News

News

Some AU students have trouble receiving ballots

By Nicole Glass | November 3

Many AU students will vote for the first time this election. Most will use the absentee ballot system because they are too far from home to vote at their registered polling place, but some have had complications in receiving their ballots. To vote via an absentee ballot, Americans must first register to vote and can then request a ballot by sending in a form to the state in which they are registered.

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Professors may decide to hold classes on Nov. 4

By Olivia Stitilis | November 3

Election Day does not guarantee a day off for students at AU, as the decision to cancel class on Tuesday is in the hands of individual professors. AU does not cancel all classes on Election Day. The decision to cancel classes on Election Day is one of heated debate at universities around the country.

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Campus brief

November 3

Students in the class Election 2008: Politics, Polling and the Youth Vote, conducted and published a poll on USAToday.com that focused on the upcoming presidential election. Professor Dotty Lynch's class worked with USA Today, Gallup and MTV and conducted two surveys, one from Sept.

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Campus calendar

October 30

Thursday, Oct. 30 Speech: French Deputy Ambassador Fran?ois Rivasseau 2:30-3:30 p.m. WHERE: School of International Service Lounge INFO: Rivasseau will speak about the French presidency of the European Union and diplomatic relations between the United States and the EU.

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AU explains holiday scheduling

By Sarah Rudnick | October 30

Although AU students come from different backgrounds, different parts of the country and even different corners of the world, they must all adhere to the same calendar, only getting days and holidays off that the university delineates. AU's academic and holiday schedule goes through an involved process before it becomes the university's legitimate annual calendar.

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Students consider D.C. schools' safety on Election Day

By Carol Cummings | October 30

D.C. public schools will remain open on Election Day despite concerns about students' safety in these schools. AU students typically agree with this decision, yet some still worry for children's safety with strangers in their school buildings. A record number of voters are expected to vote this election year, leading some school polling locations to close for the day.

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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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