Letters to the Editor: Winter 2023
Vox Alumni: Meet Gen V
I just read your Fall 2023 issue and I really liked the data visualizations you created for the “Gen V” piece. I would love to show one of them to my first-year students in Data Science 1001, if you are willing to share? The two-page timeline really knocked it out of the park.
Peter Alonzi (Grad class of ’07, class of ’12)
Assistant Professor,
UVA School of Data Science
Charlottesville
Regarding the most recent “survey” of younger alumni, it was sad but perhaps not surprising that a mere 5 percent responded. Yet, your article states that a 5 percent response rate is “stout”—whatever that means for surveys versus Friday nights out. … Despite the collaboration that the Center for Survey Research provided (with whom I have had the pleasure of working in the past), the conclusions in the article go far beyond the data you have and are not a service to alumni reading your article. …
I am not minimizing the challenges of getting responses in such surveys … . Yet claiming that the results reflect the majority of UVA alumni is reaching to say the least and borders on the disingenuous.
[E]ven if the survey results are in some way valid, does it bother the Alumni Association that rapport with faculty ranked so low? Or that being part of a diverse culture ranked below the landscaping of the Lawn? Or that the maintenance of academic rigor has gone down steadily … ? But of course I can’t have it both ways—I just don’t know, and neither do you.
Kurt Elward (Intern class of ’84, Res class of ’86)
Charlottesville
Getting Inside Cavman’s Head
“From the first time I put on the suit, I was instantly Cavman.” Check.
“No talking while in costume.” Check. “I couldn’t hear.” Check.
“Improv and dance skills,” “stamina,” “losing 8-10 pounds per game.” Check.
“Telling lies about whereabouts on game days,” “ducking into corners to change,” “mischief about to unfold.” Check.
“Outfit like a sweat sponge,” “it’s really gross in there.” All check.
“… first female Cavman.” What the ’Hoo?
While some things clearly have changed for the better, many things have remained the same over the years of the Cavman. As one of the early Cavmen in the late ’80s, I was so pleased about the article as it brought back vivid memories of my years in the suit. And surprise! As a result of this article, some of our earlier alumni of the cheer squad have conferred and we believe that one of the first individuals to don the suit was, in fact, female.
I loved reading and learning about how those playing the role have diversified further in more recent years yet maintained the consistency of the character that is Cavman. I was also relieved to read there are multiple suits and students to play the character at different parts of the game (not the case during my years, hence the need for stamina!). It warmed my heart to see the picture of me with [Jeremy Rowe (Col class of ’09)] when he was 3 years old and to know that in some small way this encounter might have influenced him to step into the shoes later in his UVA life. The story reminded me of seeing the Duke Blue Devil as a kid and telling my parents that someday I’m going to be the mascot for my school. Well, I did just that. I would not trade the experiences of being Cavman for anything.
Dan Sherlock (Engr class of ’90)
Studio City, California
God bless the boys and girls ’Hoo work so hard at their Cavman responsibilities, but give me a real person instead of this oafish being that, hard as they work on it, suffocates Cavman’s humanity inside that sealed chamber of muted sweat.
David Irvine White Jr. (Col class of ’62)
Charlottesville
No Ifs, Ands or Bots?
Considering everything else humanity is being tested with these days, did we have to complicate it even more with AI? I personally view the hoopla over AI like an iceberg: 90 percent of the danger is lurking below the surface. So let me leave you with two quotes from Yuval Noah Harari’s amazing sequel to Sapiens, titled Homo Deus.
“In the 21st century we might witness the creation of a massive new unworking class: people devoid of any economic, political or even artistic value, who contribute nothing to the prosperity, power and glory of society. This ‘useless’ class will not merely be unemployed, but unemployable.
“The crucial problem will not be creating new jobs. The crucial problem will be creating new jobs that humans perform better than algorithms.”
At least I am comforted knowing that great institutions like UVA are addressing the threat early enough and with sufficient vigor to provide us mere mortals with actionable guidance.
Mark Heckler (Com class of ’77)
Cambridge, Maryland
Letters to the Editor
In the Fall issue, the letters to the editor were from alumni who graduated in ’61, ’61, ’64, ’65, ’69, ’71, ’71, ’74, ’79, ’80, ’80, ’81, ’84 and, finally, ’96.
There are more than [265,000] living alumni and most don’t remember the ’90s, let alone the Eisenhower administration.
We should make sure alumni voices are being published in proportion to how much of the alumni base those voices represent.
And while I bet the magazine gets more submissions from that older vocal minority, I’d love to see more letters that don’t originate on a typewriter.
Eric Cunningham (Col class of ’06)
Rancho Mirage, California
UVA Changes Common App After Affirmative Action Ban [UDigest]
Race-conscious admissions were never solely based on race, which is why its primary beneficiaries have been
white women.
Being Black and middle- or upper-middle class does not shield applicants from discrimination in discipline, access to AP classes, access to college admission information and assistance, or hostile environments. Considering that reality, radical activist justices notwithstanding, there is nothing in the Constitution or Title VI that prohibits it.
The University has never had merit-based admissions, given a century and a half of whites only admissions (without reimbursement or reparations to Black taxpayers) and legacy preferences, [whose beneficiaries] have always outnumbered Black people. Despite the court’s affirmative action ruling, it clings to that de facto racial preference.
Carlton Sewell (Col class of ’92)
Pine Hill, New Jersey
’Hoos a Good Boy [UDigest]
Your feature about UVA dogs in Fall 2023 alumni magazine was hands-down the most fun article I’ve ever read in this rag. More, please.
Betsy De Gress (Com class of ’87)Ashland, Oregon
Karsh Institute Design Moves Forward [UDigest]
I was excited to see an article about the design of the Karsh Institute but was disappointed to see that the names of the architects themselves were not mentioned at all. It is all too common in our industry to see articles crediting the owner, the contractor—pretty much everybody except the designers whose creative vision they are relaying secondhand. With such a prestigious school of architecture, UVA can and should do better—here’s to giving credit where credit’s due: to Höweler + Yoon Architects and Hanbury Architects!
Katie Spicer (Arch class of ’05, class of ’10)
Golden, Colorado
From the Grounds Up [Summer 2023]
Thank you so much for that historical update which explains why I felt so disoriented at my class reunion a few years back. It is amazing to see what the University has and continues to become.
Scott L. Gelband (Col class of ’72)
Plano, Texas
I recognize for the sake of brevity and simplicity, the timeline of the construction of Grounds in “From the Grounds Up” needed to be concise. I wonder if, however, there might be a follow-up that describes what (and, better yet, who) was removed to build many of those buildings. For example, we know much of the surrounding landscape was home to thriving African American neighborhoods with men and women (like Catherine Foster) who worked to support the daily operation of the University. I appreciate you included the book Educated in Tyranny later in the issue (“Archi-texts”) for those who would like a broader, more inclusive narrative of the development of Grounds.
Jennifer Trompetter (Arch class of ’02)
Charlottesville
Traditions in the Making [Spring 2023]
I am not usually given to pushing my name or my history forward, but the wonderful article on how the Black Alumni Weekend was introduced to UVA is accurate, up to a point. Yes, to Michael Mallory and Glynn Key. But I was able to do significant organizing, planning and hosting for that first event during my time as interim dean of the Office of Afro-American Affairs.
Joseph A. Brown
Director, School of Africana and Multicultural Studies; Coordinator, Africana Studies Program,
Southern Illinois University
