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News

Festival draws reading enthusiasts to National Mall

By Arielle Burlett | October 2

Tents featuring best-selling authors, poets and illustrators lined the National Mall Saturday for the annual National Book Festival. The event, organized by the Library of Congress and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush, celebrates the importance of reading and creativity by providing the public an opportunity to meet some of their favorite authors, according to a press release about the event.

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National briefs

By Kyra Smerkanich | October 2

U.S. Senate approves $70 billion in military spending The U.S. Senate unanimously approved $70 billion on Friday that will finance military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the Associated Press. The allocation is part of a $447.6 billion defense budget now awaiting President Bush's signature after passing in the Senate unanimously, the AP reported.

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SG presents time sheets

By Cait Douglas | October 2

Student Government Comptroller Robert Donigian and Chief of Staff Kristian Hoysradt presented a binder with all the time sheets filled out by paid members of the SG for the summer to the Undergraduate Senate Sunday. Donigian and Hoysradt presented the time sheets in response to a letter written by Speaker of the Undergraduate Senate Ben Murray and Class of 2008 Senator Charlie Biscotto Sept.

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Republicans network at annual event

By Brian Kalish | October 2

The AU College Republicans held their annual Republicalooza Thursday night at Chef Geoff's to encourage networking between AU's Republican community and potential employers. "[The College Republicans] wanted an opportunity for fellow Republicans to get together in a formal environment to network and get to know campaign workers," said Christopher Malagisi, a 2003 graduate of the School of Public Affairs and volunteer for the Sen.

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Student shares Beirut war stories

By Kendra Garstka | October 2

Sarah Johnson, an undergraduate who studied at the American University of Beirut this summer, shared her experience of being in Lebanon when the war started and her evacuation as part of a panel Thursday that discussed the two conflicts Israel has been involved with since the summer.

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AU female enrollment up

By Erik Jacobsen and Peggy Wu | October 2

Female enrollment in colleges is up nationwide, including at AU, which has affected dorm life, classroom dynamics and the campus dating scene, according to students. According to the College Board's Web site, in 2005, AU's female to male ratio was 64 percent to 36 percent, with a freshmen class of 1,223 students and an overall total of 5,788 undergraduate students.

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Spring Valley property scheduled for clean-up

By Kyra Smerkanich | September 28

The Army Corps of Engineers plans to pause cleanup of Lot 18 to focus on investigating an AU-owned house site for munitions, said David Taylor, chief of staff to Interim President Neil Kerwin, noting that there are no current plans for demolition of the property.

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Campus brief: Search continues for GLBTA Center director

By Brian Kalish | September 28

The Office of Campus Life continues to search for a director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Resource Center, according to a memo from Gail Hanson, vice president of Campus Life. The previous director, Mindy Michels, left the office in February.

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Distance learning expands on- and off-campus options

By Rebecca Kern | September 28

Yale University will offer free digital videos of some courses on the Internet, as well as transcripts in several languages, to make their school more accessible to the public, according to CNN.com. The 18-month pilot phase of the Open Educational Resources Video Lecture Project is funded by a $755,000 grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, according to a Yale press release.

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Metro brief: Mayor allocates millions for D.C. health needs

By Kyra Smerkanich | September 28

D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams announced Tuesday he will use $245 million in tobacco settlement funds to pay for various District-wide health initiatives, according to The Washington Post. The money will be used for new medical facilities and the expansion of health services in an effort to make health care more accessible for poor residents and to reduce D.

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Study: business grad students more likely to cheat

By Ali Goldstein | September 28

A recently published study, finding graduate business students more likely to cheat than their academic counterparts, is not an accurate description of AU, said graduate business students and professors who fear its findings could harm future career opportunities.

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Schools with few males use football for recruitment

By Erica Goldfine | September 28

Some universities with low male populations have recently added football teams to their athletic rosters in hopes of increasing male enrollment, according to The New York Times, but it's doubtful that something similar will happen at AU, which hasn't had a football team in 35 years.

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Campus calendar

By Kendra Garstka | September 28

Thursday, Sept. 28 Library Workshop: Choosing Topics and Identifying Sources 4 p.m., Bender Library reference desk This workshop provides an introduction and refresher about basic elements of the research process. For more information, contact (202) 885-3238.

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Time sheets cause SG controversy

By Cait Douglas | September 28

Speaker of the Undergraduate Senate Ben Murray and Class of 2008 Senator Charlie Biscotto submitted a letter to Student Government Comptroller Robert Donigian Friday requesting time sheets and financial records for members of the SG who were paid over the summer.

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Distance learning expands on- and off-campus options

By Howard Perlman | September 28

An off-campus, Web-based summertime learning system known as the Distance Education Program is in its third trial year, and the university is still evaluating it to determine whether to incorporate it permanently, said Katya White, senior financial analyst in the Provost's Office.

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Board of trustees approves Sudan divestment

By Jimm Phillips | September 28

The AU board of trustees voted to divest from companies that do business with Sudan in response to the genocide in the nation's Darfur region, according to an AU press release. The resolution, which the board passed at its Sept. 15 meeting, will address the divestment issue in four different ways, according to the press release.

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Hughes 'stars' provide after-hours, weekend tech support to students

By Melissa DeCosmo | September 28

Students looking for tech support on campus during evenings and weekends can now get help from their peers in Hughes Hall. The pilot program, called Peer to Peer Tech Support, will be jointly run by the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Office of Campus Life, the Office of Information Technology and Bender Library.

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