News

News

Campus calendar

February 7

Thursday, Feb. 7 "Mission Improv-able's Super Thursday" 11 p.m. WHERE: Battelle-Tompkins Atrium INFO: AU's only campus comedy troupe will perform in honor of the month of February after all of the Super Tuesday excitement has ended. CONTACT: For more information, e-mail Grant Helms at grant.

---

News

Colleges respond to pressure from federal lawmakers on standards

By Patricio Chile | February 7

Colleges and the agencies that accredit them are re-evaluating how they publicly disclose their educational achievements over fears of stricter federal regulations on colleges' academic standards. College and accrediting representatives at the Council of Higher Education Accrediting's annual meeting last week in D.

---

News

New budget service available to AU clubs and organizations

By Christopher Cottrell | February 7

The AU Club Council recently introduced a new budget service called Program Assistance, which clubs can use to apply for additional funding on an event-by-event basis, AUCC Chair Kristen Lyon said at a budget workshop Monday. Each club is only eligible, however, for $500 per semester through the service, she said.

---

News

International brief

February 7

Police in northern England allowed a burglar to continue his crime spree after he called their station and asked to be picked up, the Daily Mail reported Monday. Liam Tomlinson, 21, allegedly told police in a phone call Dec. 8 that he had broken into the clubhouse of Rossendale United FC, an English soccer team, and stolen three bottles of alcohol, according to the Daily Mail.

---

News

AU to enforce D.C. seat belt laws

By Allie Feras | February 7

Public Safety will begin referring students to Judicial Affairs and Mediation Services for packing too many passengers into their cars, according to Public Safety Crime Prevention Coordinator Lt. Rima Sifri. "We haven't always counted people in the cars because it's never been a big problem," Sifri said.

---

News

W. Va. bill may cut aid over alcohol use

By Ethan Klapper | February 4

Students who receive financial aid from the West Virginia state government will lose their state aid if they receive two or more alcohol citations, according to a bill introduced before the West Virginia State Senate. The bill, introduced Jan. 10, would stop state-funded financial aid for students who receive two or more citations related to open container laws, drunken driving, underage drinking, public drunkenness or contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

---

News

Metro Calendar

February 4

Monday, Feb. 4 Lecture - "Reflections from South Africa: Libraries and Societal Change" Noon-1 p.m. WHERE: The Library of Congress, Mumford Room, James Madison Building (sixth floor), 101 Independence Ave. S.E. METRO: Capitol South (blue and orange lines) INFO: The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions' President-elect Ellen R.

---

News

Fast-food marketing influences habits

By SANDRA FLORES | February 4

Parents are more likely to feed their children fast-food when exposed to fast-food marketing, according to a study conducted by Kogod School of Business professor Sonya Grier. Grier conducted the study to address the "research void" in the work being done to tackle obesity problem in the United States, which the Centers for Disease Control designated as an epidemic.

---

News

INAUGURATION WEEK: Calendar of events

February 4

Monday, Feb. 4 Scholarship, Creativity and Professional Contributions Day Panel Presentation - "Ideas into Action: Faculty Share Their Professional Experiences" 1 p.m. WHERE: MGC 5 INFO: Washington College of Law Dean Claudio Grossman, College of Arts and Sciences professor Caleen Jennings, CAS professor Robert Jernigan, WCL professor Jamin Raskin and AU President Neil Kerwin will discuss academia as public intellectuals.

---

News

Panelists: U.S. not prepared for vote

By Jen Calantone | February 4

Shortcomings in election administration have left many eligible voters disenfranchised, said Dr. Robert Pastor, co-director of the Center for Democracy and Election Management, during a panel discussion Thursday. The panelists, who spoke in the Butler Board Room, discussed whether the nation is ready for the 2008 presidential election.

---

News

Global warming and politics meet

By Rachel Trainer | February 4

People need to look at global warming from both an economic and political view, according to Bracken Hendricks, co-author of "Apollo's Fire," a book about creating a clean-energy economy. "Things that weren't political are becoming political," he said at a panel discussion Thursday night as part of a three-day teach-in on climate change called "Focus the Nation.

---

News

SETH to warn about info breach

By Jimm Phillips | February 4

Officials in the School of Education, Teaching and Health will notify students whose personal information may have been compromised after three boxes of student records ended up in a McKinley Building hallway. A total of six SETH-owned boxes were among those removed in late January after being found in a second floor hallway inside the building.

---

News

Universities called to invest responsibly

By Michael Ono | February 4

AU should invest its endowment in socially responsible companies that respect human rights, Cheyenna Weber, organizing director of the Responsibility Endowment Coalition, said to a group of students during a teach-in Thursday in the McDowell Formal Lounge.

---

News

Briefs

February 4

CAMPUS BRIEF Unknown person ignites Leonard Hall bulletin board Public Safety is still looking for the person that set fire to a bulletin board in Leonard Hall Saturday night, according to Michaela McGill, a resident assistant for the building. Area Director Chris Fiorello told students that an unknown person set fire to the board on the fourth floor, leaving a large scorch mark, according to McGill.

---

News

AU ranks 7th on Peace Corps listing

By Lauren Cater | February 4

AU jumped one spot in 2007 on the Peace Corps' list of the top 25 mid-size universities with the highest number of volunteers getting involved in the program. The rankings, released Jan. 1, show AU ranked seventh on the list. The university ranked eighth last year and 12th in 2006.

---

News

Sallie Mae cuts student aid

By Kim Selman | February 4

Sallie Mae's decision to cut loans to students at colleges with low graduation rates will affect only a small number of AU students, according to Martha Holler, managing director of corporate communications for the company. "A small number of AU students with low credit scores and no cosigner may see a decline in their approval rates and may need to work with another lender to secure a private loan," Holler said in an e-mail.

---

News

AUSG to sign students up to vote for 2008

By Lauren Cater | January 31

For 2008, AU's Student Government plans to increase student voter registration by starting a program similar to one already implemented by the George Washington University Student Association. GW Votes, a new nonpartisan initiative developed by the GW Student Association, aims to register all GW students who are eligible to vote in the 2008 presidential election.

---