News

News

Profs sign onto Facebook

By Nicole Glass | February 9

Professors and administrators are catching the "Facebook fever" - they are using Facebook to communicate with faculty friends and sometimes students. Across the country, professors have gotten into trouble for using Facebook when students sometimes discover incriminating comments left by their professors.

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Students offered new off-campus resources

By Tamar Hallerman | February 9

AU Housing and Dining Programs recently hosted a series of forums and events for students who are interested in moving off-campus next semester. The goal is not to kick students off campus, but to provide enough resources for those who are interested, said Housing and Dining's Associate Director of Guest and Visitor Services Ed Gilhool.

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Supporters hope for D.C. vote

By Elizabeth Royall | February 9

Few AU students imagined that their choice in college could cost them their right to representation in Congress. On Jan. 27, however, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the District of Columbia Voting Rights Act, which would give D.C. residents a vote in Congress, according to the legislation's text.

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News

Bender Library seeks to increase efficiency

By Laraine Weschler | February 9

Despite budget cuts in libraries across the nation, AU's Bender Library is still getting funding for their collections, according to University Librarian William Mayer. "We have a prominent place in [AU's] budget planning," he said. "The university recognizes the critical value the library brings and wants to support it.

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National brief

February 9

A miscreant hacked into an electronic road sign in Lubbock, Texas, early Friday morning to send his or her own message to passing drivers, KCBD-TV reported. The sign originally read "Frankford Exit Next Right," but ended up reading "OMG THE BRITISH R COMING THEY R WATCHING YOU," according to KCBD-TV.

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Metro brief

February 5

A D.C. man wearing only a T-shirt and boxers escaped from police custody Saturday by crawling through the ceiling of a restroom at a hospital, The Washington Post reported. Corey Harrison crawled through the ceiling to another room at the United Medical Center in Southeast D.

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Campus brief

February 5

After acquiring more than a million visitors per month from more than 500 campuses across the United States, gossip Web site JuicyCampus.com will be shutting down as of today. Juicy Campus was unable to provide enough resources for its growing user base in the current economic crisis, site founder Matt Ivester said in a press release posted on the site's blog.

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News

Metro may cut service

By Meg Fowler | February 5

AU students who travel around D.C. on public transportation could be faced with Metro service cuts next fall due to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's projected budget gap for 2010. On Jan. 8, WMATA issued a press release in which the agency predicted a $176 million budget deficit - a gap of more than 13 percent that has resulted from recent decreases in revenue and increases in expenses for Metro.

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Ebadi advocates equality

By Diana Hill | February 5

"Democracy, freedom and equality are rights of men, if there is some left over it will be given to women," Shirin Ebadi, the first Iranian and female Muslim to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, said at a lecture Tuesday. Ebadi said that, though much reform is still required to reach a true democracy in Iran, the nation has awakened.

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News

Campus calendar

February 5

Thursday, Feb. 5 Lecture: "The State of Nigeria's Political Parties" 4-5 p.m. WHERE: Mary Graydon Center, Room 245 INFO: Learn about the challenges Nigeria's new president faces during a discussion with the former social science dean of University of Ibadan.

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News

Room draw revamped

By Olivia Stitilis | February 5

Housing and Dining has changed protocol for room reapplication for the next academic year, including a mixed-gender suite policy in Centennial Hall and online room registration, according to Chris Moody, the executive director of Housing and Dining Programs.

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National brief

February 5

A passerby stabbed a dog to death Sunday after the dog attacked an elderly woman and her dog on her front lawn in Council Bluffs, an Iowa suburb of Omaha, Neb., the Omaha World-Herald reported. Kevin Daub attempted to pull the American bulldog off of 77-year-old Ann Lyon, but he was unable to do so and had to pull out his pocketknife, the World-Herald reported.

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Bill proposes tuition tax breaks

By Nicole Glass | February 5

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill that would provide an $819 billion economic stimulus package, which would make millions of students eligible to receive a tuition tax break, according to The Chronicle Review. Low- and middle-income students who do not qualify for the Hope Tax Credit could benefit from the new bill, including students from AU.

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Zinn talks politics

By Ryan Carroll | February 5

On Monday night, author, professor and activist Dr. Howard Zinn spoke at D.C.'s Busboys and Poets restaurant to address the future of the Obama administration and the current state of foreign affairs in the United States. A crowd packed the venue to capacity with many people huddled outside in the drizzle listening to the speech through a single outdoor speaker.

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Police blotter

February 5

Jan. 28 Public Safety officers and the D.C. Fire Department responded to an Anderson Hall report of a student having difficulty breathing. DCFD administered oxygen for a few minutes. The student indicated he felt fine and did not need to be transported to a hospital.

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Ms. Christine brightens students' TDR meals

By Marisa Kendall | February 5

Christine Hamlett-Williams does not love her job as a Terrace Dining Room cashier because of the free food. Known by AU students as "Ms. Christine," she rolls her eyes when asked about TDR's cuisine. After growing up in North Carolina, Ms. Christine said she would like to see the dining hall serve more of what she described as the "stuff that'll kill me," such as fried chicken, fried fish, ribs and potato salad.

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SG adds Founders' tickets

By Lindsey Anderson and Tamar Hallerman | February 5

Student Government has raised the number of available Founders' Day Ball tickets from 600 to 880 in response to an Undergraduate Senate bill passed Sunday. "Be it further enacted that the Undergraduate Senate directs the Office of the Vice President to invite the maximum amount of students possible to Founder's Day," the legislation said.

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