News

News

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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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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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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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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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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Activists protest gay marriage ban

By Julia Ryan | November 17

Members of the AU community rallied in the rain Saturday against California voters' recent passage of Proposition 8, a referendum that banned gay marriages in that state. Proposition 8 would amend the state Constitution of California to say that only a marriage between a man and a woman would be valid and recognized in the state.

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News

Obama's plan: make college affordable

By Austin Green | November 17

President-elect Barack Obama is now planning his education reform policies, including making higher education more affordable, which could affect AU students in the future. During his campaign, Obama formulated two fundamental policies concerning education-one that deals with school funding and reforms to No Child Left Behind, while the other focuses on higher education, according to The Washington Post.

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Campus brief

November 17

On-campus art groups now have help paying for the rental fees at the Katzen Arts Center and Greenberg Theater because of a new Student Government and AU Club Council grant. Grant money is made possible from a $6,000 fund sponsored by SG President Seth Cutter and the AUCC, according to an SG press release.

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SG brief

November 17

At the Undergraduate Senate's meeting Sunday, Student Government Vice President Andrew Woods announced Student Union Board Director Tre Matthews had resigned due to conflicts with his music career. Deputy SUB Director Andrew Addison will fulfill the office's duties for the rest of the semester.

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National brief

November 17

A man with a highly contagious form of tuberculosis was allowed to repeatedly enter the United States via the Mexican border and board dozens of flights after U.S. agencies failed to conduct adequate border inspections, the Government Accountability Office told the Washington Times.

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Senator discusses GOP's losses in 2008 election

By Clint Rice | November 17

The Republican Party lost seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate because it had lost track of its fiscally conservative principles, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said Wednesday night during a speech in the Kay Spiritual Life Center. During the AU College Republicans-sponsored event, Coburn also spoke about the current economic crisis and congressional earmarks, which he said contributed to the Republicans' losses.

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Metro brief

November 17

The D.C. school board will be voting this week whether or not to close schools on Jan. 20 for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration. Schools must decide whether the day should be observed as a holiday or as a teachable moment, according to The Washington Post.

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Trailer questions FEMA action

By Katie Litvin | November 17

An unusual vehicle was parked outside Mary Graydon Center Thursday afternoon - a 32-foot "classic" trailer, able to sleep up to eight people and complete with a kitchen and bathroom. But the slogans taped on the trailer's sides - one of which listed the days that have passed since Hurricane Katrina hit land - revealed the trailer's purpose as a traveling classroom.

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News

New club serves a worldwide community

By Sarah Rudnick | November 17

A group of AU students established a new chapter of Nourish International this semester to find ways to alleviate poverty by engaging in worldwide community service projects. Nourish International's primary goal is to focus on one community service project per semester in order to execute it more efficiently than undertaking several at once, according to Celia Daly, the AU chapter's co-founder, co-president and treasurer.

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AU named nation's 'most vegetarian-friendly college' in peta2 contest

By Tamar Hallerman | November 17

Peta2 hailed AU as the most vegetarian-friendly school in the country Monday evening. AU edged out Wesleyan University in the final round to gain the top spot in the organization's "Most Vegetarian-Friendly College" contest. Peta2's competition, which went on throughout the month of November, allowed students to vote for the college they thought supplied the most vegetarian-friendly options, The Eagle previously reported.

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Congressional offices inundated with Jan. 20 ticket requests

By Olivia Stitilis | November 17

Students planning for the next big political event, the 56th presidential inaugural ceremony on Jan. 20, 2009, have discovered that tickets are difficult to find. Members of the public who want to attend the inaugural ceremonies should contact their congressmen or senators to inquire about tickets, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies Web site.

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Metro calendar

November 17

Monday, Nov. 17 Book discussion - William Ayers 6:30 p.m. WHERE: Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th St. N.W. METRO: U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (green line) INFO: Former Weather Underground co-founder Bill Ayers' relationship with President-elect Barack Obama caused controversy throughout the 2008 presidential election.

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