News

News

LASO connects students, Aramark

By Rachel Delevie-Orey | November 24

The Latin and American Student Organization (LASO) recently started a program partnering AU student volunteers with Aramark workers to help them improve their English. Community Learners Advancing Spanish and English (CLASE), an offshoot of LASO, was a result in combining volunteers, participants and orchestration by Aaron Montenegro, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, who put the club together in order to help Aramark workers with speaking English.

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News

Metro calendar

November 24

Monday, Nov. 24 Exhibition - "Herblock's Presidents: Puncturing Pomposity" 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. WHERE: National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, Eighth and F streets N.W. METRO: Gallery Place-Chinatown (red, yellow and green lines) INFO: Former political cartoonist Herbert Block, a.

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News

New program to fight negative body images

By Kai McConnell | November 24

Alan Duffy, a health educator in AU's Student Health Center, and the National Pan-Hellenic Association plan to launch an AU version of a national peer-facilitated program that promotes positive body images among women in sororities early next year. The Sorority Body Image Program, which started six years ago at Trinity University in San Antonio, is hailed as the most effective tool in anorexia and bulimia prevention, Duffy said.

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News

Lower voter turnout in Md., D.C.

By Meg Fowler | November 24

Recent poll data indicates voter turnout in Maryland and D.C. for the 2008 general election was below the expected level in the 2008. Some AU faculty and students blame decreased turnout on the fact that Republican presidential nominee McCain was behind in the polls.

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Dance marathon raises money for AIDS research

By Sarah Rudnick | November 24

Organizers of the second-annual Dance Marathon, which ran for 12 hours from 8 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday in the Tavern, raised half of the amount it did last year to fight HIV/AIDS. Cassie Passinault, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences and the event's director of dance relations, said participants were asked to try not to sit for the duration of the event.

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News

Morales urges better U.S. relations

By Clint Rice | November 20

Members of the AU community packed into Ward Circle Building Room 1 Tuesday evening to hear Bolivian President Evo Morales speak about the changes his government made in Bolivia and the need for better relations between Bolivia and the United States. Morales' speech, which was delivered in Spanish but simultaneously translated into English, was his first public address in Washington, D.

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Metro brief

November 20

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority dismissed a mechanic this week for making sexual jokes while emceeing at an apprenticeship award ceremony in September and disciplined three supervisors for not taking immediate action. Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein told The Washington Post that supervisors should have stepped in during the ceremony, apologized to the audience and escorted the emcee off the stage.

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News

JAMS forum proposes clarifying transport policy

By Robert Cavooris | November 20

Administrators and several students met Tuesday night to dispel some rumors about the alcohol policy at AU, particularly regarding the alcohol transport policy, hosted by the Student Advocacy Center in the School of International Service Lounge. First-time transports are not judicial matters but are really matters of health and safety, according to Dean of Students Sarah Waldron.

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News

Campus brief

November 20

The American University Caribbean Circle will be hosting a formal dinner Friday to discuss future U.S.-Caribbean relations under the new presidential administration, according to Nigel Franklin, president of the group. There will be several Caribbean ambassadors in attendance who will act as panelists during a discussion held before the dinner according to Franklin.

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News

D.C. sick-leave act revised

By Sarah Rudnick | November 20

AU will provide both full and part-time employees with paid leave under the recently passed Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008. The D.C. City Council and Congress approved the act on May 13. It went into effect Monday, according to a memorandum from AU Executive Director of Human Resources Beth Muha.

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D.C. allows cab drivers to apply for licenses

By Nicole Glass | November 20

D.C. taxi authorities are once again allowing prospective cab drivers to apply for a license for the first time in three years, according to Fox 5 News. However, some AU students said they do not see a need for more cabs in the District. The D.C. Taxicab Commission has restarted its new license application process.

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News

Police blotter

November 20

Nov. 12 An unattended laptop computer was stolen from a book bag on a chair in Bender Library when the victim went to dine at another location. Nov. 13 An elevator technician released a student from a stuck elevator in Letts Hall. The student was not injured.

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News

National brief

November 20

Residents of Los Angeles' Oakridge Mobile Park returned to their homes Monday after fires that burned across Southern California Saturday were brought under control. The fire destroyed 484 homes inside the park, which locals call the "Beverly Hills of mobile parks," according to The Washington Post.

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News

Gender gap in leadership positions still remains

By Jenny Couch | November 20

While women are achieving equal levels of education as their male counterparts, most women lag behind men in terms of high leadership positions, according to an annual Global Gender Gap report released by the World Economic Forum. AU students and working mothers said they believe there remains a disparity between women and men in the workplace.

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News

Metro calendar

November 20

Thursday, Nov. 20 Lecture: "The Beauty of Success" 4 p.m. WHERE: Mary Graydon Center 2-6 INFO: Kogod alumnus and cofounder of Smashbox Enterprises Dean Factor will talk about how he started one of the leading cosmetic companies and will give suggestions to aspiring entrepreneurs.

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News

Bike theft continues

By Justin Van Der Horn | November 20

On average, someone has stolen one bike per month at AU for the last year, according to Public Safety statistics. Between Nov. 11, 2007, and Nov. 11, 2008, 12 bikes were stolen, with higher than average numbers reported in March and October. Lt. Rima Sifri, the crime prevention coordinator for AU Public Safety, said she recommends cyclists lock the frame and front wheel of their bikes with heavy duty chains or U-shaped locks, keep a copy of the receipt and engrave a unique and identifiable marking on the bike.

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Course aimed to reduce poverty

By Carrie Cuy | November 20

Last semester, AU introduced its first course dedicated to the study of microfinance from a business perspective. The class, called "Microfinance in Business Development," is taught by Ghiyath Nakshbendi, a Kogod School of Business professor. It gave students the opportunity to delve into a formal study of the microfinance industry.

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