News

News

Clooney urges action

By Olivia Stitilis | April 2

AU's Distinguished Journalist-in-Residence Nick Clooney Monday night shared his thoughts on his and his son's (actor George Clooney) efforts in Sudan and how they plan to continue their efforts despite the many obstacles they have encountered. The School of Communication Undergraduate Council, SOC Graduate School Council and STAND, a student-led initiative of the Genocide Intervention Network, kicked off SOC Week March 30 with the event, "Journey to Darfur with Nick Clooney.

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Feds issue Jan. 20 apology

By Jack Weingart | April 2

Federal law enforcement officials provided answers and apologized March 25 to the thousands of ticket-holders who were excluded from President Obama's inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20 despite waiting in line for hours. U.S. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan and U.

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Internet provokes debate

By Lindsey Anderson | April 2

Forty percent of the U.S. populace believes that people and dinosaurs existed together, School of Communication professor Danna Walker said during an American Forum event Monday night. The event's panelists debated whether or not the media are making the public dumber and harming relationships.

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Student Government brief

March 30

AU's Undergraduate Senate voted unanimously Sunday to not reinstate Class of 2012 Sen. Josh Roll. Roll was suspended for a poor attendance record after he missed three senate meetings and multiple committee meetings this semester. "He hasn't been active, he hasn't attended meetings and I think that reflects poorly on the office that he holds," said Class of 2010 Sen.

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Essay writing service sneaks below radar

By Meg Fowler | March 30

AU faculty members currently combine manpower and computer power to detect violations of academic integrity amongst their students, but online paper mills may put a wrinkle in that system. Essay Writers is an online paper mill that is unique because its custom papers are "invisible" to search engines designed to catch plagiarism in student papers, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

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National brief

March 30

Police in South Beach, Fla., arrested ShowWow spokesman Vince Shlomi last month on charges of felony battery after he allegedly hit a suspected prostitute, United Press International reported Saturday. Shlomi allegedly confessed to hitting Sasha Harris after she bit his tongue while kissing, according to UPI.

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International brief

March 30

Millions of homes, businesses and buildings went dark Saturday night during a global initiative to conserve electricity, CNN.com reported. The initiative, called Earth Hour, took place at 8:30 p.m. local time around the world. Participants turned their lights off for one hour to symbolically show support for the movement against global climate change, according to CNN.

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News

Popularity of life skill courses grows

By Carol Cummings | March 30

While some colleges are altering their general education policies, AU's current program effectively serves the interests of its students, said Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Academic Affairs Haig Mardirosian. Students at AU, like at many other colleges, must complete a disciplined general education program in order to graduate.

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Survey: Students drink more than study

By Nicole Glass | March 30

A recently released survey found that nearly half of responding college students in the U.S. who consume alcohol spend more time drinking than they do studying. The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators survey of more than 30,000 college freshmen, released March 22, found 49.

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AU may join initiative to pay for vet tuition

By Lindsey Anderson | March 30

AU is monitoring the progress of the new GI bill that will go into effect in August, as well as financial programs aimed at helping veterans attend private universities, according to Financial Aid Director Brian Lee Sang. The GI bill will cover undergraduate tuition and fees at a public college or university in the veteran's home state, according to the U.

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BOE: SG/RHA voting problems resolved

By Jimm Phillips and Tamar Hallerman | March 30

Student Government presidential candidate Andrew MacCracken's name did not appear on undergraduate students' online ballots for a period of seven minutes Tuesday morning, while students in some residence halls were initially not able to vote for Residence Hall Association offices.

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Metro brief

March 30

Two train derailments near the Bethesda Metrorail station Friday caused a backup on the system's red line over the weekend, according to The Washington Post. The first derailment occurred between the Bethesda and Friendship Heights stations at 4:24 p.m. The train was carrying 84 people, but no injuries were reported.

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Group fights Coca-Cola deal

By Julia Ryan | March 30

AU Against Coca-Cola and other student groups have taken social action on campus by trying to stop the university from re-signing Coca-Cola as an on-campus food vendor. They claim Coca-Cola is an unfit vendor for AU because the corporation's numerous human rights violations against its workers. Eight workers at Coca-Cola plants in Colombia have been killed in the past 18 years by paramilitary troops, the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke claims on its Web site. Members of the group said they believe Coca-Cola has been secretly working with these paramilitary troops to stop Coca-Cola workers' efforts to form a union.

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Campus brief

March 30

AU will compete in the America's Greenest Campus contest, according to a Student Government Facebook message. The online contest is the "first nationwide contest among colleges to reduce the carbon footprints of their students, faculty, alumni and staff," according to the campaign's Web site.

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Metro calendar

March 30

Monday, March 30 "Golden Seams: the Japanese Art of Mending Ceramics" 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. WHERE: Freer Gallery of Art, intersection of Jefferson Drive and 12th Street N.W. METRO: Smithsonian (orange and blue lines) INFO: Thirteen once-broken Asian ceramics were fixed using the Japanese gold lacquer technique and are now on display.

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MacCracken elected SG president

By Ethan Klapper | March 30

Andrew MacCracken was elected Student Government president for the 2009-2010 academic year Wednesday night. Alex Prescott was elected vice president, Colin Meiselman was elected secretary and Matthew Handverger was elected comptroller.

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Writing program faces expansion

By Marisa Kendall | March 30

Three new creative writing professors will come to AU next semester, which may be the university's first step to expand the College of Arts and Sciences' program. AU currently offers a Master of Fine Arts creative writing degree, but not an undergraduate degree or minor.

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