Topic: Student Life—VIRGINIA Magazine

Troubling Signs

A short-lived ban on signs at Scott Stadium this fall raised the hackles of fans—particularly among students—and drew darts from pundits across the nation.

Winter 2008

Something for Everyone

Navigating the carnival-like atmosphere of the Student Activities Fair is an annual rite of passage for newly arrived first years.

Winter 2008

Admission FAQs

Does my child need to be the president of the class, play three varsity sports, walk dogs at the SPCA and spend part of her summer at a leadership conference in Amsterdam to be competitive at UVA?

Winter 2008

The bus ride from Dulles to Charlottesville helps with that adjustment, giving students a chance to bond and ask questions. “One girl was very interested in seeing cows,” Kirtland says. “Another was surprised at the number of churches.”

Winter 2008

Home Sweet Home

Residents call it "the O-Hilton." It’s still dormitory-style housing, but given its many amenities and commanding views of Grounds, the new $18.8 million Kellogg House feels more like a hotel, according to its denizens.

Winter 2008

Making Sport of Water

Such is the appeal of water sports—dancing on the thin line between two elements, riding on surface tension, moving faster on water than legs can travel on land.

Fall 2008

Learning the Ropes—and Stairs

First-year orientation helps air anxieties, build sense of community.

Fall 2008

The Power of Rice

In villages throughout India, huge piles of rice husks—a byproduct of rice milling—sit slowly rotting. Proving the old adage that one man’s trash is another’s treasure, two Darden students have started a business that uses these discarded but plentiful rice husks as fuel for two generators that are providing power to about 10,000 rural Indians.

Fall 2008

Chinese Spoken Here

While Elizabeth Wesner was filling out her application to the Curry School of Education in 2004, she felt like something was missing. When asked to indicate which language she wanted to be certified to teach, she created her own box and wrote "Chinese."

Fall 2008

Behind the Scenes

At an institution as large as UVA, it’s easy to forget that it consists of many individually moving parts. We profile a few of the 13,500 employees who keep the University humming every day.

Fall 2008

Having a Ball

Prum began playing professional paintball—where two teams play capture-the-flag by shooting at each other on a battlefield of inflated bunkers—his second year at UVA. After graduating, he plans to move to San Diego to work for KEE Action Sports, one of his team’s sponsors.

Summer 2008

No Balking at Relief

It comes as little surprise that O’Leary would tackle an issue like Katrina relief with such energy. She played volleyball at UVA as a first- and second-year, then joined the softball team. She saw time as a pitcher early in her career before becoming a full-time outfielder.

Summer 2008

All Aboard the Campaign Trail

College students have historically been dismissed as unreliable by pundits and political advisers. At the polls, their numbers tend to be disappointingly low. But these students are clearly not the fickle supporters that political strategists have assumed.

Summer 2008

Gusburger in Paradise

Summer 2008

Thirst for Knowledge

When more than a billion people lack clean drinking water, the efforts of two UVA students might seem like a drop in the bucket.

Summer 2008

Opportunity, Not Poverty

The third-year economics student won a 2008 Truman Scholarship, worth about $30,000, for his leadership potential and commitment to public service. With sufficient credits to receive his bachelor’s degree this spring, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in public policy this fall.

Summer 2008