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News

Metro calendar

February 11

Monday, Feb. 11 Dance performance - Kenichi Ebina 6 p.m. WHERE: John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, intersection of New Hampshire Avenue, Virginia Avenue and Rock Creek Parkway N.W. METRO: Foggy Bottom/GWU (orange and blue lines) INFO: Kenichi Ebina, a multiple-style dancer, will perform as part of the "JAPAN! Culture + Hyperculture" festival.

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News

SG brief

February 11

The Undergraduate Senate passed a bill to allow students to use Blackboard to monitor their EagleBuck$ accounts and discussed extending hours at the Student Health Center at its meeting Sunday. The Electronic Access Guarantee to Legitimate Expenses Act asks Housing and Dining Programs to upgrade the Blackboard system to allow students to monitor their EagleBuck$ expenses, said Jason Cunningham, the class of 2009 senator who wrote and presented the bill.

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News

AU ball celebrates Kerwin, founding

By Jimm Phillips | February 11

Student Government President Joe Vidulich toasted AU President Neil Kerwin and the university's 115th anniversary at the combined Inauguration Celebration and Founders' Day Ball Friday at the Italian Embassy. Approximately 1,250 people attended the sold-out event on the embassy's first floor.

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Students to participate in 'secret shopper' program

By Kristen Boghosian | February 11

AU is looking to improve its dining services through Eagle Eyes, a new Auxiliary Services program that will allow students, staff and faculty to evaluate food vendors and receive some reimbursement for the meal, according to Auxiliary Services Director JoDe Norris.

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News

Metro brief

February 11

The top remaining presidential candidates are making a final push for voter support before this Tuesday's Potomac primaries. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama gave speeches last weekend at the Virginia Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner in Richmond, while Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov.

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Campus brief

February 11

The 2011 Class Council is trying to get the freshman class more involved on campus by creating groups to assist each of the council's officers, according to 2011 Class Secretary Cait Chew. "We want to get more of the freshman involved in class council and give the freshman class a bigger presence in different events around campus," Chew said.

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'Kumar' star promotes Obama campaign at AU

By Rebecca Kern | February 11

Democratic presidential candidate and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's candidacy has attracted a large youth following that helped him win the Iowa caucuses and other contests, actor Kal Penn said during an event Friday night at the Washington College of Law. Penn, known for his roles in the film "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" and the television show "House," encouraged young people to vote during the event.

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News

Students at AU, nationwide differ on priorities in choosing colleges

By Kristen Boghosian | February 11

While a University of California, Los Angeles survey indicates students nationwide say academic reputation and financial aid affect the colleges they choose, students who choose to attend AU indicate they have other priorities in mind. The UCLA survey's results were released last month from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program Freshman Survey, a survey conducted by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute.

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National brief

February 11

The Writer's Guild of America has reached a preliminary deal with the television networks and movie producers that could finally end the 14-week writer's strike, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday. The Guild's 10,000 members still need to ratify the pact, but writers can expect to be at their desks again as early as Wednesday once votes are counted, according to the Times.

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News

Housing and Dining to pilot cluster program

By Ethan Klapper | February 7

Housing and Dining Programs will pilot a new living and learning community program called Residential Community Clusters, which will start during the fall 2008 semester. The clusters will be student-led groups of at least six students who share a common interest, such as community service or environment sustainability, and will create programming based on a central theme.

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News

Inauguration Week

February 7

Thursday, February 7, 2008 Panel: "Coaching 101" 11 a.m. WHERE: Kettler-Palmer Lounge INFO: Men's basketball coach Jeff Jones, women's basketball coach Melissa McFerrin, field hockey coach Steve Jennings and volleyball coach Barry Goldberg will discuss coaching strategies, player motivation and the challenges and rewards of coaching.

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News

National brief

February 7

The results of 24 state-held primaries or caucuses failed to give any of the leading presidential candidates a significant edge over his or her rivals. While Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton traded victories across the country, neither one emerged the clear winner in the Democratic primaries.

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News

Congress to review textbook legislation

By Christopher Cottrell | February 7

The House of Representatives will vote today on legislation that aims to curtail the rising costs of textbooks at colleges nationwide, according to Rachel Racusen, a spokeswoman for the House Education and Labor Committee. The legislation may have a positive impact on students and college bookstores, Cliff Ewert, vice president of media relations at Follett Corporation, the AU Campus Store's supplier, said in an e-mail.

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News

Metro brief

February 7

Presidential campaign finance reports filed last week revealed that D.C.-area donors contributed nearly three times as much to the Democratic presidential candidates as to their Republican counterparts, The Washington Post reported Sunday. Overall, the Democrats received $21.

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Taxi drivers strike on rotating schedule to protest meter switch

By Maureen McCarty | February 7

Private car companies stepped in Monday to compensate for D.C. taxi drivers' absence during the 12-hour strike against a planned switch from a zone to meter system. Cab drivers are prepared to strike one day a week on a rotating schedule until April, when the switch is supposed to go into effect, Taxicab Industry Group President William Wright said in a press release.

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News

Some AU facilities unavailable during inauguration event

February 7

AU President Neil Kerwin's inauguration ceremony and a subsequent reception will affect the university's class schedule and the availability of certain venues on campus Feb. 8. The inauguration will begin 11 a.m. in Bender Arena, while the reception begins 2 p.

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News

Campus brief

February 7

Edgar Meza last week resigned as executive chair of the Graduate Leadership Council, according to Kimberly Herrera, Student Activities adviser for the council. Meza, a graduate student in the Kogod School of Business, became head of the GLC over the summer break and was one of the people who met with finalists for the university's presidential search.

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