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Grad enjoys fact-checking campaigns

By Mary Specht | October 25

Jennifer Ernst was stunned when Vice President Dick Cheney misspoke the name of her workplace in front of 43.6 million viewers at the vice presidential debate earlier this month. Ernst, who graduated from AU with a bachelor's degree in political science last May, has worked as a researcher for the campaign watchdog site Factcheck.org since June.

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Fire leaves Georgetown student dead

By Theodora Blanchfield | October 25

A Georgetown University student was found dead in the basement of a row house as a result of a fire Sunday morning. According to an autopsy, senior Daniel Rigby, a business major from River Edge, N.J., died of smoke inhalation in a row house on the 3300 block of Prospect Street.

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Nearly two million miss financial aid opportunities

By Kelly Moynihan | October 25

Many eligible students are not applying for federal financial aid, according to a study released two weeks ago by the American Council of Education. In 2000, 1.7 million eligible students missed out on potential money for college, according to the study, which the council does every three years. A study on more recent years will be released in 2006.

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Families experience AU, D.C.

By Kate Oczypok | October 25

Friday, Saturday and Sunday marked AU's annual Family Weekend, which allowed students and their friends and family members to spend time together on campus. The weekend was sponsored by New Student Programs and the Office of Campus Life. The weekend gave guests a chance to experience AU life. To that end, lunch in TDR was offered on Friday for a special rate of $7, and there were open classes Friday afternoon so parents could sit in and experience AU faculty. For the main event, former senator and astronaut John Glenn spoke in Bender Arena Saturday night.

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Sleep deprivation prevalent in college life

By Rochelle Chounet | October 25

Sixty-three percent of college students do not get enough sleep, according to a recent study by the National Sleep Foundation. This sleep deprivation can lead to sleep apnea, a breathing disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep, according to the foundation. Sleep apnea affects as many as 18 million Americans.

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Edwards criticizes corporate radio control

By Mishri Someshwar | October 25

Increasing corporate control over the media has reduced the diversity of opinions in the media and caused a decline in the quality of journalism, broadcast journalist and AU alumnus Bob Edwards said Friday night in Bender Arena. Edwards, the host of "The Bob Edwards Show" on XM Satellite Radio, said that when he started working in radio, a company couldn't own more than five radio stations. "Now some of them own 1,250," he said.

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17-year-old latest death in string of D.C. area crashes

By April Seipp | October 25

The car crash that killed a 17-year-old girl on I-95 on Sunday is one of a recent string of crashes in the Washington area that involved young people. Since the end of August, 16 people ages 15 to 22 have died in car accidents in the D.C. area.

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Students to vote on SC constitution

By Mary Specht | October 25

The General Assembly, AU's student legislature, expects to vote on an entirely new Student Confederation constitution by the first week in November. The new document aims to make the SC more efficient and more relevant to the needs of today's student body, according to Ben Murray, chair of the GA's Committee on Government Operations.

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John Glenn touts research, space travel

By Ryan Grannan-Doll | October 25

On Saturday, the Family Weekend speaker took students and parents into the halls of Congress and beyond the clutches of the Earth into outer space. John Glenn, a former senator and astronaut, spoke to a near-capacity crowd of parents and students at Bender Arena about research, politics and space travel.

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Digital class schedule replaces booklets

By Jeannette Kimmel | October 25

As students begin signing up for spring 2005 classes today, they will be faced with a notable change - the absence of thousands of Schedule of Classes booklets. While the Schedule of Classes has been available online for 10 years, this is the first year that it will only be available online.

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Personal Reflection: Fun family time

By Kate Oczypok | October 25

Imagine leading eight people around AU's campus and the D.C. metro area for a weekend, catering to their every whim and making sure they have a great time. This was how I spent Family Weekend, AU's annual October event. Family Weekend is a chance for AU students to give a taste of their college lives to their family and friends.

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Students petition for clean energy

By Stokely Baksh | October 21

Timothy Burroughs, a second-year graduate student, took out his cell phone and called President Bush's campaign office in Miami. The person on the other line hung up after hearing his pitch. He tried two more offices in different states, leaving a message that he wanted a cleaner environment and sustainable energy sources. AU students, along with representatives from Greenpeace, tabled outside the Mary Graydon Center on Tuesday to encourage students like Burroughs to sign the petition of the Declaration of Independence from Dirty Energy and call the campaign offices of the presidential candidates in swing states as part of National Day of Action for Energy Action.

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Ramadan unites at AU

By Mary Specht | October 21

At iftaar, the nightly breaking of the fast during Ramadan, Muslims enjoy food and companionship in Kay Spiritual Life Center, hosted by the Muslim Student Association. Ramadan, the second of the five pillars of Islam, is a month-long celebration of the revelation of the Quran about 1425 years ago, Muslim Imam Tarek Abou-Ghazala explained.

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Campus crime levels remain steady

By Ryan Grannan-Doll | October 21

Campus crime levels have stayed relatively static from 2001 to 2003, according to Public Safety Chief Mike McNair and the Annual Security Report, published Oct. 1. McNair said that the levels have stayed the same because AU is in a low crime area. Although trends in certain types of crimes rise and fall over time, they result in a zero net change, according to Sergeant Gary Folckemer, Public Safety's public informations officer. The crime report includes statistics from 2001 to 2003. Statistics for 2004 crime will be released next fall.

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Council announces 2004-05 student club allocations

By Kate Oczypok | October 21

The American University Club Council released its 2004-2005 club allocations, worth more than $105,000 for about 130 clubs, on Monday. The AUCC is the student-run organization that determines how much money student clubs receive for their yearlong activities. The Alternative Break club received the most money this year, getting $16,500 - $12,000 more than the Student Organization for African Studies, the second-highest ranked club. However, AB was displeased to receive money from the AUCC.

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Police Blotter

By Theodora Blanchfield | October 21

Safety and security events from around campus, up to October 20, 2004.

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Campus brief: SC president tells provost to keep fall break

By Mary Specht | October 21

SC President Polson Kanneth met with Provost Cornelius Kerwin on Tuesday to urge him to keep fall break on the calendar. The University Council will meet Friday to discuss the issue and decide whether to keep fall break or merge it with Thanksgiving break.

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