The AU Players performed Steven Schwartz's "Godspell" for friends, family and members of the AU community this weekend in the Kay Spiritual Life Center. The set design was simple, decorated with red and yellow caution tape and scaffolding that performers utilized during virtually every song.
The AU Class of 2005 raised almost $2,000 at the second annual All-American Auction Sunday afternoon in the Tavern. Around 30 to 50 student bidders turned out for the silent auction to bid on items such as dinners with professors and ice-skating for four on the National Mall.
After a procedural technicality required the General Assembly to revote on the new Student Confederation constitution, the document was approved with one abstaining vote and one against on Sunday. Speaker Richard Bradbury was not impeached.
Student Confederation Vice President Jason Trombley (above) celebrated homecoming with a golfcart-led parade Oct. 15, but things may be different next year. The General Assembly approved a resolution on Sunday to hold homecoming celebrations in the spring instead of fall to increase student participation.
AU student Drew Huston auditions for director and producer Thom Ferlisi for a part in Jeff Goode's "Eight Reindeer Monologues." The auditions were held last night in the lobby of Kreeger. Sponsored by the AU Players, the third annual show will take place on Dec.
A man set himself on fire outside the White House Monday, in the first of two incidents outside the president's residence. Mohamad Alannsi, a 52-year-old Falls Church resident, was a terrorist informant distressed by his treatment by the FBI, according to The Washington Post.
Despite the increased interest in counterterrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks, the job outlook for graduates interested in international development has not changed significantly in the last few years, several AU advisers said. "While there has been an increase in the number of jobs related to counterterrorism, the job market for international development has not decreased, but rather stayed about the same," said Katherine Stahl, executive director of AU's Career Center. "AU graduates are still getting a lot of job offers from international aid organizations."
It will cost about $250 to change the name of the Student Confederation to Student Government, according to Secretary Jamie Rea. Most of the costs of the change are already built into the budget, and none of the money used for programming will be used for the name change.
Public Safety responses from Saturday to Tuesday.
AU alumna Zahara Heckscher helped the family of a Sept. 11 victim form a support group for terrorism victims this summer. The family of Norma Steuerle, a passenger on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, helped fund the initial stages of the organization, which is temporarily being called Family Voices. It seeks to unite victims of terror and respond to hatred by promoting education, poverty relief and cultural tolerance on the national and international level.
Students can vote on the proposed Student Confederation constitution on Dec. 8 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Mary Graydon Center, Room 120. The SC Board of Elections will hold an informational meeting on the document in the Gianni Lounge on Nov. 30. ... The University will keep fall break on the calendar for the fall 2005 semester, but it is still considering changes for fall 2006, according to Student Confederation President Polson Kanneth and Nathan Price, special assistant to Provost Neil Kerwin.
Today is the annual Great American Smokeout, and a campus and community effort will help AU students stamp out their cigarettes. The Wellness and Counseling Center is trying to help students break the habit, and Sibley Hospital is offering free smoking cessation courses.
Panelists discussed the serious problems of murder and rape in Burma and suggested that sanctions be placed on the country at Monday's conference "Challenges of Nonviolent Actions - Burma: A Case Study." Aung Din, the U.S. Campaign for Burma Policy director, called Gen. Than Shwe, the leader of Burma, "one of the worst dictators in the world."
President Benjamin Ladner's total compensation from 2002 to 2003 makes him the second highest paid private university president in the D.C. area, following Stephen J. Trachtenberg, president of George Washington University, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported this week.
It's been a little more than two weeks since President Bush's re-election and already things look different at the White House. Six out of 15 cabinet members have resigned, and Condoleezza Rice is the new secretary of state. Yet many experts think the biggest changes are still to come. In his new term, President Bush will likely have the opportunity to replace at least one Supreme Court justice, an ability that Washington College of Law professor Steve Wermiel said could have "potentially enormous ramifications for the country."
Identity theft continues to be a problem across the country, and the businesses and universities are especially unsafe, according to an identity theft expert. However, the AU network system is "mostly" secure, according to Eric Weakland, the school's director of network security. Identity theft takes place when key pieces of personal information, such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers or driver's license information are stolen by someone who uses the information for his or her own benefit.
The General Assembly will revote on the new Student Confederation constitution after parliamentarian Kyle Harding ruled last week's vote null for procedural reasons. The ruling came in response to an inquiry from Kaitlyn Keegan, Class of 2005 representative in the GA. She noted that the GA agreed the adjournment time would be 7 p.m., yet voting extended past that time. Keegan asked Harding if the constitution would be null because of this. Another inquiry submitted to Harding anonymously asked, "Is it appropriate for the speaker, an unbiased leader of the assembly, to solicit or threaten members to vote one way or the other? Is it out of order? Is it impeachable?" Speaker Richard Bradbury told the assembly last Sunday, "If we do not pass a constitution by the end of this meeting ... we will not exist. We have to get this through in some form or another," the Eagle reported Nov. 15. However, it is not clear if this is to what the inquirer referred.
Last week's death of Yasser Arafat, terrorist and president of the Palestinian Authority, created renewed reflection and discussion throughout the world on Arafat, his past and what his death means for the future of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. About 60 people gathered in the Butler Board Room to listen to a panel of five experts reflect on such topics yesterday at a discussion titled "Remembering Arafat: Reflections on the Past, Visions for the Future.
In Darfur, Sudan, civilians' human rights are being violated daily as a militant group called the Janjaweed commits genocide against the people as a way of "ethnic cleansing," a representative from Amnesty International said Monday. Eric Sears, Amnesty International's Mid-Atlantic field organizer, said the militants, specifically targeting the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, purposely kill and torture these civilians using rape and other sexual violence as weapons.