Legal News

Opinion

My Philosophy: Protect Citizens, But Let Them Be Free

By Erin Wildermuth | April 12

I am a philosophical anarchist. The idea of a group of people coming together and imposing their will on others is morally abhorrent to me. It is probably morally abhorrent to most people. However, public opinion changes when that majority claims to be working towards the common good, when they are acting on behalf of the state.

---

News

Tarantino, Rodriguez team up for 'Grindhouse'

April 12

If the trailers didn't make it obvious already, "Grindhouse" is not for the squeamish. The new film, a double feature by Robert Rodriguez ("Sin City") and Quentin Tarantino ("Kill Bill") aims to capture and repurpose the energy of the gore-filled B-movies the directors watched as kids, and in this endeavor, they are successful.

---

News

Campus calendar

By Brian Kalish | April 12

Thursday, April 12 "I Remember AU When: The Age of Protest" 8 p.m. McDowell Formal Lounge What was AU really like during the age of protest of the late '60s and early '70s? "I Remember AU When" will take a look back to when the campus was a hotbed of dissent.

---

News

National brief:Google Earth launches Darfur mapping service

By Jimm Phillips | April 12

Google and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum launched a project Tuesday that maps out the atrocities occurring in Darfur, Reuters reported. Google Earth users are now able to zoom in on Darfur, a western region of Sudan, to view the more than 1,600 villages damaged or destroyed by the Janjaweed during the conflict.

---

News

Blood Brothers delight devoted D.C. fans

By Cameron Conway | April 12

The Blood Brothers ravaged the Black Cat last Wednesday night, proving that good music doesn't go out of style. Openers Chinese Stars and Celebration were interesting and frustrating, respectfully. Chinese Stars features members of the disbanded underground act Six Finger Satellite, and while the band is certainly evocative of the discordant and catchy atonal guitar sounds of SFS, its guitar tones are more encrusted with Blood Brothers-style filth as opposed to the electronica-disco sheen of SFS.

---

Sports

Fennell, Lanz help track teams find success at Texas Relays

By Justin Hall | April 12

The distance medley team finished second while Conor Lanz placed ninth in the 1500 meters to cap AU's participation in the Texas Relays held in Austin, Texas this past weekend. The Eagle's elite men traveled south on Friday to compete against some of the top individual runners and relay teams in the country in preparation for the Patriot League championships at the beginning of May.

---

News

National Opera updates classic 'Die WalkÂre'

By Barron John Weyerhaeuser | April 12

A busty, helmet-clad warrior maiden, blond braids swinging behind her, belts the Valkyrie battle cry. This seminal scene, repeated in Bugs Bunny cartoons and throughout popular culture, occurs near the climax of Richard Wagner's epic opera, "Die Walkre." The Washington National Opera's new production, in conjunction with the San Francisco Opera, the second of four operas in Wagner's "Ring" cycle, takes a brave new look at the classic German tale.

---

News

Scooters offer thrifty ride

By Kara Newhouse | April 12

What's hip, saves commuter students tons of money and has two wheels? Motorized scooters, of course, and students who don't ride them could be spending hundreds more than they need to each year. "Scooters are considered bicycles when it comes to the parking policy," according to Christian Noll, AU transportation operations coordinator.

---

Sports

Senior lacrosse standout steps up in final season at American

By Rita Gallina | April 12

The American University women's lacrosse team may have a young team for its 2007 campaign, with over half the team being composed of freshmen and sophomores, but one special upperclassman stands out. Referred to as "Gorms" by her teammates, Caithlin Gorman is anything but ordinary, on and off the lacrosse field.

---

News

AU diplomat presents research

By Kyra Smerkanich | April 12

The importance of border communities and the challenges of border management was the research topic presented by AU professor and Diplomat-in-Residence Daniel Hernández. Hernández, a senior fellow for the Center for North American Studies, led by fellow professor Robert Pastor, addressed an audience that included students, faculty and influential political and economic leaders Wednesday evening over dinner.

---

News

Former college president advocates for lower drinking age

By Kaylor Garcia | April 12

John McCardell, former president of Middlebury College in Vermont, is leading a grassroots movement to lower the drinking age to 18, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Some AU students remain skeptical about whether he would make much of an impact on current drinking practices.

---

News

Plame, Matthews cancellations to help fund final speakers

By Kim Selman | April 12

The Kennedy Political Union, the on-campus organization that works to acquire prominent guest speakers for AU events, has dealt with two high-profile speaker cancellations this semester, which KPU Director Taylor Robinson said were due to circumstances out of KPU's control.

---

News

SG, Health Center to launch online forum for feedback

By Elena Isella | April 12

The Student Government Campus Life Committee is launching an initiative with the Health Center to provide better health care services to the AU student body. The joint initiative began last semester with informing students about the resources and students' rights at the Health Center.

---

Opinion

Staff editorial: Health Center Reforms: A Good Place To Start

April 12

In response to many complaints and based on the success of a similar program to gather student feedback on the low-flow showerhead controversy, the SG has launched a section of its act.ausg.org to gather student feedback about the Health Center. The Health Center also began using a comment box in mid-February to gather student feedback.

---

News

Leadership Committee approves '07-'08 budget

By Cassie Passinault | April 12

The Leadership Committee of the Undergraduate Senate held a late-night meeting April 9 to approve the 2007-2008 school year budget allocations. The committee heard a presentation on the budget recommended by SG Comptroller Robert Donigian, a senior in the Kogod School of Business.

---

Opinion

Letters to the editor

April 12

More Rove protest reactions I would like to point out something that the heated emotions surrounding the erstwhile citizen's arrest of Karl Rove may have caused people to overlook. The protesters who laid down in front of Mr. Rove's car and made such a big deal about being forcibly removed by Public Safety and the Secret Service seemed to forget one very important fact: The job of the Secret Service is to protect certain people.

---

News

Superstitions fail to prevent the inevitable

By Blair Bryant Nichols | April 12

To say I grew up in a superstitious home might be a bit of an overstatement. No, my mother didn't pray before a shrine to the Virgin Mary, construct altars to deceased relatives, bless new household items with holy water, or adhere to any number of customs that are associated with Catholics.

---