Author: linnea-white

UVA faculty member George Sampson’s Arts Marketing Seminar is surveying the Betsy and John Casteen Arts Grounds—and not in a topological sense. Circulated via e-mail, a student-created survey seeks peer involvement in developing the Arts Grounds’ image.

“It will help create a marketing plan for Vice Provost for the Arts Elizabeth Turner to effectively market the new Betsy and John Casteen Arts Grounds,” writes class member and third year student Jessica Smith in an e-mail. “We’re doing the survey to establish the current definition of the Arts Grounds, specifically from the student perspective.”

The survey began circulation on October 7; in two days, 720 students submitted responses. After the survey is closed on October 19, the results will be analyzed in order to create a marketing plan for the Arts Grounds campaign.

Among other things, the survey asks students what types of events would draw them to the Arts Grounds, from "quiet study space" to art receptions with food and wine for students age 21 and older. Additional ideas discussed in Sampson’s class include signage, film screenings for incoming first years during summer orientation, a post-convocation reception on the Arts Grounds, and boosting advertising and connections with the Fine Arts Café.

The surveyors hope to create an atmosphere in which all of the arts at UVA are fostered, and to promote a community of artists, not an area of separate buildings.

“It’s also important to note that this term [Arts Grounds] has been around for almost five years, and yet we don’t use it,” adds Smith, an interdisciplinary major in Arts Administration.

Since late 2007, Turner has worked closely with Sampson in molding courses into academic exercises in arts development. “This year, 3 of the 4 courses I teach will focus on aspects of the Arts Grounds,” writes Sampson in an e-mail. In addition, Turner hosts monthly meetings to discuss the Arts Grounds with the “neighbors” of the UVA arts community, such as the Campbell School of Architecture, the McIntire Department of Music, and the Fayerweather Art History Department, among others.

“I guess one could say that this is one of those (rare?) times when the left hand at UVA does know what the right hand is doing,” writes Sampson, who is currently coordinating jazz musician William Parker’s residency this week.

Although several investigations in Great Britain and the US have not turned up evidence of fraud, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli continues to use the Freedom of Information Act to demand climate-change scientist Michael Mann’s research documents.

The Washington Post reports that the September 29th demand specifically calls for documents from a $214,700 state grant—one of the five Mann received in his six years at UVA. The research grant included two documents that Cuccinelli claims contained false information.

UVA maintains its stance on academic freedom and it has been assisted by the Hogan Lovells law firm, which was retained in May in a response to Cuccinelli’s first request.  

Cuccinelli’s request has shrunk from his original demand for a slew of data, including documents, research material, and email correspondence in all five of Mann’s research grants, to one particular grant.

However, he still questions the conduct of the scientist in obtaining these grants, which could threaten Virginia’s Fraud Against Taxpayers Act (FATA). In August, Albemarle County Judge Paul Peatross waived Cuccinelli’s subpeona, ruling that the attorney general did not comply with the FATA requirement of a clear statement of “the nature of the conduct constituting the alleged violation."

The demand document gives UVA until October 29 to comply.
 

Today, the Virginia State Police (VSP) announced the conviction of a 51-year-old Northern Virginia man, Alvin T. Daniels, for “maliciously and intentionally” providing false information during the 2009 search for Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.

In November 2009, Daniels called in anonymously to the VSP tip line to identify a 34-year-old Prince William County man as a suspect. Further investigation by FBI and state police tound that the Prince William man was instead a “victim of an act of vengeance on the part of Daniels.” Daniels was sentenced to six months suspended jail time on the condition of good behavior, and must reimburse the VSP for time wasted on investigation efforts.

In January, Harrington’s body was found on Anchorage Farm; the homicide investigation into her death is on-going. Lieutenant Joe Rader of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Appomattox Division encourages the public to call into the VSP tip line and Crime Stoppers, but warns the public of penalties for “purposefully misleading investigators with a tip.”
 

After the Virginia General Assembly released the expression of regret for Virginia’s involvement in slavery in February 2007, the UVA Board of Visitors initiated the installment of a black slate marker to acknowledge the history of slavery at the University. The memorial marker is located on the brick walkway on the West side of the Rotunda, and bears a short inscription. The founding of UCARE, or University and Community Action for Racial Equity, followed suit in response to the call for reconciliation.

“Ishraga Eltahir, a rising fourth year and UCARE intern who pushed for this proposal, distributed a UVA-wide survey asking students if they knew the marker existed and if they thought it was enough,” explained Jessie Ray, the Project Director for UCARE, during a recent public input meeting at the Haven Downtown shelter. “After gathering 800-something survey responses, the outcome was ‘No, we don’t know it’s there, and, yes, we think there needs to be something more visible.’”

Since the spring, UCARE has hosted focus-groups for the student-initiated proposal, seeking feedback from the University and the community on the purpose, location and aesthetic of a new memorial. From conception to construction, the project is expected to take five years, said Ray. In August, an advisory board will assemble to withhold the integrity of the proposal. The board will also organize idea competitions and design competitions among students and the community.

Flo King, a rising fourth year and UCARE intern, spoke of the history each UVA student inherits. “I still know UVA students who don’t know there were slaves here or that there’s a slavery memorial on Grounds and what the significance of stepping over it is,” she explained. “You don’t have to apologize, you can take it or leave it, but I think it’s important to have some kind of aspect that would take their learning and education further, and wouldn’t just end at the memorial.”

Frank Dukes, the Director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation at UVA (and a facilitator of Quality Community Council’s "Race and Repair" course), affirmed the need for a more adequate memorial. “If this ‘expression of regret’ is taken seriously, what would it really look like?” he asked the group.

The attendees stressed that the memorial be educational and have an ongoing presence within UVA and the community, and Dukes summarized the participants’ ideas. “The memorial should welcome people, move people, educate people, and empower people, to compel change or recognize changes,” he said.

What should a new memorial look like? Leave your thoughts below.
 

At the end of the second quarter, Fifth District Democratic Congressman Tom Perriello raised $660,000 in funds, according to Talking Points Media LLC’s blog, TPM. However, However, Republican candidate and state Senator Robert Hurt is putting up a fight for the Fifth District seat, with a bit of help from a former governor and Vice Presidential candidate.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin gave $3,500 to Hurt’s campaign, according to the Federal Election Commission’s Itemized Disbursements List. Palin’s donations this quarter total $87,500. On his way to clinching the GOP nomination for the Fifth District race, Hurt clobbered six other candidates in fundraising.