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Campus calendar

By Kate Oczypok | March 9

Thursday, March 9 Table Talk Lunch Series Noon, Kay Spiritual Center Lounge. "Is Global Poverty Inevitable?" Speakers include Richard Newfarmer, senior economist, World Bank; and John Cavanagh, executive director, Institute for Policy Studies. Free lunch provided for students; faculty and staff are asked to make a $5 donation.

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Evacuation plan for AU improved

By Jeanette Kimmel and Susanna Reid | March 9

With the large number of fire alarms being pulled each year in residence halls, students are choosing not to leave their rooms when an alarm sounds. While this poses a problem for false alarms, the implications would be far more serious in the case of other disasters like bomb threats.

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Journalist compares experiences in South Africa and Israel

By Kendra Garstka | March 6

Journalist Benjamin Progrund denounced the claim that Israel is an apartheid state by comparing his experiences living in apartheid South Africa and Israel, in a speech given on Friday, March 3, 2006. "Whatever it is and how ever ugly it is, it is not apartheid," Progrund said.

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World brief: Commission claims Soviet Union sponsored 1981 Pope shooting

By Ryan Grannan-Doll | March 6

The Soviet Union sponsored a 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II according to an Italian commission, the Associated Press reported. The report states the Soviets felt the Pope's support for the Solidarity Labor Movement was a threat to its communism.

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Metro calendar

By Rebecca Kern | March 6

Wednesday, March 8 Film- Sisters In Cinema: Zora Neale Hurston 7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. National Museum of Women in the Arts: 1250 New York Avenue, NW Metro: Metro Center (Orange, Blue and Red lines) 13th Street exit Admission: students $4 For more information, call 202-783-5000 The first screening in our Sisters In Cinema series celebrates Zora Neale Hurston's ethnographic work, which has been discovered and restored by the Library of Congress .

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E-textbook technology catches on slowly

By Michael Scher | March 6

E-textbooks, versions of books that can be read using programs like the Adobe Acrobat reader or put on Palm Pilots for reading, are now available at the AU bookstore. E-textbooks are considered by many to be the wave of the future, however according to bookstore staff, texts are not regularly available in electronic formats unless a professor requests it for a class.

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Speaker resigns from SG

By Cait Douglas | March 6

Speaker Chris Sgro resigned this week as leader of the Undergraduate Senate after telling members he could no longer serve a body that has been overtaken by senators "playing politics." The Undergraduate Senate unanimously elected Ben Murray, a junior in the School of Public Affairs and School of International Service, to fill the empty position.

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U.S. Senate seeks AU input on governance reform

By Mary Specht | March 6

In a meeting with U.S. Senate Finance Committee staff and governance experts on Capitol Hill Friday, Student Government President Kyle Taylor said most of the AU board of trustees cannot be counted on to reform AU's governance because they stood by former President Benjamin Ladner after reports found he misused university money.

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Mr. American pageant ends RHA Hall Wars

By Michael Scher | March 6

Two weeks of intra-campus competition ended on stage Friday night as Mr. 2009, Jeff Lambert, was named the winner of the Mr. American Pageant, the final event in the 2005-2006 Hall Wars, hosted by the Residence Hall Association. "Two weeks ago, I declared the north side of campus to be at war with the south side of campus," said Will Mount, RHA president.

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Metro brief: New Metro voice introduced

By Ryan Grannan-Doll | March 6

Randi Miller, the new voice of the Metro, was heard for the first time Thursday in several newly recorded announcements intended to keep riders moving through the system, NBC4 reported Thursday. Miller, a Virginia resident, won a contest last month crowning her the new voice of the Metro.

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Ambassador emphasizes democracy

By Tiffany Heimbuch-Maybee | March 6

The American University Foreign Policy Association presented His Excellency Mr. Shamsher M. Chowdhury, the Bangladeshi Ambassador, to the United States last Thursday. Chowdhury served in the War of Liberation of Bangladesh, earning several honors and decorations.

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National brief: Upcoming NASA missions cut

By Ryan Grannan-Doll | March 6

Upcoming NASA missions will be delayed or cancelled due to recent cuts in the agency's new budget, according to The New York Times. The affected missions are planned scientific research missions. Delays come after promises that "not one dime" of funding would be taken from President George W.

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South Dakota abortion law will challenge Roe v. Wade

By Brittany Schell | March 6

South Dakota recently approved legislation to ban nearly all abortions and awaits Republican Gov. Mike Rounds' signature, a move many AU student leaders oppose. The bill would make it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion unless it was necessary to save a woman's life, but there would be no exceptions in cases of rape or incest, according to The Washington Post.

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State legislatures pass Plan B laws

By Rebecca Kern | March 6

The Food and Drug Administration's inability to decide whether the emergency contraceptive Plan B, also called the morning after pill, should be available without a prescription, hassled state legislatures to monitor the availability of the drug, according to The Washington Post.

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Students reject fake resume site

By Kelly Moynihan | March 2

Lying on resumes is becoming a popular tactic to land a dream job, according to News.com. A new website helps students to do so, but AU students are unsure it's worth the risk. Fakeresume.com helps its customers lie on their resumes to get the jobs they "deserve.

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Professor promotes community, moves to Hughes

By Laraine Weschler | March 2

School of Communication Professor John Doolittle moved into an apartment on the second floor of Hughes Hall three weeks ago in an effort to better understand all aspects of college life. Students welcomed AU's newest faculty-in-residence at an informal reception in the McDowell Formal Lounge Monday night.

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Flu activity low for AU, District

March 2

According to the most recent flu activity report released by the Centers for Disease Control, the District of Columbia reported little flu activity, and AU has reported few confirmed cases of the flu, according to Dan Bruey, director of the Student Health Center.

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