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Candidates gear up for final week

As the Virginia gubernatorial election draws near, both the Democratic and Republican campaigns are increasing their outreach efforts to win over any voters who are still on the fence, Politics Prof.


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Newcomb official dies at age 64

Newcomb Hall Building Manager Lazarus "Larry" Powell died Monday night of pneumonia. He was 64. Powell was the director of student building supervisors and assistants and worked very closely with them, Newcomb Hall Director Bill Ashby said. Powell had struggled with respiratory issues over the last few years. "I talked to Larry on Friday and Saturday, and his main concern was still the students," said Danny Steeper, assistant director for operations.


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Faculty weigh tenure options

A majority of university presidents said they would prefer to change the faculty tenure system to one of long-term contracts, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education's recent survey of four-year college presidents. According to the survey, 53 percent of presidents said they would approve of ending the tenure system and 39 percent opposed the idea.


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Honor Committee seeks to address honor debts

The Honor Committee's Community Relations Committee announced that it was looking to address more than $6,000 in honor debts accrued by past and current University students at the Student Book Store. An honor debt is defined as an extension of credit by a local merchant based on the retailer's reliance on students' adherence to the honor system to repay it. "We're looking into the possibility of suspension and bringing honor charges against students who do not pay," Vice Chair for Services Trevor McFadden said. According to Student Book Store Manager Jeremy Hunt, more than 80 students have incurred outstanding balances since fall 2000, so the retailer decided to bring the issue to the Community Relations Committee. "Really we've never made an attempt to collect any of it other than sending out statements to students with outstanding bills," Hunt said. The Student Book Store allows students the option of a student charge, which mails the book bill to the address of the student's choice. "Most students have it sent home," Hunt said. Hunt said he had the idea of bringing the matter to the Community Relations Committee after a Committee member visited the bookstore a few months ago. The Community Relations Committee will not be dealing with all 80 cases right away, McFadden said.


News

Two U.Va. students robbed Sunday

Two University students were robbed in two separate incidents Sunday, the first by a group of individuals on Madison Lane and the second at gunpoint on Shamrock Road. The first robbery occurred at 2 a.m.


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Students design affordable housing

University students, working together with the Piedmont Housing Alliance, are a few weeks away from completing the first prototype of three affordable modular housing projects known as ecoMOD. The goal was to "use strategies that will reduce financial burdens on the people in the house," Architecture Prof.


News

University hires LGBT coordinator

The Office of the Dean of Students has hired the University's first full-time program coordinator for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center. Joy Pugh, the University's choice for the position, comes from James Madison University, where she was an administrator in the university's honors program. "We're very pleased that we were able to identify her for this," said Senior Associate Dean of Students Shamim Sisson, to whom Pugh will report.


News

Student health insurance premiums expected to rise

The University's insurance provider, The Chickering Group, has proposed a 21 percent increase in student health insurance premiums for next year, and benefits are not expected to change significantly, according to members of the Student Health Insurance Committee. Many members of the Committee questioned the need for such a large cost increase at a meeting with Chickering last week, Committee Director Susan Davis said.


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Students are often victims of identity theft; fraud

College students are increasingly becoming victims of identity theft, prompting the Department of Education's Office of the Inspector General to publicize the issue and crack down on crooks who use stolen information to fraudulently obtain financial aid. Department of Education Inspector General John P.


News

The Flu reborn

The 1918 Spanish flu is back. Earlier this month, U.S. scientists announced they had created a living copy of this deadly pathogen, which has not been seen on Earth for the last 85 years.


News

Serial rapist reward increases to $55,000

The Parents' Program of the University of Virginia Alumni Association announced yesterday it is donating an additional $30,000 to the existing $20,000 to any person who can provide information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the serial rapist. A concerned parent anonymously donated an additional $5,000, boosting the total reward to $55,000, which more than doubled the previous amount. The serial rapist is responsible for seven reported incidents of sexual assault over the past eight years, some of which affected University students. "The Parents' Program has long been very interested in student safety and security, and when they met last week, the issue of the serial rapist was brought up by some of the parents, and they felt a need or a desire to make a contribution that might help in the apprehension of the serial rapist," University spokesperson Carol Wood said. According to Parents' Program Co-Chair Jeff Hillebrand, the group meets twice a year to allocate funds donated by non-alumni parents to student programs and handle proposals from the University's administration and academic deans.


News

Survey shows first-year medical students largest class to date

This fall, over 1,700 students -- the largest class on record -- began their first year at the nation's 125 accredited medical schools, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. The AAMC said in a press release that this class size represents a 2.1 percent increase from the class that entered in 2004. "For the last several years, enrollment has hovered at around 1,600, so this is the first time it broke 1,700," AAMC Public Relations Director Retha Sherrod said. In addition to the increase in class size, the AAMC also said medical schools experienced a 4.6 percent increase in the number of applications they received from 35,735 last year to 37,364. Mirroring this national trend, the University's Medical School has seen a slight increase in its class size as well as in its number of applicants, Medical School Admissions Director Beth Bailey said. Sherrod said the AAMC was concerned earlier this year that there could be a potential future shortage in the nation's number of physicians, due in part to a high number of "baby boom" physicians who will retire soon.


News

Student opts out of open honor trial

What would have been an open honor trial slated to begin Nov. 6 will now proceed as a closed trial at the request of the accused student. The student's name and his motivation for closing the trial were not released.

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Latest Podcast

Since the Contemplative Commons opening April 4, the building has hosted events for the University community. Sam Cole, Commons’ Assistant Director of Student Engagement, discusses how the Contemplative Sciences Center is molding itself to meet students’ needs and provide a wide range of opportunities for students to discover contemplative practices that can help them thrive at the University.