Opinion

All thumbs

Thumbs up Breastival... Students threw darts at balloon boobs, and "pinned the boob" on Clawed-ette. The Women's Initiative gets our congratulations on a good event. AIDS Walk... Congrats to the AU team who raised enough money to come in 48th out of nearly 3,000 teams.

Corrections

In the Sept. 26 issue of the Eagle, due to an information gathering error by the SG, information was wrongly reported and attributed in the article concerning AUTO and the Park Bethesda shuttle service. Due to cuts by Housing and Dining Services to the shuttle service budget, AUTO will provide supplemental shuttle service to Park Bethesda.

Gaza pullouts taking a small step in a peaceful direction

Israelis are split over the Gaza Pullout. The last few weeks, the Gaza withdrawal exposed political divisions within Israel that run deep, divisions born out of politics, religion, and history. Whether or not the Israeli pullouts from settlements in the Gaza strip and the West Bank are effective steps toward peace is yet to be seen.

Staff editorial: The Eagle's 15-point plan

Yesterday's seizure of the board of trustees' meeting by student protests marked a turning point in the scandal surrounding AU President Ben Ladner's excessive spending. The board must be given credit for giving the protesters a voice in the meeting (20 of them were allowed to ask board members questions), and for their collective disclosure that they would vote for Ladner's dismissal.

Letters to the editor

Dear Editor, Yesterday's Washington Post reads that the Board of Trustees have been negotiating a new contract with Dr. Benjamin Ladner to bring the now infamous University President back to campus, stating that it, "would include compensation of about $800,000 for Ladner and a salary for his wife, Nancy Ladner, of at least $80,000.

Let's move AU forward

The fact that about half the Board of Trustees (as cited in the September 28, 2005 Washington Post) wants to retain Ladner, and even raise his salary to $800,000 with an additional $80,000 for his wife, reveals just how critical the current situation is and the scale of the challenge confronting us.

Leave fall break alone

The Administration is considering several different proposals to radically change the fall academic schedule. Beginning in 2006, all options, except Option A (the status quo) will remove at least one day of Fall Break and one study day. As approved through Residence Hall Association Resolution 1 on September 17, 2005, the Residence Hall Association strongly opposes any fall schedule plan that removes holidays from the fall calendar.

Staff editorial: Ladner should resign; board must streamline

The AU board of trustees is reportedly wrapping up its six-month investigation of President Benjamin Ladner's alleged misuse of more than $500,000 of student money, and the FBI is beginning its own investigation of our esteemed president.ÿ The verdict on Ladner is far from in, but it is overwhelmingly clear that Ladner has demonstrated a level of entitlement to student funds that is absolutely inappropriate for a university president.

Letters to the editor

Dear Editor, We who care about American University have a sinking, embarrassed feeling these days.ÿ We have been through this kind of thing before. The only hope now is that the Board has the guts to make Mr. Ladner a generous offer -- perhaps two years pay and other inducements -- on the condition that he leave the university now, quickly, forever.

Speak out on Ladner

I'm writing this editorial because I'm upset by what Dr. Ladner has done and I'm upset at student body's apathy towards this issue. President Ben Ladner has disgraced the school and should resign immediately for two reasons: 1. He has already ruined his own credibility.

Letters to the editor

Dear Editor, The Conduct Council class, which several administrators and I helped to put together this summer, meets throughout the semester, has two five page papers and includes a mandatory "comprehensive training on the student disciplinary system and the Student Conduct Code.

Sheehan, phone home

Brining Cindy Sheehan to our campus to discuss America is unnecessary and irresponsible. If academics is meant to support the free exchange of ideas, it makes little sense to bring in a speaker that has done little but alienate her family and become an icon of the left's causeless Bush hatred.

Is the sun rising again on the Middle East?

The stagnant political situation in the Middle East was given new life September 12th when Israel completed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan. On that day, all Israeli security personnel completed the removal all the Israeli settlers living in the Gaza Strip, some of whom had been there for over 30 years.

Staff editorial: Loss of int'l students

Considering itself a "premier global university," AU never misses a chance to pat itself on the back for its high international enrollment. This year, however, the university has seen a drop in the number of students coming from overseas. There are 331 foreign students this year, as opposed to 369 last year.

Editorial cartoon

Corrections

Last Monday's article "Shofar, so good for horn blowers" wrongly referred to the shofar as a Yiddish term. It is a Biblical Hebrew term sometimes used in colloquial Yiddish.. Also, the organization covered is Pardes, not Pares, as was reported. Last Monday's article "Study says high school grads are unprepared" incorrectly attributed a quote in the last sentence to SOC Professor Danna Walker.

Staff editorial: Mr. Ladner, meet the FBI

We would like to congratulate Ben Ladner for not only having his own board investigating him, but now agencies of the federal government as well. The FBI and IRS have contacted the Board of Trustees, expressing interest in Ladner's supposed misdeeds. We would like to know why, if the investigation has reached the highest levels of the U.