Monthly Archive for March, 2003

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Anti-War March by Public School Students

BetterLife writes: “I observed our local public school students participating in an Anti-War march downtown. These students were obvioulsy exercising their right to free speech, but chose to also shout profanities concerning the war. I respect their right to express themselves but have to wonder: 1. Who approved this march? 2. Did it require parental permission for a child to miss school for this function? 3. What happened to the children that chose not to participate in the function? I am considering scheduling a Pro-War march next monday. Will the students be able to march in this? If not, why? With all the school missed this year because of inclement weather, are our children getting the education they should be getting?”

03/25 Update: Braxton Williams reports in the Daily Progress that the 200 students will receive detention or suspension for their unexcused absence.

What’s with the Bucket Guys?

BetterLife writes: I was driving down 29 on Saturday and once again saw those people with orange vests standing on the median strip with 5 gallon buckets soliciting money. They display no signs that explain their charity. I was wondering whether these are the “Will work for food” people who have gone into a more aggressive approach to get cash. I understood after 9/11 when the fire/rescue people were doing it, but to have people doing it regularly should be against the law if it isn’t already. Does anyone know anything about this or whether there is a law preventing it?

Housing Over-Filled…Or Is It?

As UVa has grown, and the student body has sprawled across the city, housing has become an increasingly crowded affair. Rambling old houses have been set up to serve as home to a half dozen different students, and that’s putting stress on some of those once-quiet neighborhoods. Charlottesville’s new zoning ordinance aims to change that — it will put a cap of three on the number of unrelated adults that can live in one house in neighborhoods around UVa. So what makes three the magic number? Lisa Provence has an extensive story in this week’s Hook.

Protesters Snarl Downtown Traffic

Trusty field reporter Cory Capron tells us (well, not “us,” but “me”…and there aren’t any cvillenews.com reporters, either, as long as I’m confessing, just my girlfriend’s brother, who just called me) that anti-war protesters have completely blocked the Ridge-McIntire/West Main Street intersection, at the Lewis and Clark statue. Motor traffic has come to a standstill, with angry motorists getting out of their cars in the rain. police attempting to control the situation, and ambulances arriving at the scene, indicating that fighting has probably started. 03/21 Update: Be sure to read the comments for a better description of what happened.

Walk-Outs, Protests Today

Cecil writes: Several student groups at UVA are coordinating to plan a walk-out from classes at 2:00 today, to protest the U.S. attacks on Iraq. See the Cav Daily story for more.

In addition, a rally on the Downtown Mall is planned for noon, and a protest on the corner of Ridge/McIntire and West Main at 4pm. Lousy day for protesting. If anybody wants to write about their experiences with these protests, this’d be the place to do it.

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