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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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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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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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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.

Simon Sedillo spoke about U.S. government atrocities in other countries.

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Filmmaker alleges government violence against Mexican natives

By Kelly Barrett | December 4

Simon Sedillo, filmmaker at the Austin Independent Media Center, said that as an American citizen he feels an obligation to unveil the atrocities caused by the U.S. government in foreign countries. Sedillo presented his film "El Enemigo Comun," a documentary focusing on the resistance movement in Oaxaca, Mexico, on Thursday in the McDowell Formal Lounge.

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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 in Afghanistan at a CIA-run prison for five months in 2004, currently has an appeal pending in the Richmond, Va.-based Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

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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.

Keynote speaker George Perkovich warned of the dangers of getting rid of nuclear weapons at a symposium.

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Speakers examine nuclear disarmament options

By Emma Kerr | November 30

Real action needs to be taken on nuclear disarmament, which has become an "empty slogan," said George Perkovish, the keynote speaker at a research symposium titled "Deconstructing Nuclear Weapons." AU students were able to engage in a discussion with several of the area's experts on the future of nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament.

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Ladner among highest-paid college heads

By Jimm Phillips | November 30

AU's presidential compensation package was one of the highest among private U.S. colleges and universities in the 2004-2005 school year, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. According to a database of 832 private American colleges and universities on The Chronicle's Web site, AU gave former President Ben Ladner $881,696 in pay and compensation during the 2004-2005 school year.

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Campus briefs

By Brian Kalish | November 30

Academy elects SPA professor to help improve government efficiency Roger Durant, professor of public administration and policy in the School of Public Affairs, was recently elected to the National Academy of Public Administration's 2006 fellowship class, according to an AU press release.

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U.S. youth lack geographic knowledge

By Lina M. Lindahl | November 30

A National Geographic survey conducted in 2005 found that 37 percent of young Americans cannot find Iraq on a map, although U.S. troops have been stationed there since 2003. "These are sad results," said Helane Miller, Assistant Principal at Woodrow Wilson High School in D.

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Metro briefs

By Jimm Phillips | November 30

Lincoln Memorial briefly closed over suspicious liquids Authorities determined that the "suspicious liquids" that closed the Lincoln Memorial for several hours Monday afternoon were not a threat, according to NBC4.com. The situation began when a visitor found a threatening note next to a traveler's coffee mug near the memorial's steps.

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Campus calendar

By Kendra Garstka | November 30

Thursday, Nov. 30 Discussion with feminist artist Harmony Hammond 7-8:15 p.m., Katzen Arts Center, room 112 Harmony Hammond, considered a pioneer of the feminist art movement, is the author of the award-winning "Lesbian Art in America: A Contemporary History.

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College debt increasing

By Elyse Franko | November 30

College alumni who owe more than $20,000 in student loans make up the fastest-growing group of indebted "20-something" Americans, according to credit-reporting agency Experian. Between 2001 and 2006, average student loan debt rose 16 percent to $14,379, according to the Experian report.

Brian Flynn said preparedness dialogue is important.

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Mental recovery poses challenges after Katrina

By Robin Bravender | November 30

When social worker Julie Guyot waited for clients in her crisis-counseling tent in Pass Christian, Miss., in November 2005, no one came to her because no one was sick and no one thought they had a problem, she said. Guyot, a doctoral scholar at Howard University, spoke to students at AU on Tuesday at a discussion titled "Psychological Healing from Hurricane Katrina: Where Do We Go from Here?" The event was sponsored by Psychology Students for Social Responsibility and the College of Arts and Sciences' Graduate Student Council.

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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.

Debora Barros Fince explains rights violations.

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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 WayÂ£u community, a indigenous population located in northern Colombia near Venezuela that was hurt by the paramilitary's actions.