Legal News

AU alum helps children in Madagascar

Dana Dunne, class of '99, decided to use her past work and volunteer experience to start a program for the hungry - in Madagascar, one of the world's 11 poorest countries, where half of the population is malnourished. Dunne, a former Peace Corps volunteer, started Project Smile with three teachers from the American School in Antananarivo in December to help improve the Home for Malnourished Children in the city.

National briefs

Apple releases new 2006 laptop line The new year brings Apple fans two welcome gifts: a new desktop iMac and a new line of professional laptops called the MacBook Pro laptop, which Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled last week at an Apple trade show. The machines use new Intel chips, after Apple used IBM's PowerPC chips for years.

Campus Calendar

Friday, Jan. 20 New Plays Workshop Series 2: "Happy.Go.Lucky" 8 p.m., Katzen Arts Center, Studio Theatre Through 21 Jan. "Happy.Go.Lucky" is an award-winning play by Chicago-based playwright Tania Richard.Richard has appeared at Chicago's Goodman Theatre and Steppenwolf Theatre, and on Broadway.

Gore speaks out in wiretapping debate

Both Republicans and Democracts concerned about President George W. Bush's use of wiretapping packed DAR Constitution Hall for a speech given by former Vice President Al Gore last Monday. Many in the audience said they went because they feel that Bush's use of wiretapping is illegal.

Bad calls, sloppy play can't mar Super Bowl

Last weekend, Pittsburgh stunned Indianapolis in a thrilling 21-18 win, while the Broncos ended the Patriots' run as champions with a 27-13 victory. But both games were marred by poor officiating that had fans, the media, coaches and even some players voicing their outrage.

Professors miss grade deadlines, frustrate students

Some AU students are unhappy with the amount of time professors took to post their grades online at the end of the fall semester. "Grades are posted 72 hours after a student's last class," said Linda Bolden-Pitcher, the university registrar. "This has actually been one of our better grade submission periods.

Boston hardcore hits

Hardcore punk is as regional a genre of music as the accents that its vocals are shouted in. Boston, while not the birthplace of the subgenre, has nurtured its scene to have a unique identity from New York, Los Angeles or D.C. For 15 years, Boston's punks have been playing it loud, hard and fast.

Police blotter

Monday, Jan. 2 A Public Safety officer discovered that someone had written the American University logo in black marker on a wall in Anderson Hall. The phrase "Tammy is the woman" was discovered written on a different wall in Anderson Hall, also with black marker.

Gay marriage stalemate

The Gay Marriage debate is currently at a stalemate. The lines have been drawn and sides have been taken, but the American voter is torn between an institution worth preserving, and laws that could, and perhaps should change. Yet the pundits and activists will have you believe there is no such thing as a "compromise.

Is Murphy Hollywood's new 'It' boy? Yes. He is.

A pretty face isn't exactly hard to come by in Hollywood these days. Bearing careers or not, the beautiful elite aren't all that remarkable. For instance, Sienna Miller is somehow famous for her boots and getting duped by Jude "My accent makes cheating okay" Law.

Classroom laptop use stirs debate

Laptops can be a useful classroom aid for note taking or looking up facts as part of a class discussion, but some professors say computers also provide a potential distraction for students. "In the spring '05, I noticed that students were not using them to take notes but to use IM and exchange e-mail," said W.

Love, politics and racism all clash in France

From the beginning of my relationship with an Algerian living in France, I can't say I've been given an easy time about it. I've been questioned on whether or not he wants to kill all Americans, if I'm aware he's going to throw a blanket over my head and beat me if I marry him, and if I've talked to him about accepting Jesus yet.

Metro briefs

Environmental violation found at GW The D.C. Health Department found George Washington University in violation of federal environmental law after an inspection last August revealed improper hazardous material storage in a building on GW's campus. GW University was non-compliant with parts of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act - a set of federal environmental guidelines - according to the EPA's Web site, which was last updated in November.

Fire alarms an easy fix

Ah! Nothing is better than the joy of being awoken to the sound of a 2 am fire alarm. It's thinking about times like these that makes my heart wax with nostalgia for one of the all too familiar joys of on campus living. I knew this joy all too well last semester (my first semester at AU as a transfer student), but am happier now that I live off campus and don't have to experience such thrills.

SG senate could allocate more money for 'Be' campaign

The Undergraduate Senate is considering allocating $10,000 for the Student Government executives to continue funding their "Be" campaign in the spring semester. Senator Nick Johnson, Class of 2007 representative, spoke out against additional funding for the campaign, which is under consideration by the Committee on Programming.

Americans rise early to invent another kind of idol

Boards games. Safety seats. Tie-less shoelaces. If variety is the spice of life, then the Ronald Reagan Building was filled with flavor on Sunday afternoon at auditions for "American Inventor." Some 300 inventors (left), along with their family and friends, waited in line for hours to check in for "American Inventor" auditions on Sunday morning.

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