News

News

On-campus room draw begins this month

By Brian Kalish | March 9

Students can either live in their current room next year or move to a new hall of their choice, as the 2006 room draw process which began March 6 and will continue through March 31. The steps necessary for room draw are available online courtesy of Housing and Dining.

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News

Park B. changes affect hundreds

By Kate Oczypok and Brett Shear-Heyman | March 9

Many AU students are unhappy with the rising prices and changing lease terms of Park Bethesda, AU's off-campus apartment building that was recently handed over to a private management firm. Students will still be allowed to lease apartments through Housing and Dining Programs but terms will change.

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AU: No divestment policy for companies tied to Darfur

By Lauren Gardner | March 9

AU does not have a policy on divestment from companies with ties to the Darfur region of Sudan unlike some universities that have recently implemented such policies, according to David Taylor, chief of staff to Interim President Neil Kerwin. The finance and investment committee of the board of trustees oversees and works with the office of finance and the administration on the university's investment portfolio.

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News

Campus brief: New evaluation form approved

By Kate Oczypok | March 9

Faculty senators approved a streamlined and less ambiguous Student Evaluation of Teaching form at last week's Faculty Senate meeting. Scheduled to debut in fall 2006, the shorter form features a more consistent response scale, clearer separation between the course and faculty assessment sections, and more carefully worded questions, according to American Weekly.

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On v. off-campus housing debated among AU students

By Dan Jacobson and Malorie Sellers | March 9

The rising demand for on-campus housing along with rising costs may send more students looking cheaper alternatives off campus for the next year. According to Julie Weber, executive director of Housing and Dining, more than 2,700 students currently live on campus, and an anticipated 3,100 will apply for 2,850 on-campus spaces next fall.

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Guards report security lapses at Homeland Security headquarters

By Mary Specht and Brian Kalish | March 9

Security officers entrusted with guarding the Department of Homeland Security's headquarters on Nebraska Avenue across from campus have raised questions of safety at the base. Any attack that could happen at the base has a likely chance of affecting students due to proximity of the base to the school, former guards said.

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Metro brief: Md. electricity rates to rise

By Kate Oczypok | March 9

Electricity rates for Maryland residents will soar this summer, according to the Maryland Public Service Commission. The commission, which oversees state utilities, announced yesterday that customers served by Potomac Electric Power Co. (Pepco), Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.

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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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