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Weber dines with student

By Kate Oczypok | January 31

Julie Weber, executive director of Housing and Dining, treated an AU sophomore to lunch at the University Club Tuesday after he expressed admiration for her work. "I have admired Julie Weber for quite some time," said Daniel Rakowski, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences.

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Fate of Social Security in sharp dispute

By Joseph Popiolkowski | January 31

Republicans say Democrats want to apply Band-Aids to a lethal wound while Democrats say Republicans want to perform brain surgery for a headache. The ailment they're talking about is the draining of Social Security funds - an issue that both parties agree needs to be changed.

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Ruling on race unclear

January 31

More than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the University of Michigan over affirmative action, some university administrators remain uncertain about admitting students partially based on race quotas due to confusion around the ruling. AU denies that race is a major factor that determines admission.

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For one Kurd, Iraq elections are fresh start

By David Hodges | January 31

As Iraqis around the world participated in their first elections in half a century, one Iraqi Kurd studying at AU summed up what the first elections since Saddam Hussein's overthrow means to him. "It will be written in history that a dictator was toppled and that a democracy was put in his place," said Rawand Darwesh, a 29-year-old working toward his master's in journalism.

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Students voice concern at forum on dorm phones

By Khai Ha | January 31

Residence hall students aired their concerns over AU's fall 2005 policy that will require students to use cell phones for local and long distance calls at a forum in Letts Hall held by the Resident Hall Association. "Students stopped using [room phones] a long time ago," said Julie Weber, executive director of Housing and Dining.

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Metro Brief: Vietnam Memorial visitors center proposed

By Mary Specht | January 31

A proposed visitors center at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial would tell the stories of more than 58,000 names on the black granite wall, and it would be built underground to avoid cluttering the Mall, said a memorial fund group Wednesday. Congress passed a moratorium on new memorials or visitors centers on the Mall in 2003, but the Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitor center is exempt because it does not obstruct views of the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, The Washington Post reported.

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Metro Brief: Bill prohibits protest arrests

By Emily Carone | January 31

Mayor Anthony A. Williams refused to sign a bill this week that would restrict police action during protests. Williams also said he will not veto the bill, which means it will become law without his signature. The D.C. Council passed it by a 12-1 vote in December.

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North Face jackets a 'must-steal'

By KEOSHA JOHNSON | January 27

North Face jackets are a must-have this winter, although some wearing the jackets may have acquired them illicitly. This is an example of the increasing number of stolen jackets in the D.C. area, according to an article in The Washington Post. Crime reports from local law enforcement agencies indicate that North Face jacket robberies occur almost daily, wrote The Post columnist Courtland Milloy.

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MPD to monitor party complaints in Georgetown

By Mary Specht | January 27

With help from the Metropolitan Police Department, Georgetown University aims to get its "party problem" under control, said members of the Georgetown University Student Association. Two off-duty, uniformed police officers will patrol the Georgetown neighborhoods of Burleith and in West Georgetown and respond to neighbors' calls to the Student Neighbor Assistance Program hotline beginning in early February, according to Georgetown 's student newspaper, The Hoya.

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Pell Grants may increase

By Kelly Kerr | January 27

College students currently receiving Pell Grants from the government might soon be seeing an increase in their financial aid, President George W. Bush announced Jan. 14. At a speech in Jacksonville, Fla., Bush said he intends to increase the maximum award of the Department of Education's Pell Grants by $500.

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Campus Briefs: Greeks' party to fundraise for tsunami

By Kate Oczypok | January 27

Three AU students will host a party to benefit the victims of last month's tsunami. The "Do Your Part" Party, created by Robyn Wilkov, Jaclyn Mason and Simon Guindi, will take place on Feb. 3 at the Home nightclub on F Street. "As a college student, I desired to make a significant contribution to the relief efforts," Wilkov said.

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City Calendar

By Emily Carone | January 27

Events are free unless noted. All Month "On the Record" Musical Revue National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Cast members sing 64 songs, some grouped in medleys, from 75 years of Disney films. Runs through Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 p.m.

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SHARE hosts parties, sells cocoa to raise funds

By Melinda C. Hall | January 27

AU Students Helping Asian Relief Efforts (SHARE), a student-run group raising money for tsunami victims, is wrapping up its first three weeks of fund-raising. With the cooperation of the Center for Peace Building Institute of Washington, the group helped raise $20,000 to rebuild a destroyed village in Sri Lanka.

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Police Blotter: Jan. 23-26

By Kate Oczypok | January 27

Sunday, Jan. 23 Disorderly conduct was reported inside Centennial Hall. A resident assistant requested help with three males who were acting inappropriately. The individuals had alcohol in their possession and were in a room without the room's resident. Monday, Jan.

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Metro Brief: Gingrich speech sparks controversy

By Emily Carone | January 27

Newt Gingrich spoke at Catholic University Tuesday, prompting discussion about the university's restrictive speaker policy, which bars any speaker who does not represent Catholic values. The university's College Democrats said Gingrich's campus appearance violated the school's speaker policy because his past extramarital affair and support of the death penalty were anti-Catholic values.

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AU ranks No. 12 in '04 Peace Corps alums

By Joseph Popiolkowski | January 27

AU inched up a spot over last year to No. 12 in a national ranking of colleges and universities whose alumni joined the Peace Corps. AU holds this position in the medium-sized colleges and universities category, which includes schools with an undergraduate enrollment between 5,001 and 15,000.

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Job market looking up for 2005 grads

By Lauren Gardner | January 27

The job outlook for college seniors graduating in 2005 is steadily improving, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a nonprofit group based in Bethlehem, Pa., with 25 percent of employers increasing their hiring projections and 62.5 percent remaining the same.

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