News

News

New budget service available to AU clubs and organizations

By Christopher Cottrell | February 7

The AU Club Council recently introduced a new budget service called Program Assistance, which clubs can use to apply for additional funding on an event-by-event basis, AUCC Chair Kristen Lyon said at a budget workshop Monday. Each club is only eligible, however, for $500 per semester through the service, she said.

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Colleges respond to pressure from federal lawmakers on standards

By Patricio Chile | February 7

Colleges and the agencies that accredit them are re-evaluating how they publicly disclose their educational achievements over fears of stricter federal regulations on colleges' academic standards. College and accrediting representatives at the Council of Higher Education Accrediting's annual meeting last week in D.

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Campus calendar

February 7

Thursday, Feb. 7 "Mission Improv-able's Super Thursday" 11 p.m. WHERE: Battelle-Tompkins Atrium INFO: AU's only campus comedy troupe will perform in honor of the month of February after all of the Super Tuesday excitement has ended. CONTACT: For more information, e-mail Grant Helms at grant.

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News

Police blotter

February 7

Thursday, Jan. 31 The McDowell Hall front desk reported that a person fainted inside the building. The D.C. Fire Department checked on the individual, who refused a medical transport. The Letts Hall front desk reported a female student was stuck in an elevator car on the north side of the building's fifth floor.

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News

Super Tuesday

By Laraine Weschler | February 7

While Tuesday's presidential primaries produced a clear front-runner for the Republican Party, they left the choice in the Democratic race more muddled, said Dotty Lynch, executive-in-residence in the School of Communication and political consultant for CBS News, during a panel discussion Wednesday.

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Some AU facilities unavailable during inauguration event

February 7

AU President Neil Kerwin's inauguration ceremony and a subsequent reception will affect the university's class schedule and the availability of certain venues on campus Feb. 8. The inauguration will begin 11 a.m. in Bender Arena, while the reception begins 2 p.

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Campus brief

February 7

Edgar Meza last week resigned as executive chair of the Graduate Leadership Council, according to Kimberly Herrera, Student Activities adviser for the council. Meza, a graduate student in the Kogod School of Business, became head of the GLC over the summer break and was one of the people who met with finalists for the university's presidential search.

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Metro brief

February 7

Presidential campaign finance reports filed last week revealed that D.C.-area donors contributed nearly three times as much to the Democratic presidential candidates as to their Republican counterparts, The Washington Post reported Sunday. Overall, the Democrats received $21.

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Congress to review textbook legislation

By Christopher Cottrell | February 7

The House of Representatives will vote today on legislation that aims to curtail the rising costs of textbooks at colleges nationwide, according to Rachel Racusen, a spokeswoman for the House Education and Labor Committee. The legislation may have a positive impact on students and college bookstores, Cliff Ewert, vice president of media relations at Follett Corporation, the AU Campus Store's supplier, said in an e-mail.

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National brief

February 7

The results of 24 state-held primaries or caucuses failed to give any of the leading presidential candidates a significant edge over his or her rivals. While Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton traded victories across the country, neither one emerged the clear winner in the Democratic primaries.

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Inauguration Week

February 7

Thursday, February 7, 2008 Panel: "Coaching 101" 11 a.m. WHERE: Kettler-Palmer Lounge INFO: Men's basketball coach Jeff Jones, women's basketball coach Melissa McFerrin, field hockey coach Steve Jennings and volleyball coach Barry Goldberg will discuss coaching strategies, player motivation and the challenges and rewards of coaching.

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W. Va. bill may cut aid over alcohol use

By Ethan Klapper | February 4

Students who receive financial aid from the West Virginia state government will lose their state aid if they receive two or more alcohol citations, according to a bill introduced before the West Virginia State Senate. The bill, introduced Jan. 10, would stop state-funded financial aid for students who receive two or more citations related to open container laws, drunken driving, underage drinking, public drunkenness or contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

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AU ranks 7th on Peace Corps listing

By Lauren Cater | February 4

AU jumped one spot in 2007 on the Peace Corps' list of the top 25 mid-size universities with the highest number of volunteers getting involved in the program. The rankings, released Jan. 1, show AU ranked seventh on the list. The university ranked eighth last year and 12th in 2006.

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Briefs

February 4

CAMPUS BRIEF Unknown person ignites Leonard Hall bulletin board Public Safety is still looking for the person that set fire to a bulletin board in Leonard Hall Saturday night, according to Michaela McGill, a resident assistant for the building. Area Director Chris Fiorello told students that an unknown person set fire to the board on the fourth floor, leaving a large scorch mark, according to McGill.

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Universities called to invest responsibly

By Michael Ono | February 4

AU should invest its endowment in socially responsible companies that respect human rights, Cheyenna Weber, organizing director of the Responsibility Endowment Coalition, said to a group of students during a teach-in Thursday in the McDowell Formal Lounge.

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SETH to warn about info breach

By Jimm Phillips | February 4

Officials in the School of Education, Teaching and Health will notify students whose personal information may have been compromised after three boxes of student records ended up in a McKinley Building hallway. A total of six SETH-owned boxes were among those removed in late January after being found in a second floor hallway inside the building.

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Global warming and politics meet

By Rachel Trainer | February 4

People need to look at global warming from both an economic and political view, according to Bracken Hendricks, co-author of "Apollo's Fire," a book about creating a clean-energy economy. "Things that weren't political are becoming political," he said at a panel discussion Thursday night as part of a three-day teach-in on climate change called "Focus the Nation.

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