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News

Colleges discuss AIDS campaigns

By Courtney Albon | December 4

A recent video conference held to commemorate World AIDS Day, which occurred on Dec. 1, focused specifically on the effect that AIDS has on youth and the significant role they can play in changing it. AU students joined college students from around the world via satellite to discuss issues surrounding the AIDS epidemic.

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National brief: Yellow line Metrorail train strikes two, kills one

By Jimm Phillips | December 4

A Metrorail train traveling on the Virginia portion of the yellow line struck two Metro workers Thursday, leaving one dead and the other critically injured, according to The Washington Post and NBC4.com. Leslie A. Cherry Jr., 52, and Matthew Brooks, 36, were conducting a routine inspection of the tracks between the Huntington and Eisenhower Avenue stations when the train hit them.

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Former official says faith not part of politics

By Robin Bravender | December 4

A former official in President Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives criticized the administration's lack of initiative in practicing "compassionate conservatism" and encouraged students to put their faith before their politics Thursday in the Kay Spiritual Life Center.

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Campus briefs

By Brian Kalish | December 4

Students selected to attend "Young People For" conference Three AU students were recently picked as fellows to attend the upcoming "Young People For" conference, according to a Young People For press release. Young People For "provides a national infrastructure to support young leaders' ongoing activism on the frontlines and facilitates connections to leaders and organizations in the progressive movement," according to the press release.

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Campus calendar

By Rebecca Kern | December 4

Tuesday, Dec. 5 "Freedom and Tolerance in Shi'a Islam and the Future of Iraq" 4 p.m. John Paul II Cultural Center, 3900 Harewood Road N.E. Metro: Brookland/CUA (red line) H. E. Sayed Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, president of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and leader of the United Iraqi Alliance, will lead a discussion about the current situation in Iraq.

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German sues over CIA prison

By Marija Stajic | December 4

The American Civil Liberties Union's legal case on behalf of Khaled Al-Masri, a German citizen who was detained for five months in a CIA-run prison in Afghanistan in 2004, is currently pending an appeal in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.

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Graduate student writes anti-torture resolutions

By Ali Goldstein | December 4

Kanhong Lin, an anthropology graduate student, co-authored two resolutions with Roberto González, associate professor of anthropology at San Jose State University in response to the use of anthropological research in torture, as well as the ongoing U.S.-led invasion in Iraq.

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Archaeologists need to preserve native cultures

By Kelly Barrett | December 4

It is essential that today's archaeologists recognize the rights of indigenous people, according to Dorothy Lippert, supervisory archaeologist at the National Museum of Natural History. Lippert spoke along with other experts on the issues of repatriation and cultural resources at a panel hosted by Student Advocates for Native Communities Wednesday night in the Butler Board Room.

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International brief: Radiation found in dead spy now seen in others

By Jimm Phillips | December 4

The wife of Alexander Litvinenko and an Italian security agent who met with the now-deceased ex-spy have tested positive for the same radioactive substance he was exposed to, according to the Associated Press. Mario Scaramella, the security agent, met with Litvinenko at a London sushi bar Nov.

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Georgetown zoning limits number of residents

By Melissa DeCosmo | December 4

AU students who live in off-campus houses have not experienced the zoning problems regarding residential occupancy limits that are affecting some Georgetown University students. Brian O'Neill Jr., an undergraduate student at Georgetown, was ordered to "cease and desist from the illegal use of premises" of his Georgetown home where he lives with eight friends, according to The Washington Post.

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Internal refugees suffer from lack of aid, safety

By Laraine Weschler | December 4

International aid is hard to come by for people who are relocated within their own country, according to panelists at a discussion about refugees and internally displaced persons Thursday in Mary Graydon Center. Since most internally displaced persons are displaced because of internal conflict, they often flee to other dangerous areas where it is hard for international organizations to reach them, said Kanya Sanders, an immigration lawyer.

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Nebraska parking lot security cameras repaired

By Brian Kalish | November 30

Some cameras that currently watch over the Nebraska Avenue parking lot are being replaced and upgraded, allowing Public Safety officers in the future to see and record all activities taking place in the lot. There were previously cameras located in the parking lot, but some of the current cameras used outdated technology that malfunctioned frequently, Public Safety Chief Michael McNair said in an e-mail.

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Arab feminist forms cross-cultural relations

By Elizabeth Royall | November 30

Hadia Mubarak has been driven for years to make a difference by building understanding between Americans and the Muslim world and by working toward greater rights for Muslim women. In January 2006, Mubarak joined Akbar Ahmed, a professor and scholar at AU, and AU students Frankie Martin, who graduated last year from the School of International Service and Hailey Woldt, a sophomore who was in SIS but transferred to Georgetown's School of Foreign Service, as the chief research assistant for a trip to the Middle East and South Asia.

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PSC to announce nominee by spring

By Jimm Phillips | November 30

The Presidential Search Committee hopes to have a presidential nominee by the time commencement occurs by May 2007, said Mark Huey, secretary to the board of trustees, at the second undergraduate presidential search forum yesterday. While AU's presidential search process should have ideally started in mid-August or early September, it is still possible that the committee could choose one or more nominees by this spring, Huey said.

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AU alumna continues service despite obstacles

By Carolyn Phenicie | November 30

Beth Hess is a big believer in fate. Hess, like many college students, had changed career plans several times during college before she graduated from AU in 2004. Spurred in part by her participation in Alpha Phi Omega, AU's co-ed community service fraternity, she gave serious consideration to a job in community service.

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Colombian native derided military abuses, murders

By Kyra Smerkanich | November 30

Close ties between the Colombian military and paramilitary forces have led to mass human rights violations, said Debora Barros Fince, a human rights lawyer and native of the Way£u community, a indigenous population located in northern Colombia near Venezuela that was hurt by the paramilitary's actions.

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National brief: Girl lights mother's bed on fire in faked abduction attempt

By Jimm Phillips | November 30

A 12-year-old girl in Miami County, Ind., reportedly attempted to fake her own abduction by setting her mother's bed on fire and driving away with two younger siblings in the family's car, according to the Associated Press. Police said the girl was sick of doing chores, according to the AP.

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