Delivering American University's news and views since 1925
Last week John G. Roberts, Jr. was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 78-22 after he endured several full days of questioning, parrying angry attacks from Sens. Joe Biden, Dianne Feinstein, Ted Kennedy and Chuck Schumer. These and other Democrats have insisted that they could not vote to confirm Judge Roberts because of his legal views, despite the fact that he is extremely qualified for the post.
For those of you students already sick of school and dreading midterms, cheer up! Fall break is only a few days away. While some people, like acting-president Kerwin, do not see why college students would need a few days off, the rest of us know just how valuable those days are.
Dear Editor, This letter is in response to the article "Hundreds rally to protest Ladner" from the Sept. 29, 2005 edition. We all agree that the way in which American University is run must change.ÿ There are too many loopholes leading to misguidance and mismanagement.
There's a tug-of-war over the future of the Democratic Party.ÿ On one side are moderates who think inside the box and are scared to death by the Republican machine.ÿ They are cowards who do just about anything to win, including being more conservative.ÿ These people win elections, but do nothing groundbreaking once in office.
"The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.ÿ So let it be with Caesar." I fear that the words of Shakespeare's Marc Antony will soon ring true in the context of embattled AU President Ben Ladner.ÿ In the past week, I have received an e-mail petition to have Ladner fired or resign, seen 5 of 6 school faculties give him a vote of no confidence and seen a student protest staged.
The Board of Trustees should be commended for acknowledging their negligence in the entire Ladner saga, and for being proactive in seeking solutions. With that said, we still feel the "golden parachute" of a severance package President Ladner would receive is excessive.
Thumbs up Breastival... Students threw darts at balloon boobs, and "pinned the boob" on Clawed-ette. The Women's Initiative gets our congratulations on a good event. AIDS Walk... Congrats to the AU team who raised enough money to come in 48th out of nearly 3,000 teams.
In the Sept. 26 issue of the Eagle, due to an information gathering error by the SG, information was wrongly reported and attributed in the article concerning AUTO and the Park Bethesda shuttle service. Due to cuts by Housing and Dining Services to the shuttle service budget, AUTO will provide supplemental shuttle service to Park Bethesda.
Israelis are split over the Gaza Pullout. The last few weeks, the Gaza withdrawal exposed political divisions within Israel that run deep, divisions born out of politics, religion, and history. Whether or not the Israeli pullouts from settlements in the Gaza strip and the West Bank are effective steps toward peace is yet to be seen.
Yesterday's seizure of the board of trustees' meeting by student protests marked a turning point in the scandal surrounding AU President Ben Ladner's excessive spending. The board must be given credit for giving the protesters a voice in the meeting (20 of them were allowed to ask board members questions), and for their collective disclosure that they would vote for Ladner's dismissal.
Dear Editor, Yesterday's Washington Post reads that the Board of Trustees have been negotiating a new contract with Dr. Benjamin Ladner to bring the now infamous University President back to campus, stating that it, "would include compensation of about $800,000 for Ladner and a salary for his wife, Nancy Ladner, of at least $80,000.
The fact that about half the Board of Trustees (as cited in the September 28, 2005 Washington Post) wants to retain Ladner, and even raise his salary to $800,000 with an additional $80,000 for his wife, reveals just how critical the current situation is and the scale of the challenge confronting us.
The Administration is considering several different proposals to radically change the fall academic schedule. Beginning in 2006, all options, except Option A (the status quo) will remove at least one day of Fall Break and one study day. As approved through Residence Hall Association Resolution 1 on September 17, 2005, the Residence Hall Association strongly opposes any fall schedule plan that removes holidays from the fall calendar.
The AU board of trustees is reportedly wrapping up its six-month investigation of President Benjamin Ladner's alleged misuse of more than $500,000 of student money, and the FBI is beginning its own investigation of our esteemed president.ÿ The verdict on Ladner is far from in, but it is overwhelmingly clear that Ladner has demonstrated a level of entitlement to student funds that is absolutely inappropriate for a university president.
Dear Editor, We who care about American University have a sinking, embarrassed feeling these days.ÿ We have been through this kind of thing before. The only hope now is that the Board has the guts to make Mr. Ladner a generous offer -- perhaps two years pay and other inducements -- on the condition that he leave the university now, quickly, forever.
I'm writing this editorial because I'm upset by what Dr. Ladner has done and I'm upset at student body's apathy towards this issue. President Ben Ladner has disgraced the school and should resign immediately for two reasons: 1. He has already ruined his own credibility.
Dear Editor, The Conduct Council class, which several administrators and I helped to put together this summer, meets throughout the semester, has two five page papers and includes a mandatory "comprehensive training on the student disciplinary system and the Student Conduct Code.
Solutions by The State News