News

News

Speaker asks grads to teach in D.C.

By William F Zeman | March 5

AU students can do more to affect change in D.C. Public Schools, School of Education, Teaching and Health Dean Sarah Irvine Belson said during a forum Saturday. "It's great when people volunteer in schools," Belson said during the "Improving Student Achievement in Urban Schools" forum.

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Students react to Obama's Tuesday speech

By Graham Vyse | March 2

President Obama's first address to Congress sparked reaction last week from AU's students and expert analysts who are anxious to see how the new president will confront America's challenges. At least 52 million people watched Obama speak on television, according to The New York Times.

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Metro brief

March 2

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday that a 1776 copy of the Declaration of Independence belongs to a Fairfax County collector who paid $500,000 for it, rather than to the state of Maine, according to The Washington Post. The copy was one of 200 to 300 printed in Salem, Mass.

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Metro logs onto Facebook

By Allison Gold | March 2

Metro recently released a Facebook page in an effort to connect to more customers and provide a new outlet for feedback. The page includes general information on Metro, events and discussion board topics. There are also RSS feeds on the page that show real-time information on Metrorail track-work and Metrobus delays.

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Campus brief

March 2

The School of Public Affairs has recently included former Rep. Connie Morella, R-Md., as the ambassador in residence for the Women and Politics Institute, according to an AU press release. Morella has been a professor for 15 years, and currently teaches the SPA course "Women, Politics and Public Policy.

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National brief

March 2

A Denver man received an unpleasant surprise from the Colorado State Patrol after getting hit by a car while pushing three people out of the way on Feb. 20, the Associated Press reported. Officers issued a jaywalking citation to bus driver Jim Moffett after a car hit Moffett while he was helping two elderly women cross the street, the AP reported.

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International brief

March 2

A team of Saudi surgeons successfully separated a pair of Egyptian conjoined twins Saturday, CNN.com reported. The boys, Hassan and Mahmoud, were less than one year old and were the 21st pair successfully separated without charge under a philanthropic program started by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Azziz, according to CNN.

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AU Web site gets makeover

By Julia Ryan | March 2

AU's Web Steering Committee will debut an updated american.edu March 30 that will make it easier to find and share information about the university. School of Communication Dean Larry Kirkman convened the Web site redesign project a few years ago to make important and necessary updates to the site, according to Bernie Schulz, special assistant to the Vice President of Campus Life.

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Former Miss America speaks on body image

By Travis Mitchell | March 2

It is important to maintain a positive and healthy body image, Miss America 2008 Kirsten Haglund said during a speech in the Ward Circle Building Thursday night. "Love your body, rock the world," she said. Now an aspiring Hollywood actress, 20-year-old Haglund is originally from Michigan and grew up studying ballet and dance.

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Prof questions U.S.-Israel bond

By Charlie Szold | March 2

A controversial Harvard professor called for a more open dialogue on the U.S. policies towards Israel, last Friday in the School of International Service Lounge. Stephen Walt, a professor at Harvard University and co-author of "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," spoke to a mixed group of professors and students about the public reaction to his book.

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Metro calendar

March 2

Monday, March 2 Discussion: Adam Gopnik on Darwin and Lincoln 7 p.m. WHERE: Politics and Prose Bookstore, 5015 Connecticut Ave. N.W. METRO: Tenleytown-AU (red line) INFO: Adam Gopnik, a bestselling author and writer for the New York Times, will speak about Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, who were both born on Feb.

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VT shootings spark gun-carry debate

By Blaire Ward | March 2

Students at James Madison University staged a demonstration earlier this month promoting the carrying of concealed weapons on college campuses, but the Office of Public Safety and some AU students agree that guns are not necessary to ensure safety on campus.

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AU two-year budget approved

By Jen Calantone | March 2

AU's board of trustees unanimously passed the university's budget for fiscal years 2010 and 2011 Friday, which included a tuition increase of 5 percent over each of the two years, according to Vice President of Finance and Treasurer Don Myers. AU is currently financially stable, despite the economic crisis, according to Myers.

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Vice provost to step down

By Katie Litvin | March 2

The provost's role is a part of life at AU likely to go under some students' radar, and the position of senior vice provost may be even less familiar. But AU's Feb. 20 announcement that current Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Academic Affairs Haig Mardirosian will leave the university June 30, and the decision to name current dean College of Arts and Sciences Dean Kay Mussell to the position, may remind students of a provost's role on campus.

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Student discuss inter-racial dating dynamics

By Olivia Stitilis | February 26

Students of all races and backgrounds acknowledged the complexities of interracial relationships at "Interracial Life," a discussion on the struggles that exist in today's racially diverse world, at AU Monday night. In honor of Black History Month, the Black Student Alliance, AU's NAACP chapter, the Latin American Student Organization and the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority's Omicron Phi chapter co-sponsored a presentation and open dialogue on multi-racial culture and interracial relations.

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Master's students gain int'l teaching skills

By Katie Litvin | February 26

Some AU students felt hopeful to gain career skills after graduation Wednesday after listening to AU graduates who were Peace Corps volunteers while earning master's degrees. Experience in English education is well respected in the job market - especially when combined with a graduate degree - according to Eric Goldman, who manages the Master's International Program at AU.

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Metro brief

February 26

D.C. police are working to get an arrest warrant for a Salvadoran immigrant they claim murdered Chandra Levy, The Washington Post reported. Levy was a 24-year-old intern for the Bureau of Prisons when she went missing in May 2001. She was found dead in Rock Creek Park a year later.

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