News

News

Scare clears complex

By Elena Isella | October 27

A bomb scare interrupted AU's Family and Alumni Weekend, cancelled a Kennedy Political Union event and raised concern over AU's safety for several hours Saturday afternoon. An undisclosed person left a briefcase, which was later found to contain photo equipment, on the fourth floor of the parking garage adjacent to Bender Arena and the Butler Pavilion.

---

News

Free speech forum angers AU audience

By Tamar Hallerman | October 27

The AU Objectivists' free speech forum ended in boos and snickers Thursday as many audience members stormed out of the room and threw their hands up in disgust due to the comments the panelists made regarding Islam. The forum sought to discuss the role of free speech in a free society and how totalitarian Islam was a threat to that principle.

---

News

S.E. Asian cultures celebrated

By Katie Litvin | October 27

The South Asian Student Association celebrated AU diversity with a variety show of South Asian culture and a night of dancing at its first annual cultural show Friday night in the Tavern. Jalwa, held the weekend of the Indian festival Diwali, represented different aspects of primarily Indian culture, with acts including an ongoing humorous skit about arranged marriage, classical Indian dance and an energy-filled Bollywood performance.

---

News

Metro brief

October 27

RED AND SILVER METRO BUSES DEBUT Metro's 15 new red and silver buses will debut Monday, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority officials told The Washington Post. The buses will run along the U8 line, which runs between the Capitol Heights Metrorail station in Prince George's County, Md.

---

News

International brief

October 27

SWAZILAND EXPECTED TO ELIMINATE MALARIA Experts Wednesday predicted Swaziland to potentially be the second country in the Southern African Development Community to eliminate malaria, according to the Inter Press Service. The SADC Malaria Strategic Plan lists Swaziland, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia as countries in the area where elimination is nearly complete.

---

News

AU pedals bikes onto campus

By Lindsey Anderson | October 27

AU is shifting transportation gears with a free bike rental program, paralleling the recent trend among many universities to increase student bike use. Ryan Bodge, director of AU's Bike Share and a senior in the School of International Service, said the program started as a way to encourage alternate forms of transportation and to make city transportation easier for students.

---

News

College Republicans top College Dems in Party Feud debate

By Nabila Chami | October 27

The College Republicans came out on top of the College Democrats at the Kennedy Political Union's own version of "Family Feud," known as Party Feud, Wednesday in the Tavern. The game, a political spin on the game show, ended in an overwhelming victory for the College Republicans, 380-88.

---

News

Campus brief

October 27

COMMUNITY CALLED TO GIVE INPUT ON STRATEGIC PLAN In an effort to gain the AU community's feedback on the strategic planning process, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee will hold its final town hall forum Tuesday. This will be the final community-wide discussion of the Strategic Plan before the board of trustees reviews the plan in mid-November, according to the Strategic Plan Web site.

---

News

Public Safety response scrutinized

By Marisa Kendall | October 27

AU Public Safety and some university students disagree about whether officers responded appropriately to a medical emergency in Mary Graydon Center Wednesday evening. A male student fell and began having a seizure in MGC's lobby around 5:05 p.m. Public Safety officers arrived roughly five to six minutes after the initial call, according to University Center Assistant Director of Operations Patrick Ledesma who witnessed the incident.

---

News

AU students follow trend of living on campus

By Elena Isella | October 23

AU Housing and Dining Programs has seen an increase in the past three years of returning students who seek on-campus housing - numbers that are in line with a national trend of upperclassmen seeking on-campus housing at colleges across the country. James Baumann, director of communication and marketing for the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International, said his organization has seen an increase in the number of upperclassmen-oriented residence halls.

---

News

Several schools increase financial aid packages

By Nicole Glass | October 23

As a result of the stock market downturn, three universities have announced hefty increases in their financial aid packages, however, AU is not among those to change procedure. Texas A&M University, Boston University and Vanderbilt University will increase the aid that most students receive.

---

News

Suspicious briefcase in Bender successfully cleared

By Tony Romm | October 23

The Metropolitan Police Department's bomb squad safely disposed of a suspicious briefcase found in Bender Arena's parking garage on Saturday.

---

News

National brief

October 23

The federal appeals court ruled Monday to halt the release of 17 Chinese Muslims detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. The court will wait to hear further argument before detainees can be released into the United States, the Washington Post reported. The Uighur men, who China considers to be terrorists, have been held for seven years at Guantanamo.

---

News

Roaches raid the Berks

By Sarah Rudnick | October 23

AU students who live in the Berkshire Apartments may be paying for unwanted roommates - cockroaches. Some AU students who live in the Massachusetts Avenue building have reported bug infestations in their apartments. The cockroach influx has mainly occurred because of a lack of proper apartment sanitation.

---

News

International brief

October 23

The Sri Lankan government jeopardized the nation's trade concessions and job opportunities Tuesday after it blocked the European Union from investigating international labor and human rights conventions, the Inter Press Service reported. International Trade Minister G.

---

News

Police Blotter

October 23

Oct. 13 A desk receptionist in Congressional Hall reported a student felt very sick and was vomiting. D.C. Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services personnel transported the student to Sibley Hospital. Oct. 14 A resident assistant in Hughes Hall reported a student sick in her fifth-floor room.

---

News

AU sees minority growth

By Meg Fowler | October 23

AU's enrollment of minority students increased between 1997 and 2007, as 51 more students of Asian or Pacific Islander backgrounds and 73 more Hispanic students were enrolled at the university in 2007 than in 1997, according to the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment's yearly Academic Databook.

---