Trying to stay sane and connected JULY 10th ISSUE, 2020 | ISSUE 23

In this Issue: A Note from Jackie Social Distancing Network New Knowledge Nuggets Want to Change the World? Short Story of the Week Buzzfeed Quiz of the Week Your Pantry is Calling Riddle Me This Solutions from Last Issue

Happy Friday Everyone! I’m not sure if it is mere coincidence, or the universe is confirming my love for dogs, but I routinely cross paths with runaway dogs roaming my neighborhood streets. It sounds silly-- I know-- but over the years, I have picked up nearly 15 dogs that have wandered loose from their homes. More often than not, my rescue missions arise at the most inconvenient of times. I usually have no shoes on, I’m still in my pajamas, and I’m just about to sit down for a meal. This morning was no different. As I sat down to read the Wall Street Journal over my cereal, out of the corner of my eye I watched as my neighbor’s dog charged at the gate that keeps him confined to his yard. With his two front paws, Baxter busted open the lock on his gate with ease. Baxter, though an older beagle, ran with vigor and speed down our road, leaving only the wide open gate behind him. Baxter’s hanging tongue and wagging tail communicated his new-found sense of freedom, adventure, and excitement. Today, rather than feel the need to “save” or “rescue” Baxter, as I have so many times in the past, I instead shared Baxter’s need for freedom, adventure, and excitement. I’m sure many of us are feeling like ol’ Baxter during these quarantine times. We feel confined to the same routines and environments, wanting to bust open our own “gates.” Baxter’s run for freedom reminded me that, even in these difficult times, we can find ways to disrupt our quarantine routines. So, for this weekend, spend time outdoors, catch up with old friends over zoom, or take the neighbors rogue dog for a walk when you find him wandering on the streets :)  Jackie Hartwig Economics & Middle East Studies Major Class of 2022 As always send things our way via email to   EcholsProgram@virginia.edu

Social Distancing Network The Echols team is thrilled to welcome rising First-years into the Echols community! If you are a rising First-year and would like to introduce yourself through future issues of the Quarantimes, please fill out this form.

Karen Sun Rising First-year from Katy, TX Prospective Religious Studies/ Political Science Major  Two truths and a Lie: Despite growing up in the South, I have never had mashed potatoes. I tore my ACL in my left knee when a small child dared me skate down a slide on my penny board at a playground. I am devastatingly good at minesweeper.

This is a screenshot of a stupid video I was taking on Snapchat to send to my brother while I was at an overnight Model UN conference. I was the only MUN senior board member from our school, so underclassmen would text me if they needed anything. I was in the middle of telling my brother about how I heard that some kid had broken his arm at the delegate dance when I got a text notification from one of our underclassmen telling me that he was the person who broke the kid's arm. -Karen

Charles Ellison Rising First-year from Richmond, VA Prospective Chemistry Major Two truths and a Lie: I've met Derek Jeter I've hit a ball over the fence at drive-shack I'm allergic to Kiwi

At 4am, my friend (slightly lower) and I (top, in the Elf pants) were the only two left awake at a 24-hour church lock-in. So naturally, we decided to build a 24-foot stackable chair pyramid to the ceiling of the gym. -Charles

New Knowledge Nuggets Have you learned

" In 1998, a team of renovators found over 1,200 human bones in the basement of the house of Ben Franklin's English home. " Shruti Elango Rising First-year If your interest is piqued by the intersection of history and spookiness and have an hour to spare, you can watch a PBS special about this grisly discovery " Bees surprisingly have 5 eyes!! " Heeran Karim Rising First-year For a deep-dive into the structure and function of bee's more well-known compound eyes, check out this video

Want to Change the World?

Hello Echols,    My name is Denzel Mitchell (CLAS '22). I am a rising third-year at the University of Virginia from Northumberland County, Virginia majoring in Political and Social Thought and Economics. I am reaching out to you because I figured you may be interested a podcast that I started with two other UVA students who are also from my hometown, Tahi Wiggins (CLAS ‘23) of Northumberland, Virginia and Avery Shivers (BATT ‘22) of Lancaster, Virginia. The name of the podcast is Main Street Speaks and it covers local, state, and national news, politics, and history from the perspective of three college students from the rural Northern Neck region of Virginia. We started this podcast for two main reasons, 1) we wanted to create a news media source that people in our community and those outside of our community who are curious about rural America, could utilize to understand the rural perspective of the world and the interesting people and stories from our hometown that often get overlooked. And 2) we felt that by using a podcast in addition to being present on social media, we could create a platform for more young people in our area to stay informed in general and stay informed about our community in particular which will also hopefully fix the problem of a lack of youth civic and political participation, especially in rural areas. With that being said, it should be noted that it was the protests and activism that manifested after the killing of George Floyd that inspired us to get this podcast going, for we felt that we could do more than protest and vote in order to make change in our community. So far we have done episodes about the protests and state of policing in our area, the primary candidates who were on the ballot in our area on June 23rd, and how the pandemic has uniquely affected rural communities such as the Northern Neck. If people want to to stay up to date about our podcast they should subscribe to our podcast here or  on the platform of their choice (Apple podcast, google podcast, ect.), follow us on Facebook at  Main Street Speaks , and follow us on Twitter  @mainstspeaks . Thank you for your time, Denzel Mitchell

Denzel Mitchell

Avery Shivers

Tahi Wiggins

Short Story of the Week

“Little Free Library” by Naomi Kritzer This short, beautiful story explores a friendship created when a woman builds a Little Free Library at her new home. For those unaware, Little Free Libraries are a delightful initiative dedicated to building community through their “take a book, share a book” motto. There are several within walking distance of Grounds, including one on University Circle (off Rugby Road) and in the Lewis Mountain Road area behind Alumni Hall. Happy sharing of stories!

Buzzfeed Quiz of the Week

Your Coffee Preferences Will Determine If You're The Villain, Hero, Or Sidekick : Many of us wake up exhausted from staying up late doing homework. So what do we do? We grab some coffee often at the expense of being on time to class because we prioritized standing in line for coffee over making it to class in a timely manner. Anyway, what do your coffee choices say about you? Are you a hero, sidekick, or villain? Find out now! Take the quiz now!

Your Pantry is Calling

Oatmeal Maple Sea Salt Cookie dough

How many times have you braved the risk of salmonella or other food-borne pathogens because you just couldn’t resist the allure of raw cookie dough? For those that would like a safe and equally irresistible alternative, look no further. This quick and simple recipe takes no more than around 20 minutes, can easily be made vegan (just make sure your chocolate chips are vegan or replace them with something else!), and best of all you can lick the spoon with total peace of mind once you’re finished.

How it's done: Blend together oats, sugar and a pinch of salt until a well combined flour-like mixture forms. (a food processor is ideal for this step) Melt coconut oil before incorporating vanilla extract and maple syrup In a medium bowl, combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir until a smooth dough forms. (If it’s too wet add more blended oats, if it’s too dry add more coconut oil or maple syrup) Fold in chocolate chips and add sea salt and cinnamon to taste Form dough into bite sized balls and arrange on a tray or plate lined with parchment paper. Chill dough until you are ready to enjoy!

Ingredients 1.5 cups Rolled oats 1/4 cup Sugar 1 pinch Sea salt 1/4 cup Coconut oil 1 tsp Vanilla extract 1/4 cup Maple syrup 1/4 cup Chocolate chips Cinnamon (to taste)

Let us know if you try this recipe out! Send us a picture of your culinary adventures by emailing it to echolsprogram@virginia.edu and we may feature it in an upcoming issue! Enjoy!

Riddle Me this Send your answers to echolsprogram@virginia.edu, subject line "Riddle". Respondents with correct answers will be entered into a raffle to win a random item from Kelsey's home! ...we're serious.

What shape should be the top brick?

Solutions from the Last Issue Did you miss the last issue? Check it out  here!

Sidney Hubli Rising First-year from Fort Worth, TX Prospective Economics Major Two truths and a Lie: I love going on roller coasters I was born in Texas LIE I played volleyball for 9 years Baily Faller Rising First-year from Wilmington, DE Prospective Global Studies Major Two truths and a Lie: I always eat rice krispy treats for breakfast on my birthday LIE I'm right handed in everything except for tennis UVA was the first college campus I had ever visited

Last Week's Riddle

A girl has as many brothers as sisters, but each brother has only half as many brothers as sisters. How many brothers and sisters are there in the family?

The Answer: Four sisters and three brothers!

Last Week's Riddle Raffle Winner

Kartik Chugh! Kartik will receive an Earth stress ball!! What could be more cathartic than holding the whole world in your hands and squeezing it until you feel better? Congratulations and enjoy Kartik!

That's it for this Issue!

We hope you have a happy and healthy weekend! See you next Friday!