Opinion

Field hockey reigns but few fans stand by the Eagles

Last Wednesday the 5th ranked AU Field Hockey team beat 20th ranked Virginia in one of the most exciting games of the year. Unfortunately, there were almost as many Virginia fans as there were AU fans on hand to witness the spectacular overtime finish. Sadly, this is becoming a trend at AU sporting events, where sometimes the visiting team's fans even outnumber AU's.

Staff editorial: Ben Ladner's platinum parachute opens wide

The sweetness of Ben Ladner's dismissal from AU has been soured by the board of trustees' recent decision to award his dishonesty and unethical behavior with a $3.75 million severence package. He will receive $950,000 in compensation, as well as rights to a $1 million life insurance policy and $1.

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Fmr. board members on Ladner severence package

We write to set the record straight. The golden, now platinum, parachute given Ben Ladner is not a mere $950,000 the Board of Trustees has disingenuously claimed. It is the entire $3.75 Million reported in the newspapers. Each and every dollar is a gift. The University owes Ben Ladner nothing.

Ben Ladner's new joke on AU students

There's a new joke being passed around the halls of American University these days. It goes something like this. How do you know when your University's Board of Trustees have been corrupted? When you wake up in the morning and Ben Ladner's there to pee in your corn flakes because he stole your milk money.

Blood in the sand: uncertain future after Gaza

There's an old movie that has a scene depicting the Arab army sitting in a town hall in Damascus. They had gotten there ahead of the British, who they knew would replace the Turks as their lords, but with much more ambiguous titles. This was their chance to win independence.

Letters to the editor

Dear Editor, Wow.ÿSo Ben Ladner signs a contract that was never approved by the Board of Directors, then rips the school off for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars, until the scandal is discovered and he is fired.ÿ Now the board wants to give him an extra $4 million?ÿ Way to get tough, guys.

Universities' drug policy

Schools like the University of Rhode Island have begun cracking down on drug violations on campus. Employees in residence halls will have greater ability to inspect dorm rooms, though most of any recovered evidence would be inadmissible in court. URI is largely trying to shake its image as a party school, but its methods seem extreme.

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Letters to the editor

Dear Editor, I'd like to make some clarifications in the debate over the banning of military recruiters from American University.ÿ Firstly, there is a distinct difference between active-duty recruiters dispatched by the various branches of the military who promote enlistment in the military and student-organized recruitment for ROTC programs.

Protests at AU: Looks like everyone's on board

I wish to tell my readers the truth. So stating, it is imperative they primarily understand that I suffer from cynical objectivism and my veracity knows no bounds. I was deeply engrossed in a cynical and veracious moment walking around campus recently when I happened to observe the flyers advocating the President Ladner protest.

Raising Hell for Harriet

The Harriet Miers nomination is a joke. The American people should be insulted that President Bush saw her fit for duty the Supreme Court. In the minds of most people who have at least a clue as to how the judicial system works, Miers is a kindergartner on a playing field for grown-ups.

Staff editorial: Katzen opens in style

This past Thursday evening the Katzen Arts Center was officially opened during a black-tie, invitation-only party. While it was nice to see the complex lauded by the board, donors and others, it is disappointing that students were not welcome to attend the opening event.

GOP: strong by default

Some Democrats are in the cheeriest of moods right now. They may not be in power, but their Republican rivals who are are not exactly having an easy go at it. The President entered his second term with political capital to burn, but since then his plans for Social Security reform have foundered, Congress embarrassed itself in the Terri Schiavo matter, Hurricane Katrina struck, gas prices and budget deficits will not go down and the war in Iraq slogs on.

Letters to the editor

Dear Editor, When conservative students such as Will Haun tout something as promising as "academic freedom", as Haun did in his column in The Eagle on October 17, it helps to provide a background on what "academic freedom" exactly is. The Students for Academic Freedom states that its mission is to provide "balance" to academia: Namely, that college and university professors should provide curricula that contain diverse views, presumably to educate all sides of the matter.

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Staff editorial: AU's fiscal condition

In recent months we have all seen what a miserable job AU has done managing finances, or so it would seem to those watching from the outside. Former President Ladner's scandal was only one of the university's missteps when it comes to finances. In the last school year, the athletic department unceremoniously cut the tennis and golf teams, as the school claimed it needed to save the money and find wiser ways to spend.