<p>how much is the "no cars your freshman year" rule enforced? and is it true that you can't even have one ANYWHERE in cville?</p>
<p>It's true that it's against the law, but some people do it anyway. You will not be able to park your car on grounds, but you may be able to stash it at an off grounds residence. I know a girl who kept her car at her boyfriend's fraternity.</p>
<p>Basically in Charlottesville there's nowhere to park your car anyway (unless you can park it at your residence). The city was definitely not designed for the volume of traffic it receives, so as a result even street parking is usually limited to certain hours (and you will get ticketed/towed) and if you do find a street that has free parking at all hours good luck finding a spot. The school will not issue you a permit as a first year unless you start on a varsity sport (and a couple other exceptions). So unless you find someone who has a free spot they are willing to give you or you pay for a lot space towards downtown it's a bad idea to bring your car first year. Besides living in Cville for one year carless is an experience in itself and you will always meet upperclassmen with cars who will give you rides.</p>
<p>Adding to roonja's post, a car's really not that necessary if all you wanted to do was get around town. I took advantage of the numerous bus routes and free trolley when I was there and they were great. Lots of buses, went to all the major places I needed, came often.</p>
<p>i did have a car my first year - and no its not illegal. you will not be allowed to buy parking permits from the university without a good excuse though (playing on a team, job, etc). generally i only used the car for driving to and from new jersey and a few trips to fashion square. </p>
<p>uva is kinda stupid about the no 1st year car thing - they only say you can't bring cars, however there is no body to enforce the rule - and even if there were, i don't know how they would know a car is yours. infact my senior ra was the one who informed me that i should bring my car - as no one is responsible for reporting it, and there is no one to report it to.</p>
<p>places you can park which arn't that convenient but are free - </p>
<p>you can try to get a spot on madison or on chancellor st. and just leave it there - its a pretty short walk from central grounds (although on weekends dicks are known to break off mirrors). you can also park on maury street(?) i think its called. i parked there my first year. if you walk past scott stadium on alderman theres a 1 way street thats next to the sudzn'dudz and subway and such. you can park there and just leave it. sure its a hassle to walk to when you want it - but in reality you really won't need your car that much.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice. i really only want/need a car so I can drive home, I only live two hours away.</p>
<p>Why would you want to go home? I only went home three times all year.</p>
<p>I hate to be "The Man" here, but first years are expressly forbidden from operating motor vehicles in Charlottesville or Albemarle County. The potential consequences from this include a fine or expulsion from the University. (found in the University record)</p>
<p>I happen to be one of those "squares" who takes the Honor Code very seriously as an extension of my personal values. Just because no one sees you break a rule does not mean that you DIDN'T break it. Is it okay to break rules just because you don't get caught? I would say it certainly isn't.</p>
<p>I know a lot of students at UVA think the Honor Code is a joke. They drink underage, do drugs, cheat on tests, and lie constantly. I am not one of those people. Other members of this board have told you that it's fine to operate a vehicle as a first year, and I'm sure most students will. They are the kinds of people who follow the convenient policies. I would suggest you ask yourself if you're the kind of person to break this rule, or that rule, can you consider yourself an honest person? Do you care?</p>
<p>You'd equate drinking with cheating on a test? NO WAI!</p>
<p>drinking =/= underage drinking</p>
<p>Those are just examples of things students are typically not allowed to do. I could've also said "murder people," "hijack a trolley," or "attend classes in only a diaper," but I decided to stick with the short list.</p>
<p>What's wrong with underage drinking? C'mon.</p>
<p>My opinion on the subject is irrelevant. It's illegal. As is usually the case with policy and legal shifts in the United States, others are free to blatantly and openly break the law as an act of defiance if they feel their rights are being violated in some way. If someone else wants to take the risks and accept the consequences, that's their human right. I take no issue with the law and therefore find myself morally obligated to abide by it.</p>
<p>Plus...18-21 year old college students are obnoxious enough without alcohol. Beer just exacerbates things and makes them even moreso. God help us when you rascally bastards get the loud music and SCANTILY CLAD womens involved. We're all going to hell!</p>
<p>I'm gonna have to defer to the example of my boy Edgar Allen Poe (a UVA alum), whose "passion for strong drink was as marked and as peculiar as that for cards . . . without a sip or a smack of the mouth he would seize a full glass and send it home at a single gulp." A true UVA student indeed!</p>
<p>note: he enrolled at UVA at age 17</p>
<p>I don't think underage drinking was illegal in 1826, which makes Poe's supposed teenaged appreciation for alcohol irrelevant. The fact that he was not an alumnus, because he only attended for a year after gambling away his tuition, and that the quotation is not dated notwithstanding.</p>
<p>And in the event that it HAD been legal...I'm sure we all know that just because we see celebrities breaking laws it does not give us license to do the same. We must hold ourselves to the highest of all standards and not compare ourselves to what everyone else is doing. Thomas Jefferson owned slaves, does that mean I should do the same?</p>
<p>note: it is speculated he owned over 600</p>
<p>No, because there's nothing morally wrong about drinking alcohol (for most people).</p>
<p>again, drinking alcohol =/= drinking alcohol while underage</p>
<p>It's not a question as to whether or not it's immoral to drink alcohol, it's a question as to whether or not it's immoral to break the law. This issue really boils down to the "social contract" as discussed by the Laws in Crito, for example. I've even softened this stance by saying: "As is usually the case with policy and legal shifts in the United States, others are free to blatantly and openly break the law as an act of defiance if they feel their rights are being violated in some way. If someone else wants to take the risks and accept the consequences, that's their human right. I take no issue with the law and therefore find myself morally obligated to abide by it."</p>
<p>It depends on what you define as underage. What is your appropriate cutoff age for drinkers and why would that be so?</p>
<p>If I could change the law, what would I change it to? That's irrelevant. I don't choose to abide by laws because I like them or agree with them, I abide by them because they are THE LAW. Implied social contract. The law is the law is the law is the law. There are ways to change laws, and if you feel that a law needs to be changed then I say go for it and get involved in policy-making. If you feel that strongly about it then go out there and make a change for what you believe to be the better. If you felt so strongly about this issue then you should not have signed the Honor Code. Doing so was dishonest on your part, and continuing to break it (if this applies to you) is perpetual dishonesty. If it's something you truly believe in, then have the moral courage to stand up for it and not pledge allegiance to something you believe to be wrong. UVA didn't ask you to attend, you asked UVA, and now you're going to try and defend betraying the University's trust?</p>
<p>I don't understand how fellow UVA students can be so confused about this concept. You may disagree with me completely, but why do I need to lay it out for you? Read about it.</p>
<p>I'll have to keep these "laws" in mind tomorrow night at the Kenny Chesney concert.</p>
<p>Honestly, I can't really think of any action off the top of my head which is immoral because it breaks the law. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, drinking underage does not violate UVA's honor code.</p>