News

South Korea, U.S., and Britian team up in stem cell research

Scientists in South Korea will help their American colleagues, frustrated by U.S. government barriers, create new lines of embryonic stem cells in an unusual partnership in the contentious field, researchers in both countries announced Wednesday. For the Americans, the new international consortium, which includes Britain, presents another avenue for working around the Bush administration's refusal to fund most of the research.

Faculty face confusion, limited options

In light of recent cases of cheating, it appears that some professors choose to opt out of the honor system in dealing with possible honor offenses.

Rocketmen and women

Beijing - China hopes to conduct a spacewalk in 2007 and might recruit women into its next group of astronaut candidates, a senior space program official said Monday following the safe completion of the nation's second manned mission. The Shenzhou 6 flight ended the first stage of China's plan, which focused on development of space vehicles, said Tang Xianming, director of the China Space Engineering Office.

On-Grounds housing due date extended

Housing administration extended the on-Grounds housing application due date for the 2006-2007 academic year a month to Nov.

Correction

A subhead in Oct. 20 News article, "Man charged with peeping near U.Va.," incorrectly identified the suspect as Randall S.

Playing for a cause

Council moves to aid transfers

Student Council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday to help eliminate difficulties many transfer students face in applying to interdisciplinary majors and other special academic programs at the University. According to the Resolution to Support Fair Treatment of Transfer Students in the Application Process of Academic Programs, some transfer students are concerned about the degree of fairness they are subjected to in the application processes to these programs. College Rep.

Suicides surpass homicides in Virginia

A study on violent deaths released in September showed that more Virginians died from suicides than from homicides in 2003 -- the most recent year for which statistics on such deaths have been compiled. According to the study, conducted by the Medical Examiner's Office for the Commonwealth conducted in conjunction with the National Violent Death Registration System, there were 1,332 violent deaths in Virginia in 2003.

Study indicates tuitions continue to rise

Overall tuition and costs for public and private colleges have continued to rise at a mild rate this year while low-income families with children in college are facing a greater financial burden as financial aid programs at the collegiate and federal level increasingly benefit middle-income families.

News briefs

University engineering group wins computer chip competition A group of six University electrical engineering graduate students won first place in Phase One of the 2004-2006 SRC/SIA Design Challenge, a contest sponsored by the semiconductor industry to improve the design of integrated computer chips. The purpose of the contest is to create low-power designs for highly integrated circuits.

Project probes campus IT issues

Although a recent survey conducted by the Campus Computing Project at various universities suggested security is a top concern for campus technology leaders, ITC officials said they don't prioritize between information technology concerns. The Campus Computing Project, an organization devoted to studying the role of information technology in higher education, reported that the top information technology issue among universities was network and data security, far ahead of the runner-up, instructional integration.

Students face new GRE

Beginning next October, the Graduate Record Exam, the entrance exam for graduate school, will undergo changes in its length and question format.

Playing On the Lawn

Correction

The subheadline of the Oct. 19 News article,

Man charged with peeping near U.Va.

Thirty-five-year-old Charlottesville resident Frederick Jermaine Ayers was served charges for peeping and spying into private residences in the University area while he was in court Tuesday for the sentencing of a similar previous incident. Ayers allegedly spied into a residence of four University students Oct.

Professor responds to cheating

A professor in the mechanical engineering department changed the syllabus for his class last week partially as a result of suspected cheating on homework problem sets. Mechanical Engineering Prof.

God on Grounds

While there has been much recent attention in promoting racial tolerance and diversity on Grounds, seemingly very little light has been shed regarding the different religious backgrounds of University students. Various religious groups in the University have become increasingly active in promoting their ideas, correcting misconceptions and raising awareness of the differences in faith. Religious Diversity and Tolerance University Law Prof.

here comes the sun

City debates increasing vendor rates

The Charlottesville City Council discussed increasing vendor rates and changing Downtown Mall regulations in a public hearing at Monday's Council meeting. The Council proposed creating specific lots for vendors as well as increasing rent from its current annual flat rate of $400 to a range of $600 to $1,200 annually based on location and table size. "The primary reason is concern by Downtown Mall businesses that vendors are paying next to nothing while businesses pay power, heating and air, so it would even out the competition," Director of Neighborhood Development Services Jim Tolbert said. Some vendors at the meeting voiced concerns about the price increase because they said they believe it will keep many vendors from continuing to sell their wares on the Mall. "There are a lot of different vendors that travel to the Downtown Mall, and there are a lot [of] artists and talented people who aren't going to come this year because of the rate increase," Beadworld vendor Kristen Bodensick said. Tolbert said rates were based on what other similar communities -- Boulder and Burlington -- charge vendors. "Those communities charged about $1,800, but we didn't want to charge that much," Tolbert said.

Former student pleads guilty to extortion

A former University graduate student in the nuclear engineering program pleaded guilty to extortion in Charlottesville Federal Court Monday for charges stemming from his time at the University. After negotiating a plea agreement with the prosecution, Charles Bly was charged with extortion, one of five charges originally brought against him. Extortion "is a law that is uniquely federal in that it involves placing a letter in the U.S.