In a unanimous decision, the Student Council passed a resolution last night to endorse the creation of an Asian-American Studies program at the University. "I believe people will be very supportive of the program," said Peter Yu, assistant dean in the Office of African-American Affairs.
Initiating a series of reforms that Student Council President Noah Sullivan calls the most important issues on Council's agenda this semester, Council Vice President for Organizations Rebecca Keyworth presented three plans last night to reform Council's appropriations process. "The system we have now was developed years ago for a smaller number of student groups," Keyworth said.
Donning underwear on top of clothing and phallic "Patriot Missiles" taped to their pelvises, six women known as the "Missile Dick Chicks," performed sarcastic songs supporting the Bush administration yesterday afternoon.
For many students, the senior year of high school is a time of transition as teenagers prepare to enter college, join the workforce or otherwise move on with their lives.
The University's Army ROTC department commemorated Capt. Humayun S. Khan, a University alumnus killed in Iraq in June, following the annual POW-MIA Recognition Ceremony held by the ROTC departments yesterday. All four branches of the ROTC program -- the Army, the Navy, the Marines and the Air Force -- gathered in the Amphitheatre to pay tribute to more than 50,000 prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action. Preceding the ceremony, the Air Force Honor Guard held a 24-hour vigil.
Lack of diversity in health care professions could lead to poor health care for minorities, according to a study issued yesterday and outlined in the Chronicle of Higher of Education. In a report by the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce, commission members found that "minority physicians, dentists, and nurses are more likely to serve minority and medically underserved populations." A shortage of minorities in health care professions harms minority populations, and since healthy communities tend to prosper, the population at large will suffer if the trend continues, the report concluded. "Cultural differences, a lack of access to health care, combined with high rates of poverty and unemployment, contribute to the substantial ethnic and racial disparities in health status and health outcomes," the report said. The report, titled "Missing Persons: Minorities in the Health Professions," was funded by Duke University's School of Medicine. The report suggests colleges and universities can play an important role in bringing more minorities into health care professions. The percentage of blacks, Hispanics and American Indians is not only disproportionate in the health care work force, it is also low in the faculty and student bodies of professional schools, the study found. Whether it is by shifting from loans to scholarships, decreasing the focus on standardized tests or boosting the image of two-year colleges in training minorities, the commission strongly advocated making education more achievable and financially reasonable to increase diversity. Officials at the University's medical and nursing schools could not be reached by press time. --Compiled by Esther Kim
Struggling with term papers and theses is a constant for many liberal arts students. But professors, who write for a living, also suffer from occasional writer's block.
The University's Medical Center will receive a free supply of the drug Taxol as a result of a recent legal settlement, according to the Hampton Roads Daily Press. States involved in the lawsuit claimed Bristol-Myers Squibb tried to keep the generic form of Taxol from reaching the market.
The University's first "diplomat in residence," Leonard H. Robinson, Jr., spoke before an 80-person crowd dining in the Rotunda last night, marking the inauguration of the University's Diplomat Scholars Program. The program is designed for University students interested in foreign affairs and international service to receive mentorship and career advice from diplomats active in the world today. Robinson, the president and CEO of the Africa Society, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit, gave a speech on "The Urgency of International Education." He said he hopes his work at the University will "overcome the barriers that divide us here [so that] as a nation we can modify our image of being indifferent to other nations." Fourth-year College student Devon Knudsen, a foreign affairs major, said she was excited to see the program finally commence. Last year, Knudsen began to act on what she described as a "void that needed to be filled" at the University -- support for students interested in international studies. Now, months later, Devon is seeing the result of her persistence -- the creation of the Diplomat Scholars Program. Knudsen took her idea for a "diplomat in residence" to many faculty members at the University and was told that she had "great ideas, but it wasn't going to happen," according to Knudsen.
Broadway casts and Grammy-winning musical performers will make their way onto the stage of Charlottesville's Paramount Theater in its upcoming inaugural season. After a 30-year intermission, the Paramount Theater on the Downtown Mall announced Friday the schedule for its upcoming season -- including 25-cent tickets to showings of "The Wizard of Oz" and "Casablanca" and a pre-opening fundraising gala featuring Tony Bennett. City leaders said they anticipate that the theater's reopening, set for Dec.
University English Prof. Rita Dove was formally sworn in as Poet Laureate of Virginia yesterday at the U.S.
As the presidential election draws closer, two local registration and absentee ballot drives already have done their part to encourage student voting. The Center for Politics and a coalition of student groups have passed the two-thirds mark in their goal of registering and distributing absentee ballots to 2,004 students.
A tornado warning didn't scare everyone away from Friday night's Homecomings festivities. Although the second annual event moved from the Mad Bowl to Memorial Gymnasium because of inclement weather, it managed to attract over 1,500 students, said Farah Dilber, University Programs Council summer programs chair. "It was really successful in spite of the rain," Dilber said.
While the University escaped Ivan relatively unscathed, the former category-four hurricane wreaked havoc on several parts of Northern Virginia. Gov.
The University Judiciary Committee will hold what could be its first-ever open trial this Thursday, Committee Chair Angela Carrico announced last night. The trial is slated to begin this Thursday at 7 p.m.
Fitting in at the University can sometimes be a challenging undertaking. Whether it is standing in line at Observatory Hill dining hall or teaching history in front of a 100-person class, student and faculty newcomers alike can easily feel lost in the crowd. The University's Excellence in Diversity Fellowship Program, which establishes connections between first-year faculty and various members of the University community, has nearly doubled in size this year, according to program founder Jose D.
Students had ample opportunity to relax and have fun at the Office of Health Promotion's "hooFEST" last night in the Amphitheatre, where OHP staff passed out cards describing blood alcohol concentration and cups promoting alcohol awareness. Popular University a cappella groups, free snacks and "mocktails" provided the motivation for many students to attend hooFEST despite the ominous weather. "HooFEST is fun because I get free food and a card that tells me how to stay out of the red zone," third-year College student Amanda Smith said. Some students said they brought large groups of friends to the event. Third-year College student Megan Bernier, a resident advisor, attended the event with a group of her first-year residents. "I brought my residence hall so that they could learn about alcohol consumption in a non-threatening social environment," Bernier said. Social Norms Marketing Coordinator Jennifer Bauerle, who planned the event, said she hoped the attendees left with a new attitude toward drinking. "The aim of hooFEST is to create an event where students will have fun, while becoming more aware of the effects alcohol may have on them," Bauerle said.
