First AU student tests positive for COVID-19
An AU student living on campus tested positive for American University’s first known case of COVID-19, the University Medical Director David Reitman announced via email Monday afternoon.
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An AU student living on campus tested positive for American University’s first known case of COVID-19, the University Medical Director David Reitman announced via email Monday afternoon.
This story has been updated with a statement from Director of Public Affairs Stacie Burgess.
In an email late Wednesday night, the University announced that in the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend all travel between Europe and the United States for the next 30 days starting Friday, all AU Abroad programs worldwide are cancelled effective immediately.
A video featuring a former member of Chi Omega saying a racial slur is just another in the string of racially charged incidents that have punctuated AU’s history. Similar situations seem to arise every few months; the administration sends an email with lukewarm sentiments and the AU community dies down till the next time. The University has repeatedly ignored demands for change and proof of accountability, and the question from the student body seems to be, “What now?”
This article has been updated with a correction. The budget for Founder’s Week increased, not the budget for the Ball itself.
Nine students studying abroad in China were told to come back to AU following the growing effects of the coronavirus. While AU sent emails regarding the outbreak leading up to their decision to bring abroad students back, there have been no updates since. As the global situation surrounding the virus grows, the AU community should be doing more to support those impacted by the crisis.
This article has been updated with an additional interview from freshman Sofia Nazeer and the inclusion of statements from the Intercultural Greek Collective, Phi Mu and the AU Black Caucus Committee, AU Black Student Union as well as an additional statement from Chi Omega. This article was also updated with a correction that Nazeer, not Babkir, was part of the 2020 Chi Omega pledge class.
On Jan. 26, Vice President of Campus Life and Inclusive Excellence Dr. Fanta Aw sent the AU community an email regarding mental health resources on campus. The email, masquerading as an attempt to reach out to students searching for support, had an accusatory tone and was punctuated by statistics that functioned to place blame on students for the state of counseling services on campus. It seemed that rather than taking steps to address students’ requests concerning these resources, the administration chose to place that burden back on the struggling students asking for help.
This article was updated on March 6 with new information since its first publication on Feb. 4. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
A report published in November 2019 by the Center for American Progress raised questions about the impact of early decision programs on low-income students and students of color. AU’s active participation in early decision and large gap between ED and RD acceptance rates, 81 percent and 29 percent respectively, according to the U.S. News and World Report, bring it to the forefront of the conversation. As an institution that touts its diversity and inclusivity, the University seems to be willfully unaware of the group of students that are less likely to step foot on campus partly due to AU’s ED policy.
In early November, Terrace Dining Room staff member Anthony Beagle passed away unexpectedly at age 51. After his passing, students created a memorial board to honor his memory after there was no communication about the passing from either food provider Chartwells or the University, according to previous reporting by The Eagle. There was a desire by students to honor his memory, regardless of a formal University notification. We commend these students for their empathy, and creating a tribute to Beagle and the memories that many on campus have with him.
As of March 2019, the University has five open federal investigations from the Office of Civil Rights, a part of the Department of Education, into the Title IX office. This is a record number of complaints for the medium-sized university that AU is categorized as. There are some schools with four complaints, but one of those universities has a population of 40,000 students, a radically different percentage and likelihood of this number of open investigations. Each of the University’s investigations has been opened in the last four years, and notably, we do not know who filed these investigations or why they filed them.
On Oct. 30, a lawsuit was filed in D.C. federal court by David Nakhid accusing the University of racial discrimination in the hiring of the men’s head soccer coach by a former American Univeristy men’s soccer player. He had applied for the open position of men’s soccer head coach, and alleges that his application was not even considered for an interview, even with previous experience playing at AU and internationally, along with coaching.
President Sylvia Burwell announced on Sept. 17 that Board of Trustees member and University alum Jack Cassell had donated $3 million to the University in order to build a new Center for Athletic Performance, or “CAP,” as reported by The Eagle. This center was further funded by another alum donation. The center will serve both student-athletes and students in some capacity on campus. The current plan is to move the strength and conditioning rooms and wrestling room the Center for Athletic Performance, along with providing space for the University's Division 1 athletic teams and the club and intramural teams to compete. There is still a need for fundraising for the center, as this will not be paid by the University’s budget. Currently, it is unknown where the Center will be located or what different amenities will be included.
On October 28, a group of approximately 120 protestors gathered outside of MGC, as previously reported by The Eagle. The protest was in response to the removal of an AU student from her campus apartment at the end of September by AUPD, and students aimed to demand justice for this student. The protest was organized by members of Black Lives Matter DC and The Future is Feminist to draw attention to the student’s conduct hearing that was allegedly happening at the same time. The protest began at MGC, then moved to East Campus, where the hearing was held, and then moved back again to MGC. The protestors occupied the front steps of MGC with the goal of preventing access in order to draw more attention to the incident and the University’s response.
Some members of The Eagle’s staff have positions with the Center for Student Involvement. Their opinions have not influenced the opinion of this editorial.
After two and a half years of development, the Student Involvement Fund is being put into place. This initiative from Student Government and AU Club Council will select 20 students to receive $500 each for displaying "worthwhile dedication to their organizations,” as reported by The Eagle.
The change to the University’s health insurance provider has left students across campus frustrated, serving as the latest example of the lack of communication between the administration and student body.
During this spring’s Student Government elections, students had the opportunity to vote on a referendum on whether they would support the sale of alcohol at on-campus athletic games. The referendum passed with overwhelming support, with 81 percent of students voting for the measure. The reason offered for the alcohol sale proposal was that the measure would boost student and alumni attendance and improve school spirit.
If you ask the average student about tuition rates, common themes among their responses will probably focus on the yearly increases and lack of affordability. However, what is also common is that students generally don’t know why tuition continues to rise. This is because the University hasn’t done a comprehensive job of telling them. For this reason, we support student activism on further budget transparency from the Board of Trustees and have seen our job as student journalists to provide further education on the budget.