Opinion

Opinion

Staff editorial: Timesheet dispute distracts execs from real work

October 19

The Judicial Board held its first round of hearings last week to further investigate the SG executive board timesheet controversy. In eight hours of testimony by the executives, it was revealed that SG President Ashley Mushnick backdated about five of her timesheets.

---

Opinion

Op ed

By Mohammed Abu Asaker | October 19

She woke up at midnight, screaming "Mommy ... Mommy, I've lost my eyes!" It was dark, and because she could not see anything she thought she had lost her eyes. This is my little sister, Nour (meaning light in English, age 9). My mother had to light a match to prove that she could still see.

---

Opinion

Staff editorial: New Aramark program provides needed outreach

October 19

The International Development Program, run through the School of International Service, started the Aramark Partnership Program last week. The program pairs students, staff and faculty with an Aramark employee. Many Aramark employees are from El Salvador (accoording to a Today@AU posting) and one of the main goals of the program is to help employees with their English skills.

---

Opinion

Corrections and Clarifications from Oct. 12

October 19

In an article titled "Health Center urges more Plan B education," it was incorrectly stated that the abortion drug RU-486 is illegal in the United States. RU-486, also known as mifepristone, was approved by the FDA in September 2000 under the trade name Mifeprex and is legally available in all 50 states, Washington, D.

---

Opinion

Staff editorial: Arsenic issue demands spirit of fuller disclosure

October 12

Dangerously high levels of arsenic were recently discovered in the soil between the Kreeger and Hamilton buildings on the South side of campus. The dangerous soil is 2.5 feet below the ground and registers 106,000 parts per million of arsenic. This means that 10 percent of the soil is arsenic.

---

Opinion

Vouchers needed to revamp U.S. education

By Erin Wildermuth | October 12

Educational policy should not be about ideology. Once the vast majority of the population has come to the conclusion that the state should be involved in education, there is only be one question left to ask: What is best for the children? Unfortunately, this is a difficult question to answer, not because no one has an answer, but rather because everyone has a different answer and everyone is sure that they are right.

---

Opinion

Killing us not-so-softly

By Paul Perry | October 12

A 15-year-old boy in Wisconsin shoots and kills his principal. A deranged gunman steps into a one-room Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania and kills six young girls (handcuffed, execution style) and himself, critically wounding a number of others. A 13-year-old boy in Missouri brings an AK-47 to school and fires one shot before the gun jams as he takes aim at his classmates.

---

Opinion

All thumbs

October 12

Thumbs up... Plan B info session... Students can never have too much information about their sexual and reproductive health. Record turnout for SG elections... The Class of 2010 has answered its call of civic duty. New offerings in the Marketplace... Sweet-potato chips and low prices at Panini Express make our life complete.

---

Opinion

Staff editorial: Religion classes would benefit all students

October 12

Six Harvard University professors have recently come out in favor of mandatory religion classes for college students. Classes like the ones suggested by the Harvard faculty are classes in religion rather than theology, that would focus on the history and beliefs of a certain religion rather than why one should believe in a particular religion.

---

Opinion

Students, faculty reflect on aftermath

October 9

"I think it brought to light problems we've had with the whole administrative authority, and it shows we need to change the executive structure of the university." -Arielle Murth, sophomore in SPA "The biggest impact is the distrust I think the students and faculty and staff have of the leadership and also the mismanaging of funds.

---

Opinion

Staff editorial: Arts at AU blossom with Katzen, new season

October 5

Arts at AU have taken off astronomically this year. The quality of on-campus theater and number of shows, provided by the Department of Performing Arts, Rude Mechanicals and AU Players, have increased noticeably. The DPA's production of "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" is so good that it will travel to Russia in December.

---

Opinion

The Liberal Nation...Grover Cleveland and the character of our government

By Matt Rozsa | October 5

When Grover Cleveland defeated Benjamin Harrison in the presidential election of 1892, he became the first former president in American history to be placed back into office. Technically, the people had never actually voted him out - President Grover Cleveland received more popular votes than Benjamin Harrison in 1888, but was struck with the misfortune of having lost several of the larger states by very slight margins, thus pushing Harrison over the edge with an Electoral College victory.

---

Opinion

Progressive Point...A respite from illusion

By Jacob Shelly | October 5

Few actions of government are ever as serious as the waging of war. But in spite of its solemn importance - or perhaps because of it - the national debate tends toward partisan positioning with demagogic rhetoric and empty slogans substituted for a sober analysis of real world facts.

---

Opinion

Staff editorial: Turnitin.com pilot raises questions about integrity

October 5

At the beginning of the semester, AU launched a pilot program with TurnItIn.com. About 20 professors and their 1,000 students are in the pilot program. Along with peer review and an online grading system, the site allows professors to submit papers to the site's database to be checked for plagiarism.

---

Opinion

Out of context

October 5

"This has Bakke all over it!" -An AU civil liberties professor discussing school desegregation cases in the Supreme Court During the Honors Program's annual Brain Bowl, one of the questions posed to the panel was, "What disease did the Egyptians think could be cured by swallowing a mouse?" After several wrong guesses, one especially excited audience member shouted out "syphilis" at the top of his lungs.

---

Opinion

The FDA: killer or savior?

By Erin Wildermuth | October 2

If you've been reading the news lately, you may have come across some talk of the Food and Drug Administration's latest approval. Vectibix is a drug used to treat colorectal cancer, the third leading cause of death in the United States. The drug has been shown to slow tumor growth and, in some cases, reduce the size of tumors.

---

Opinion

Staff editorial: Put your pennies where your mouth is

October 2

The AU library is consistently ranked one of the worst in the nation (it earned a spot at number 16 on Princeton Review's "This is a Library?" ranking last year), and someone is finally trying to do something about it. The Friends of the American University Library is sponsoring the "Change Your Library: A Mile of Pennies" campaign.

---