News

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.

IFC, ISC hold fall recruitment

Both the Inter-Fraternity and Inter-Sorority Councils currently are recruiting upperclassmen and new transfer students in their fall recruitment programs.

Candidates share views on higher ed

In a forum sponsored by the advocacy group Virginia21 at Virginia Commonwealth University yesterday, the three Virginia gubernatorial candidates shared their distinct views on higher education.

U.Va. Police aim for accreditation

The University Police Department currently is in the process of rewriting its procedures manual in order to sign a contract that will enable national recognition as an accredited department. University Police Capt.

Students face obstacles obtaining visas

The perceived difficulty of acquiring a visa to study in the United States remains a discouraging factor for international students and is partially responsible for a drop in applications from international students, said Laura Tischler, spokesperson for the Bureau of Consular Affairs. The problems facing international students seeking visas were discussed briefly Tuesday during a Congressional hearing on the weaknesses of the visa system. "The bottom line was that perception counts a lot," said Thomas Costa, a professional staff member of the House subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations.

Four Score...

First Amendment wall planned for Downtown

Visitors to the Downtown Mall will soon have an opportunity to publicly celebrate free speech. Construction of a monument on the Mall recognizing the First Amendment is expected to be completed by the end of November. The monument, which is located across from City Hall, will consist of two chalkboards and a podium.

UPC extends Homecomings activities, events

The traditional Homecoming weekend has been extended to nearly a week of events, according to the University Programs Council. The events are scheduled to begin Monday, Sept.

Casteen names first chief diversity officer

President John T. Casteen, III appointed William B. Harvey as the University's first vice president and chief officer for diversity and equity yesterday. Harvey, who is nationally recognized as an expert on improving diversity in higher education, will begin his work at the University Nov.

University Health Systems receives national award

The University Health System will accept an award today for creating programs to ease communication between doctors and patients with communication barriers. The award, which will be presented by the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association, is the latest honor to give the Health System national recognition. Claudette Dalton, lead physician for the patient communication project, said the initiative was created to address the needs of a large portion of the University Health System clientele.