News

News

International brief

November 19

A man in southern India married a female dog in a ceremony last week in an effort to ward off a supposed curse punishing him for previously stoning two dogs to death, BBC News reported. P. Selvakumar, 33, had suffered paralysis and a loss of hearing since he killed the dogs and hung their bodies from a tree 15 years ago, he told the Hindustan Times.

---

News

SPA prof swam NJ bay while in high school

By Ashley Wolos | November 19

AW: What is your favorite way to relax after class? KCM: I am kind of a people person, so I like to pal around with others. I've got two fantastic children who are immensely distracting - I don't know if I would call it relaxing, but they are very entertaining.

---

News

SG special election results

By Ethan Klapper | November 19

Paul Grever, a senior in the School of Public Affairs, won Monday's special election for Student Government vice president.

---

News

Student groups volunteer time during holiday season

By Kaylor Garcia | November 19

Students continue to find time to serve the D.C. community despite looming exams and end-of-semester work. Groups like the community service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega and the Catholic Student Association are pitching in to help people in need. On Monday, APO will be going to Georgetown Hospital to put up Thanksgiving decorations to bring "holiday cheer" to the patients, according to Elissa Robinson, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences.

---

News

Kerwin, Abramson listen to student concerns

By Jimm Phillips | November 19

AU President Neil Kerwin and Board of Trustees Chairman Gary Abramson listened to students' concerns about a new alcohol transport policy and other campus issues during a town hall meeting Thursday in the Ward Circle Building. Tim Neal, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, asked whether Abramson and Kerwin would be willing to oppose the policy, which makes a studnt's second medical transport for alcohol-related reasons a violation of the university's Code of Conduct.

---

News

Torture must be discussed and monitored, experts say

By Fahima Haque | November 19

People need to address the issue of torture even though it is an uncomfortable subject to discuss, Jumana Musa, advocacy director for human rights for Amnesty International USA, said during a panel discussion Thursday. "People don't want to talk about it," she said.

---

News

Campus brief

November 19

Alyph Limited gave School of International Service professor Akbar Ahmed a $25,000 check Wednesday to benefit the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies in SIS. Izzat Majeed, chief executive of the investment company, which is based in the United Kingdom, gave the check to Ahmed, the current Ibn Khaldun chair.

---

News

Metro calendar

November 19

Monday, Nov. 18 For the Greener Good Lecture Series 6-8 p.m. WHERE: National Building Museum, 401 F St. N.W. METRO: Judiciary Square (red line) INFO: The third part in the series "Going Green: Carrot or Stick?" will examine factors motivating green building and construction and which green practices cities should regulate.

---

News

Campus brief

November 15

More than 120 AU students joined Tuesday a national effort with thousands of others by taking part in the College Veg Pledge 2007. Participants who took the pledge became vegetarian for the day to show their concern with the possible consequences behind the consumption of meat, according to a press release from the AU Animal Rights Effort and Students for Animal Rights.

---

News

Metro brief

November 15

Pope Benedict XVI will pay Washington a three-day visit in April and plans to hold a Mass in the new Nationals baseball stadium, a Vatican spokesperson announced Monday. The visit, following a planned speech at the United Nations in New York, includes a trip to the White House and Catholic University, according to The Washington Post.

---

News

Library trades fines for food

By Rachel Trainer | November 15

Bender Library will be partnering with the Capital Area Food Bank for this year's Food for Fines program, according to Kendra Rowe, director of the food bank's Children and Nutrition Programs. Students will be able to donate specified nonperishable food items from Nov.

---

News

A new home for SIS

By Brian Kalish | November 15

AU President Neil Kerwin and Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, Wednesday broke ground for the new School of International Service building with the same shovel President Dwight D. Eisenhower used 50 years ago in the groundbreaking of the current SIS building.

---

News

National brief

November 15

A 20-year-old Georgia man was caught last week allegedly selling hallucinogenic mushrooms concealed within chocolate bunnies and ducks, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. After receiving a tip, police caught Matthew Jackson allegedly selling a sheet of LSD and chocolate containing psilocybin mushrooms in the metropolitan Atlanta area, where Jackson was arrested.

---

News

Committee begins selection process for new provost

By Jimm Phillips | November 15

The Provost Search Committee officially began its work earlier this month and is now in the process of selecting an executive search firm to assist it. The 11-member committee and President Neil Kerwin officially began the search when they held their first meeting Nov.

---

News

Pedestrian fatalities highest since 2002

By Christopher Cottrell | November 15

An extra 10 mph could mean beating the next red light to some drivers, but to a pedestrian it could mean life or death. This year has brought the most pedestrian fatalities to the District since 2002, according to Jim Sebastian, the manager of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Programs at the District Department of Transportation.

---

News

Experts discuss Internet role in politics

By Kate Naseef | November 15

Media and political experts at a panel discussed Wednesday night whether Web sites like YouTube have added to the democratic process or have made politicians more scripted. "This has put a lot of pressure on all of the candidates to become more on message, more robotic, less spontaneous," said Jeanne Cummings, a political reporter for Politico.

---

News

Siren not audible inside dorms

By Olga Ivshina | November 15

The Army Corps of Engineers siren test Nov. 7 was marked as a success because it could be heard in the required shelter-in-place zone, which ends a few feet short of Centennial Hall close to Jacobs Field. While it is not required for students be able to hear the siren in their dorm rooms, one student said it would be helpful to hear it from there, as some students said they could not hear the warning well or at all in the South side dorms.

---