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(04/26/17 5:24pm)
When transfer student and School of Public Affairs senior Laura Hoyos first arrived on campus, she couldn’t find a space to discuss the topic of cultural identity and immigration. As an immigrant from Colombia, she had always been forced to confront stereotypes about identity. Under the Trump administration, she felt that need even more strongly.
(03/06/17 3:54am)
Many students come to AU for its D.C. location with the hope of landing a job in politics after they graduate. In light of the 2016 election, though, the University’s liberal students may need to rethink their plans.
(04/04/16 2:44pm)
Writer, feminist, activist and self-described “bunny lady” Wagatwe Wanjuki spoke to an audience of approximately 25 people on Thursday night as the Women's History Month speaker for the Student Government Women's Initiative.
(09/22/15 3:13pm)
Growing up, Becca Peixotto would spend her time digging around in the backyard to see what the people who lived there had left behind. Now, she’s part of the team that unearthed a new hominin species that lived on earth before homo sapiens.
(08/31/15 1:00am)
Comedian and “Daily Show” Correspondent Jessica Williams will come to AU on Sept. 10 as the first Kennedy Political Union speaker of the school year, according to a statement released by the organization.
(04/14/15 8:23pm)
Former First Lady Laura Bush was awarded the 2015 “Wonk of the Year” award in front of a crowd of students and faculty that filled Bender Arena on April 8.
(03/30/15 9:00pm)
WVAU will hold its Spring Capitol Punishment show featuring Brooklyn-based indie rock band The Antlers on April 18 in the School of International Service’s Abramson Family Founders Room.
(03/20/15 8:59pm)
As far as post-apocalyptic series go, “Insurgent” (directed by Robert Schwentke) is one of the rare sequels that manages to live up to the expectations set up by the first movie. Which is good news, since the series still has two more to go.
(03/19/15 9:16pm)
Celebrating Women's History Month, AU will pay homage to women in uniform who have served our country with a special screening event. On March 19 at 7 p.m., students from Gemma Puglisi's Public Relations Portfolio class are hosting a screening of "Fort Bliss," directed by Claudia Myers, a professor of Film and Media Arts in the School of Communication.
(03/02/15 2:52am)
Two cars crashed into a fallen tree just in front of 4200 of Massachusetts Ave. around 6:15 p.m. on March 1.
(02/20/15 5:54pm)
The sports drama "McFarland, USA," in theaters starting Feb. 20, tells the true story of a cross country team from McFarland, Calif., an impoverished and predominately Latino neighborhood, that overcomes all odds to win the 1987 state championship. Directly by Niki Caro, the film stars Kevin Costner (“Field of Dreams”) as Coach Jim White, Maria Bello ("The Jane Austen Book Club") and Morgan Saylor ("Jamie Marks Is Dead"). Read The Eagle’s review of the film.
(11/21/14 7:35pm)
It’s freezing. Quite literally, the temperature has been below freezing for most of this week, or at least felt like it because of the harsh winds. So we know that you probably weren’t planning on stepping outside all weekend, but we have an idea that’ll get you to reconsider: spend the day warm and cozy inside... a museum!
(11/14/14 5:46pm)
After getting caught up in the chaos of midterms, we’re all emerging a little shell-shocked and surprised to learn that it’s already November. With only a month left in the semester, it’s time to take advantage of the city before you’re trapped in finals and then heading home for the winter. Here are some events happening around the city this weekend:
(11/04/14 9:31pm)
In recent years, the world that Americans see through the news has become increasingly scary. Yet year after year, students flock to AU with the intent of studying abroad in many of these areas. This semester, 477 students are studying abroad through the AU Abroad office, at least 48 of which are in Kenya, Jordan and Israel, areas of the world considered to be high-risk.
(11/03/14 10:55pm)
After waking up early in the morning and getting ready for work, a hurried goodbye is all many couples have time for. When both halves of the couple work at AU, however, that “goodbye” turns into “see you later.”
(10/30/14 11:49pm)
It’s the event we’ve been waiting for all month - Halloween weekend. Whether you’re a fan of the costumes, the festivities or even just the candy, there’s an event happening for you. Take advantage of the occasion to go out into the city and check out one of these haunts.
(10/19/14 10:35pm)
In recent years, the world that Americans see through the news has become increasingly scary. Yet year after year, students flock to AU with the intent of studying abroad in many of these areas. This semester, 477 students are studying abroad through the AU Abroad office, at least 48 of which are in Kenya, Jordan and Israel, areas of the world considered to be high-risk.
According to Sara Dumont, the executive director at AU Abroad, the University takes a “multipronged approach” to approving study abroad programs. This often includes a site visit and extensive talks with people in the area, from program staff to local security forces to foreign service officials.
“What we don’t do is rely just on news reports or just on what the State Department says,” Dumont said. “We are fortunate at AU in that we have an enormous amount of expertise and experience here ... and so we probably engage with sending students to so-called riskier sites than a lot of other universities.”
Out of the all of the programs operating currently, Dumont said she considers the programs in Kenya and Israel to be the most high-risk.
In Nairobi, Kenya, where the University has operated their own program for eight years, crime is their biggest concern. Home to the largest slum in East Africa, the area is riddled with poverty, giving rise to muggings and a high crime rate. As a result, students’ movement and activity is often very restricted depending on the latest intelligence from the area.
Sarah Snead, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, is currently studying in Kenya. Although her family expressed concerns about the potential safety risks, Snead said this only strengthened her resolve to go there.
“I see the hazards as part of the experience,” Snead said in an email. “There are safety risks associated with any travel abroad, and the ones presented in Kenya are just exacerbated by Western media ... I wholeheartedly decided to go to Kenya because I wanted to learn a lot about a place that is both so beautiful and rich in culture, yet sadly misunderstood.”
In Israel, Dumont said that the University has a great deal of trust in the Israeli universities’ security procedures. Additionally, she said the Israeli universities will cooperate with one another in case a certain area becomes unsafe and students need to be evacuated from there to another part of the country, which allows them to finish their time abroad without losing money or course credit.
Kevin Levy, a junior in the School of International Studies, is currently studying at the University of Haifa in Israel. As a practicing Jew, he had previously traveled to Israel in 2013 on birthright.
“Coming back was never a question of if but when,” Levy said. “Being able to interact with so many different Jews from so many different walks of life here has really enhanced my own experience.”
Levy arrived in Israel for the semester at the height at the Gaza conflict. The American embassy in Tel Aviv, the University and the AU abroad office had all issued warnings reminding him to be constantly aware of his surroundings.
Traveling within the region is one of the biggest limitations placed on students in Israel. Standing at the top of his university, Levy can see Lebanon, a country that will not allow anyone who holds an Israeli visa to visit. What surprised him the most, however, is the constant state of danger in which the people of Israel live.
“My sympathy towards Israeli society has improved ... [because of] the very idea that you have to take certain risks to live in this country,” Levy said. “It’s the idea that at any one moment in time tensions could spark and start a fire.”
Part of what makes traveling to such high-risk areas possible is AU’s insurance program, paid for in the AU Abroad program fee, which covers a range of emergency situations, including evacuations. This program was put to the test in 2011, when students were evacuated from three countries: Japan, Syria and Egypt.
In early March, an earthquake and tsunami struck Japan that killed over 15,000 people and left thousands of others injured and homeless. Students were on break and were able to wait in another part of the country until they could return to Waseda University in Tokyo for the next semester. After demonstrations against the government escalated in Syria, AU made the decision to consolidate student’s courses and end the program. The program in Egypt ended when U.S. government ordered the evacuation of all US citizens and organized their return.
In Irbid, Jordan, the providers of the study abroad program decided to stop running it themselves this year. A rural city located near the Syrian border, the area was known to be especially unsafe for female students after reports of harassment. Now, Ammann is the main study abroad destination for students looking to travel to Jordan.
According to Shino Yoshen, a program officer for Amideast, interest in studying abroad in Jordan has not waned much despite the travel restrictions placed on students in the area. The program also has a range of safety measures, including providing each student with a Jordanian cell phone so that they can be reached in case of an emergency.
Michael Kinzer, a senior in SIS, was one of four AU students studying abroad in Irbid last fall. As a male, he acknowledged that his experience was much different than that of female students, but said that once he became familiar with his surroundings, he never felt unsafe.
Kinzer said that the main reason he wanted to study in Irbid was for the language program. In fact, one of the reasons the area was ideal for students studying Arabic was the same reason it’s considered a less friendly environment for female students.
“Its location is much less cosmopolitan than the capital of Jordan, Amman,” Kinzer said. “There would be less people speaking English there, there would be less of American culture there, there would be less American expats there and as a result people speak English less and you have to practice your Arabic more.”
Irbid’s location was also unique because of its proximity to the Syrian border. Kinzer said that from the roof of his four story apartment building he could see into Syria. When President Obama proposed airstrikes on Syria last September, Kinzer and his peers discussed the possibility of being able to see them from the roof of their building. Although this never happened, Kinzer said that being in the region while these events were occurring gave him a different perspective than he would have had otherwise.
“[My experiences] really complicated the way that I looked at the Syrian conflict in a way that I couldn’t had I not lived there and had I not seen the many ways that Jordan was amazing...It totally came out of nowhere for me and really struck me, humbled me the way I think about the region,” Kinzer said.
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(10/18/14 4:41pm)
Fall break may have just ended, but the season has only just begun. Break out your sweaters and scarves and get ready for a weekend full of fall festivities. The changing of the seasons is one of the most beautiful times here in D.C., so don’t waste it inside.
(10/17/14 7:10pm)
Your parents are here for the weekend and after all the ups and downs of the semester, you’re probably really excited to see them again. But after the reunion hugs and kisses, you’re left with the question: what do I do with them for an entire weekend?
(10/09/14 9:57pm)
Napoleon wouldn’t give you his tots? Well, Bar Louie has you covered. On Oct. 9, Bar Louie is hosting Rock the Tot, a national tater tot eating contest. Participants must be at least 18 years old, but the competition is open to anyone who wants to stuff his or her face full of tater tots. You can compete solo or as part of a team of four in a relay style race to the finish.