News

News

Capetown abroad program cancelled

By Brian Kalish | April 30

Students who planned to study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, for fall 2007 were recently shocked to learn their program was cancelled. Students were told on Monday that their program was cancelled because the University of Cape Town, where they were scheduled to study, was "not communicating with AU properly regarding student health and safety concerns," Taylor Robinson, a junior in the School of Public Affairs who was scheduled to attend the program, said in an e-mail.

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Students divided over AU Abroad visa, course services

By Christopher Cottrell | April 30

Students are expressing mixed opinions about whether the AU Abroad office provides enough help and guidance, especially with obtaining visas. The AU Abroad office provides students with information on a range of topics, including cultural disparities, housing, program fees, safety and travel information.

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Metro brief: Howard University president announces retirement

By Ali Goldstein | April 30

Howard University President H. Patrick Swygert announced Friday he would retire in June 2008, according to NBC4.com. Swygert's decision to retire came several weeks after faculty members called for his resignation. The letter from the faculty senate to the school board, marking long-standing tension between Swygert and the faculty senate, described Swygert as, "incompetent.

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Indiana University considers removing segregationist's name from building

By Chris Cottrell | April 30

What do a Saudi-Arabian arms dealer and a bigot from Indiana have in common? They both sat on the boards of trustees at two accredited American universities and have had campus sport complexes named after them. At Indiana University, the sports complex adjacent to the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, bears the name of Judge Ora L.

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National brief: Doctors have close relationship to drug reps, study reports

By Ali Goldstein | April 30

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that 94 percent of doctors have relationships with the drug industry, such as receiving free food or drug samples, according to The Washington Post. Other relationships between doctors and drug representatives included being reimbursed by the drug industry for continuing medical education or for giving lectures.

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Westboro Baptist church links Virginia Tech shootings to homosexuality

By Donny T Sheldon | April 30

The Westboro Baptist Church, centered in Topeka, Kansas and headed by Fred Phelps, is comprised of some 80 devout followers, 80 percent of whom are related. The church has been in existence for 16 years and has recently encountered a spike in media attention within the past few months as a result of the members' reactions to recent tragedies such as Sept.

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News

More Profound Truths from a 20 year old

By Caleb Enerson | April 30

Sting reuniting with the Police. Steven Spielberg making another Indiana Jones movie. Michael Jordan returning to basketball. It's hard to call it quits and just ride off into the sunset. So here's part two of my pontification about politics. I wish I were a politician or an actor.

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AU announces commencement speakers

By Jimm Phillips | April 30

The speakers at AU's four graduation ceremonies will include a top NBC journalist, a National Public Radio program host, a top official in the U.S. Government Accountability Office and a U.S. senator, according to information obtained by The Eagle. David Gregory, chief White House correspondent for NBC News, will speak at the School of International Service and School of Communication's joint graduation May 13.

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Letter to the editor

April 30

It has been brought my attention that Professor Mary Ann Fay, head of the Arab Studies Program and renowned professor in the Department of Sociology, has been refused a renewal of contract and will therefore not be allowed to return to teach next semester.

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News

AU works to make campus more sustaniable

By Ali Goldstein and Courtney Albon | April 30

On the unusually cold morning of April 10, the campus smelled distinctly of fresh mulch. Students and community members had risen early to help plant flowers and mulch campus grounds as part of AU's annual Campus Beautification Day. At the end of the day, the campus seemed ready for spring.

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Metro brief: Butterstick's stay at National Zoo extended by two years

By Jimm Phillips | April 26

Tai Shan, the panda commonly referred to as "Butterstick," will stay at the National Zoo for an additional two years under a new agreement between the Chinese government and the Smithsonian Institution-owned zoo, The Washington Post reported yesterday. Tai Shan, like parents Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, is on loan from the Chinese government under a $10 million deal.

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National brief: Riots break out at Indiana prison

By Jimm Phillips | April 26

About 500 inmates at New Castle Correctional Facility in New Castle, Ind., staged a two-hour riot Tuesday before officials restored order, according to The Associated Press. Two staff and seven inmates sustained minor injuries during the riot, which allegedly began after newly-transferred prisoners from Arizona took their shirts off as a sign of defiance.

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Panel investigates D.C. schools

By Kaylor Garcia | April 26

School of Communication students shifted the focus about D.C. Public Schools from its usual debate to show "what works" in the D.C. schools by releasing their findings about six programs already boosting test scores. Their findings began a discussion between the community and a panel of educators and education policy makers in the area.

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Drinking to get drunk

By Andrew Gardner | April 26

Excessive alcohol consumption is a problem that continues to plague college campuses today, despite attempts to curtail it through broad-level restrictions. At AU, where a no-tolerance alcohol ban in residence halls has been in effect since the mid-1980s, ongoing debate about the effectiveness of such a restriction persists.

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Campus brief: AU professor surveys best federal jobs

By Kyra Smerkanich | April 26

According to AU's Robert Tobias, director of the Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation and the Partnership for Public Service, the best places to work in the federal government are the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, according to American Weekly.

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Library reference desk adjusts to new technology

By Chris Cottrell | April 26

"IM Reference - Get Comfy," an advertisement for American University Bender Library's online help desk, accurately reflects how the Internet has impacted library research. Reference desks, referred to by The Chronicle of Higher Education as "the heart of the institution," are simply being revamped to accommodate an influx in new technology.

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Student conduct code to undergo language changes

By Cassie Passinault | April 26

The Student Advocacy Center and the Judicial Affairs and Mediation Services helped create revisions to the Student Conduct Code for the 2007-2008 school year, according to a Student Government press release from Tuesday. The new SCC will be in effect beginning this summer.

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