Moonhowlings

Candleight Vigil for Yeardly Love

UVA President John Casteen III delivered a chilling, emotional speech to those gathered at the candlelight vigil for slain lacrosse player Yeardly Love. His message should be repeated over and over in middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities, churches, libraries–just about anywhere there are women.

Casteen told the mourners  that we are all responsible for getting people help who are entangled and trapped in toxic, violent relationships. We can not longer just tell our friends, relatives and acquaintances to ditch a toxic relationship. We have to step forward and perhaps make some of those unpopular calls. Doing so might just save someone’s life–someone like Yeardly Love’s life.

The fraternity of silence and the culture of hiding abuse can no longer be tolerated.

President Casteen’s  remarks at the candlelight vigil for Yeardley Love:

There are profound ironies in our gathering here tonight for this purpose. This is the spring time. It’s the time of year for renewal, for new beginnings. And yet we have come here to grieve the ending of a young life, of Yeardley Love’s life, one full of promise and high prospects—and one not unlike yours.

I want to talk tonight about Yeardley Love, and I want to talk about you, and about this community—about us. Some of what I have to say is very hard. Bear with me, and listen.

Read more…

There is more to the UVA Lacrosse story than the death of Yeardly Love. Tragic as it is, the entire UVA community, and especially its athletic community has been dealt a horrible blow. I called down today to life-long friends who live 2 blocks from the murder site. They were all devastated. University towns very much personalize their tragedies. Yeardly was a well-loved campus icon and the teams, both hers and his, were headed to the national finals.

There is another side to this story that transcends personal tragedy:

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

This murder sent shock waves across the nation. This story is just another perspective.

Yet when all is said and done, someone’s child is dead. Someone else’s child faces many years in prison if convicted. And sports teams come and sports teams go. The Duke lacrosse team recovered and so will UVA’s. Friends and family and the school in general, however, might not have that luxury.

Do student athletes lead a different life? Are they under more stress than others? Do they party harder to make up for the intensity of the sport they play? Is being BMOC or BWOC more difficult?

My father was a student athlete at UVA during the Great Depression. His family had no money to send him to school. He was fortunate enough to land a scholarship. There was no free lunch. He played 3 sports. Football, basketball, and baseball, and excelled at all three. Until his dying day he bore resentment towards sports and the amount of time they took out of his life. Maybe these kids felt the same way. And maybe it got too much for them.

Regardless, maybe this week we are all Wahoos.

That good old song of Wah-hoo-wah,
We ‘ll sing it o ‘er and o ‘er.
It cheers our hearts and warms our blood
To hear them shout and roar.
We come from Old Virginia,
Where all is bright and gay.
Let’s all join hands and give a yell,
For the dear old UVa.
Wah-hoo-wah,
Wah-hoo-wah.
Uni-v, Virginia,
Hoo-rah-ray,
Hoo-rah-ray,
Ray! Ray! U-V-A!

The Cavalier Dailyhas copies of affidavits and more on the story and crime scene

John Yoo

John Yoo, attorney with the Bush Administration will speak at UVA on March 19 at the Miller Center for Public Affairs.  Yoo was an author of the ‘torture memos’ which advised the Bush Administration that water boarding and other harsh techniques of interrogation were legal.

John Yoo was deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.  He currently has returned to teaching at the University of California at Berkeley’s law school and is promoting his book, “Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush.”

Last week after a long series of DOJ investitgations, it was determined that Yoo and other attorneys “exercised poor judgment” in formulating their legal advice to the Bush Administration.  The ruling was very controversial and polarized political factions.

Expect to see heated debate at UVA.  Various liberal groups have called Yoo a war criminal.  Thomas Jefferson’s academic village will be rocking on March 19 with this latest visitor.  I don’t expect the students to go quietly with this guest speaker.

Yoo called a war criminal in rotests in Philadelphia

William ‘Bullet Bill’ Dudley (far left, carrying the ball) has often been called the University of Virginia’s greatest football player and the greatest football player to come out of the State of Virginia.  He died Thursday, at the age of 88 in Lynchburg. 

 Dudley grew up in Bluefield, Virginia and played for Graham  High School.  He went to UVA at age 16 on a scholarship and soon became a star (see Times Dispatch).  After UVA, he was drafted in the 1942 NFL draft as first pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers.  WWII interrupted his football career but following the war, he returned to Pittsburgh for 9 NFL seasons.

Bill Dudley went in to the insurance business in Lynchburg.  He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1966.  He also served in the General Assembly for 4 terms and was known as being  outspoken and direct.  Bill Dudley suffered  a stroke at the end of January and died at home February 4, 2010, in the arms of his wife, Libba.  Bradley and Libba celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary in July.

Certainly Bullet Bill Dudley will be remembered at some point during the Super Bowl tomorrow.  He was a native Virginian and one we can all be proud of.  This picture and more information about Dudley can be found in the Richmond Times Dispatch.   

This picture is especially important to me.  Imagine looking at it and seeing Old # 66 along side Bullet Bill Dudley.  # 66 is quarterback Walt Smith, who was my dad.  Old football players never die, they just fade away….

Good Old Song

That Good Old Song of Wahoowa,
We’ll sing it o’er and o’er.
It cheers our heart and warms the blood
To hear them shout and roar.
We come from old Virginia,
Where all is bright and gay.
Let’s all join hands and give a yell
For dear old UVa.

What though the tide of years may roll
And drift us far apart,
For Alma Mater still there’ll be
A place in ev’ry heart.
In college days we’ll sing her praise,
And so, when far away,
In memory we still shall be
At the dear old UVa.    

(tune Auld Lang Syne)

Further reading about Bullet Bill Dudley

Richmond Times Dispatch

Bill Dudley Wikipedia