Tag: university of virginia

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Historical hangout: UVA renovates Rotunda to fit student study needs

UVA’s historic preservation architect Jody Lahendro says the construction work is 76 percent done and the changes are meant to reinstate the Rotunda as a center for student life. Staff photo

Driving down University Avenue, you might notice the Rotunda’s usual cluster of scaffolding has decreased considerably. Although the UNESCO World Heritage Site is still under construction, UVA’s design team has completed the majority of its renovations, and the project is on schedule to be finished by the end of July.

The first phase included installing a new oculus and copper roof. The second phase began in spring 2014 and expands classroom space in the Rotunda, increases access and enhances programming options at a cost of roughly $42.5 million.

UVA’s historic preservation architect Jody Lahendro says the construction work is 76 percent done and the changes are meant to reinstate the Rotunda as a center for student life.

“What all of us, and the university design team, hope this project does is to bring students back into the Rotunda to have it become an active part of the daily life of the students, a daily part of the education experience,” Lahendro says,

In Thomas Jefferson’s original 1821 designs for the Rotunda, the building was meant to be the university’s main library, a natural hub for student activity. When Alderman Library became the main library on grounds in 1930, it slowly shifted student study space outside of the Rotunda.

The renovations to the Rotunda’s interior add several new areas specifically designed for student use.

“We’re opening three new student classrooms, new study spaces, and the hours will be extended for students to use,” Lahendro explains. “And we’re enhancing the Dome Room for the students to use as a study space—it will be set up for that purpose.”

While the inside of the Rotunda will remain a construction site for the next five months, Lahendro says that final exercises for the Class of 2016 will not be affected. For the big day in May, the construction team will take down the fences on both sides of the Rotunda and students will be able to process up the north portico steps, around the terraces of the Rotunda, and down the south portico steps.

The two-year-long renovations have not been all smooth sailing. Some of the outdoor work on the utilities between the Rotunda and University Avenue caused unexpected trouble.

As part of the second phase, four new utility lines had to be added, running perpendicular to utilities that had been installed as early as the 19th century. Difficulties with installation pushed this part of the project back by six months.

“We found many of the utility lines in different locations than the maps had shown,” Lahendro says. “We had to eventually go underneath all of those existing utilities and when we did that we hit rock.”

The construction team most recently has been working on closing up ceilings and walls inside the Rotunda, putting brick in the Rotunda’s new elevator, cleaning up the marble balustrades and paving the terraces. Although much of this work was planned to safeguard the historical site, Lahendro stresses again that the students are at the heart of the renovations.

“They are the most important part of this project,” Lahendro says, “Our hope is to make the Rotunda part of the students’ educational experience and get them back in there again.”

“What all of us, and the university design team, hope this project does is to bring students back into the Rotunda to have it become an active part of the daily life of the students, a daily part of the education experience,” UVA’s historic preservation architect Jody Lahendro says.

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Jesse Matthew pleads guilty, receives four additional life sentences

Jesse Matthew could be seen through an Albemarle County courthouse window on his way to entering a plea agreement for the murders and abductions of Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington. He was given four additional life sentences. Staff photo

 

Convicted murderer Jesse Matthew pleaded guilty to the first degree murders and abductions of both Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington in Albemarle County Circuit Court on March 2. He was given four life sentences—the maximum sentence for each count.

Matthew will avoid the death penalty because Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Tracci nolle prossed his capital murder charge as part of the plea agreement. Tracci explained that the Commonwealth can re-indict Matthew for the capital murder charge if he should violate the terms of the plea agreement.

For the complete statement of facts about the Hannah Graham case, including a timeline of what happened on the night she was abducted, DNA conclusions and evidence gathered at Matthew’s apartment read Hannah Graham Statement of Facts 3-2-16. For the statement of facts about the Morgan Harrington case, read Morgan Harrington Statement of Facts 3-2-16.

Before the hearing, Matthew’s family and friends lined up to hug Harrington’s mother, Gil. Declining to give his own statement during the hearing, Matthew’s attorney said, “He is very sorry.”

Parents of both slain college students spoke about the impact the murders have had on their lives during and after the hearing.

Graham’s mother, Susan Graham, said, “When we imagine the trauma she endured at the hands of Matthew, our hearts break.” Though details of how Matthew abducted and killed each girl were typed up and handed to Judge Cheryl Higgins, they were not read aloud. Matthew’s attorney, Doug Ramseur, said he is unaware whether the parents have yet learned those details.

“Matthew dumped our girl’s body like a bag of trash,” Susan Graham said, adding that her daughter’s lifeless body was picked over by buzzards. Her daughter, an 18-year-old UVA student who disappeared September 13, 2014, was found dead several weeks later in a field off Old Lynchburg Road.

According to the statement of facts released by the county, the crop top Graham was last seen wearing the night of her abduction was found near her skeletal remains, unzipped and inside out. Her jeans were also found nearby, with one leg inside out and holes in the denim that had not been present earlier in the night.

Graham’s father, John, said many people thought his daughter would change the world. “She did change the world, but at a terrible price.”

Two of the life sentences Matthew was given March 2 pertained to Harrington, a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student who was last seen at a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena on October 17, 2009. Her body was found in a field in January 2010, about five miles from where Graham’s body was found almost five years later.

Harrington’s father, Dan, said he lives in “a world that’s gone gray, flat and devoid of joy,” now that his “beautiful, smart, talented and bright” daughter is gone. “Our family has felt the pain of this loss every second of every day.”

He and his wife, Gil, have built an African school and founded a scholarship in Harrington’s name. They also created the Help Save the Next Girl nonprofit foundation to sensitize young women and girls to predatory dangers.

Ramseur spoke after the sentencing, saying “This is obviously not a day for celebration,” before media fired questions about his client, such as why Matthew didn’t apologize himself and if he ever explained why he murdered two young women. The attorney deflected the questions and said it’s “unfortunate” that, because Matthew won’t have a trial, the public might never hear evidence from the the defense. He did say in an initial statement during the hearing that Matthew decided to plead guilty because he didn’t want a death sentence “hanging over his head.”

Legal expert David Heilberg says most capital murder cases now end in plea bargains, and he expected this as the likely outcome for Matthew.

Now that the death penalty is off the table, Matthew’s four additional life sentences are debatably meaningless, Heilberg says. Last summer, Matthew was given three life sentences for abducting, violently sexually assaulting and attempting to kill a Fairfax woman in 2005.

“You only have one life to serve,” Heilberg adds. “At this point, it can’t get any worse.”
Watch a video of Gil Harrington addressing the public below.

 

 

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Save the books: UVA undergrads object to possible book removal

Fourth-year English major Vanessa Braganza worries the renovations to Alderman will permanently remove a large amount of Alderman’s collections to an off-site location. Photo by Amy Jackson

In this digital age, many speculate that printed literature is on the decline, with Kindles, iPhone apps and Google Books able to supply previously printed materials. However, this view of a digitized reading future holds little weight at the University of Virginia, where faculty and students alike are fighting to “save the books” at Alderman Library.

Alderman Library, opened in 1938, has not been renovated since the late ’60s, and plans are currently in the works for a renovation that would address health and safety issues, such as modernizing the fire suppression systems, as well as plumbing and electrical. In the wake of these proposed renovations, some UVA students fear that Alderman Library’s roughly 2.5 million books, government documents and newspapers are in danger.

Fourth-year English major Vanessa Braganza worries the renovations to Alderman will permanently remove a large amount of Alderman’s collections to an off-site location.

“It’s been proposed that only 800,000 of the 2 million books here might be left,” Braganza says. “And although this is only speculation, it’s an alarming speculation to even consider.”

Braganza, whose petition to Keep the Books in Alderman has garnered more than 580 undergraduate signatures, says that removing books from Alderman would undermine one of the primary functions of a library.

“The library is several things,” Braganza says. “It’s the equivalent of a laboratory to a researcher. It’s a sort of museum where you can come and touch things. And while the book as artifact is only one facet of the library, the primary function of a library is to come and browse the books.”

Former university president and current English professor John Casteen agrees that the physicality of a book is important, especially for incoming professors.

“There were people who came to UVA specifically because we had a spectacular collection and who would build upon these special kinds of collections,” Casteen says. “[The renovation] has huge implications for how we teach our courses and how we attract new faculty with the strength of our collections.”

Interim university librarian Martha Sites says the students’ and faculty members’ fear of a large-scale removal of books from Alderman Library is relatively unfounded.

“The thing that I just can’t overstate is that there is no plan yet,” Sites says, adding that the library renovations are still “working documents” and that nothing will be confirmed until the state legislature approves or denies funding for the project (full renovations could cost as much as $160 million). “When people speculate about [the renovations],” Sites says, “it can create a kind of hysteria that is just not necessary when an open dialogue is forthcoming.”

Sites also says rumors have arisen that Alderman will digitize its books and remove the physical copies, which she says is not part of the plans. According to Sites, 78 percent of Alderman’s collections are under copyright, making it nearly impossible to digitize these works and make them publicly available online, thus requiring them to stay where they are.

Even if these books were available online, Braganza emphasizes how different searching online is from searching in person.

“How often do you go in search of a book and you look around you in the stacks and find related things, or you find that the book you wanted was not what you thought it would be?” Braganza asks, adding that the ability to browse through the stacks is paramount to student research.

Sites does say that books will have to be removed temporarily for renovations to take place. She points to a corroded piece of plumbing as evidence that these renovations are necessary.

In order to protect the books from dirt and dust, plans are in the works to move them to a storage library on Ivy Road, where students would be able to check them out in person or request a book, which would be shuttled to Grounds that day.

Above all, Sites says that the staff of Alderman Library has no intention of permanently removing large numbers of books.

“I can’t tell you how bothered some of our staff were at the assumption that librarians don’t care about books,” Sites says. “That’s why most of our people are here —because we do care about books.”

By the numbers:

Volumes in Alderman (including books, documents and serials): 2.5 million

Volumes added per year: 35,000

Seats in Alderman (for studying purposes): 1,447

Estimated cost for necessary renovations: Between $40 million and $100 million

Estimated cost for full renovations (including restoration of certain spaces): $160 million

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Legal expert speaks to Jesse Matthew’s anticipated guilty plea

Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington. Photos courtesy Charlottesville Police Department and Virginia State Police

Jesse Matthew is set to enter a plea deal in the abduction and murder of Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington in Albemarle Circuit Court on March 2.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Tracci issued a letter February 29 stating that although it is anticipated that Matthew will plead guilty and resolve both cases, Tracci’s office will not provide any additional details or comments before the hearing.

Legal expert David Heilberg says most capital murder cases now end in plea bargains, and he expected this as the likely outcome for Matthew and his defense attorneys, Doug Ramseur and Michael Hemenway.

“It would take the death penalty off the table,” which Heilberg says is likely Matthew’s motivation. “At this point, it can’t get any worse.”

Last summer, Matthew was given three life sentences for abducting and sexually assaulting a Fairfax woman in 2005. “You only have one life to serve,” Heilberg adds.

Matthew is accused of capital murder in the death and abduction of Graham, an 18-year-old UVA student who disappeared September 13, 2014, and was found dead several weeks later on Old Lynchburg Road. He has also been indicted by a grand jury for the 2009 murder and abduction of Harrington, a Virginia Tech student, who was last seen at a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena that October. She was 20 years old at the time.

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Little information released about UVA student arrested in North Korea

UVA's Rotunda. File photo

A University of Virginia student is currently detained in North Korea for allegedly committing a “hostile act” against the country.

Otto Franklin Warmbier, a third-year commerce student, Echols scholar and Theta Chi fraternity brother, was visiting North Korea with the Chinese travel agency Young Pioneer Tours, which markets itself as providing “budget tours to destinations your mother would rather you stayed away from.”

The agency did not respond to an inquiry, but confirmed on its blog January 22 that one of its clients is being detained in Pyongyang. Young Pioneer Tours also said the agency has been in contact with the Swedish Embassy, which acts as the protecting interest for U.S. citizens and is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address the case.

The U.S. Department of State has confirmed that it will work with the Swedish Embassy to ensure the student’s welfare.

The Washington Post reported Warmbier was detained January 2 at a Pyongyang airport as he was leaving North Korea after a five-day New Year’s Eve trip. Spokesperson Anthony deBrun says UVA “has been in touch with Otto Warmbier’s family and will have no additional comment at this time.”

A statement from the Korean Central News Agency, released January 22, says Warmbier “was arrested while perpetrating a hostile act” against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea “after entering it under the guise of tourist for the purpose of bringing down the foundation of its single-minded unity at the tacit connivance of the U.S. government and under its manipulation,” but did not release any specifics.

Several of Warmbier’s family and friends did not immediately respond to an interview request.

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UVA Associate Dean Nicole Eramo seeks Jackie’s text messages

UVA Associate Dean Nicole Eramo. Photo: UVA University Communications

The University of Virginia dean suing Rolling Stone for more than $7.5 million after a now-discredited story about a university gang rape at a fraternity house, which she said painted her as the “chief villain” in the case, is asking for access to the alleged rape victim’s text messages and other communications.

Associate Dean Nicole Eramo’s legal team filed documents January 6 that say Jackie, the alleged victim in the 2012 story titled “A Rape on Campus,” should not be protected from having to reveal her texts because there’s no evidence that a rape actually took place.

“What Jackie is refusing to produce is not evidence of a sexual assault, but evidence that she lied,” Eramo’s lawyers wrote in a submitted document, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

The associate dean’s attorneys call Jackie a “serial liar” in the filings and seek documents related to Haven Monahan, the student Jackie says she was on a date with the night of the alleged rape and whom officials later learned was never a student at UVA. A person by the name of Haven Monahan has never been found or linked to the case.

A January 8 Washington Post article, “‘Catfishing’ over love interest might have spurred U-Va. gang-rape debacle,” suggests that Jackie created Monahan, a fake suitor, to spark love between herself and fellow university student Ryan Duffin. She encouraged Duffin to text Monahan, whom she said was in her chemistry class, and Duffin told the Post that Monahan seemed “infatuated” with Jackie. In a later investigation, photos of Monahan, which he purportedly sent to Duffin, were determined to be photos of a person from Jackie’s high school, who was not Monahan.

Monahan once told Duffin in a text message that he should have more sympathy for Jackie because she had a terminal illness. Duffin says he asked Jackie about the illness and she confirmed to him that she was dying.

Jackie has not been named as the defendant in any of the three lawsuits the retracted story has spawned. Along with Eramo’s suit, one has been filed by the UVA chapter of Phi Kappa Psi, where the rape allegedly took place, and by a smaller group of men from the fraternity who say they were alluded to in the story.

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Joie de vivre: Students decide to stay or leave Paris after attacks

Of the UVA students studying abroad in Paris this past semester, one says a significant number elected to finish their school work electronically from domestic soil after the November 13 terrorist attacks in which 130 people were killed.

Former C-VILLE intern Kathleen Smith, receiving credit in Paris through the Institute for International Education of Students, was among the UVA students who eventually got a plane ticket home. During the attacks, she says she was on fall break and vacationing in Prague. Smith was having dinner with a group of friends in her IES program when she received a CNN update on her phone that said a shooting had just taken place at Le Petit Cambodge.

“I was particularly concerned since it was a restaurant where I had eaten before and actually recommended to friends visiting Paris that weekend,” she wrote in an e-mail.

Smith says it didn’t take long to realize the gravity of the situation—within the hour news outlets began reporting the bombings at Stade de France and the shootings at Le Bataclan and other restaurants.

“Luckily, most of my friends were out of Paris,” she says, “but it was an extremely surreal and scary experience trying to locate those who weren’t.”

It was impossible to sleep on the night of the attacks, Smith says, adding that her “thumb was sore from refreshing news websites so frequently.”

The week following the events, she says that while Parisians were grief-stricken, they were adamant about maintaining their “joie de vivre”—or exuberant enjoyment of life—by eating out on terraces, making themselves present in the city and paying their respects at the sites of the attacks. On Wednesday following the incidents, Smith says French police staged a raid near Saint-Denis, right outside Paris, and found plans for a future attack. Two suspected terrorists were killed and eight were taken into custody.

“Following the raids, the tide definitely changed in terms of my experience in Paris,” she says. Wednesday classes were canceled, and a significant number of students in the IES program started making plans to go back to America. She estimates that six people in the program were from UVA.

Initially, going home seemed drastic, Smith says. But after receiving several e-mails from the U.S. Embassy advising students to avoid restaurants, shopping malls, theaters, airports, public transportation and other venues, leaving started to make sense. Immediately following the initial attacks, she says UVA contacted IES administration to determine if it was possible for students to complete the program from home.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared when I left the comfort of my apartment in the residential 14th arrondissement,” she says. “The thing that was most jarring is that the attack sites were all places people my age would go.” Soccer stadiums, trendy restaurants and concert halls were among the mix. Everywhere she went, Smith says she was plagued with thoughts such as, “Is this a dangerous spot?” or “Could this be a target?”

Smith left Paris at the end of November and is finishing her semester at home in Louisville, Kentucky.

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UVA welcomes new head football coach

Bronco Mendenhall, former BYU head football coach, will take the reins at UVA. Photo by Matt Riley

Just days after former University of Virginia football coach Mike London resigned, Brigham Young University’s Bronco Mendenhall snagged the title December 4, becoming UVA’s 40th head football coach.

At BYU, Mendenhall coached the Cougars for 11 seasons with an overall record of 99-42 and ranked 12th in total wins among all Football Bowl Subdivision teams during that time. He also ranks 13th in winning percentage among all active coaches with at least five years of FBS experience, and 10th among those with at least 10 years of experience, according to a press release by Virginia Sports.

The Cougars are one of 11 teams to advance to a bowl game each season over the last 11 years, with Florida State being the only team to win more bowl games—seven—than BYU’s six.

Mendenhall played football for Utah’s Snow College for two years and finished his career as a starter at Oregon State, where he played both linebacker and safety. He began coaching as a graduate assistant at Oregon State, coached at Snow College and Northern Arizona, and returned to Oregon State as defensive coordinator. He also coached at Louisiana Tech and New Mexico before beginning his stint at BYU as defensive coordinator in 2003. He was promoted to head coach in 2005.

Mendenhall’s compensation for the next five years is $3.25 million annually, which does not include additional performance or longevity bonuses that he may earn.

He and his wife, Holly, have three sons—Raeder, Breaker and Cutter.

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UPDATED: No UVA students aboard crashed bus

A bus crash in North Chesterfield County left about 35 people injured, including an unknown number of UVA students. Photo courtesy of the Virginia State Police

Virginia State Police have determined that speed was a factor in the November 29 motorcoach accident by an Abbott Trailways driver in North Chesterfield County.

The bus, driven by Thomas B. Chidester of Salem, was en route to the University of Virginia around 7:15pm when the driver lost control on the curve of a ramp and the bus overturned onto its side, police say. Chidester was charged with reckless driving.

At the time of the crash, 50 passengers—students reportedly returning to UVA, Virginia Tech and Radford after Thanksgiving break—and the driver were on board. About 34 of the passengers and the driver were taken to six Richmond-area hospitals for minor injuries and one passenger is still being treated for serious injuries, according to state police.

According to UVA spokesperson Anthony de Bruyn, the university has been given no information that would indicate that UVA students were on the bus. Dan Ronan, a spokesperson for the American Bus Association, confirms this statement and says, “It’s possible, but we haven’t been able to determine that.”

Abbott Trailways is a charter company based in Roanoke that handles student travel, field trips, sports teams, churches, military reunions and other groups.