Nelson Lopez is a fourth-year student at the University of Virginia. A bright, personable young man, Nelson volunteers his time as a tutor with the Southwood Community Outreach Center and is an assistant in the Immigration Clinic at the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville as well. But without intervention by the ACLU, he may have never been able to attend U.Va. A citizen by birth, Nelson applied to U.Va. in the winter of 2008, only to receive notification from the University that spring asking him that he would have to prove his parent’s legal residency in order to be considered an in-state student. After much bad publicity and widespread, constant coverage by the Washington Post, the University re-classified Lopez as an in-state student, thereby increasing his chances of admission and the prospect of paying a lower in-state tuition. Nevertheless, Lopez’s case was an exception to the rule. Read More »

We need to address our schools' current policy on suspension and expulsion. Across the Commonwealth, thousands of students are being suspended under zero tolerance policies for minor transgressions. In fact, the most cited reasons for suspension or expulsion in Virginia’s schools during 2009-2010 were defiance, classroom disruption, making obscene or inappropriate gestures, language, and disrespect. Together, they made up over half of all incidents reported and charged. Read More »

The community college needs to be a mainstay in our state. In addition to its traditional functions of providing certificates and training for a host of high-demand careers, the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) also provides an affordable path to a four-year degree. In fact, Northern Virginia Community College, with over 60,000 students, is the second-largest community college in America. This is a sign of how well attended and reputable our community colleges have become. Nevertheless, while our community colleges are an inexpensive gateway to both traditional four-year schools and profitable careers, they also are gatekeepers. The fact is that the trend toward "distance learning," while convenient and practical, is hindering many community college students from realizing their potential and their goals. Read More »

500,000 people. That’s the number of people who have ridden the Tide–Hampton Roads’ new light-rail transit service–in just four months. To the surprise of many, the Tide has wildly exceeded expectations. Currently servicing around 20,000 people a day, the service already has plans to expand into other municipalities and has received positive support from both city leaders and citizens alike. At one time, the Tide appeared to be a disappointing project that was both over-budget and over-due. While much credit certainly should go to Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) and the new leadership that turned the Tide (pun intended) into a government success story, credit is also due to Hampton Roads’ cities–for cooperating. Read More »

This past month, Governor Bob McDonnell unveiled his two-year, $84.9 billion spending plan, which would increase the budgets for transportation, higher education and the state’s pension system.[i] To say the least, this new budget plan -- the largest spending plan in Virginia’s history -- has garnered much media and public attention, largely through McDonnell’s pledged reinvestment in higher education. At a December 14th press conference surrounded by state university presidents and administration, McDonnell said that its time to “reverse a pattern of disinvestment or erratic investment” in higher education, which has led to tuition hikes of 10% for over the past decade. As laudable as this commitment is, the budget also shortchanges K-12 education -- and therefore misses the boat on the true story of education, reform, and innovation in Virginia. Read More »

Yesterday, I drove to Richmond to attend the annual luncheon by Virginia FREE--a remarkable group that everyone should know more about. Virginia FREE, capably directed by Clayton Roberts--a former journalist--is a bipartisan coalition of business and civic leaders that advocates for bipartisan solutions to grow Virginia's economy. The organization also provides members with factual information about the progress of relevant legislation in Virginia's General Assembly -- cutting through a lot of clutter to let people know what is actually happening. Read More »

You're entitled to have your opinions, but you're not entitled to have your facts. And you're certainly not entitled to take out ideological crusades on the most vulnerable members of society -- particularly if they'll have dangerous consequences for all of society. That's why it's so unsettling that Sen.-elect Bill Carrico (R-Independence) chose today -- the day before Thanksgiving! -- to attack early ed programs in Virginia. Here's what he said: “I’m all supportive of the K-12 program, but I have a problem with pre-K.... I think it’s time that parents who want to have children raise those children and the government don’t stand and create a babysitting operation for a 4-year-old to get a pre-K program." Read More »

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With elections a week away, it's no surprise that the political "crazy season" is shifting into high gear. Still, it came as a shock to see the Loudoun County GOP's cartoon of President Obama and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi drawn as zombies -- with the president with a bullet in his head. With things like this, the intent (twisted satire, malicious cartooning, whatever) is less relevant than the effect this kind of visual rhetoric can have in the twisted minds of increasingly frenzied extremists. Read More »

Autumn should remind any political activist of one of the best ways to spend time outdoors in Virginia, aside from apple-picking and hay rides: knocking on doors. I took advantage of the beautiful weather on Saturday to ride my motorcycle down to Springfield to door-knock for Democratic Senator George Barker. George is newly embattled due to redistricting and an aggressive targeting plan by Republicans to re-take the State Senate, where Democrats currently have a one seat majority. Read More »