Author: Coy Barefoot

John Blackburn is the dean of admissions at the University of Virginia. He joins Coy Barefoot on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to discuss the process of becoming a U.Va student. Next year is the first in which the school will admit all of its incoming first years under regular admission, having ended the early admissions process. Blackburn describes what the class of ’11 will look like, and talks about what the future will bring for the University.

The foundations of the deadly divide between the two great sects of Islam, the Sunni and the Shia, date back nearly 1,500 years to a period of time when Muslims disagreed as to who should succeed the prophet Muhammad following his dead as the leader of the faith. The Shia believed it should be Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law Ali (hence the name, Shiite, or literally the Shait-u-Ali or “supporters of Ali”). The majority of Muhammad’s followers supported Aub Bakr, Muhammad’s lieutenant, and believed that his leadership was more in keeping with the traditions of Islam (hence the name Sunni, followers of the sunnah or “traditions”). Sunni and Shia have been debating, arguing, and killing over this disagreement ever since. Vali Nasr joins Coy Barefoot to discuss this divide and explain how westerners can hopefully make sense of the situation in the Middle East today. Nasr is the Senior Adjunct Fellow on the Middle East at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also a professor of Middle East and South Asia Politics and Associate Chair of Research at the Department of National Security at the Naval Postgraduate School. Nasr’s new book is The Shia Revival: How Conflicts Within Islam Will Shape the Future.

Jennifer Connor and Brian Buckley were among several peace activists who were recently arrested for trespassing after they refused to leave Rep. Virgil Goode’s Charlottesville Office. The arrests were part of the National Occupation Project, which seeks to end U.S. military involvement in Iraq. The pair join Coy Barefoot on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to discuss their reasons for seeking to be arrested.

Connie Jorgensen is the development and public relations for the Monticello Area Community Action Agency, or MACAA. She joins Coy Barefoot on WINA’s Charlottesville Right Now to talk about the agency’s history, its role in providing Headstart services, and the many ways in which MACAA serves 3,000 people in our area.

The agency’s Men Who Cook fundraiser will be held on April 21.

Mercury is one of the most powerful neurotoxins on the planet, and many vaccines have contained the element in the form of thimerosal. Many parents of autistic children maintain their kids have the disease because of mercury poisoning, pointing to a tripling of the vaccine schedules in the 1990’s. Coy Barefoot speaks with Amy Carson of Moms Against Mercury on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to discuss the connection.

Bob McDonnell is the attorney general of the Commonwealth of Virginia. He joins Coy Barefoot each month on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to discuss what his office is up to. McDonnell is holding a conference of his counterparts across the south to find out how authorities can fight meth labs in the region. Such conferences are common to find new ways to fight crime.

Coy also asks the AG what he thinks about this year’s General Assembly session. McDonnell calls its a “productive” session.

Bob Gibson of the Charlottesville Daily Progress joins Coy Barefoot on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to talk about politics. This week the conversation includes Senator Jim Webb’s visit to U.Va (The Hook), primary season in the General Assembly (Daily Progress), and the possibility of more restrictions on abortion in Virginia. They also talk about the future of revenue sharing between Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

Liz Securro was a first-year student at the University of Virginia in the fall of 1984 when she was raped at a party. Her attacker confessed and apologized to her in a letter two years ago, and Securro turned him in to authorities. William Beebe has now been convicted and is now serving 8 months in prison.

Securro joins Coy Barefoot on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to talk about the case, and to update listeners on the rape prevention work she is now doing.

Kyle Copas and Bill Daggett are with the Central Virginia chapter of the American Institute of Architects join Coy Barefoot to talk about a new exhibit celebrating area architecture called Hidden in Plain Sight: 150 Years of Architectural Design and Diversity in Central Virginia. The AIA was created in 1857, and the organization is celebrating some of the nation’s best structures. The exhibit runs through the month of April at the Charlottesville Community Design Center on the Downtown Mall.

“There are so many buildings that we all walk by day by day, that we are so familiar with and we almost forget that they are there,” says Daggett. He says the exhibit is designed to bring some of these places closer to the mind.