News

Gang grant for City expected

This week, the Charlottesville City Council is expected to approve an extended grant to the Gang Identification and Prevention Training Program, Mayor David Brown said. Theprogram, run by the Charlottesville/Albemarle Commission on Children and Families, is an attempt to educate the larger Charlottesville community about the recent increase in local gang activity and the potential for further expansion, said CCF Juvenile Justice Coordinator Rory Carpenter. "The idea was to provide training that would identify and prevent gang activity," Carpenter said.

Department of Education creates new national strategy for colleges

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced yesterday a new commission to develop a national strategy for post-secondary education, addressing "the economic and workforce needs of the country's future" and intending to attack issues such as access to and affordability of higher education. "We have a responsibility to make sure our higher education system continues to meet our nation's needs for an educated and competitive workforce in the 21st century," Spellings said. According to the release, Spellings said the commission will engage students and families, policy makers, business leaders and the academic community in a national dialogue about all key aspects of higher education. Samara Yudof, spokesperson for the Department of Education, said funding for the new initiative will come from the Department. Yusof said she could not provide any additional information regarding the specifics of the initiative because the program is in its pilot stage. The commission's charter provides a budget of $700,000, which is the same as the Title IV commission implemented a few years ago, she said. Vice President to the Provost J.

New crisis response set

The City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the University are part of an $18 millionproject that will improve communication between all of the emergency response agencies in each of the three jurisdictions, said Wayne Campagna, projects coordinator of the Emergency Communication Center. The project is a new single system that allows all agencies to operate independently, but in case of an emergency, multiple units can contact multiple agencies, Campagna said. Initiated in 1995, technical setbacks have previously impeded the program's progress.

U.Va. spearheads new approach to treating depression

University Medical Center doctors and University professors developed and are applying an innovative new depression-fighting technique using an implant connecting to the brain. The University doctors and professors, in conjunction with hospitals across the nation, developed the concept for the Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy System.

FBI seeks relationship with higher education

To strengthen relations between higher education institutions and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Director Robert S.

Two first-year dormitories evacuated after ticking sound in package

Two dormitories in the McCormick Road Residence Area were evacuated Friday evening after a package emitting a mysterious ticking sound was received in the mailroom of Page dormitory. According to University Police Capt.

Medical School breaks ground on new $71 million research facility as Board of Visitors reviews new construction plans

The Medical School broke ground Friday on a new $71 million research center as the Board of Visitors Buildings and Grounds Committee met to discuss further expansion. The new Carter-Harrison Research Building will provide laboratories, research support and office space to medical investigators working in the areas of cancer, immunology and infectious diseases. The 102,000-square-foot facility will be located behind Jordan Hall and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2008. "This new building is for research where scientists and doctors will use their knowledge and findings to eventually help patients," University Health System spokesperson Peter Jump said.

Honor votes to combine appeals and grievances

The Honor Committee voted unanimously last night to approve a new post-trial procedure that will combine the appeal and grievance processes. The changes are largely procedural and will not affect students' rights of appeal. "It's just the restructuring of the post-trial process to make it easier for dismissed students to understand their rights and options regarding post-trial appeals," Vice Chair for Trials Stewart Ackerly said. Under the old procedure, expelled students could seek an appeal on the grounds of new evidence or good cause.

Special Committee on Diversity meeting ends with Casteen speech

The Board of Visitor's Special Committee on Diversity met Friday in a meeting that culminated with a hastily assembled address from University President John T.

BFC charters with national organization

The Black Fraternal Council announced yesterday that they have chartered and affiliated with the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Inc. in a move that will integrate the University's black Greek life with a national black organization. The BFC, now called the NPHC, is composed of eight African-American chapters, fraternities and sororities at the University. Aaron Laushway, associate dean of students and director of fraternity and sorority life, saw the move to the larger national organization as a positive one, saying the BFC has "taken a step to solidify their fraternal obligations here at the University and beyond." The NPHC student leadership also expressed enthusiasm about the group's future in the NPHC and the opportunities it would add to existing members. "Being in the NPHC gives a lot of leadership development opportunities for members," NPHC President Isaac Noye said.

Charlottesville officials discuss area housing affordability issues

The Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce, along with members of the Charlottesville City Council, Albemarle Supervisors and the Piedmont Housing Alliance, met Wednesday to discuss problems and policies connected to housing affordability, a subject which has the potential to affect students living off-Grounds. Housing affordability issues are not limited to the Charlottesville-Albemarle area, but stem from a nationwide problem, according to Larry Banner, vice president of the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce.

Gubernatorial candidates consider education costs

Rising tuition prices, diversity and illegal immigration were just three of the topics discussed by the three candidates running for the office of governor of Virginia at a forum sponsored by Virginia21 Wednesday at Virginia Commonwealth University. The rising price of tuition took center stage at the forum, with each candidate proposing different ways to remedy the rising costs. "I know the people in higher ed.

Speaking Freely about Free Speech

iPods offer note-taking alternatives to lectures

The option for professors to record their lectures to iPods and upload them for student use is being tested in certain Texas universities as a pilot for a new program, called Coursecast, created by a company called Pick-A-Prof in collaboration with Apple. Pick-A-Prof is a Web site that began at Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin in April 2000.

Charlottesville's Court Square experiences anthrax scare

Several Downtown Charlottesville court buildings were evacuated Wednesday after an Albemarle County General District Court clerk opened a letter containing a white powdery substance. The discovery of the substance prompted the evacuation of several buildings in the Downtown area, and the treatment of six employees, who were quarantined in a decontamination chamber set up outside the courthouse. City and County police, City firefighters, rescue workers, Albemarle sheriff's deputies and employees of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management responded to the incident.

FBI shares criteria for graffiti investigation

The graffiti on Beta Bridge reported to City and University police Aug. 29 was not racially motivated because it did not meet the criteria outlined in a federal civil rights statute, according to Lawrence Barry, Federal Bureau of Investigations spokesperson. The bridge, a spot often painted by students and organizations to advertise events, had been painted by two African-American organizations -- Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and Brothers United Celebrating Knowledge and Success -- when words such as "GSociety," "GWizard" and "G-Bug" were added by other students. Three University students later apologized for the graffiti in a letter to University administrators, saying they had not intended to exacerbate racial tensions at the University. According to Barry, the civil rights statute that the FBI used requires three criteria

Higher Ed. Act moves through Senate, House

The Senate version of the Higher Education Act reauthorization was approved last week, which made broad student loan and grant changes, has been well received by the University administration and many student and institutional advocates. The bill dictates federal oversight of higher education programs over the next six years, including funding for student loans and Pell grant programs. The University was particularly pleased with adjustments to the Pell Grant program, which includes approximately 1,800 University undergrads receiving $3 million in grants, Director of Student Financial Services Yvonne Hubbard said.

Retraction

The Cavalier Daily has recently discovered that parts of the April 22 Science column, "The acoustically unsound waves of the future" were taken without attribution or permission from an Associated Press article by Jay Lindsay titled, "Oceans getting louder, but effects still unclear." The Cavalier Daily regrets this column was published.

Virginia Festival of the Book announces speakers

The Virginia Festival of the Book recently announced that bestselling authors Judith Viorst and Michael Connelly will speak at luncheons during this year's 12th-annual festival, scheduled to run from March 22 to March 26, 2006. Viorst will address attendees of the five-day literary festival March 23 at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel.

The ride of your life

Google, the Mountain View, Calif. company which formally started as a Web-based search engine, is enveloping all phases of our life -- and this time it is tourism. In the fall of last year, the rumored offer to buy Google by Bill Gates from its young brash millionaires was rejected, paving the way for a never-ending clash between Microsoft and Google.