News

News in Brief

Students eligible to ride CTS free of charge for the month of April During the month of April University students, faculty and staff with a valid student or faculty/staff ID will be eligible to ride free of charge on all Charlottesville Transit Service (CTS) bus routes. This CTS-University Transit Service Ridership program will be run on a trial basis from April 1 to April 30, according to the UTS Web site. Currently, the University and the City of Charlottesville are working together to create a permanent program that will allow University ID holders to ride CTS buses without acquiring a transfer ticket from a UTS bus driver, UTS Operations Supervisor Juwhan Lee said. According to Lee, until a deal is completed, UTS riders can use the month of April as an opportunity to use the CTS services without having to pay the fare. "Having this program will make it easier for drivers because they will not have to hand out transfer tickets," Lee said. According to a City of Charlottesville press release, the trial program is funded by the University. First-year College student Whit Hagerman said she intends to "take advantage of the CTS bus routes in April" because a transfer ticket is not needed to get to the mall. --compiled by Catherine Chambers

CIAG gathers experts for annual conference

The Critical Incident Analysis Group gathered a number of nationally and internationally regarded figures yesterday evening to begin their annual conference on the impact of critical incidents, held this year at the University of Virginia Art Museum. CIAG's mission is to bring together a wide range of experts to discuss and react to crises of national security, terrorism and public preparedness at their annual conferences in Charlottesville, as indicated on CIAG's Web site. In attendance at the conference were prominent members of CIAG's advisory board, including Lord John Alderdice, a member of the British House of Lords, and Edwin Meese, III, who served as attorney general under President Ronald Reagan. Last night's conference was Meese's second visit to Charlottesville in two months and he said he appreciated being involved with CIAG because of the unique perspective it gathers. CIAG "is one of the first [organizations] to work on terrorism with different disciplines involved," Meese said. The conference included experts with a wide variety of backgrounds, including academia, government, media and the private sector.

University may offer five-year master's program in public policy

Some faculty members at the University are trying to create a five-year master's degree program in public policy that would begin in fall 2007, said Education School Dean David Breneman, co-chair of the public policy committee. "The program has not been approved yet," Breneman said.

University graduate programs receive top national rankings

Five of the University's graduate programs took top rankings in this year's U.S. News & World Report's edition of America's Best Graduate Schools. The Law School, Darden School, Medical School, Education School and Engineering School all placed within the top 40 graduate programs of their kinds. The Law School retained its eighth place ranking from last year, while the Darden School of business moved up from 14th to 13th place, tying with New York University. "We're very pleased that the enhancements to our educational programs have been recognized in this latest rise in rankings," Darden School Dean Robert F.

MRC, IFC, ISC discuss diversity

Members of the Minority Rights Coalition, Inter-Fraternity Council and Inter-Sorority Council came together on Wednesday and Thursday evenings last week to discuss issues facing the minority and Greek communities on Grounds. The program, called the "The Next Step," was designed to provide information about what actions are being taken to improve minority-related issues on Grounds as well as to inform students of how to get involved, MRC Chair Adrienne Patton said. The program is a follow-up to last semester's "The First Step," which focused primarily on education about minority issues, Patton said. Representatives of each group within the MRC as well as representatives from the IFC and ISC gave presentations about their organizations, including information about the history of each organization, University resources available to group members and issues facing each community. Some organizations' representatives voiced their concerns about inadequate resources for their groups on Grounds. Black Student Alliance President Aaron Blake noted that the University has only 123 black faculty members, of whom only 23 are tenured or tenure-tracked. Asian Student Union president Patrick Lee, LaAlianza President Patrick Martinez and Queer Student Union President Kevin Wu expressed their organizations' respective wishes that an Asian Pacific American Studies major, Latino studies department and Queer Studies minor be created. "We're one of the few universities in the country that doesn't have an established [APAS] program," Lee said. Bernard Harkless, the IFC's vice president for party patrol, spoke on behalf of the IFC Thursday night, noting that the IFC also faces stereotypes. Harkless said one should not make generalizations about the IFC as a whole, since it is made up of 32 distinct organizations, yet students involved in Greek life are often assumed to be rich, racist and unwilling to give back to the community. "We're working to change those stereotypes," Harkless said, noting, for example, that many students involved with Greek life also actively participate in community service in conjunction with the Office of African-American Affairs. Patton noted at the conclusion of the presentation that students should take advantage of the University in order to broaden their understanding of diversity. "Go out and take some classes," Patton said.

News in Brief

Fifth student this year opts for open honor trial; follows guilty verdict in open trial on Sunday The fifth student this academic year has opted to have an open honor trial, which will be held April 9. According to Vice chair for Trials Stewart Ackerly, the Honor Committee is not permitted to release any information about the student before the trial. Ackerly added that the student is allowed to switch to a closed trial up until the trial begins.

Gilday files intent to appeal

Steve Gilday, the third-year Engineering student convicted in an open honor trial Sunday, filed his intent to appeal yesterday. On Sunday, a jury of 10 random students found Gilday not guilty of cheating by falsifying a page of a BIOL 301 exam which he submitted for a re-grade.

University student wins Truman Scholarship

College third-year Ross Baird was awarded a Truman Scholarship, the Harry S. Truman Foundation announced yesterday.

Semester at Sea changes credit policy

Administrators have responded to concerns about the academic rigor of this summer's Semester at Sea voyage by identifying some courses ineligible for departmental credit.

University ranked seventh best value in public colleges

The Princeton Review ranked the University seventh in its list of top-valued public undergraduate colleges in a report released Tuesday. Robert Franek, vice president of publishing at the Princeton Review, said this is the third year the Princeton Review has published its book, "America's Best Value Colleges." This year the book features two top-10 lists: the best value public colleges and the best value private colleges, Franek said. Franek explained that the Princeton Review uses a specific algorithm to create a "point system" to rank the colleges. The company looks at a variety of factors to determine which colleges make the list, including academic factors, cost and financial aid, Franek said. First, the Princeton Review considers the competitiveness of the schools based on admission criteria, he said.

Student Council endorses summer occupancy of Range

Student Council unanimously passed a resolution last night urging the University to create a pilot program allowing graduate and professional school students to reside on the Range during the summer months. According to the sponsor of the legislation, Graduate Arts & Sciences Rep.

Jurors express confusion over lying charge

Jurors from Sunday's open honor trial said there was some confusion about the charge of lying that was brought against third-year Engineering student Steve Gilday. Three jurors spoke to The Cavalier Daily on condition of anonymity for this story. On Sunday, a jury of 10 random students found Gilday not guilty of cheating by falsifying a page of a BIOL 301 exam which he submitted for a re-grade.

Student-athletes arrested

Two University student-athletes were arrested early yesterday morning in connection with an altercation that occurred earlier this month at the Delta Upsilon fraternity house. The incident occurred March 3 after individuals entered a private gathering being held at the house, were asked to leave and then returned to the house, at which time an altercation ensued. The Charlottesville Police Department reported that first-year College students Michael Brown and Michael Giallombardo have been accused of breaking and entering with the intent to commit assault, a felony charge that carries possible jail time, as well as the misdemeanor charge of entering the property of another with the intent of damaging property. Ric Barrick, director of communications for the City of Charlottesville, said the felony charge was issued "because of the number of people involved and the actions of the individuals." According to Rich Murray, athletics department media relations director, both Brown, a varsity football player, and Giallombardo, a varsity soccer player, have athletic scholarships at the University. "We're aware of the charges," Executive Associate Director of Athletics Jon Oliver said in a press release.

Bill creates fee for completing many extra credits

The Virginia Senate and House of Delegates recently passed a bill which requires that a fee be charged to in-state students at public universities who have completed 125 percent of the credit hours needed to obtain a degree in their chosen program. The bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Walter Stosch, R-Glen Allen, passed the in House of Delegates March 15 and was passed by the Senate the next day.

Jurors express confusion over lying charge

Does Divestment STAND a Chance?

White paper human cut-outs lay sprawled across South Lawn on Monday as part of a "Die In" organized by Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND), a University CIO dedicated to promoting awareness of current events in Darfur, Sudan. STAND sought to use the symbolic paper corpses to represent the mass killings in the Darfur region that began in 2003.

Student faces felony charge for

A University student was arrested on a felony charge and referred to the University Judiciary Committee after detonating what he termed a "Drano bomb" on March 25. The student, a College first-year, was arrested on March 27 for violating a law prohibiting the manufacture, transport, distribution, possession or use of a "fire bomb or explosive materials or devices," according to a press release issued yesterday by the University Police.

Clarification Yesterday's news story "Rape case heads to grand jury after 22 years," was accompanied by a picture with a caption that indicated that the pre-trial hearing about the Elizabeth Securro rape case had occurred in the Charlottesville City Courthouse.

Jurors speak out about open honor trial results

Jurors from Sunday's open honor trial said they differ in their opinions about the issues that affected their deliberations.