Legal News

SG brief

At the Undergraduate Senate's meeting Sunday, Student Government Vice President Andrew Woods announced Student Union Board Director Tre Matthews had resigned due to conflicts with his music career. Deputy SUB Director Andrew Addison will fulfill the office's duties for the rest of the semester.

Campus brief

On-campus art groups now have help paying for the rental fees at the Katzen Arts Center and Greenberg Theater because of a new Student Government and AU Club Council grant. Grant money is made possible from a $6,000 fund sponsored by SG President Seth Cutter and the AUCC, according to an SG press release.

Ladyhawke solo falls flat

Von Iva "Girls On Film" (Von Iva Music) Sounds Like: Disco rock 'n' roll meets girl group soul Von Iva hit the San Francisco music scene in 2004, dabbling in the developing local genre, a hybrid of funk, disco and electro-pop. More than just another girl band, the trio combines lead singer Jillian Iva's soulful vocals with the aggressive accompaniment of her bandmates, Rebecca Kupersmith (keyboards) and Kelly Harris (drums), to form a genre of their own.

Obama's plan: make college affordable

President-elect Barack Obama is now planning his education reform policies, including making higher education more affordable, which could affect AU students in the future. During his campaign, Obama formulated two fundamental policies concerning education-one that deals with school funding and reforms to No Child Left Behind, while the other focuses on higher education, according to The Washington Post.

GOP needs to change with the times

After a historic route, the Republican Party seems to have been reduced to a few dead-enders in the South. As a partisan Democrat, I might be out of line offering advice to my ideological opponents.

Hit films, indies vie for Oscar bid

In a year in which roles ranged from ex-professional wrestlers and 1950s suburban couples to gay rights activists and the iconic Joker, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences certainly has a broad range of choices for the 2009 Oscars. If the "No Country for Old Men" sweep at the 2008 awards is any indication, the Academy is definitely encountering a powerful shift of taste.

Activists protest gay marriage ban

Members of the AU community rallied in the rain Saturday against California voters' recent passage of Proposition 8, a referendum that banned gay marriages in that state. Proposition 8 would amend the state Constitution of California to say that only a marriage between a man and a woman would be valid and recognized in the state.

Kicked out

Oscar outcasts: classics-to-be

Much like the scrawny, bespectacled nerd that you and your punk buddies perpetually used as a lunch money-ATM throughout elementary school, movies have a way of eventually coming back to haunt you. The monotonous biopic you couldn't take seriously after watching "Walk Hard" ends up sweeping the Oscars and becoming the film of the year.

Politics for the post-partisan president

During George W. Bush's presidency, the Republican Party has done what political parties have been doing since their formation shortly after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution - they clawed, scratched and attacked members of the opposing party. In this way they were no different than Thomas Jefferson, who used public money to employ a newspaper editor who attacked George Washington for his monarchist tendencies; or from Alexander Hamilton, who used his prolific pen while serving as secretary of the Treasury to attack James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and all other "Republicans" for their slave-holding hypocrisy.

Metro calendar

Monday, Nov. 17 Book discussion - William Ayers 6:30 p.m. WHERE: Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th St. N.W. METRO: U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (green line) INFO: Former Weather Underground co-founder Bill Ayers' relationship with President-elect Barack Obama caused controversy throughout the 2008 presidential election.

National brief

Circuit City Stores Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday following the company's announcement last week that it would close 20 percent of its stores and lay off up to 7,300 employees. The move is an attempt to preserve inventory for the holiday shopping season, according to the Washington Times.

The Week in Fun Calendar

Thursday, Nov. 13 Calexico 7 p.m. WHERE: 9:30 club, 815 V. St. N.W. METRO: U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (green and yellow lines) INFO: This folk-country band has been getting great buzz in the alternative music scene. Hit up the 9:30 club Thursday night for what's sure to be a soothing jaunt as Calexico makes you see that same old, dusty road in a whole new way.

Free festival showcases Brazil's best new films

The Brazilian Embassy's second annual Brazilian film festival, "Premiere Brazil Washington," starts today at AU's Greenberg Theater and runs through Sunday. This year's lineup features a variety of different programs, including both feature length and short films.

Laptop ban would go too far for colleges

Stop. What are you doing? Reading the paper. But what else? Facebook? Homework? Music? On the phone with a friend? If all you're doing right now is absorbing this article, you aren't being productive. Or at least it's tempting to think that way. Every student knows there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done.

Nov. 4th was only the beginning

With the election now more than a week past, the excitement in the halls of Mary Graydon Center and on the expanses of the National Mall has ebbed slightly and allowed a clearer, less emotional picture of the election to emerge. One of the most interesting and most important stories lines to emerge since Nov.

Eagles fly towards NCAA tourney

Senior captain attacker Irene Schickhardt's two second-half goals and junior goalie Alyssa Poorman's eight saves powered the 18th ranked AU field hockey team past Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania in Tuesday's NCAA play-in game 2-0 and made it back into the first round of the NCAA tournament after missing the cutoff in 2007.