News

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

News

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.

---

News

Metro calendar

By Rebecca Kern | February 12

Tuesday, Feb. 13 "Edward Scissorhands" Feb. 13-16, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17-18, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. The Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. N.W. Metro: Foggy Bottom-GWU (blue and orange lines) Director and choreographer Matthew Bourne, known for his long-running production of "Swan Lake," brings Tim Burton's dark fairy tale of "Edward Scissorhands" to the stage.

---

News

Campus brief: Japanese university opens study abroad program

By Kyra Smerkanich | February 12

AU students will now be able to study abroad in Japan for a year at one of the country's oldest universities, Waseda School of International Liberal Studies, the American Weekly reported. Interim President Neil Kerwin and President Katsuhiko Shirai of Waseda University signed an agreement this past week that will allow students to study at Waseda, taking the majority of their coursework in English, according to the American Weekly.

---

News

Racial sterotype parties raise student concern

By Dyane Jean Francois Fils | February 12

Several chapters from "white fraternities" from universities across the nation hold racist-themed parties, The Associated Press reported last week. Many AU students expressed their concerns regarding racial stereotypes on college campuses. On the eve of Martin Luther King Jr.

---

News

SG to promote off-campus housing options

By Kendra Garstka | February 12

After searching Craigslist for six months, Jill Coyle found a place to live - and then had to threaten to sue for discrimination to sign the lease for her house in the nearby AU Park neighborhood. "[The owner] wouldn't let us rent from her because she was so anti-student," Coyle, a junior in the School of Communication, said.

---