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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.


News

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.


News

Groups study U.Va. energy use

A recent study by the University's Energy Program and the Green Grounds Group shows that while the University is making efforts to prevent unnecessary expenditure of energy, it can do more to conserve energy and funds. Last week, a group of students met to determine instances of wasted energy on Grounds, Energy Program Manager Paul Crumpler said. Students observed 150 buildings on Grounds and noted the number of lights that were turned on inside various unoccupied buildings. According to Crumpler, the Green Grounds Group, a Contracted Independent Organization, contacted him to ask for opportunities to collaborate on energy conservation projects, and one of the projects they discussed involved identifying buildings with lights left on at night. Students were able to observe buildings across Grounds, from the Darden School to University Hall, as well as athletic facilities, that leave lights on at night when no one is there, according to Crumpler. While Crumpler said he has yet to complete a synopsis of the students' findings, he was able to identify positive and negative energy consumption practices. "In a majority of buildings, lights were turned off," he said.


News

Clarification

The News article "Council to expand access to Newcomb" implied that student groups would have to pay a fee to rent a room in Newcomb Hall.


News

City experiences burglary influx

In the latest of a string of Charlottesville burglaries, an unidentified intruder assaulted a woman in her apartment on the 1500 block of Broad Avenue Monday night at approximately 9:30 p.m., according to the Charlottesville Police. The woman, a white female in her 50s, unlocked her front door, set a bag down inside and walked to her mailbox.


News

More students pay own way

A report released last Friday by the National Center for Education Statistics reveals that students who are considered by the federal government to be financially independent from their parents comprise a majority of the undergraduate population. According to the report, 64 percent of students at community colleges are independent, while 37 percent of students in public and private four-year colleges are independent.


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Latest Podcast

The Peer Health Education program is made up of students who work to empower their peers to develop healthier habits. Evie Liu, current Outreach Coordinator of PHE and fourth-year college student, discusses the role of PHE in promoting a “community of care” in the student body and expands on the organization’s various initiatives.