The D.C. LGBT community lost an old friend Monday after the Washington Blade, a 40-year-old weekly newspaper that served the gay community, unexpectedly went belly up. The Blade, which started as a one page, mimeographed sheet of paper, shut down after its parent company filed for bankruptcy. The paper, which had been turning a small profit according to The Washington Post, may try to reorganize and re-launch as a Web site.
It hasn't been all bad news for the LGBT community, however. On Tuesday, Nov. 18, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics rejected a petition that could have put gay marriage in D.C. on a city-wide referendum. As every single state-wide referendum on gay marriage has been rejected by voters, D.C. citizens can rest easier knowing that if the D.C. Council and Congress allow gay marriage in the District, it will likely stay that way. The board said that such a referendum would have authorized discrimination that is prohibited under the Human Rights Act.
| JORDAN COUGHENOUR / THE EAGLE |
Nearby Fairfax County, Va., has decided to forego the extremely inefficient way of killing deer by waiting for them to leap into the National Zoo's lion's den, and is instead letting hunters have a go at them the ole' fashioned way — with bows and arrows. The county has up to 100 deer per acre, 80 more deer than the ecosystem is meant to support, negatively affecting vegetation and other animals. In an attempt to curb the deer population, the county is letting a non-profit hunting group — because apparently such things exist — hunt deer in two county parks until mid-January. Animal rights activists are protesting what they deem to be an inhumane death by arrow. When The Washington Post asked the president of the non-profit deer hunters if he thought it was inhumane to kill deer with arrows he responded, "It's not inhumane. It's not cruel ... when you hit a deer point-blank with a razor-sharp rod head, it's pretty quick and painless." Exactly what "painless" means in this case is unclear.
Down in Foggy Bottom, George Washington University hosted the Broken Lizard Comedy Troupe, the comic team behind trendy college-kid classics like "Super Troopers" and "Beerfest." If you remember back in August, AU's Student Union Board hosted the same guys earlier on in the year, proving yet again that AU is better than GW. And in some major props to SUB Director Clay Pencek, GW's show cost nearly $30 a ticket, while ours was free for students! SUB is hosting Grammy-award-winning rap group Three Six Mafia this Saturday starting at 8 p.m. in the Tavern.
Rumor has it that local D.C. rap legend, and Jay-Z anointed savior of hip hop Wale will be making a stop off at AU sometime before the end of the semester.
WHAT HAVE THEY DONE FOR ME LATELY? A rundown of what clubs, greek and other organizations have been up to at AU
Colleges Against Cancer, the Wellness Center and A Healthy U are celebrating the "Great American Smokeout" where the AU community is invited take some "cold turkey" sandwiches, quit kits, C02 testing and other information to learn how to quit smoking. Tabling will take place in MGC and Constitution Hall from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Ward Lobby from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and in the Washington College of Law lobby from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The AU Bhangra dance team snagged a third-place finish last weekend at Muqabla, an Indian dance competition hosted by the University of Buffalo. This was the Bhangra team's second competition and first time they have ever placed. For their efforts they took home a trophy and $500, most of which will go to new costumes for next year. Contact bhangra.au@gmail.com for more information.
The AU Rationalists and Atheists had a successful "Flying Spaghetti Dinner" Tuesday night. Over 120 students showed up to feast on free spaghetti from Maggiano's. As an encore performance, AURA is hosting Blasphemy Day this Friday from 12 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event is a celebration of free speech and the AU community it invited to utilize a public address system AURA has rented for the event to say anything they like about anything.
If you would like to submit something your club has done to The Eagle, send an e-mail to news@theeagleonline.com with "ORGANIZATION BLURB" in the subject line.
—CHARLIE SZOLD
