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(Commentary) Perhaps even more to the point, evangelicals are simply out of step with emerging American values on two key issues: race and sexuality. A recent study from �鶹�ƽ�� Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture found that white evangelicals are now far outside the mainstream of American opinion on a cluster of issues that pertain to race, racism, and white supremacy.

(Editorial) preliminary results from a new study from �鶹�ƽ�� Biocomplexity Institute suggest that vaccinating possible super-spreaders is the most efficient and effective way to control COVID. These super-spreaders are “those individuals with the greatest number social contacts and ‘social proximity time’ with others,” the University reports.

(Commentary) Wrote author Siva Vaidhyanathan, who supervises the Virginia Quarterly Review, a UVA literary journal: “Some white people just can’t stand the idea that they should be respectful and refrain from using one, single six-letter word in their adult lives.”

UVA law professor Douglas Laycock said the Equality Act “goes very far to stamp out religious exemptions.” Laycock, a longtime supporter of gay marriage and proponent of enacting a federal gay-rights law, said, “This is not a good-faith attempt to reconcile competing interests. It is an attempt by one side to grab all the disputed territory and to crush the other side.”

Some comedians like to make themselves the butt of every joke; others more regularly take society to task. For almost 25 years, comedy titan Tina Fey has done both; no one and nothing is safe from her dry, sardonic wit, least of all herself. After all, as the famously self-deprecating Fey noted in a 2013 visit to her alma mater, the University of Virginia, “Only the truth is funny.”

His was the voice that announced to the world that Hope Probe, the first Arab interplanetary mission, successfully entered Mars orbit on Feb. 9. He has worked on the mission since its inception in 2014 and his calm demeanour has been a constant presence inside the mission control center. His name is Omran Sharaf, project director of the Emirates Mars Mission and a 2005 graduate of �鶹�ƽ�� Engineering School. 

Profile of alumnus and former Board of Visitors member Warren M. Thompson.

Called Cville Tax Aid, the program is designed for families and people earning below the Charlottesville area’s estimated median income of $89,900. The program partners with IRS-trained University of Virginia student volunteers through the Madison House Creating Assets, Savings and Hope program, otherwise known as CASH.

Kelly Orians and [UVA Law professor] Thomas Frampton had two weddings in two cities in one day. “It was all about keeping our family and friends safe and healthy during this pandemic,” Frampton said. Orians, 34, whose parents live in New Orleans, and Frampton, 37, whose family is in Washington, D.C., had a wedding in each of those cities on Nov. 7, so that family members would not have to risk traveling during the coronavirus pandemic.

After a year of managing pandemic operations, many college leaders and IT staffs are still barely keeping up – and they’re exhausted. Just staying current can be a challenge, said Robert Pianta, dean of �鶹�ƽ�� School of Education and Human Development. “As a higher-ed administrator, I’m getting bombarded” with pitches from companies, he told me. “Some I recognize, most I don’t.”

UVA professor Thomas S. Bateman laid out “working the problem” in eight steps.

Dr. Mary Gentile, professor at �鶹�ƽ�� Darden School of Business and founder of the Giving Voice to Values method, shares: “Start from the premise that we do not need to agree on everything in order to work together effectively; rather, we need to agree only on the core set of shared values that are universal and required for us to work and live together harmoniously. Normalization – that is, understanding that such differences are a normal and predictable part of our experience – brings down the emotion and allows for more creative approaches to communication.”

For those who are tired of having to tell people that they’re still on mute or would rather that cameras stayed firmly switched off for their 8 a.m. meeting, the idea of technology becoming even more embedded into our everyday lives can be a turn-off. “I actually think that there are pros and cons to technology becoming more human,” said Roshni Raveendhran, an assistant professor at �鶹�ƽ�� Darden School of Business who specializes in the psychology of technology and the future of work. 

Increased security measures in the wake of Jan. 6 have deepened the rift between the city and its federal overlords. “Fortress D.C.,” as it’s sometimes called, puts locals and tourists alike on edge. “I walk through Washington now and I feel less secure than I did 20 years ago, because everywhere there’s a signal of fear,” says Elizabeth Meyer, a professor at the UVA School of Architecture.

In the face of climate change, Texas can no longer put off big questions about how it regulates power generation, said Andres Clarens, a civil engineering professor who helps lead �鶹�ƽ�� Environmental Resilience Institute. Whether or not lawmakers believe last week’s unprecedented storm was the result of a changing climate, new federal carbon standards, the growth of electrical vehicles and other factors demand action now. “We should be fixing the grid and course correcting for the future,” Clarens said. “The GOP can either lead on this stuff, or they can get left behind.”

In Virginia, more women are seizing power. There are seven Democratic women in the state’s Senate and 25 in its House, along with four Republican women in the Senate and six in the House – 30% of the legislature. Ten years ago, when Del. Eileen Filler-Corn was first elected, the total was 19 women in the House and eight in the Senate – 19.3%. Filler-Corn “gained power mainly the traditional way, proving herself dedicated, competent and hard-working over years in the House of Delegates,” said Larry Sabato, director of �鶹�ƽ�� Center for Politics. 

Ann O’Leary, who had originally been floated as a potential alternative to Tanden in November, is once again being considered for the position. She served as California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s chief of staff until late December, but some say her former role may present the White House with another challenging confirmation hearing. David Leblang, a UVA professor of politics and public policy, said O’Leary “would suffer in a confirmation hearing because of her tie to Newsom. Even though she left in December, I think that’s still the stamp she will be carrying for a bit.”

Several Biden nominees of color are facing questions and potential complications. “If it was just Tanden, I’d say her circumstances are sufficiently unusual that we might not want to generalize. But it’s not just her,” said UVA political science professor Jennifer Lawless, an expert on gender and politics. “If you’ve got a handul of nominees who are either women or people of color systematically experiencing more hurdles and doubt than white men going through the confirmation process, that raises a flag. That’s sexism and racism.”

The question of religious freedom is the main issue animating people against the Equality Act. UVA law professor Douglas Laycock has criticized the measure since its 2019 introduction. While he supports adding sexual orientation and gender identity to federal anti-discrimination statutes, Laycock believes that this bill goes too far in limiting people’s ability to defend themselves against discrimination claims. “It protects the rights of one side, but attempts to destroy the rights of the other side,” he said. 

The Virginia Film Festival and the Virginia Festival of the Book will team up to present a livestreamed conversation with author Mike Harris at 4 p.m. March 23. Harris will speak about “Mike Nichols: A Life,” his biography of the renowned improv comedian and stage and film director, with moderator, filmmaker and VAFF associate programmer Joe Fab.