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News

Campus brief: SG begins fall campaign season

By Cait Douglas | October 5

The Student Government kicked off fall elections Tuesday night with a "Candidates and Coffee" meet-and-greet in the Mud Box. "We were pleased by the turnout; obviously we would always want more people," Board of Elections Chair Joe Pavel said. The Undergraduate Senate and Class of 2010 council campaigns began this week and will continue until polls open on Monday.

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Campus calendar

By Kendra Garstka | October 5

Thursday, Oct. 5 Human Rights Film Series: "Amandla!" 6 p.m., Wechsler Theatre The screening is part of the seventh annual Human Rights Film Series that explores the ways film and media can be used to promote and protect human rights. Light refreshments will be served and the screening will be followed by a discussion.

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Fire safety impacts students in, out of dorms

By Kyra Smerkanich | October 5

Fire safety continues to be a major concern for students living in on- and off-campus housing, but AU is unable to regulate off-campus housing. Since January 2000, there have been 89 student fatalities that have occurred nationwide as a result of fire, according to the Center for Campus Fire Safety, The Center said approximately 80 percent of these fires occurred on off-campus housing.

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Bringing Their 'A' Game: Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon on "The Departed"

By Todd Matthy | October 5

"Cops or criminals, when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?" That's the tagline for Martin Scorsese's latest crime drama "The Departed," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. In this drama, an undercover cop (DiCaprio) infiltrates a Boston mob syndicate run by a man named Costello (Nicholson) while a criminal (Damon) infiltrates the state police.

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Metro brief: Majority of D.C.-area blacks, Hispanics own homes

By Kyra Smerkanich | October 5

A new report released by the U.S. Census Bureau shows black and Hispanic families in the D.C. region are more likely to own their homes when compared to national figures, according to The Washington Post. Most notably, about 63 percent of all immigrants own their own homes, according to The Post, especially Asian and Hispanic immigrants.

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Colleges seek home-schooled

By Allison Young | October 5

With an estimate of between 1.1 million and 2 million home-schooled students in the United States, college officials now realize that catering to these students is in their best interest, said Barmak Nissirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

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Board probes records scandal

By Cait Douglas | October 5

The Judicial Board launched an investigation Tuesday into the incomplete time sheets submitted by Student Government executives and the Executive Cabinet. The official investigation will look into the "alleged financial misconduct and wrongdoing by the Executive Branch," according to a judicial order authored by board Chairman Joe Vidulich.

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Web program targets plagiarism, concerns students

By Courtney Albon | October 5

AU is currently piloting a program that will observe how the implementation of a Web-based product called Turnitin could affect the academic culture on campus. The multipurpose resource, one of several on the market, offers tools including plagiarism prevention, peer review and an online paperless grading system.

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Event to aid kids' hospital

By Tracy Kania | October 5

AU's Panhellenic Association hosted a kick-off meeting for the Up 'til Dawn campaign last Thursday to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Allie Avishai, director of the fundraiser at AU and a junior in both the School of Communication and School of International Service, said St.

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National briefs

By Kyra Smerkanich | October 5

Fifth girl dies after Amish school shooting A 7-year-old girl died Tuesday following the deadly shooting at an Amish schoolhouse. This brings the death toll from the attack to six, with five other girls still in critical condition, according to CNN. CNN reported that several incidents, including the death of his daughter in 1997 and trauma he suffered as a child, could have motivated Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, to go on a shooting spree Monday before killing himself.

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Library begins penny drive

By Alexa Antonuk | October 2

A coin drive for Bender Library kicked off yesterday with the goal of raising $10,000 from campus groups and students to improve the library's offerings, said Peter Brusoe, chair of the Student Working Group of the Friends of the American University Library.

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UNH students petition for removal of controversial prof

By Rebecca Kern | October 2

Students at the University of New Hampshire are petitioning for the removal of a professor for stating his views of the government's involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks in the classroom, but some AU professors and student leaders say different ideas are essential to student development.

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Facebook forum warns students of site dangers

By Jess Reamy | October 2

Students should change their Facebook privacy settings to prevent university officials from viewing their personal information and pictures on the site, said Nick Johnson, director of the Student Advocacy Center, at a forum Thursday to educate students about the risks of a public Facebook profile.

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Speakers look at future of Cuba after Castro

By Bill Debaun | October 2

Few things can be said for certain about Cuba's future after President Fidel Castro dies, according to a panel at a discussion Tuesday examining the future of Cuba after Castro's death. Fidel Castro, who took control of Cuba in 1959 and has since had complete control of the country, was hospitalized in August with internal bleeding.

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Midterm forum predicts Republican seat losses

By Stephen Tringali | October 2

Republicans are likely to give up seats in both the House and Senate this election, but the change should not surprise anyone despite the image painted by the press, said Thomas Mann, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institute, at a Table Talk Forum Tuesday.

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Campus brief: Delta Tau Delta works to improve D.C. school

By Brian Kalish | October 2

On Sept. 17, 25 brothers of AU's Delta Tau Delta fraternity worked on the school grounds of Amidon Elementary School in Southwest D.C. to "make it a more pleasant place to learn," according to a press release. The grounds improvement is part of an on-going project with Amidon Elementary through the Adopt-A-School Program, a national organization Delta Tau Delta has partnered with for their philanthropy work.

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AU community unsure of young voters' impact

By Tracy Kania | October 2

The youth vote may have a greater impact on this year's midterm elections than in past years, according to a recent report by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, but some members of the AU community have reservations about the findings.

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