infantry assaultman, articulated his disappointment that there is still no veteran representation among the university’s faculty, and that there are no faculty advisors to help veterans with all the aspects of their transition into university life.
Sarmiento also explained the ways in which his time in the military affected his career path—he plans to apply to the McIntire School of Commerce, and eventually become a lawyer to serve his country in a new way. “Service doesn’t end,” he said.
Concluding the event, Sarmiento expressed hope that the Veteran Student Center will be able to organize more events in the future incorporating the general student body. There is an “important opportunity for exchange,” he said.
The Charlottesville Police Department rejected most of the recommendations former Police Civilian Oversight executive director Hansel Aguilar made in his neutral evaluation of the board’s first case. Supplied photo.
Before ditching Charlottesville for California last month, former Police Civilian Oversight Board executive director Hansel Aguilar evaluated the board’s long-awaited first case, which concerned the violent arrest of a man experiencing homelessness on the Downtown Mall in 2020. Though the board was initially scheduled to hold a hearing on the case in July, complainant Jeff Fogel, a local attorney, and the Charlottesville Police Department agreed to an alternative dispute resolution on the day of the hearing, due to Fogel’s claim that two board members were biased against him. After city attorney Lisa Robertson expressed legal concerns over the ADR, the board and two parties then decided in August to allow Aguilar to conduct a neutral evaluation of the case.
On September 28, Aguilar—who resigned from the board on October 12, after accepting a new gig as the director of police accountability for the City of Berkeley, California—issued his 63-page evaluation, which determined the CPD did not “thoroughly, completely, and accurately” investigate Fogel’s complaint. On October 24, the CPD refuted some of Aguilar’s findings and rejected most of his recommendations for the department, but neglected to address multiple questions and concerns raised by the former director.
Fogel filed his complaint against the CPD in July 2020, after a Charlottesville police officer—identified as Officer Houchens in Aguilar’s report—arrested 36-year-old Christopher Gonzalez, who was lying down on the Downtown Mall. Gonzalez admitted to drinking alcohol, and said he was homeless. Houchens threatened to arrest him for public intoxication unless he left the mall, which Gonzalez refused to do. Houchens tried to handcuff him, but Gonzalez pulled away. Houchens then pinned Gonzalez to the ground, and put him in a headlock for nearly a minute, according to a now-deleted Instagram video. Gonzalez was later charged with assault of a police officer, public intoxication, and obstruction of justice, and was held without bail for almost three weeks at the local jail. Though Gonzalez’s charges were later dismissed, in September 2020 the CPD exonerated Fogel’s allegations of excessive force, and concluded that the allegations of bias-based policing were unfounded.
In his report, Aguilar asserted that the CPD should have evaluated the appropriateness of Houchens’ threat to arrest Gonzalez “through the lens” of its public intoxication policy—which directs officers to arrest intoxicated people when they “may cause harm” to themselves or others—instead of just its biased-based policing policy. Investigators also should have better questioned Houchens to determine if his actions were biased, Aguilar said.
“I like to give them the opportunity to go sober up or go somewhere,” Houchens said during an interview with a CPD investigator. “I know that these people don’t have anywhere to go, really anywhere to be. … Once we start getting calls from citizens about it, that’s kind of when it starts to become a problem, but I still will try to get them at least out of the public’s view.”
“Who are ‘these people’ that the officer is referring to?” asked Aguilar in his evaluation. “Was C.G. ‘causing a problem’ other than community members calling in about him? Under what departmental guidance, practice, or procedure is Officer L.H. operating under when he states the need to ‘try to get them at least out of the public’s view’? Is Officer L.H. suggesting that being intoxicated in public is acceptable just if it is not on the downtown mall?”
“Without asking sufficient questions … it is difficult to ascertain whether the threat to arrest C.G. followed the Department’s policy,” continued Aguilar. However, the former director agreed with the CPD that “the officer had established probable cause to affect the arrest of C.G. in violation of the state’s public intoxication law,” which states that “if any person is intoxicated in public … he is guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.”
In response, the CPD claimed that Aguilar was not authorized to publicly release these details from Houchens’ interview, according to a standard operating procedure—but did not explain how Houchens determined Gonzalez was a danger to himself or others, or clarify which department policy directed him to get Gonzalez “out of the public’s view.”
Aguilar also questioned why the CPD did not submit the complaint to the commonwealth’s attorney during its criminal investigation into the matter. “It was unclear what specific investigative steps the CPD Captain took (beyond the interview of Officer L.H.) to reach the conclusion that no criminal violation took place since there is only one email from the CPD Captain,” wrote Aguilar. In the email, the unnamed captain explained that the department did not contact the commonwealth’s attorney because Houchens’ use of force was appropriate and lawful under CPD and state criminal justice department policies.
The CPD countered that then-chief RaShall Brackney agreed with the captain and criminal investigations division that Houchens’ “response to the resistance did not rise to a criminal violation” and “was in accordance” with its response to resistance policy, and therefore “did not require review by the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office.” However, the department’s response did not explain why Houchens did not wait for backup to help de-escalate the situation, or why investigators did not interview Gonzalez, among other questions in Aguilar’s report.
The pyramid above directs CPD officers to use defensive tactics like take-downs if a subject is actively resisting and non-responsive to de-escalation efforts.
Concluding its responses, the CPD rejected six out of Aguilar’s nine recommendations to help increase community-police transparency and accountability, including “lowering the probable cause standard to reasonable suspicion when determining whether to refer complaints to the Commonwealth’s Attorney,” “updating UOF/RTR [use of force/response to resistance] to include explicit identification and handling of pre-assault indicators,” “retraining [Houchens] of de-escalation techniques,” and “revisiting how much information is made available to complainants of misconduct.”
The department argued that “the discretion is up to the Chief of Police regarding a criminal investigation,” and “pre-assault indicators vary from person to person if known.” All officers have already “undergone substantial de-escalation and Crisis Intervention training,” and complainants are not granted access to body-worn camera footage and other evidence during an ongoing investigation, unless the chief allows footage to be released, claimed the department.
Additionally, the CPD disagreed with Aguilar’s recommendation that City Council consider how public intoxication policies can have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities. “We cannot excuse one class of individuals of their illegal actions and immediately turn around [and] charge another for the same crime based on social class. This would be considered a bias-based policing claim,” reads the response.
On November 3, Fogel issued his response to both Aguilar’s report and the CPD’s rebuttals. Though the attorney agreed the former director’s recommendations were worth consideration, he took issue with parts of the evaluation.
“There were several points at which he deviated from his own [prescription] to consider ‘whether the CPD thoroughly, completely, accurately, objectively, and impartially investigated’ the allegations of the complainant and not to ‘reinvestigate the interaction,’” explained Fogel. “His finding that there was probable cause to arrest C.G. for drunk in public under the state statute speaks to a conclusion, not an inquiry into the investigation.”
The attorney questioned why the CPD did not want Houchens’ interview to be released to the public. “Why is this statement subject to secrecy? Because it acknowledges that he makes an effort, when he gets calls, to ‘get them out of the public view . . . [and] just not on the mall.’ This is significant evidence that the arrest was for not leaving the mall, not because C.G. was a danger to himself or others,” said Fogel.
Fogel also slammed the department for rejecting most of Aguilar’s recommendations “without a logical, or even any, explanation,” particularly regarding information provided to complainants.
“Without disclosure of the evidence upon which the CPD relies, there is no opportunity for the complainant to know or challenge the accuracy of IA [internal affairs] determinations, or for the public to have confidence in the IA process,” claimed Fogel. “There was no reason for CPD not to provide the complainant with all of the evidence that IA relied on except for its culture of secrecy.”
When asked how the city planned to move forward with Aguilar’s evaluation and recommendations, Mayor Lloyd Snook said that he did not know what would happen next— “This is all new!” he wrote in an email.
On the evening of November 14, students gathered on the university’s South Lawn. They held candles up in remembrance of the classmates they lost just hours ago. Photo: Eze Amos.
Three students were killed, two injured, and a community was left traumatized on November 13, following a shooting at the University of Virginia.
The first message from the UVA Alert system notified the community of shots fired at Culbreth garage. It was followed seven minutes later by a report of a shooting on Culbreth Road. The third message urged students to “RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.”
Students were advised to shelter in place as an active search persisted from 10:39pm on the 13th to 10:35 the following morning. The alert system sent a total of 57 messages during this period. Group chats were flooded with notes of love and support, and urged students to check in with friends and family. Students organized Zoom calls so they could be with one another, rather than alone and afraid.
Five-hundred students spent the night in UVA buildings, including libraries and recreational facilities. Isabella Sheridan, a third-year and director of a performing arts program for first-years, sat with underclassmen as they sheltered in place at the Student Activities Building.
Crime scene tape was strung at the Culbreth Road Garage, near the spot where three UVA students were killed and two others injured on November 13. Photo: Eze Amos.
“It was a really long night. People were really tense and pretty much everyone was terrified when we heard the car was going down Jefferson Park Avenue because we were right over there,” Sheridan said.
First-year students remained locked down in dorms. Resident advisors told students to lock their doors and close their blinds. From the first-year Balz-Dobie dormitory, Esme Merrill reported that “the situation in the dorm is a really dark one. I just am so uncertain about what my next hour is going to look like, let alone what my college experience is going to be after the tragedy.”
The messages from the UVA Alert system persisted, repeating that the suspect was at large and armed. He was described as a Black man wearing a burgundy jacket or hoodie, blue jeans, and red shoes. At around midnight, the local police scanner reported that, based on social media posts, the suspect seemed to be in GrandMarc, a residential apartment near Grounds.
Emma Troischt, a third-year, lives on the fifth floor of GrandMarc. When she heard the news, she barricaded her door and locked herself in the bathroom of her studio unit. “Occasionally, I could hear footsteps outside in the hallway. It was terrifying not knowing if it was the police keeping us safe or him,” she said.
At 1:20am, UVA Alerts officially named the suspect as Christopher Darnell Jones Jr.
Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. was taken into custody in Henrico County, and arrested on three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony. Supplied photo.
“This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send, and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia,” UVA President Jim Ryan wrote in an email that went out at 4:27am. During a press conference later in the morning, Ryan fought back tears as he spoke of the “unimaginably sad day for our community.”
The three students whose lives were stolen are Devin Chandler of Huntersville, North Carolina; Lavel Davis of Dorchester, South Carolina; and D’Sean Perry of Miami, Florida. Two of the slain victims were found inside the charter bus they had taken back from Washington, D.C., where they had been on a field trip to see a play.
Two other students are hospitalized, one in critical condition and the other in good condition.
Jones was arrested on three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony, and was taken into custody in Henrico County, about 80 miles southeast of Charlottesville.
At the press conference, UVA police chief Tim Longo reported that Jones had come to the attention of the university’s threat assessment team in the fall of 2022. He had made a comment about possessing a gun to a third party, but the comment was not made in conjunction with any threats. Jones was also connected to a hazing situation, though Longo had limited information about that investigation.
A Richmond Times-Dispatch article noted that Jones’ parents divorced when he was 5 years old, and Jones described his father’s departure as “one of the most traumatic things that ever happened to me.”
Following the divorce, Jones got into fights with other students and suffered disciplinary action as a result. He had a successful high school career, and Petersburg chose him as the top male student-athlete for an annual scholarship program. Little is known about Jones’ history on the UVA football team and his relationships with the players.
“The search for the suspect may be over, but the work of understanding this terrible crime and what motivated him to commit it is just beginning,” Ryan said in an email.
Gun violence on college campuses
The shooting at UVA was at least the fifth since February on or near campuses in Virginia, according to reporting from The New York Times. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 38,000 gun violence deaths since 2013.
College-aged students have been habituated to fear shootings on their campuses—places meant to be havens of learning and growth. A generation has been shaped by the tragedies at Sandy Hook Elementary, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and Virginia Tech. Many of the students who endured those shootings emerged as soldiers in a war that they never sought to fight.
Jackson Mittleman, a senior at Georgetown University, launched a gun violence prevention group when he was just 11 years old, after experiencing “the worst day of [my] life,” at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
In 2018, he spoke at the March for Our Lives Rally, organized in response to what happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. “The Sandy Hook shooting should have been the last shooting in our nation but there have been more and more every day,” he said.
Today, many shootings later, Mittleman has advice for UVA students: “First of all, keep an eye on yourself,” he says. “Make sure that you feel comfortable putting yourself in a position where you have to engage with this sensitive and difficult situation of gun violence, especially given that you’ve experienced it so recently.”
Students wrote the football jersey numbers of the three slain students on a banner they hung at the University of Virginia. Photo: Eze Amos.
Mittleman believes the way to avoid the normalization of such a tragedy is to talk about it. “You have to continue to highlight the impact that this has had on your life. You are now one of thousands of communities, schools, and groups that have experienced gun violence.”
Mittleman shared that there are many communities and groups that students can join if they feel compelled to take a stand. “Keep being loud,” he says.
Samantha Fuentes is an artist, songwriter, and survivor of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Fuentes became an advocate for gun violence prevention after suffering multiple injuries by a fellow student who killed 17 and injured 17 with an AR-15.
Fuentes believes the most productive immediate action for the UVA community to pursue is “togetherness. … Everyone is grief and trauma-stricken. At these times people want to self-isolate, but the act of being together is very important.”
In the days following the shooting, Parkland students organized a town hall and invited community members and local political leadership to get together to address what they had just endured. “Find the time and space to be with one another and think about what healing looks like and what resources are needed,” Fuentes advises.
During a November 14 press conference, UVA Chief of Police Tim Longo (pictured here with UVA President Jim Ryan, third from left) updated the community on the search for the man who allegedly killed three UVA students and injured two others. Photo: Eze Amos.
Colin Goddard—a survivor who was shot four times in the Virginia Tech massacre of 2007—echoes Fuentes’ and Mittleman’s calls for unity. “It’s more important that students talk, not necessarily to experts, but it’s the talking that is what’s important,” Goddard says.
According to Goddard, faculty members don’t need to be psychological advisors, but they should allow students to talk freely when back in their classrooms. Once discharged from the hospital, Goddard recovered in the community at Virginia Tech. “It was super helpful to be there instead of being away,” he says. “Be in the community now.”
After recovering from his wounds and getting his degree, Goddard volunteered for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and eventually exposed the shortcomings of gun legislation in the film Living for 32.
“People have to be active participants in honoring the lives and legacies of those who were impacted,” he says. “People have to work in any way that they can to make sure that some good comes from it in some way.”
Goddard has persisted in his advocacy, and is reminded of the pain he and others experienced at Virginia Tech 15 years ago. “Right now, it’s important for the UVA community to come together, and to invite those from outside the university to join them, too. Virginia Tech greatly benefited from the community with the University of Virginia following the tragedy they suffered.”
On the same day as tragedy struck the University of Virginia, a memorial was opened to commemorate the 20 children and six adults lost in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary almost 10 years ago.
One day later, on the evening of November 14, students gathered on the university’s South Lawn. They held candles up in remembrance of the classmates they lost just hours ago. In the coming days, they will mourn and remember together.
Remembering those who were lost
D’Sean Perry was a junior reserve linebacker from Florida who appeared in six of the UVA football team’s 10 games. “D’Sean was an amazing soul that made his family and community proud,” said Earl Sims, the head football coach at Gulliver Preparatory School. Charles Snowden, UVA football alum and Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker, posted a tribute to Perry on Instagram: “D’Sean is the human embodiment of resilience and perseverance and I couldn’t be more proud of him. I really did try to pass down everything I’d learned because I knew he could be much better than I ever could.” Perry’s parents have decided not to speak publicly about the incident, “as their grief is only beginning, and out of respect for the University of Virginia community [which] has been terrorized by another mass shooting in the United States.”
D’Sean Perry. Supplied photo.
Lavel Davis Jr., a junior from South Carolina, was a starting wide receiver and the third-leading pass receiver on the team this season; he caught two touchdowns. Davis was also a member of the Groundskeepers, a group of Virginia football players that pushes for social change. “He never bothered a soul,” Kim Richardson, Davis’ aunt, said. “He just wanted everyone happy.” Jack Hamilton, one of Davis’ UVA professors, shared in a Twitter post: “One thing that struck me about Vel was how much his classmates liked him and vice versa. … In my experience, star athletes tend to hang out with other athletes, but Vel seemed to go out of his way to make friends with non-athletes.”
Lavel Davis Jr. Supplied photo.
Devin Chandler transferred to Virginia from the University of Wisconsin, and had yet to play in a UVA football game. “He was so full of life. He was a great kid,” Alvis Whitted, a coach at Wisconsin, said. Hamilton, who also taught Chandler, called him “an unbelievably nice person, always a huge smile, really gregarious and funny. One of those people who’s just impossible not to like.” Wisconsin’s Defensive Coordinator Jim Leonhard said Chandler “had a lasting impact on his teammates, even after he left UW, which is a testament to the type of person he was.”
Devin Chandler. Supplied photo.
“I cannot find the words to express the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling today after the tragic events last night that resulted in the deaths of Lavel, D’Sean and Devin, and the others who were injured,” said UVA football coach Tony Elliott. “These were incredible young men with huge aspirations and extremely bright futures. Our hearts ache for their families, their classmates, and their friends. These precious young men were called away too soon. We are all fortunate to have them be a part of our lives. They touched us, inspired us, and worked incredibly hard as representatives of our program, university, and community. Rest in peace, young men.”
The Untempered Ensemble presents free performances at the UVA Memorial to Enslaved Labors on November 15, at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center on November 16, and in the Rotunda’s Dome Room on November 17. Publicity photo.
The concert begins with a thunderous gong and booming timpani.
As the intro song progresses, a guttural drone pulses, seemingly from beneath the audience’s feet, while the breathy undulation of a distant horn floats over the rumble.
Audiences new to Bill Cole’s Untempered Ensemble may not immediately recognize what they’re hearing. That’s because they’re listening to a didgeridoo and a conch shell, two of the non-Western instruments that define the unique sound of this improvisational group joining the University of Virginia’s artist-in-residence program from November 15-17.
The ensemble’s instruments originate from six continents, and the methods used to play them are hypnotizing. Cole’s cheeks bulge as he stores enough air to fill his four-foot-long instrument. Taylor Ho Bynum’s fingers curl deftly inside the seashell. Althea SullyCole expertly strums the 21 strings of her round-bellied kora.
Most of these complicated manipulations happen without sheet music. In fact, the only thing on the musicians’ stands is a single opening line.
This line is based on proverbs shared with Cole by a Nigerian mentor. The syllables of each proverb shape the opening rhythms of the Untempered Ensemble’s unpredictable group journey through sound.
“It could be anybody that takes the lead on it,” says Cole. “After we play the line, whoever jumps out there starts it. It’s joyous to be able to play in a situation where the individuals who are in my ensemble are making equal contributions to the pieces that we’re doing.”
The improvised song grows like a living thing. Occasionally, the sound of individual instruments floats away from the pulsing core—the lilt of the flute, the thrum of the acoustic bass—but there are glowing moments of cohesion, where the entire band comes together as one.
“One of the things that I’ve been working on for quite some time now is to have everybody in the ensemble improvising at the same time,” says Cole. “In other words, we’re not doing solos. We try to play one music, but it’s improvisational style.”
Unlike pop and classical artists, who usually stick to chords shaped from the key the song is played in, Cole and his Untempered Ensemble float outside diatonic boundaries.
Deliberately discordant moments sometimes fit the tone of the proverb the song is based on. That may be the case at UVA’s Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, where the Untempered Ensemble will hold its first Charlottesville performance of the year.
Cole, a descendant of enslaved laborers, is shaping the rhythm of this performance around two proverbs: “No wicked man will escape the judgment of God,” and “As we behave, so we are blessed.”
“Music has a way of initiating certain kinds of feelings within people when they come and hear the performances,” says Cole. “That’s the kind of thing I hope we do in our band.”
The performance will feature Cole on Asian double reeds, Australian didgeridoo, and African wooden flute; Joseph Daley on low brass; Warren Smith on African, Caribbean, and Western percussion; Bynum on cornet, trumpet, and conch shell; Ras Moshe Burnett on saxophones and flute; SullyCole on West African kora; Mali Obomsawin on acoustic bass; and Olivia Shortt on baritone saxophone.
In 1992, the ensemble began with just Cole, Smith, and Daley. The group slowly grew over the next three decades—until COVID-19 abruptly reversed that trend.
As venues closed their doors, Cole’s group shrunk back to a trio once more. Cole and two fellow ensemble members sat on his porch in Vermont, and played music for neighbors who set up folding chairs on the lawn to listen to the unique musical style.
“It’s American music, but in a state like Vermont, people haven’t heard the kind of music that I do,” says Cole. “It’s an interesting experience for both the people we play for and the players that are playing.”
The ensemble will return in full force to Charlottesville as an eight-member group featuring musicians ranging in age from their 20s to their 80s.
“Everybody is learning from everybody else, so it works out,” says Cole. “It’s the idea that everybody believes in the fact that we’re trying to play one music. That makes this important.”
The musicians’ influences range from the Senegalese, from whom Cole’s daughter SullyCole learned the kora during research in West Africa for her doctorate in ethnomusicology, to Aretha Franklin, for whom Smith once played percussion on tour and live TV.
But these differences in age and experience fade away on stage, when communal improvisation turns disparate instruments into a single noise that sounds like, as Bruce Lee Gallanter of the Downtown Music Gallery described it in April, “the dawn of mankind.”
“For all that CLAW is a joyously raucous and sometimes chaotic event, I felt totally safe and taken care of.”—Sally, “Zsa Zsa Gabortion,” Williamson, CLAW competitor. All images from Justin Ide Photography.
Colorful lights paint the stage as Peggy Lee’s “Big Spender” plays over the loudspeaker. Sparkling from head to toe like the overhead mirror ball, a woman wearing a sequin dress and dripping in costume jewelry swaggers and sways onstage, proudly brandishing a championship wrestling belt. “Zsa Zsa Gabortion,” a persona that’s equal parts Zsa Zsa Gabor and abortion rights activist, has just been named the evening’s arm-wrestling champ.
It’s the Saturday night before Halloween, and after a three-year hiatus, the Charlottesville Lady Arm Wrestlers (aka CLAW)—a collective of women that’s part creative cosplay, competition, and charitable cause—have reconvened for a rowdy revelry at Champion Brewing Company. Each Carnivale-style event is held to raise money for a women-led organization or small business. The beneficiary of tonight’s bash is the Blue Ridge Abortion Fund.
“I came to win tonight, but the real winner is BRAF,” says Zsa Zsa Gabortion. She’s right about that. The CLAWing It Back event brought in nearly $14,000, the most money raised by a CLAW gathering in its history. “All funds raised will support people from or traveling to Virginia for their abortion care,” says Deborah Arenstein, BRAF director of development.
For more than 30 years, BRAF has been providing financial and logistical support to people who need access to abortion care. “Being back in community, talking to people about abortion access and why it matters, and having fun while funding abortion is what we all need after a very challenging summer,” says Arenstein.
While the main purpose of any CLAW event is to raise funds, it’s also about putting on a show where women’s empowerment takes center stage. The outrageous antics may seem impromptu—and many of them are—but numerous volunteers lend their time and expertise.
The first meeting on October 9—just 20 days prior to the competition—assembled the arm wrestlers, introduced them to their fearless leaders, and gave them an overview of what to expect. For each event, the wrestlers are free to adopt new personas or maintain existing ones, so character development is the main topic of conversation. Sally Williamson, a full-time parent and volunteer and activist for women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, fittingly assumes the role of Zsa Zsa Gabortion.
One of eight arm wrestlers, Williamson is joined by first timers like her as well as seasoned veterans. From 20-somethings to 50-somethings, these women come from all walks of life and are united by a spirit of collaboration. Crowd favorite “ChiCLAWgo,” a dolled-up flapper inspired by the play Chicago, is portrayed by Amy Hill, a graphic designer and marketing professional. Lucy Fitzgerald, a Ph.D. candidate in mechanical & aerospace engineering at UVA, is “Fist of Furiosa,” a Mad Max-style warrior. Each competitor brings her own style of sensuality and strength, sass and smarts. One even brings her own live snake—“Eve of Destruction,” portrayed by Eve Hesselroth, owner of Clay Fitness.
USS Tightship, the referee who laid down the law (left), and Barb, half of a duo of camp counselors, and one of the night’s two emcees (right).
As the arm wrestlers brainstorm their personas, CLAW leader Claire Chandler helps them nail down character names and theme songs. Chandler has been one of CLAW’s primary organizers since 2016, when founding members Jennifer Tidwell and Jodie Plaisance turned over the reins. “As a local actress and drama teacher, CLAW has always spoken to my love of theatricality and improv,” says Chandler. “The icing on the CLAW cake has been witnessing the local community support and the amazing female friendships.”
Chandler also serves as onstage emcee “Gail,” one-half of a duo of camp counselors; fellow middle school drama teacher and CLAW organizer Edwina Herring portrays her counterpart, “Barb.” Behind the scenes, stage manager Michelle Oliva is in charge of wrangling the wrestlers and other performers to ensure the event runs smoothly.
The organizers share that a crucial piece of the event’s success is the entourages—wrestlers are allowed up to eight entourage members, who solicit the crowd for CLAWbucks, the mock money used for bogus betting. The goal of the entourages, dressed to complement the wrestlers’ personas, is to collect as many CLAWbucks as possible because they equal donations for the evening’s beneficiary. Entourage members offer a variety of items—3D-printed bird skull pins, bat facts zines, and candy packaged as abortion pills—in exchange for CLAWbucks.
A few days prior to the main event, the wrestlers reunite for a mandatory safety training session. Years ago, a wrestler broke her arm, and it’s clear that the incident is never far from the minds of the organizers.“It is our job to keep you safe,” says Chandler to the competitors.
The referee, known onstage as “USS Tightship” and offstage as UVA Associate Professor of Drama Caitlin McLeod, lives up to her character’s name when it comes to the well-being of the wrestlers. Her rules are simple but strict: keep your feet on the ground, maintain a straight plane, and stay out of the break arm position—the one where a wrestler’s arm is awkwardly and potentially dangerously bent. Seasoned wrestler Sidney Lyon, who drove from Boston earlier in the day to reprise her role as jilted bride “Kary-OK?” after another wrestler had to drop out of the competition, demonstrates the proper arm position. Then, each wrestler participates in a test match to prove she can compete safely.
Kary-OK?, a last-minute participant, who reprised her role as a jilted bride.
“For all that CLAW is a joyously raucous and sometimes chaotic event, I felt totally safe and taken care of,” says Williamson, “which meant that I could focus on engaging the crowd to make the event enjoyable for the audience and a successful fundraiser for Blue Ridge Abortion Fund!”
The morning of the event, the organizers, wrestlers, and entourage members meet at Champion for a dress rehearsal. A flurry of activity is squeezed into about an hour—everything from ensuring wrestlers can compete safely in their elaborate costumes to practicing the timing of dance numbers for their stage entrances. The emcees finalize the limericks they’ll read to introduce the wrestlers, as chairs are set out for VIP guests—those who donated $75 or more to attend. The stage manager lays out rules about who can and cannot access the stage. The ref establishes “Code Tyson,” the emergency protocol, and emphasizes safety once again. Wrestlers disband and are expected to return no later than 6:15pm.
Williamson spends the pre-match time with her partner and three kids. She’s also hosting a friend from Boston, who is in town to be part of her entourage. She has her hair done professionally and preps her costume, most of which she found online. Shortly before call time, she returns to Champion to finish getting ready.
Her entourage, also decked out in sparkles and gold lamé, includes Ezra, Williamson’s 11-year-old. He isn’t the only adolescent in attendance—“Mommie Smearest,” a Joan Crawford-esque character played by Marty Moore, is accompanied by “Christina” and “Christopher.” While CLAW may not be geared toward children, backstage certainly is a family affair. Kids run in and out of the green room, grabbing pizza and candy, while women apply makeup and practice their bits.
On the Champion patio, excitement and nervous energy are palpable. Wrestlers and their entourages take turns assembling for photos with Justin Ide, who’s providing free photography of the event. Five minutes prior to doors opening at 7pm, Williamson huddles with her entourage, providing instructions and encouragement. A luchadora lays out CLAW merch, while the BRAF cohort prepares cup koozies, magnets, and other swag for sale.
As soon as the Charlottesville Derby Dames, who volunteer as security personnel, allow spectators in, the entourage members get to work. Some stand close to the entrance, enticing people to hand over their CLAWbucks as soon as they set foot inside the gate. Others charm the VIP section, knowing there are big spenders in their midst. Scantily clad women stuff CLAWbucks in their corsets; shirtless men pose for photos for a fee.
Zsa Zsa Gabortion, the evening’s big winner (left), and ChiCLAWgo, winner of the Crowd Favorite trophy, a jewel-encrusted uterus (right).
Fans filter in over the next hour until Champion’s patio reaches capacity. CLAW begins with a roar, featuring a parade of the wrestlers and their entourages. After opening speeches from the emcees and BRAF’s Arenstein, the arm wrestling gets underway. Three rounds of competition stretch out over two hours—interspersed with multiple absurd interruptions.
There are dance-offs, an impromptu wrestling battle featuring a life-size cardboard cutout, and an intermission in which Kary-OK? sits on the stage alone after smashing her own face into a wedding cake. There are multiple breaks to bribe the three judges, Darryl “Disco Darryl” Smith, Katie “Wendy Snarling” Rogers, both of Live Arts, and a giant can of corn. The crowd cheers for wrestlers ousted early to return, like Katie Aplis’ “Vampira-bortion Rights,” and jeers when Kathryn Bertoni’s “Princess Slay-a” uses the Force to overtake Zsa Zsa Gabortion in a contested match.
“It was pointless but entertaining. That’s CLAW, y’all,” says Chandler’s Gail at one point from the stage.
But at the end of the night, it’s Zsa Zsa Gabortion who goes home with the bragging rights of having won the arm-wrestling competition. ChiCLAWgo wins the Crowd Favorite trophy. The spectators, entourage, and wrestlers disperse, and a small celebration among the organizers begins. They bid adieu with a “Soul Train”-style line dance and hand gestures to accompany their standard send-off, “Love, Peace, and CLAW.”
“We’re just regular people,” says ref Tightship McLeod. “But we do it all—we know how to have fun, and we help the community. That’s what happens when women run the show.”
Col. Sean Reeves says all Albemarle County Police Department personnel undergo mandatory training to prevent biased-based policing. File photo.
Activists accuse ACPD of biased policing
From July 1, 2021, to February 28, 2022, 20 percent of drivers stopped by the Albemarle County Police Department were Black, though Black residents make up only 9.6 percent of the county’s driving-age population, according to a 2022 traffic stop data report released by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services in October. The report used data collected through the Community Policing Act, which requires law enforcement agencies to collect demographic information during traffic and investigatory stops in an effort to prevent biased policing.
The People’s Coalition, a local advocacy group, urged the ACPD and county Board of Supervisors to address racially biased policing in a letter on October 25, claiming the department has neglected to do so for years. In 2020, 20 percent of drivers issued traffic summons by county cops were Black. In 2021, that number was 16.6 percent, according to the department’s annual reports.
“Racial profiling and biased-based policing are serious issues that also impact the trust of the department in the community, so necessary for effective law enforcement,” reads the letter. “The refusal of ACPD to even acknowledge that the disparity in policing must be studied and rectified points to a failure of oversight.”
However, the ACPD argues the Criminal Justice Services report does not provide an accurate depiction of its traffic stop demographics.
“Data tells us that less than half of drivers stopped by ACPD are residents of Albemarle County,” said Col. Sean Reeves in a statement to C-VILLE. “We do not have a demographic breakdown of drivers on Albemarle County roadways.”
“I don’t think we have a problem with bias policing in Albemarle county at all,” Capt. Darrell Byers told CBS19.
Reeves stressed that all ACPD personnel undergo mandatory training to prevent biased-based policing. The department’s Internal Affairs office and Command Staff also regularly monitor for potential cases of racial profiling, he said.
“In 2021, ACPD received a total of 34 complaints out of 64,400 encounters for the year,” added Reeves. “We encourage anyone to come forward if they feel a complaint is warranted. Every single complaint is investigated.”
In its letter, the coalition pointed to the case of ACPD detective Andrew Holmes as a reason why Black people may not come forward with complaints. From 2016 to 2017, eight Black residents filed five lawsuits against Holmes, who is white, accusing him of targeting Black people for traffic stops and search warrants. In 2015, 51 percent of the summons Holmes issued were to Black people, though the sectors of the county he worked in were only 18 percent Black. That same year, 22 percent of tickets issued by county cops were to Black people.
According to lawyer Jeff Fogel, all of the lawsuits against Holmes have been consolidated into one case. The parties negotiated a settlement this fall, but one plaintiff refused to accept the settlement. Fogel’s motion to enforce the settlement for the other plaintiffs is currently pending.
“When African American motorists did complain in the past, nothing happened,” reads the letter. Last year, the ACPD gave Holmes a Detective of the Year award.
Board of Supervisors Chair Donna Price agrees with the ACPD that the Criminal Justice Services report “should not automatically be concluded to have everything correct.”
“ACPD’s mandatory trainings … equip Albemarle County’s officers to prevent bias-based policing; and I am confident in Chief Reeves’ commitment to ensuring compliance,” Price told C-VILLE in an email, speaking only for herself. “However, [I] take any such report seriously and will engage to ensure that policing in the County is transparent, fair, and always with protection of our County safety at the forefront.”
In brief
Out on bond
Shane Dennis—who was charged on October 24 for placing a noose around the Homer statue’s neck at the University of Virginia in September—was released from the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail on November 3 after posting a $10,000 bond. Dennis, an Albemarle County resident, also agreed to receive mental health services, and abide by UVA’s no trespass order.
Jewish sign stolen
The Charlottesville and UVA police departments are searching for a person who stole a “Welcome Jewish students” banner from the front porch of the Chabad House—home to a Jewish student organization—on Lewis Mountain Road at around 12:05am on October 25. The suspect, who appears to be a white man wearing black clothing, was caught on camera, and left the scene in a blue Toyota pick-up truck. Anyone with information should contact the CPD at 970-3280.
Photo: CPD.
Still manager-less
During its November 7 meeting, Charlottesville City Council extended the city’s contract with The Robert Bobb Group once again, citing the need for interim City Manager Michael Rogers’ support during multiple ongoing and upcoming projects—including hiring a new police chief and developing the fiscal year 2024 budget. The contract will expire on December 31, 2023, unless council appoints a permanent city manager before then.
Rent relief available
Charlottesville and Albemarle County residents experiencing economic hardships due to the pandemic can now receive up to $1,000 per month—and up to $3,000 per year—for rental, mortgage, or utility assistance. Those in need of aid can call the Community Resources Hotline at (833) 524-2904 from 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday. The Spanish line number is 373-0930.
American Authors performs at The Southern Café & Music Hall on November 15. Supplied photo.
Chances are you’ve heard American Authors’ anthemic hit single, “Best Day of My Life.” The 2013 release went triple-platinum, and has been featured in over 600 movie trailers, TV shows, and commercials. In 2020, the New York-based rock band released Counting Down, a condensed album that continues the group’s evolution to a sound that’s recognizable yet unfamiliar. “We’ve never been afraid to explore new musical genres but we always try to maintain a message of hope in our music,” says vocalist Zac Barnett.
Tuesday 11/15. $20-23, 8pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 First St. S. thesoutherncville.com
Randy Rainbow performs at The Paramount Theater on November 13. Supplied photo.
Comedian, singer, and satirist Randy Rainbow hits the road for The Pink Glasses Tour, an evening filled with opulent costumes, stellar choreography, musical parody, and plenty of political spoofs. Rainbow’s memoir, Playing with Myself, landed him on The New York Times bestseller list, and his debut studio album, Hey Gurl, It’s Christmas!, debuted at number one on Billboard’s comedy chart. Rainbow also hosts a YouTube series, “The Randy Rainbow Show,” and a podcast, The Randy Rainbow Podcast.
Sunday 11/13. $49.50-169.50, 7:30pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net
The Charlottesville Players Guild. Supplied photo.
The Charlottesville Players Guild continues its journey through August Wilson’s American Century Cycle with Two Trains Running. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play, set in 1960s Pittsburgh, follows restaurant owner Memphis Lee and his patrons and employees as they search for justice and love amidst a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. Leslie M. Scott-Jones directs a cast that includes Todd Carter, Cadessa Davis, Hyison Payne, and Rory Lee-Washington.
Through 11/20. $10-20, various times. Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, 233 Fourth St. NW. jeffschoolheritagecenter.org
Since 2003, one Virginia chapter of Blue Star Mothers of America has sent military service members more than 6,500 packages, each one holding about $80 worth of supplies, food, and treats. Supplied photo.
I work from a checklist. Two bags of coffee brew cups, sugar and creamer packets, and tea bags. One bag with a T-shirt and cotton crew socks. Two bags of granola bars, protein bars, and beef jerky. Two bags of cookie packets, hard candy, Twizzlers, and chewing gum. One bag with toothpaste, bar soap, hand cream, and sunscreen. Two bags with tissue packets, Band-Aids, nail clippers, foot powder, and sweat bands. Two Sudoku books, two crossword puzzle books, two decks of playing cards. Eight or nine hand-written notes from total strangers, saying thanks and God bless.
It’s pack-out night for Blue Star Families of Central Virginia. In a few hours, 50 boxes of daily necessities and small luxuries will be ready to send to military service members around the world.
This group is one of four Virginia chapters of Blue Star Mothers of America, a national organization started during World War II and chartered by Congress in 1960 to “support our troops, our veterans, our military families, and each other.” Tonight’s assignment? Preparing care packages for active-duty military service members on deployment.
“Our hardest task isn’t getting money or volunteers,” says chapter president Martha Horsfall. “It’s collecting the names and addresses of those serving, so we can send them our support.”
While this chapter was started during the first Iraq conflict, its boxes aren’t just for those in combat zones; recipients may be deployed to military hospitals, refugee efforts, diplomatic stations, or rescue missions. Wherever recipients are stationed, “they open the boxes up as soon as they get there,” says Horsfall, “and within 10 minutes, everything is gone.”
Knowing the contents will be shared, the chapter tries to send two or three boxes to each recipient—since 2003, more than 6,500 packages have been mailed, each one holding about $80 worth of supplies, food, and treats. It’s not that the four military services can’t supply their own troops; the aim is to boost morale and show support from back home. As vice president Ginger Fitzgerald says, “The Army can’t send them love.”
The chapter (mostly women, but men are welcome) holds five pack-out nights a year—and every shipment, like any military operation, requires enormous preparation and organization. Weeks before a pack-out night, Horsfall compiles the mailing list. Then, she inventories supplies on hand at American Legion Post #74, which stores items already purchased or donated by local churches, schools, companies, and community organizations.
Last year, in-kind donations were valued at $15,635, more than half the cost of the supplies shipped out. But no one can put a dollar amount on the hundreds of hand-written letters, notes, and drawings Blue Star Families collect from its partners and members of the public at community events like Carter Mountain’s Salute to Hometown Heroes, the United Way’s Day of Caring, and the 4 Our Freedom 5K.
With the wish list compiled, shoppers Fitzgerald and Sharon Widdows hit Walmart, Sam’s Club, or Amazon—wherever they get the most bang for the chapter’s bucks. Then, all the supplies, treats, health and hygiene items, and clothing are sorted and prepackaged into small plastic bags. That way, on pack-out night, volunteers can take their checklists and walk down the line of tables, picking up what’s needed for each box. Once the boxes are stuffed and sealed, the addressing, processing, and shipping (averaging $23 per box) is provided pro bono by Crutchfield.
After so much preparation, the pack-out runs like clockwork. As they work, volunteers catch up, chat and laugh about how true it is that an army marches on its stomach—and its feet.
Volunteers participate for their own reasons: a child deployed, a desire to lend a hand or acknowledge a debt. Horsfall is the daughter, sister, wife, mother, and aunt of service members. Fitzgerald, whose family never had anyone in the military, found that when her son joined the Air Force, “I needed an outlet to focus my anxiety,” and became active with Blue Star Families for the camaraderie and sense of contributing to something worthwhile.
“These men and women have volunteered for us, and they’re far from home,” says Horsfall.
Blue Star Families of Central Virginia’s next pack-out is November 17, starting at 6:30pm at American Legion Post #74 in Keswick. For more information, go to bsfcv.avenue.org; to volunteer or provide a recipient’s name and address, contact Ginger Fitzgerald at gsfitzgerald@gmail.com. Note: the nonprofit organization Blue Star Families (bluestarfam.org) has a completely different focus, providing support and community networking for military families.
