News

News

Brownback champions McCain, faith

By Bobby Allyn | January 24

The Republican Party needs to focus on faith, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., said during an AU College Republicans event Wednesday evening. "We need more of a faith-based aspect in our movement," he said. "We should find a way to pull more religious folks into it.

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News

Police blotter

January 17

Wednesday, Jan. 2 A Public Safety officer reported witnessing a traffic accident between an AU vehicle and a student vehicle on the roadway in front of the Beeghley Chemistry building. Thursday, Jan. 3 A Public Safety officer found a hole in the wall in front of room 330 on the third floor of Mary Graydon Center.

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News

Students reserve class spots for friends

By Jeanette Lenoir | January 17

AU registration guidelines state that students can register according to their total completed credit hours, but some attempt to bypass the system by having other students with more completed credit hours hold a spot for them in a course. Some students said they were not aware of the practice, while others said they have friends who do it often.

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National brief

January 17

Toy maker Mattel Inc. announced last week it would produce a special collectible Barbie in honor of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation's first Greek-lettered sorority established by black women. The doll will be clad in the sorority's colors, pink and green. The doll is the first in the company's history to be based on a sorority or other organization founded by black women, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

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News

AU Abroad delays start of Kenya program

By Laraine Weschler | January 17

Media coverage of post-election violence in Kenya has exaggerated the situation and oversimplified the conflict, according to AU students currently studying in the country. All students who had planned to study abroad in Nairobi, Kenya, this semester are now on-site.

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Campus calendar

January 17

Thursday, Jan. 17 AU jazz ensemble auditions 8 p.m. WHERE: Katzen 151 INFO: The AU Jazz Program is looking for musicians to audition for various jazz ensembles. CONTACT: For more information, contact William E. Smith at 202-885-3433. University library tour, introduction to ALADIN and academic integrity info session 4-5:30 p.

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News

International brief

January 17

Christian critics have voiced their outrage over a statue of Jesus Christ on display at a museum because it depicts him as having an erection, the Sun, a British newspaper, reported last week Friday. Stephan Green, the national director of evangelical Christian group Christian Voice, deemed the statue blasphemous.

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News

Art professor dies of cancer at 62

By Jen Calantone | January 17

Ron Haynie, associate professor of art and former chair of the art department, died of cancer on Jan. 4 at Sibley Memorial Hospital. Haynie, 62, obtained both his bachelor's degree in fine arts and his master's degree in painting from AU. After several years of teaching at Dumbarton College and Trinity College, he returned to AU as a faculty member in 1970.

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News

Consultant tackles bureaucracy at AU

By Allie Feras | January 17

The university hired a consultant to analyze problems with bureaucracy in the Financial Aid, Registrar and Student Accounts offices and to create a plan to help them better serve students, according to Student Government Comptroller Amanda Hesse. "It's to try and create a more user-friendly bureaucratic system for the students," Hesse said.

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News

Spanish professor enjoys time with family

By Ashley Wolos | January 17

AW: Where did you grow up? EIH: I grew up in Germany - southern Germany. AW: Where did you attend college? EIH: Germany. AW: What is your favorite way to relax after class? EIH: Don't really have time to relax. I don't know. I go home and have two little kids, so I am not sure if it is relaxing.

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News

AU alters schedule for inauguration

By Jimm Phillips | January 17

Many classes that meet Feb. 8 will be shortened under a modified schedule so all members of the AU community can have the opportunity to attend President Neil Kerwin's inauguration ceremony, according to an e-mail memo Dean of Academic Affairs Haig Mardirosian sent to the AU community Jan.

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News

AU in N.H.

By Patricio Chile | January 17

While Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and John McCain, R-Ariz., were winning their respective parties' New Hampshire primaries, 28 AU students documented the political event as part of a School of Communication course. In the course, "Special Topics in News Media: Covering the 2008 Presidential Election," students divided into six small groups.

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News

Metro fare increase faces glitch

By Kim Selman | January 17

Newly increased Metro fares have not gone into effect flaw-free, as thousands of Metrobus riders who used SmarTrip cards had to pay the full fare instead of a free or discounted charge earlier this month. Approximately 23,000 Metrobus riders who paid their fares with SmarTrip cards were inadvertently charged the full rate, rather than getting a free or discounted charge, according to information on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Web site.

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News

Campus briefs

January 17

Aufderheide to appear at Sundance Pat Aufderheide, director of the School of Communication's Center for Social Media, will appear at the Sundance Film Festival. Aufderheide will sign copies of her book, "Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction," Jan. 19 at Dolly's Book Store on Main Street in Park City, Utah, a street located in the heart of the festival.

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News

Restart of dig awaits approval

By Patricio Chile | January 17

The dig for World War I-era weapons buried under and around AU's campus stopped Dec. 5 because a munition recovered weeks earlier contained explosive material not described in the site's safety plan, project officials said at a Spring Valley community meeting Jan.

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Campus brief

December 6

Podcasts produced weekly by School of Communication professor Rick Rockwell's "Broadcast Journalism I" class can now be found on iTunes. The class produces a newscast every Wednesday and has aired six since producing its first one on Oct. 24. "This is the real thing," Rockwell said.

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News

Founder of Lab School dies at 78

By Jimm Phillips | December 6

Sally L. Smith, head of the learning disabilities master's program in the College of Arts and Sciences' School of Education, Teaching and Health, died Saturday due to complications from myeloma. Smith, 78, founded the Lab School of Washington in 1967 as a place where students with learning disabilities could get instruction through an arts-based program and an individualized education plan.

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