News

News

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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News

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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News

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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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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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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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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