News

News

Hagel calls for U.S. diplomacy

By Howie Perlman | October 30

Politicians who take office in January must work to improve America's standing in the world through emphasizing mutual goals between America and other nations, Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said at a Kennedy Political Union event Tuesday. "The next leaders of America are going to be required to build on what our great leaders did for the world after World War II and that is to engage," he said.

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Domestic Workers comment on Inequality

By Justin Van Der Horn | October 30

Myrtle Witbooi and Hester Stephens, representatives of the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers' Union, stressed during an event Monday night that despite advances in South African law and government, poor black women have seen little change. The panel focused on apartheid, the system of legalized racial separation in South Africa that ended in the early 1990s.

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Metro brief

October 30

Metro has begun random bag searches on Metrorail trains and Metrobuses to increase rider safety and privacy and minimize delays, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority officials announced Tuesday. The program is not in response to any specific threat, but rather to increase safety before next week's presidential election, according to The Washington Post.

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Juicy Campus creator tells all

By Charlie Szold | October 30

Juicy Campus creator Matt Ivester said he never anticipated the amount of untrue and hurtful gossip found on the controversial Web site during a speech at Georgetown University Tuesday. It was the first time Ivester has made a public appearance since the Web site went live in August 2007.

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International brief

October 30

Special U.S. forces raided Syria Sunday, killing a senior Iraqi militant leader responsible for running weapons, money and foreign fighters across the Iraq border, officials told The New York Times. The raid was the boldest U.S. attack since the nation invaded Iraq five years ago, according to The Times.

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Calif. students to vote on gay marriage ban

By Sarah Rudnick | October 30

AU students from California will be able to consider Proposition 8, an initiative to ban gay marriage in the state, on their Nov. 4 election ballot. In May, the state's Supreme Court ruled that individuals of the same sex had the right to marry and be recognized by the state, according to information on the California Secretary of State's Web site.

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National brief

October 30

Two individuals were charged Friday in a foiled killing spree in Tennessee that targeted 102 blacks and was meant to end with the assassination of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Daniel Cowart, 20, and Paul Schlesselman, 18, were charged with possession of a sawed-off shotgun, conspiracy to rob a federal firearms licensee and the threatened assassination of a presidential candidate, according to the Washington Times.

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Registration simplified with waitlist system

By Meg Fowler | October 30

AU students may not face the same difficulties they did with course registration in previous semesters because of improvements to the wait-list system, according to University Registrar Linda Bolden-Pitcher. A major change in the wait-list process was put in place last spring to apply to this fall semester's classes.

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Views move left in college

By Julia Ryan | October 30

A study on how students' politics change over the course of their time in college has raised discussion at AU about what and who are the most significant influences on a person's political beliefs. College students are decidedly more liberal by the time they reach junior year than they were as freshmen, according to a recent study done by the University of California, Los Angeles' Higher Education Research Institute.

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Police blotter

October 30

Oct. 21 A Public Safety aide reported an unconscious student in a bathroom. When officers arrived, the student appeared to be intoxicated but was conscious and coherent. The student stated he was not intoxicated but was suffering from a severe stomach ailment.

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Baylor buys SAT scores

By Maria Fufidio | October 27

Baylor University's recent discontinuation of a policy to compensate students for retaking the SATs prompted discussion about the emphasis colleges place on nationwide rankings. The university, located in Waco, Texas, offered incoming freshman students $300 in bookstore credit to retake the SATs this past June.

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Core Survey shows AU drinks above national average rate

By Katie Litvin | October 27

AU students drink alcohol more often and in greater numbers than average college students nationwide, according to results of a college drug and alcohol survey made available Friday. More than 50 percent of surveyed AU students reported binge drinking in the last two weeks, according to the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey, which AU administered in February.

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Economy spurs enrollment concerns for '09

By Rachel Lynne Smith | October 27

AU professors are currently uncertain of exactly how the economic crisis will affect enrollment for the 2009-2010 academic year. "With parents' stock portfolios plummeting, it makes private schools look out of reach with their tuition," said Martha Starr, an economics professor in the College of Arts and Sciences.

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National brief

October 27

NEW ASSESSMENT TEST REVEALED FOR FALL The College Board, which owns the SAT and PSAT, announced Wednesday they will debut a new high school assessment test in the fall. The test is anticipated to better prepare eighth graders to face the challenges of high school and college-level courses, according to The New York Times.

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Bank robber still on the loose

By Hannah Taylor | October 27

AU Public Safety Chief Michael McNair sent an e-mail Oct. 20 to the AU community asking for assistane in identifying a suspect in connection with an Oct. 2 robbery at a Bank of America branch by the Washington College of Law. "The bank branch is one frequented by members of the AU Community and the neighborhood, [and] it was hoped that someone recognized the suspect," he said in the e-mail.

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Alpha Kappa Psi holds business competition

By Anna Tuman | October 27

Alpha Kappa Psi, AU's professional business fraternity, held its first Pentathlon event Saturday in an effort to take the business skills they have learned in their Kogod School of Business classrooms and apply them to real life situations, according to the fraternity's President Myca Ferrer.

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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.

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