News

News

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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News

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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News

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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Campus brief

February 2

AU President Neil Kerwin's office published its affirmative action statement on Friday as part of an annual requirement, according to David Taylor, Kerwin's chief of staff. AU is "committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities," according to the policy's text.

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News

Va. bill may change driver habits

By Nicole Glass | February 2

A new bill before the Virginia State Senate would ban handheld cell phone use while driving in the commonwealth. Virginia State Sen. Patricia Ticer, D-Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax Counties, proposed the bill, according to Fox 5 News. Drivers are more likely to get into an accident while using their cell phone, Ticer said in a press release.

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News

Senate votes for more ball tickets

By Lindsey Anderson | February 2

Members of the AU Undergraduate Senate passed a bill Sunday directing SG Vice President Andrew Woods and his cabinet to make more tickets available for the Founders' Day Ball. Tickets for the event sold out in less than two hours on Jan. 28, with 174 students on the closed waiting list, according to the bill's text.

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News

Secretaries advise Gibbs

By Howie Perlman | February 2

Former press secretaries Dee Dee Myers and Ari Fleischer offered their advice to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs at Thursday's Kennedy Political Union event. Myers, who worked with President Bill Clinton as White House press secretary from 1993 to 1994, and Fleischer, who worked with President George W. Bush in that position from 2001 to 2003, reflected on the various duties that Gibbs will engage in during his tenure.

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International brief

February 2

In a scene that could have been taken directly from a cartoon, two prisoners in Hastings, New Zealand failed to escape from police Wednesday after colliding while they tried to run past a light pole while handcuffed together, according to the Associated Press.

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News

Showers leave students cold

By Tamar Hallerman | February 2

Some Centennial and Anderson Hall residents have been left out in the cold when it comes to taking a hot shower. Many South side residents have reported that when they go to take a shower hot water is often not available. Anna Sito, a sophomore in the School of International Service, said that for the last week and a half she has gotten either lukewarm or cold water in her Centennial shower.

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MGC walkway cover nears completion

By Steve Gamble | February 2

The bridged walkway next to Mary Graydon Center is getting a facelift, as a canopy is currently being installed over it. The project is one of four building projects underway at AU. The new School of International Service building is almost above ground, with the parking garage currently under construction.

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Metro brief

February 2

President Barack Obama said Wednesday that D.C. could take a lesson from Chicago in its handling winter weather, The Washington Post reported. Obama's daughters' school, the Sidwell Friends School, was closed because of winter weather Wednesday, something he said would never happen in Chicago, which has not closed its public schools for weather-related reasons since 1999.

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National brief

February 2

A man was held on bail Wednesday after being arrested in a vacation home in Indiana, according to the Associated Press. Police told the AP that Alex Kupczynski broke into at least four vacation homes around Webster Lake, about 30 miles northwest of Fort Wayne.

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News

Office chooses scholars

By Ryan Carroll | February 2

Months of hard work and nail biting are finally coming to an end for 16 AU students this week as the Office of Merit Awards begins to notify students who got accepted to the Fulbright Program. According to the Office of Merit Awards, nine AU students have made it through the first round and will be informed of this in the next few days.

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News

Metro gets "On Track" with customers

By Graham Vyse | February 2

Since March of 2007, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has offered a weekly podcast on their Web site and through iTunes music store, but the podcast has gone unnoticed by some of the AU community. The podcast, called "On Track," runs 10 to 20 minutes depending on the week.

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Metro calendar

February 2

Monday, Feb. 2 "Tim and Eric Awesome Show" 8 p.m. WHERE: Sixth and I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St. N.W. METRO: Gallery Place/Chinatown (red, yellow and green lines) INFO: Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim from "Tim and Eric Awesome Show" take their comedic act on the road for its second tour.

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