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News

Profs try to engage students, not fail them

By John Riley | September 15

It sounds like a student's dream come true-a class with no grades. But that's the reality of Professor Lyn Stallings' math classes. Stallings has created a curriculum for her courses based on the use of formative assessment, whereby students and professors engage in open dialogue focused on how students think and the importance or value of the material being taught.

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Metro briefs

September 15

4,000 hurricane survivors in D.C. The number of Hurricane Katrina survivors in the Washington area has tripled since Friday, but the number of people living at the D.C. Armory has decreased, according to washingtonpost.com. More than 4,000 people displaced by the hurricane are living in the region, 380 of them in the district.

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Storm season breaks records

By Jimm Phillips | September 15

As Gulf Coast residents begin to clean up and dry out their towns and cities, the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina has yet to be fully assessed. Some have compared the devastation caused by Katrina to the destruction caused during the Boxing Day Tsunami, which swept through the Indian Ocean on Dec.

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D.C. emergency planning prepared for a disaster

By Lauren Gardner | September 15

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many AU students are wondering what kind of plan exists for D.C. if a natural or manmade disaster were ever to strike the area. District residents are more likely to be ordered inside during an emergency than outside seeking shelter, according to Jo'Ellen Countee, a spokeswoman for the D.

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Campus Calendar

By Mary Specht | September 15

Saturday, Sept. 17 SUB concert: The Roots Doors 7 p.m., Bender Arena Tickets now on sale at the Student Activities desk. One free ticket per AU ID for undergrads, $5 for faculty, staff and grads, and $25 to the general public. For more information contact Eric Friedlander at sub@ausg.

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D.C. taxis charge extra

By Kate Oczypok | September 15

The D.C. Taxicab Commission voted Saturday to charge an extra $1.50 on taxi rides in the district. "We felt like we needed to help the drivers meet the costs of operation," said Causton Toney, the commission's interim chairman, in a washingtonpost.com article.

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Kerwin stays silent on Ladner, discusses academics

By Mary Specht | September 15

Acting President Neil Kerwin said he would not comment on the investigation into President Benjamin Ladner's spending at a forum yesterday, but he did discuss changes in the academic calendar, recent criticism of the library and other issues. Among a number of possible schedules, the most promising is one created by Student Government President Kyle Taylor under which students would get one day off for fall break and get two extra days of winter break.

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Course credit offered for serving on Conduct Council

By Mary Specht | September 15

This semester students can get course credit for serving on the Conduct Council, the group that determines guilt and punishment for breaking campus rules, in an effort to encourage more students to serve on the body. Offering credit will entice more students to serve on the council, adding crucial student perspective to the body's verdicts, according to Ben Turner, director of the Student Advocacy Center.

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Eagle receives anonymous Ladner letter

September 15

Posted Sept. 16 at 3:30 p.m. The following is the complete text of one of the anonymous letters received by members of the Board of Trustees, Student Government and the Washington Post. An AU source, who chose not to be identified due to the source's proximity to the investigation, confirmed the letter. Original capitalization and punctuation have been maintained. Dear Sir, Dr. Ben Ladner, President of American University, is under investigation by the Board of Trustees of the University for SEVERE expense account violations. ...

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Ladner's personal chef laid off

September 15

Posted Sept. 16 at 1:43 a.m. President Benjamin Ladner's personal chef, whose salary was paid by the university, was laid off Thursday amidst the board's investigation of Ladner's spending, according to the Washington Post. Sally Ekfelt, the secretary who coordinated the Ladner's social schedule, has also been transferred to the president's office to serve as an assistant to David Taylor, Ladner's chief of staff.

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Campus briefs: WAMU to broadcast Roberts hearings

By Mary Specht | September 12

WAMU will broadcast complete coverage of John Robert's Supreme Court confirmation hearings with HD Radio, making the station one of the first in the country to use the technology. HD Radio allows a station to broadcast multiple programs on one frequency and enhances audio quality.

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Police blotter

By Josh Goodman | September 12

Monday, Sept. 5 A student in Letts Hall reported that two individuals urinated on her door. Public Safety canvassed the area, and made contact with one of the individuals. He was barred from campus property. An AU student reported a hit and run on the Hamilton Roadway.

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Donations unaffected by Ladner leave, probe

September 12

The investigation into President Benjamin Ladner's spending of school money won't dent fundraising, according to AU officials and donors, but some think the probe raises questions about how money is managed elsewhere in the university. "There's no question the leadership of the institution is important in fundraising, but they're only a conduit for the institution they represent," said Al Checcio, vice president of University Relations.

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D.C. march remembers 9/11 events

By KATE SULLIVAN | September 12

Thousands of people marched from the Pentagon to the National Mall Sunday morning in the America Supports You Freedom Walk to commemorate the events of Sept. 11 and to pay tribute to servicemen and women. The Freedom Walk was sponsored by the Department of Defense as part of its nationwide program called America Supports You, which, according to its Web site, recognizes citizens' support for the military and communicates that support to members of the Armed Forces.

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Hurricane victims arrive at Armory

By Kate Naeef | September 12

Darrell Holleman, formerly of New Orleans, sat on the steps of the D.C. Armory last Wednesday smoking a cigarette. He had a backpack, a few science fiction books to pass the time and the clothes on his back. He also held a bus ticket that was going to take him to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to his dad and brother, and hopefully to a job and a new life.

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Congress pushes increase in collegiate academic integrity

By Rebecca Shillenn | September 12

Measures to protect intellectual and political diversity on university campuses have increased in the Senate after the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, said a National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities spokesman. The Senate committee has improved the bill by removing controversial issues, like references to grading and evaluation of students' work and intellectual pluralism, said spokesman Tony Pals.

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Campus briefs: AU students begin taking classes in Nigeria

By Mary Specht | September 12

The first students at the ABTI-American University of Nigeria will begin taking classes today in Yola, Nigeria. The inaugural class includes 150 students from Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana and other West African countries as well as Zambia and the United States.

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