A letter from the Editor’s desk
May 9, 2019
Dear students, parents, faculty and alumni, Welcome to UVM! At the start of my first year, I attended the first Vermont Cynic General Meeting of the fall semester. There, I found a welcoming group of like-minded people who are now some of my best friends. The Cynic staff is made up of writers, pho...
Public records are ours by law
May 1, 2019
We need to demand more transparency from our University. A year ago, Jacob Oblak, a law student at Vermont Law School, filed a public records request with UVM to see a police affidavit of Wesley Richter, who was arrested by UVM police after allegedly making a racial threat. Oblak’s request was denied by Gary D...
4/20 smokers ignore social justice
April 23, 2019
So often the fight to legalize cannabis is branded as a fight to have fun, but this ignores the serious repercussions that past cannabis laws have had on people of color. This past weekend saw the campus celebration of 4/20, when students gather on Redstone campus to celebrate cannabis. When the e...
Strive to be sustainable in all ways
April 18, 2019
While UVM is very conscious of the environment, we must aim higher and acknowledge our faults to be truly sustainable. Though we tout our lack of plastic water bottles and compost bags available in our residence halls, there are still environmental and sustainable blind spots. For example, the Univer...
We need higher standards in 2020
April 10, 2019
Although we’re still on year three of President Donald Trump’s term, everyone seems to be looking at the Democratic Party for what their next step is in the 2020 race. And until very recently, former Vice President Joe Biden was a likely front-runner, although he has yet to announce his bid for...
When action plans are not enough
April 3, 2019
The University announced March 29 the end to an investigation into fraternity involvement in the death of first-year Connor Gage. Gage died in the early morning Feb. 2 from freezing temperatures and alcohol consumption, according to autopsy results. The action the University is taking based on the resu...
Make change: vote in SGA elections
March 27, 2019
No matter who you’re voting for, we should all vote in SGA elections. In recent weeks, there have been parallel student movements: a wave of protests and the arrival of SGA presidential campaigns. We must recognize that these movements are two sides of the same coin — accurate representation for...
Decisions behind closed doors
February 27, 2019
The University board of trustees officially confirmed the appointment of a new president, Suresh Garimella, Feb. 22. A year ago to the day, student activist group NoNames for Justice blocked Main Street to call for the resignation of current President Tom Sullivan, among other demands, because they bel...
CAS needs to be funded differently
February 20, 2019
Incentive-based budgeting, or IBB, poses a threat to humanities and other programs and drives infighting instead of looking for other spending choices. IBB, as used by UVM, is similar to running a business. It prioritizes funding to the most popular programs, encouraging competition between programs. ...
It’s time to fix our fraternities
February 13, 2019
Our campus suffered a tragic loss Feb. 2 with the death of first-year Connor Gage. Following a night at two fraternities, Gage died in the snow of a North Winooski Ave. parking lot. When a student dies, it impacts campus and our community — especially since this situation was entirely preventable. Had s...
We need safe and affordable rides
February 6, 2019
As college students, we rarely think of a night out as a life or death situation. But all too regularly, we are proven wrong, most recently by the death of first-year Connor Gage, in an incident the Burlington Police Department attributes in part to freezing overnight temperatures, according to an e...
Variation is value is CAS
January 30, 2019
Not all degrees are created equal. In October 2018, CAS changed degree requirements for all majors, dropping required credit hours to 30 while increasing the maximum amount of credits students can take from 18 to 19. According to English Department Chair Dan Fogel this change lets students take el...
