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Campus briefs

February 15

Senate Republican to keynote WCL Conference on International Migration Senator Richard Burr, R-N.C., will keynote a Washington College of Law conference focusing on the legal aspects of international migration, according to a WCL press release. The conference, titled "A World on the Move: Legal Perspectives on a New Era of International Migration," will take place Feb.

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Brooking project to track, encourage volunteerism

By Dyane Jean Francois Fils | February 15

Several AU students and staff are helping develop the Brookings Institution's Initiative on International Service, which aims to double the number of American citizens who volunteer overseas by 2010. The Initiative plans to do so by pulling resources from a diverse group of organizations, such as corporations, NGOs and higher education institutions.

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National brief: Kansas Ed Board repeals anti-evolution curriculum

By Jimm Phillips | February 15

The Kansas State Board of Education repealed a set of anti-evolution science curriculum guidelines Tuesday, which had earned the state worldwide notoriety, according to The Associated Press. The old set of guidelines, passed in 2005 with the strong backing of supporters of intelligent design, included language that suggested evolutionary concepts like the common origin of all life on Earth were controversial and were being challenged by newer research.

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Civil rights activist says non-violence important

By Allie Feras | February 15

Non-violence is not just a technique or tactic, but a way of life, Rep. John Lewis told students, faculty and other members of the AU community Monday night. "War is obsolete as a tool of our foreign policy," Lewis, D-Ga., said in a speech at the Kay Spiritual Life Center.

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ANC asks AU to do more about off-campus disruption

By Robyn Slagle | February 15

Local community Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3D members voted at their monthly public meeting on Feb. 7 in favor of a proposed renovation and expansion of AU's McKinley Building. The ANC's favorable vote included a series of conditions, which were prompted by reports of disruptive behavior in off-campus houses.

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Metro brief: D.C. government may pass law to ban job discrimination against ex-felons

By Jimm Phillips | February 15

Employers in the District will not be able to look at an applicant's criminal history until after a job offer is made if a proposed bill is passed by the D.C. City Council, according to The Washington Post. If enacted, the Human Rights for Ex-Offenders Act would also allow an employer to only look at the last 10 years of an applicant's criminal record.

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Health Center to offer HPV vaccine

By Kim Selman | February 15

The Health Center is expected to make available its first shipment of Gardasil, the Human Papillomavirus vaccine, by the end of this month, according to the Health Center's Web site. HPV, as the virus is more commonly referred to, is a sexually transmitted disease that will infect approximately 50 percent of sexually active people in their lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control Web site.

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Bush's FY '08 budget increases federal loan limits for students

By Howard Perlman | February 15

AU students may soon be affected by the Bush administration's proposal to increase the federal loan limits for undergraduates and graduates. The proposed increases were first made public Feb. 5 with the release of President Bush's Budget of the United States Government for the fiscal year 2008.

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Beirut college opens after political riots

By Elizabeth Royall | February 12

Classes at Lebanese universities resumed Feb. 5 after being shut down for 10 days when a political argument in a cafeteria started a riot resulting in four deaths. AU has had a study abroad program at the American University of Beirut since spring 2005, but AU Abroad suspended the program when Israel attacked Lebanon following the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier in July 2006.

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Metro calendar

By Rebecca Kern | February 12

Tuesday, Feb. 13 "Edward Scissorhands" Feb. 13-16, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17-18, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. The Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. N.W. Metro: Foggy Bottom-GWU (blue and orange lines) Director and choreographer Matthew Bourne, known for his long-running production of "Swan Lake," brings Tim Burton's dark fairy tale of "Edward Scissorhands" to the stage.

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Campus brief: Japanese university opens study abroad program

By Kyra Smerkanich | February 12

AU students will now be able to study abroad in Japan for a year at one of the country's oldest universities, Waseda School of International Liberal Studies, the American Weekly reported. Interim President Neil Kerwin and President Katsuhiko Shirai of Waseda University signed an agreement this past week that will allow students to study at Waseda, taking the majority of their coursework in English, according to the American Weekly.

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Racial sterotype parties raise student concern

By Dyane Jean Francois Fils | February 12

Several chapters from "white fraternities" from universities across the nation hold racist-themed parties, The Associated Press reported last week. Many AU students expressed their concerns regarding racial stereotypes on college campuses. On the eve of Martin Luther King Jr.

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SG to promote off-campus housing options

By Kendra Garstka | February 12

After searching Craigslist for six months, Jill Coyle found a place to live - and then had to threaten to sue for discrimination to sign the lease for her house in the nearby AU Park neighborhood. "[The owner] wouldn't let us rent from her because she was so anti-student," Coyle, a junior in the School of Communication, said.

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New student club promotes global trade issues

By Ali Goldstein | February 12

Flyers sporting giant gorillas will soon cover campus, advertising the new Global Trade Justice Club started by a handful of students this semester to raise awareness on trade policy, according to club member Kara Newhouse. "We were talking about how we wanted to do guerilla action," Newhouse, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said.

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Program tutors D.C. students

By Patricio Chile | February 12

DC Reads, a series of tutoring programs in the District that can serve as work-study jobs, means more to some students than just a paycheck. The program allows AU students to tutor kindergartners through sixth-grade students at 12 different community and school sites throughout the District.

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WMATA may raise Metro fares

By Jimm Phillips | February 12

AU students said they would not likely change their use of the Metro system by a significant amount if the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority decides to continue with a proposed fare increase after an ongoing 30-day delay has passed. The Metro Budget Committee is putting the proposed increase in fares on hold while an outside consultant reviews whether WMATA can balance its budget in other ways, according to Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel.

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Scholarship program helps students with drug charges

By Denise Moriba | February 12

The University of California Berkeley created a new school-funded scholarship on Jan. 24 for students with drug convictions, according the Los Angeles Times. AU students had mixed reactions to the scholarships. The scholarships were created because students with drug convictions have been unable to receive federal financial aid since a drug-conviction penalty amendment was added to the 1998 Higher Education Act, according to Web site of the Drug Policy Alliance, a D.

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