Delivering American University's news and views since 1925 | Tuesday, January 21, 2020
The General Education Review Committee, as part of its yearlong review of the program, is currently debating several changes concerning the structure of General Education classes and clusters. Surveys were conducted both by the AU administration and by the Student Confederation to get a feeling for student opinions on the General Education program as it stands.
The Army Corps of Engineers found no chemical warfare agents during an excavation on campus this month, but results of soil tests for further arsenic contamination are pending and expected to reveal further arsenic contamination. Between Jan. 8 and 11, engineers removed 55-gallon barrels of soil within a 55-meter radius of the excavation pit behind the Hamilton and Kreeger buildings.
Following more than four months of construction and permit acquisition, a McDonald's franchise opened last Monday in the Tunnel at AU. The restaurant occupies the former site of Armand's Chicago Pizzeria, who had lost their lease in 1999 and vacated the space after an out-of-court settlement with AU at the end of spring semester 2000.
An American Caf? and a Rolling Stones-inspired restaurant are soon to become part of the AU community of dining services as Wagshal's American Caf? construction nears completion while Ruby Tuesday is tentatively scheduled to open at 4200 Wisconsin Ave. Wagshal's, which is occupying space once owned by Blue Mountain Caf? in the Tunnel, has been undergoing construction since October in preparation for opening this semester.
Former presidential candidate Bob Dole will speak at AU over Parents' Weekend, leading a Kennedy Political Union line-up that will bring several politicos to campus this semester. Kicking off this semester's events is a speech by the executive vice president of the AFL-CIO, Linda Chavez, in the SIS lounge at 7:30 tonight.
A McDonald's franchise will open this semester in the Butler Pavilion despite the proximity of another franchise currently located less than one mile away on Wisconsin Avenue. The opening of the restaurant is slated for the end of October, though the size of the necessary construction project could delay the completion, according to Hillary Dallas, AU's director of Retail and Leasing Operations.
