News

Honor holds forum on minority concerns

The Honor Committee hosted a forum on Minorities and Honor last night, kicking off the weeklong Honor Forum to raise awareness of Honor issues before spring elections. The forum included three speakers -- Sara Page, the Honor Diversity Advisory Board chair, Assistant Dean of Students Daisy Rodriguez and Professor of Business Administration Sherwood Frey. The forum, titled "Minorities and Honor --What's the Deal?" addressed Honor issues affecting minority students, especially the disproportionate number of initiations against minorities. Professor Frey reviewed the Faculty Advisory Committee Report on honor initiations that was published last spring. The report shows that the proportion of honor cases initiated against international students, athletes and African-Americans was several times greater that the proportion of cases initiated against the general student population. "There is absolutely no doubt that when one looks at expulsion cases that there is a significant statistical difference between minority and majority," Frey said. In the FAC Report, a partial control was provided by the Bloomfield cases -- when University Physics Prof.

Libraries win national recognition

The staff of the University Library has won the highest national service award sponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries and Blackwell's Book Services. The "Excellence in Academic Libraries Award," given for "exemplary services and resources to further the educational mission of the institution," will be formally presented at the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American Literature, History and Culture and the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library later this spring. Library staff members at the University said they are proud of this special recognition. "We try to work with all of our users to provide above and beyond services in terms of reference help," Education Library Reserve Specialist Jane Walker said. Matt Ball, University library coordinator of outreach and public services, worked at the Emory and Harvard University libraries before joining the staff at the University. Ball said he notices a significant difference in the attitude that the University library staff takes in helping its users. "This library takes a very proactive approach in customer service and is definitely more service oriented," Ball said. The University Library system was also recognized for its exemplary and innovative programs and services, said Charlotte Morford, University Library director of communication. "The earliest and most popular example would be the Alderman Café," Morford said.

UJC reviews hate crime referendum

Student Council President Noah Sullivan spoke to the University Judiciary Committee last night advocating a proposed ballot referendum on hate crimes. The new referendum, is worded slightly differently than the referendum rejected by the Student Council last week, would be a general question asking whether the students would support harsher UJC penalties for crimes motivated by hate. "It's a pulse check on the student body," Sullivan said. Sullivan said creating harsher sanctions for hate crimes would serve two purposes -- to act as a deterrent for future crimes and to assert a community standard on the issue. "We are trying to find the best way to codify the idea that hate crimes are a more serious assault on the community than regular crimes," Sullivan said. Sullivan took questions from UJC representatives during the meeting.

Alleged assault occurs on UTS bus

A University microbiologist faces assault and battery charges following an alleged violent outburst aboard a University Transit Service bus on Friday. John Eugene Myers, a laboratory and research microbiologist in the Medical School's Center for Research in Reproduction became irate as he attempted to exit a UTS bus caught in traffic at the corner of Stadium Road and Emmet Street, according to Charlottesville Police Sgt.

UBE releases candidate expenditures

The University Board of Elections recently posted individual candidate expenditure reports for the 2005-2006 elections on its Web site. This year is the first year the UBE has made expenditure reports available online through its Web site. "The UBE is pleased with the effectiveness of the new online method for representing expenditures," UBE Chair Steve Yang said.

Correction

The Feb. 17 article, "Alston to serve three year prison sentence," mistakenly called Walker Sisk, the victim of the stabbing death, Walter Sisk.

Student shot during armed robbery

Fourth-year College students Josh Hailey and Emily Sigmon were assaulted Friday night walking on 15th Street NW from the Corner. According to the police report, between 11:30 p.m.

Crosswalks cause concern

Following several incidents involving pedestrian and motor vehicle collisions, the City of Charlottesville, with input from the University's Security and General Safety Committee, will repave the stretch of Emmet Street adjacent to Memorial Gymnasium.

Temporary e-mail system used to report racial incidents

In light of several racially-motivated incidents within the last year, the Vice President for Student Affairs Office recently created a temporary system for notifying the University community of racial or biased episodes.

Inter-Fraternity Council elects new officers

Last night the final seven chairman positions of the 16-member Inter-Fraternity Council for the 2005-2006 year were elected. Outgoing IFC President David Bowman said the outgoing IFC governing board and the 32 fraternity presidents selected the new governing board. The election was held in two parts.

Varsity Hall move marks start of project

The 150-year-old foundation of Varsity Hall was demolished yesterday morning, marking a significant step in the Varsity Hall project. Although physical work on the site began last fall, years of planning have gone into the move.

InDecent Exposure: examining the link between sun exposure and skin cancer

For years, dermatologists have advertised the dogma that one should limit sun exposure to a bare minimum and liberally apply and re-apply sunscreen to prevent skin cancer. The notion of limiting sun exposure derives its authority from the propensity of ultraviolet light to cause the formation ofharmful thymine dimers.

Hubble remains a no-go

WASHINGTON - The Bush Administration announced Feb. 7 that none of NASA's $16.45 billion 2006 budget would go to Hubble repair operations.

Textbook act passes House, on to Senate

The Textbook Market Fairness Act, initiated by the student advocacy group Virginia21 and sponsored by Delegate G.

General Assembly alters charter bill

A revised Higher Education Reform Act has emerged from committees in both houses of the General Assembly yesterday and is expected to be approved next week, thus laying the framework for the University to apply for greater autonomy from the Commonwealth. Previously known as charter legislation, the bill in its current form allows all of Virginia's colleges and universities the option to apply for one of three tiers of autonomy.

Noah Sullivan not to seek presidential reelection

After becoming a prominent part of University life as Student Council President, why would anyone want to voluntarily resign?

U.Va. tops record donations

The University's 2004 contribution to the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign marks the highest amount ever given by any state agency in the Campaign's history, said Dana Rivera, administer of the CVC program at the University.

Alston to serve three year prison sentence

Former University student Andrew Alston was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years of suspended probation by a Charlottesville General District Court judge yesterday. Alston will serve his prison sentence in Virginia and then negotiate with the parole board to return to his native Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Attorney Jon Zug said.

In a runoff Law School election for Honor Committee representative held Monday and Tuesday, Randall Warden was declared the winner, with 206 votes to Will Doffermyre's 182. During last week's Law School election -- which took place on paper ballot -- the failure of election officials to check the identification of one of 465 voters led to a discrepancy in the results for the second Honor representative. The University Board of Elections and the Student Bar Association decided to hold an online runoff election for the two runner-up candidates in response to the discrepancy. In the runoff election, 390 students voted for one of two candidates running for the open position. Members of the UBE said they were pleased with voter turnout. In a press release, the UBE attributed the high turnout to the ability of the students to vote from the comfort of their own homes as well as to the reminder e-mail sent out by the SBA to all Law students. The Law School already had been planning to revise its election system before last week's original election.

ISC elects new executive board

The Inter-Sorority Council elected its executive board yesterday. The new five-member board will work with the outgoing executive board to appoint the new committee chairs Sunday. ISC members elected Sigma Kappa member Christina Valencia as president, Alpha Delta Pi member Katie Straw as vice president of judiciary, Tri Sigma member Elizabeth Snyder as vice president of administration, Delta Gamma member Christina Saunders as vice president of recruitment, and Zeta Tau Alpha member Darcey Kennedy as vice president of Finance. The new executive board members highlighted their plans and goals for ISC this year. Snyder named reaching out to other organizations and the community as one of the board's goals. "Last night, many of the candidates were talking about reaching out to the other organizations on Grounds and the Charlottesville community at large," Snyder said.