News

News

SG divides account funds between four student organizations

By Cassie Passinault | February 19

The Undergraduate Senate passed two new bills Sunday, one establishing a bike-lending program and another approving the transfer of restricted funds for spring programming. The restricted Student Government account holds over $17,000, which was split up between the Kennedy Political Union ($13,500), the Student Union Board ($1,000), the Kogod Undergraduate Business Association ($500) and the Class of 2009 ($1,000).

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News

Vermont college bans Wikipedia as primary source

By Kaylor Garcia | February 19

The history department of Vermont's Middlebury College decided to ban students from citing Wikipedia as a primary source in their papers for this spring semester. While AU advises students to take advantage of the library's resources for papers as alternatives to Wikipedia, many AU students use Wikipedia as a start-off point.

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News

Townsend briefs class on homeland security

By Jimm Phillips | February 19

President George W. Bush and his advisers decided against issuing an alert over a terror threat in the days leading up to the 2004 presidential election over concerns that their decision would look politically motivated, according to Adjunct Professor Mark Croatti and AU students who attended a presentation by Homeland Security Adviser Frances Townsend on Thursday.

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News

Campus briefs

By Kyra Smerkanich | February 19

Class of '09, coed service fraternity to host a cappella fundraiser The Class of 2009 and service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega will be holding a charity a cappella concert, A'Capalooza, March 3, according to a Class of 2009 press release. Proceeds from the concert will be donated to a D.

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News

Thurber headlines semester's first Honors Tea Talk

By Ali Goldstein | February 15

Our generation carries the responsibility of ending the War in Iraq, James Thurber, Director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, told students at an Honors Tea Talk last night. Thurber's lecture on "Congress and the President: Cooperation and Conflict" transformed into a dialogue with the students gathered in the Honors Office over cake and tea.

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News

RAs in N.Y. fired for their video portrayal of Muslims

By Jewel Edwards | February 15

Five resident assistants from the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University were fired after portraying Muslim kidnappers in a homemade video. Some AU students said the video was indecent and insensitive to the Muslim community. The university fired the Brookville Hall resident assistants because administrators said the video violated their RA employment contract and reflected insensitivity.

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News

Gallaudet's retention increases to 'adequate'

By Jen Calantone | February 15

A year has passed since the federal Office of Management and Budget deemed Gallaudet University as "ineffective" in retaining and graduating students. This year, according to a report by the Office of Management and Budget, Gallaudet has been promoted to "adequate" status, despite its still low retention rate of around 40 percent.

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News

Campus calendar

By Brian Kalish | February 15

Thursday, Feb. 15 "A World on the Move: Legal Perspectives on a New Era of International Migration" 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Washington College of Law, room 603 The program will examine the multidimensional aspects of international migration, particularly the international protection of refugees and displaced persons, the economic implications of international migration and the linkage between state sovereignty, security and international migration.

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News

Campus briefs

February 15

Senate Republican to keynote WCL Conference on International Migration Senator Richard Burr, R-N.C., will keynote a Washington College of Law conference focusing on the legal aspects of international migration, according to a WCL press release. The conference, titled "A World on the Move: Legal Perspectives on a New Era of International Migration," will take place Feb.

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News

Brooking project to track, encourage volunteerism

By Dyane Jean Francois Fils | February 15

Several AU students and staff are helping develop the Brookings Institution's Initiative on International Service, which aims to double the number of American citizens who volunteer overseas by 2010. The Initiative plans to do so by pulling resources from a diverse group of organizations, such as corporations, NGOs and higher education institutions.

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News

National brief: Kansas Ed Board repeals anti-evolution curriculum

By Jimm Phillips | February 15

The Kansas State Board of Education repealed a set of anti-evolution science curriculum guidelines Tuesday, which had earned the state worldwide notoriety, according to The Associated Press. The old set of guidelines, passed in 2005 with the strong backing of supporters of intelligent design, included language that suggested evolutionary concepts like the common origin of all life on Earth were controversial and were being challenged by newer research.

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News

Civil rights activist says non-violence important

By Allie Feras | February 15

Non-violence is not just a technique or tactic, but a way of life, Rep. John Lewis told students, faculty and other members of the AU community Monday night. "War is obsolete as a tool of our foreign policy," Lewis, D-Ga., said in a speech at the Kay Spiritual Life Center.

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News

ANC asks AU to do more about off-campus disruption

By Robyn Slagle | February 15

Local community Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3D members voted at their monthly public meeting on Feb. 7 in favor of a proposed renovation and expansion of AU's McKinley Building. The ANC's favorable vote included a series of conditions, which were prompted by reports of disruptive behavior in off-campus houses.

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News

Metro brief: D.C. government may pass law to ban job discrimination against ex-felons

By Jimm Phillips | February 15

Employers in the District will not be able to look at an applicant's criminal history until after a job offer is made if a proposed bill is passed by the D.C. City Council, according to The Washington Post. If enacted, the Human Rights for Ex-Offenders Act would also allow an employer to only look at the last 10 years of an applicant's criminal record.

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News

Health Center to offer HPV vaccine

By Kim Selman | February 15

The Health Center is expected to make available its first shipment of Gardasil, the Human Papillomavirus vaccine, by the end of this month, according to the Health Center's Web site. HPV, as the virus is more commonly referred to, is a sexually transmitted disease that will infect approximately 50 percent of sexually active people in their lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control Web site.

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News

Bush's FY '08 budget increases federal loan limits for students

By Howard Perlman | February 15

AU students may soon be affected by the Bush administration's proposal to increase the federal loan limits for undergraduates and graduates. The proposed increases were first made public Feb. 5 with the release of President Bush's Budget of the United States Government for the fiscal year 2008.

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Beirut college opens after political riots

By Elizabeth Royall | February 12

Classes at Lebanese universities resumed Feb. 5 after being shut down for 10 days when a political argument in a cafeteria started a riot resulting in four deaths. AU has had a study abroad program at the American University of Beirut since spring 2005, but AU Abroad suspended the program when Israel attacked Lebanon following the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier in July 2006.

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