Delivering American University's news and views since 1925
Writing this sort of piece has become somewhat of a tradition for me around this time of year. Frequently, I write about politics, culture or world affairs. But every once in a while it becomes necessary to write not about ideology, but from the heart. The cynics are wrong - chivalry is not dead.
Two weeks ago, pictures of a Halloween party that took place in barracks at Virginia Military Institute where students dressed in costumes mimicking gays, Nazis and blacks surfaced online. VMI instituted a panel of three students to investigate and suggest disciplinary action against the students.
Is the battle of the 2004 election over? Politicans are carving out their agendas in Congress for this fiscal year. Some are already considering their commitments to special-interest groups who elected them into office. Where does the role of the citizen stand? How can citizens combat the forces aganist the zip code 20005 lobbyist? What the American University chapter of Democracy Matters engages in is combating special-interest groups that detract from the heart of the political process and refocusing attention away from politicans' pockets and back on the role of the individual system.
In today's atmosphere of heated political rhetoric, almost every group is attacked. Unions selfishly feed at the trough. Liberal egghead academics plot to instill their values in our youth. Only one group is rarely if ever attacked: those who control concentrated wealth.
Last weekend, the Marriott in Bethesda was planning on hosting a convention funded by the Iranian government titled the "Twenty Sixth Anniversary of the victory of the glorious Islamic Revolution and Death To America Day." It was only after an Iranian dissident group caught wind of it and alerted Marriott that the event was shut down.
Thumbs Up The NAACP's 'Financial Empowerment' presentation ... As part of Black History Month, the Bank of America co-sponsored a presentation with the AU chapter of the NAACP on building credit and paying back student loans. It's a shame so few students attended the event, which could have proven useful for many on campus.
Thumbs Up Ben Ladner's appearance at the AU/Holy Cross basketball game ... Ladner always gets criticized for his absence from campus, so it's only fair to point out when he does appear. Ladner spent a few minutes cheering with the Screaming Eagles alongside SC President Polson Kanneth before sitting with his wife, Kiki, for the duration of the game.
President Bush may have opened a can of worms of sorts by so brazenly grasping the perceived third rail of American politics, but it is about time someone took the helm of the wayward ship called Social Security. The Democrats sounded the alarm bells in 1998, even giving President Clinton standing ovations when he voiced his support for private personal accounts.
The eighth annual National Conference on Organized Resistance was held on campus during the weekend. Supporters from all around the nation descended on AU for the four-day event, some of them housed by AU students. NCOR supporters are mostly respectful of campus and don't cause any disturbance.
When President Benjamin Ladner laid out a 15-point plan to change the way that American University operates, he made Point Eleven to "enhance our profile as a values-based institution, emphasizing long-held university commitments to such values as human rights and dignity, social justice, environmental protection, diversity, and individual freedom.
I waited in vain during the State of the Union address for President Bush to utter one single word: Darfur. My hope grew as powerful words kept flowing during the State of the Union address. Sentences such as "A society is measured by how it treats the weak and vulnerable" or "One of the deepest values of our country is compassion" seemed to comfort my expectation.
Starting Monday morning, a new, legal, risk-free music downloading option will be available on campus. AU signed an agreement with Ruckus downloading service, a pay service that has about 700,000 songs available and adds 50 new movies to its servers each month.
In case you didn't know (chances are you don't), shortly before school let out for winter break, a brand new Student Confederation constitution passed through the backing of a well-represented special election, turning out a whopping 194 votes, including six abstentions.
With the Student Confederation elections coming up soon, many people are trying to decide if they should run and whom they should vote for. These elections, as they do every year, will shape not only next year but also many years into the future of American University.
Talk about a good week for President Bush, Americans and democracy-loving peoples around the planet. Fresh off the heels of an extraordinarily ambitious and upbeat Inaugural address, President Bush, in his State of the Union address, let Americans know just how serious he is about ending tyranny in our world.
(In his second Inaugural address, President George W. Bush used the word "freedom" 27 times and "liberty" 15 times over the course of the 17-minute speech. This amounts to the appearance of either word about 2.5 times per minute. I was there. I saw it.) Hi.
Provost Neil Kerwin announced this week that students can expect a 4.5 to 6.5 percent increase in tuition for each of the next two years, based on the expected university budget. The increase reflects AU's rising status in college-ranking lists, and the money is intended to go toward finishing the Katzen Arts Center, building a new School of International Service building and improving the University's library.
Kogod recently announced that it will be giving 300 free BlackBerries to students, faculty and administration in the graduate school. In addition to the hardware, it will be giving them six months of free service. This is being made possible by an agreement between administration and T-Mobile, distributor of BlackBerry 7100t.
Solutions by The State News