News

News

Campus Brief

September 6

Assistant vice president of Campus Life named Fanta Aw was named assistant vice president of campus life Saturday, according to a letter to the AU community posted Tuesday by Vice President for Campus Life Gail Hanson on the university's Web site. Aw had been the director of International Student and Scholar Services since 1998.

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Former AU student faces prison sentence in drunk driving case

By Kendra Garstka | September 6

An AU student received a prison sentence after being charged last summer for driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident in Long Island. Sayed Khaled El-Waraky, 20, was sentenced in late August to 1 1/3 to four years in prison. Justice Joseph Calabrese sentenced El-Waraky and recommended he be held for the maximum amount of time allowed, according to Newsday, a Long Island and New York City newspaper.

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SG execs provide Senate with summer reports

By Emily Blanck | September 6

The Undergraduate Senate held its first regular meeting of the semester Sunday afternoon, the main focus of which was receiving reports from Student Government executives about their work over the summer months. SG President Joe Vidulich cited expansion of the number of vendors that accept EagleBuck$ and creation of a women's resource center on campus as two of his main goals for the year.

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News

National Brief

September 6

President Bush made an unexpected visit to Iraq Monday and said the number of U.S. troops may be reduced if security continually improves, The Associated Press reported. Bush and his war cabinet, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, met with U.

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Fenty commends FSE participants

By Jimm Phillips | August 30

AU students involved in this year's Freshman Service Experience received a crash course in the issues facing America's urban areas, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said last Thursday during a speech in Bender Arena. Fenty spoke during FSE's closing ceremony, which ended a three-day period in which 475 freshmen volunteered at 37 sites around the D.

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AU alum relies on strangers for travel

By Carolyn Phenicie | August 30

Matt Danzico, a 2005 graduate of the School of Communication, will spend this fall learning to make beer in a basement bathtub in El Paso, Texas, snowboarding with a stranger in Vail, Colo., and working a day on a professional wrestling tour in the Midwest.

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Kerwin discusses future of AU

August 30

University President-elect Neil Kerwin sat down with Editor in Chief Lauren Gardner to talk about his vision for AU and the changes he would like to make to the university, among other topics. EIC: Outline your vision for AU for me. What exactly is it that you would like to see change this year for the university? Kerwin: Well I think it's important to understand, to start with, that when I talked with the [presidential] search committee, with the board, about American University, I started with the assumption that this is a very strong institution, so much of what we have to do in the coming year is to ensure that the fundamental strengths of the institution are bolstered and improved.

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AU places 85th in 2008 U.S. News rankings

By Shannon Rice | August 30

In the recently released 2008 edition of U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges" issue, American University tied for 85th place among the top national universities. U.S. News and World Report has been ranking schools for the past 20 years and examines more than 1,400 different schools across the nation.

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News

Students protest Myanmar gov't

By Carolyn Phenicie | August 30

About 15 AU students attended a demonstration last week to protest the Myanmar government's crackdown on protests in their country. The demonstration was held across the street from the Myanmar embassy on S Street last Thursday. About 40 to 50 people, including some children and several Myanmar refugees, attended the protest.

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Renovations to Nebraska, MGC complete

By Kim Selman | August 30

AU reopened Nebraska Hall and the first floor of Mary Graydon Center this month after crews finished renovations at both locations. There were four long-term goals for the renovation of MGC's first floor, Michael Elmore, senior director of the University Center, said in an e-mail.

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Students face penalties for use of Web writing services

By Patricio Chile | August 30

Custom writing services, businesses that sell pre-made essays, may ease students' lives, but AU students who use them may face stiff penalties. One company, Custom-Writing.org, offers several types of written assignments in 14 subjects to students from high school through Ph.

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Briefs

August 30

Campus SPA doctoral program named best in area An article in the July issue of "PS: Political Science and Politics," lists AU's School of Public Affairs' political science doctoral program as the best in Washington, as announced by President Neil Kerwin in an Aug.

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AU senior named student trustee-elect

By Jimm Phillips | August 30

The board of trustees' Trusteeship Committee members selected Marc Tomik as their nominee for student trustee, according to Tomik and Student Government President Joe Vidulich. Tomik, a senior in the School of Public Affairs, is a former program associate in AU's University College program and served as treasurer of the AU Screamin' Eagles Pep Band during the last school year.

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Health care options abound for students

By Kaylor Garcia | August 30

Close quarters, stress, late nights and risky behavior often leave college students prone to illness, but AU students have options both on- and off-campus to meet their health care needs. On-campus, every AU student has access to the Student Health Center.

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Jewish studies senior dies in sleep

By Jimm Phillips and Kim Selman | August 30

Ivy Jane Zola, an AU senior in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Jewish studies and music, died in her sleep Friday night in Potomac, Md., according to an e-mail Gail Hanson, vice president of campus life, sent to AU staff. Zola, 22, died at her family's home on the 9400 block of Lost Trail Way, according to the e-mail.

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AU to enforce rules for alcohol

By Carolyn Phenicie | August 30

AU students will now be subject to disciplinary action by the university when police cite them for underage drinking or other crimes that occur off campus, Dean of Students Faith Leonard wrote in a letter that will be released to students tomorrow. "I am writing to remind you that a 'violation of local, state or federal law' is a violation of the Student Conduct Code (Section VI, H).

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WCL gets e-mail bomb threats

By Carolyn Phenicie and Patricio Chile | August 30

The Washington College of Law was searched around 10 p.m. Tuesday night after three e-mails received around 2:30 p.m. indicated there were bombs in the building, according to Michael McNair, chief of AU public safety. No explosives were found. Officials waited to search the building until classes were over for the day because there was no concrete information about a date or time in the e-mail and because several other colleges have received similar e-mails that proved to be hoaxes in the last few weeks, according to McNair.

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