News

News

Metro Brief

September 17

Victor Z. Kolako, a former Metrobus driver who killed two pedestrians last February after making an illegal left turn, pleaded guilty last week to two felony counts of negligent homicide, The Washington Post reported. In return for Kolako's guilty pleas, the U.

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Jailed scholar speaks of Iran imprisonment

By Jeanette Lenoir | September 13

Haleh Esfandiari credits her safe return to the United States after eight months in an Iranian prison to a letter from her boss to Grand Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Lee Hamilton, the president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, wrote to Khomeini requesting his help in obtaining Esfandiari's release on humanitarian grounds.

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ANC holds sway over AU construction

By Carolyn Phenicie | September 13

After all the planning and fundraising, AU has one more hurdle to leap before gaining approval from the D.C. Zoning Commission to complete any construction on campus - the Advisory Neighborhood Commission. University officials must petition the ANC for its endorsement of any construction projects, according to David Taylor, chief of staff for President Neil Kerwin.

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Comm agency awards Catalyst for excellence

By Elyse Franko | September 13

Catalyst, AU's student-run science magazine, won an award for publication excellence from Communications Concepts Inc., a Virginia-based communications advising firm. The biannual magazine was one of 35 publications to win an award of excellence in the category for magazines and journals under 32 pages.

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Campus Brief

September 13

Red Shipley, host of the show "Stained Glass Bluegrass" on WAMU 88.5, will retire Sept. 16 after hosting the show for 25 years, according to an e-mail sent to the AU community by Kay Summers, director of public information for the radio station. "'I want to retire while I'm at the top of my game,'" Shipley said, according to Summers' e-mail.

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Campus calendar

September 13

Thursday, Sept. 13 Thai-Burma Border Alternative Break Information Session 7:30 p.m. WHERE: Anderson Conference Room INFO: Join the student trip leaders for an information session about the Thailand-Burma border winter alternative break trip. They will talk about the Burmese democracy movement trip and answer questions.

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SPA prof shows off musical side in Tavern

By Patricio Chile | September 13

Zeebop, an acoustic jazz band that features School of Public Affairs professor Gregg Ivers on drums, performed Wednesday evening in the Tavern as part of the Kennedy Political Union's "Professors are People, Too" series. The "Professors are People, Too" series is an offshoot of last year's KPU "Finest Faculty" series, which featured speeches from professors who had won the Faculty Scholar Award, according to Amanda Fulton, KPU director and a junior in SPA and the School of Communication.

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National Brief

September 13

The construction of four new towers where the World Trade Center once stood forced the annual Sept. 11 commemoration ceremony to be held at a nearby park for the first time Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. "Just so long as we continue to do something special every year, so you don't wake up and say, 'Oh it's 9/11'," Kathleen Mullen, whose niece died in the attacks, told The Associated Press.

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Security added for 9/11 concerns

By Jimm Phillips | September 13

D.C. and campus police increased their presence around AU's campus in recent days in response to government-issued requests for additional security in connection with the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to Public Safety Director Michael McNair.

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Ugandan org gives hope for orphans

By Michael Ginsberg | September 13

Ugandan orphans, abductees and former child soldiers, distraught by the country's 21-year-old civil war, often spend their lives isolated by their communities and without the hope of a future, said Anywar Ricky Richard, the founder of Friends of Orphans, a nongovernmental organization in Uganda.

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International Brief

September 13

Pakistani authorities deported former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Monday, four hours after he returned from exile vowing to end President Pervez Musharraf's rule. The action may lead to another confrontation between Musharraf and the Pakistani Supreme Court as Sharif's lawyers challenged his petition to the judiciary Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.

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Metro Brief

September 13

A noose found hanging on a tree last week near a University of Maryland building that houses black campus organizations is being investigated as a possible hate crime, according to The Washington Post. "I want to assure the campus community that [Department of Public Safety] Chief Ken Krouse will use every means at his disposal to aggressively track down the culprits," UMD President C.

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Panel: secrecy challenges media

By Chris Bedford | September 13

A breakdown of the basic system of checks and balances has forced the United States' press into a unique and dangerous position, according to panelists at the American Forum Monday night in Katzen's Abramson Recital Hall. This week's forum, moderated by SOC professor Jane Hall, brought five experts to discuss how their professions have changed in the past six years, how they expect the course of change to continue and what role they feel the press has to play in the modern age.

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Reid to push D.C. voting in Senate

By Patricio Chile | September 13

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., renewed the fight for voting rights in the District last week after announcing plans to push legislation granting D.C. a voting representative in the House, according to Congressional Quarterly. The ongoing effort has garnered support from some AU students.

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Religious groups march for unity

By Sakina Rangwala | September 13

Hundreds of people from different religions walked together along Massachusetts Avenue Sunday afternoon to symbolize unity among the communities of Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims and Sikhs in D.C. The Unity Walk, in its third year, united people as Sept.

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AU alumni sue for $1.5 M

By Carolyn Phenicie | September 13

Two AU alumni are suing the university for $1.5 million for defamation of character because of an incorrect item in an alumni magazine. The item stated the two men were married to each other and that one had just been named the chief operating officer of an advocacy organization called the Gay Rights Brigade, according to the New York Post.

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Students volunteer in efforts to help Peru quake victims

By Kim Selman | September 10

Several AU students volunteered at the Peruvian Embassy during the last week of August to aid in disaster relief efforts following an earthquake that occurred in Lima, Peru, Aug. 15. The earthquake had a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter scale, killed at least 540 people and injured at least 1,500, according to The Associated Press.

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