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Coffee on campus

By April Astor | August 22

Davenport Lounge in the SIS building has a definite indie vibe. Students lounge on large comfortable couches, play chess and listen to the music playing. The student-run coffee shop offers a unique place to relax and chill out. The Mud Box is a new addition to the library.

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AU Board of Trustees investigates Ladner's spending

By Mary Specht | August 22

The Board of Trustees will be the only group privy to the results of its investigation into President Benjamin Ladner's alleged use of university money for personal expenses, including a personal French chef, presents for his children and other personal expenses, unless the board chooses to release the information to the public, according to David Taylor, Ladner's chief of staff.

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AU history professor plans to run for U.S. Senate

By Kate Oczypok | August 22

Professor Allan Lichtman, chair of the history department at AU, plans to run for the Democratic Party nomination for a Maryland U.S. Senate seat while continuing to teach. "I feel that students will be excited about [my campaign]," said Lichtman, who has taught at AU for 32 years.

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Fall brings two new coffee vendors to campus

By April Astor and Mary Specht | August 22

The Mud Box and Pura Vida Coffee Shops will open this fall, joining the four others already open on the AU campus. While some students are glad to be able to grab coffee anywhere at AU, but others say the coffee proliferation is overkill and the space should be used for other kinds of vendors.

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Metro Briefs: Panda baby alive and kickin'

By Mary Specht | August 22

At more than a month old, the National Zoo's panda cub has lived the longest of any at the zoo and has drawn more than one million viewers to a 24 hour webcam, according to the Washington Post. Five cubs born in the 1980s to a different pair of giant pandas were stillborn or failed to live more than a few weeks due to infection or pneumonia.

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Students abroad feel safe to travel

By KEOSHA JOHNSON | August 22

Students studying in London this fall say they are not worried about terrorist attacks any more than they are while living in DC. Despite heightened security alerts in the UK after the July 7th bombings in London, students participating in the AU Abroad Fall 2005 trips to London say they will feel safe while abroad, citing living in DC as good experience for living in a location with a high likelihood of terrorist threats.

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Residence halls open for business, ready for new students

August 22

Minivans rolled in by the hundreds as new and returning students alike moved into their new homes. Residence halls opened on Friday, Aug. 19 for freshmen participating in the Freshmen Service Experience. Cars will line the Letts-Anderson quad, as well as the roads in front of the North Side dorms until classes begin Monday, Aug.

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Ladner optimistic about investigation

August 22

AU has suspended President Benjamin Ladner in the midst of the Board of Trustees' investigation into allegations he spent university money on personal expenses, including presents for his children, European vacations and a French chef. Provost Neil Kerwin will serve as president while Ladner is on administrative leave, according to a statement by Bains, chair of the board.

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University chooses Napster for downloading

By Mary Specht | August 22

As part of this year's housing rates, AU will include Napster, a program for legally downloading music, after last spring's failed trial of Ruckus, a similar but more expensive software. Pricing details have not been worked out, but the cost could be around $12.

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Campus Briefs: China: A new AU

By Kate Oczypok | August 22

AU is leading a team to design an American-style university in China, the first ever of its kind, in collaboration with the Coordinating Council for International Universities. "By having an American-style university on their own soil, Chinese education officials hope to provide the benefits of an American education to more students at far less cost than it would take to send them abroad for training," said Dr.

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AU to examine Ladner's alleged misuse of funds

By Mary Specht | August 6

The SG released a statement Friday saying it "eagerly awaits the findings of this investigation" by the Board of Trustees into President Benjamin Ladner's alleged use of university money to fund European vacations, a personal French chef, presents for his children and other personal expenses.

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Katzen Arts Center open for business, ready for students

August 6

A variety of work from 22 different artists displayed in the newly opened Katzen Arts Center showcases the type of talent and vision that will be featured in the museum in the coming season. The inaugural exhibit, titled "Soft Openings" opened to the public July 16 and will run through September 17.

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field hockey preview

By Jesse Epstein | August 6

Dorothy may have said it best in the "Wizard of Oz" when she said, "There's no place like home." The American University Field Hockey team will finally be able to utter those words on a consistent basis this year, as one of AU's most successful team plays its first season on its new home turf at Reeves Field.

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AU to examine Ladner's alleged misuse of funds

By Mary Specht | June 27

Updated 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9 The SG released a statement Friday saying it "eagerly awaits the findings of this investigation" by the Board of Trustees into President Benjamin Ladner's alleged use of university money to fund European vacations, a personal French chef, presents for his children and other personal expenses. "The Student Government wholeheartedly supports the Board of Trustees investigation into this matter and will cooperate in any way possible," according to today's announcement.

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Campus brief: SG rolls out new Web site for fall

By Mary Specht | June 27

The Student Government's new Web site will include opinion forums and regularly updated content when it is completed in time for the beginning of Welcome Week. The new system will make it easier to get news, events and pictures on the site. SG directors will be able to add content themselves, instead of filing an update request with the webmaster, according to Ben Murray, the SG's director of information technology.

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Campus brief: School of Communication class examines social change

By Mary Specht | June 27

Students in a new School of Communication class covered the impact a new baseball stadium will have on Southeast D.C. through an array of techniques, from a documentary to public service announcements. The goal of the class, Communication and Social Change, was to explore the effect of the proposed $585 million stadium on all residents using a variety of media, according to the course's professor, Charlene Gilbert.

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Library coffee kiosk coming soon

By Kate Oczypok | June 27

Bender Library's new coffee kiosk will be finished by the beginning of July, according to Diana Vogelsong, associate university librarian at AU. The Mud Box, given its quirky moniker by a student who won a naming contest last spring, is one of many projects the library has been working on for the next academic year.

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