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Campus calendar

February 26

Thursday, Feb. 26 Miss America 2008: Kirsten Haglund 8:30 p.m. WHERE: Ward 1 INFO: Haglund will speak about dealing with an eating disorder and her advocacy for body image awareness, as the finale for AU's Body Image Awareness Week. Free with an AU ID, $5 for guests.

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News

National brief

February 26

A woman in Oregon last week received an invitation to her nephew's graduation in New Jersey 22 years after it was originally sent, the Associated Press reported. Theresa Schlossarek of La Grande, Ore., did not attend the ceremony, which occurred in 1987, because she had not received the invitation.

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News

Market blooms at AU

By Anna Tuman | February 26

If TDR's Farm to Fork section is not enough to appease your farm-fresh appetite, Eco-Sense's farmer's market, which is scheduled to appear on campus March 30, might be able to help. "Currently, students and faculty do not really have on-campus access to locally grown produce and goods," said Laura Perkins, a sophomore in the School of International Service and Eco-Sense's farmer's market coordinator.

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News

Board passes AU's FY 2010-2011 budget

By Jen Calantone | February 26

The Board of Trustees unanimously passed the budget for fiscal years 2010 and 2011 Friday, which included a tuition increase of 5 percent over each of the two years, according to Vice President of Finance and Treasurer Don Myers. AU is currently financially stable, despite the economic crisis, according to Myers.

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News

Tancredo urges assimilation

By Lindsey Anderson and Clint Rice | February 26

Former Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., said immigrants need to assimilate and discussed why he thinks multiculturalism is divisive during a speech to an audience comprised mostly of protesters in Ward 1 Tuesday night. The protesters wore black and displayed signs that read "America is Multicultural" in multiple languages.

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News

UDC protests continue

By Jewel Edwards | February 26

Students at the University of the District of Columbia continue to protest a potential increase in undergraduate tuition to curb the university's financial problems. The UDC Board of Trustees passed a proposal from UDC President Allen Sessoms Feb. 18 to raise the school's tuition from $3,800 to $7,000 for D.C. residents - a measure that many UDC students are strongly against. The proposal also raises tuition prices for students who are not D.C. residents to $14,000.

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News

International brief

February 26

A pair of birds in Hong Kong constructed a nest made of metal twigs, the Associated Press reported. Two magpies constructed the nest in a tree in the Tuen Mun district of Hong Kong, the AP reported. Authorities believe that the twigs were found at a nearby construction site.

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News

SG brief

February 23

The Undergraduate Senate unanimously approved a resolution Sunday advocating to automatically enroll AU undergraduate students in Rave's AU Campus Connect program. Public Safety established AU Campus Connect, which allows the department to contact students via text message or e-mail in the event of an emergency on campus or in the city, according to the legislation.

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News

Founders' Ball becomes evening of firsts

By Meg Fowler | February 23

From an impromptu student beat-boxing performance to an unconventional organizational team and large number of attendants, this year's Founders' Day Ball, "An American Affair," set new precedents while following time-honored traditions of the annual event.

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News

AU honors Peace Corps week

By Nicole Glass | February 23

AU is celebrating Peace Corps Week from Monday through March 2 to celebrate the establishment of the Peace Corps 49 years ago as well as the 10-year anniversary of the Masters International Program at AU, including a visit from the Acting Director of the Peace Corps in the middle of the week.

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News

AU notifies residents of on-campus TB case

By Tony Romm | February 23

An AU student hospitalized last week for pulmonary tuberculosis is recovering quickly, and no such similar cases on campus have been reported, according to Student Health Center Director Dan Bruey. Although Bruey's office and the D.C. Department of Health have since contacted and tested all at-risk students and staff members, the university could not provide more specifics - including how the student contracted the disease, how many AU community members came in contact with the disease and which areas of campus he or she may have inhabited.

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News

FIRE prez criticizes AU policy

By Justin Van Der Horn | February 23

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education ranks AU as a "red light institution" for administrative censorship, FIRE President and AU alumnus Greg Lukianoff said during a Kennedy Political Union and Students for Liberty event Thursday night. FIRE ranks universities on a red, yellow and green light scale based on threats to free academic thought found in university policies, according to FIRE's Web site.

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News

Campus brief

February 23

College of Arts and Sciences Dean Kay Mussell will take the post of interim senior vice provost and dean of academic affairs in June, despite her earlier announcement in October that she would be beginning a sabbatical after the close of the academic year, according to a Feb.

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News

National brief

February 23

A Pennsylvania library has been closed for almost two weeks due to the smell from a skunk that may have gotten inside the library, the Associated Press reported. Officials closed the Allensville branch of the Mifflin County library on Feb. 10 after the smell spread throughout the building.

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News

Metro brief

February 23

The last car of a six-car Metrorail train derailed at the Mount Vernon Square station Thursday evening, The Washington Post reported. No injuries were reported as a result of the derailment, which occurred around 6:30 p.m. on a section of the yellow line that is shared with the green line, the Post reported.

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News

Political clubs discuss health care, stimulus

By Jordyn Phelps | February 23

The College Republicans and Democrats exchanged words mostly along party lines on Wednesday night in a debate about the $787 billion stimulus package and President Obama's proposed heath care plan. "Republicanism is about you and I," said David Lindgren, a freshman in the School of International Service and one of the debaters for the College Republicans.

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News

Financial aid pilot program comes to end

By William F Zeman | February 23

AU will not be affected by the U.S. Department of Education's plan to end a pilot program which allowed schools to experiment with waiving federal financial aid regulations. The Experimental Sites Initiative was launched in 1995 by Former Education Secretary Richard Riley.

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