News

Students aim to shape diversity report

About two dozen student leaders met last night to discuss the recently released President's Commission on Diversity and Equity report, "Embracing Diversity in Pursuit of Excellence." Student Council President Noah Sullivan began by handing out a sheet that highlighted 10 of the report's recommendations. After about 90 minutes of discussion, Sullivan then took an informal poll to see which of the report's recommendations the students felt were most important and should be addressed immediately. The three recommendations that received the most votes were broadening the first-year experience to include a residential component of the Sustained Dialogue program, creating a clear system for reporting racial incidents, and supporting programs for peer mentorship education and providing cultural group assistance for the wide range of cultural groups at the University. "My hope for this year and going forward is that if students can remain in the driver seat on issues of diversity and equity than we can make sure the student voice is heard," Sullivan said. One of the major issues discussed was the report's proposal to split the non-Western perspective requirement into two requirements: Global Diversity and U.S.

Clean energy referendum, rep. positions on fall ballot

Voting for fall University elections began yesterday and will continue through tomorrow night. University students can cast their ballots at www.uvavote.com. Positions up for election include a spot on the Honor Committee for a Commerce student representative and seats on Student Council for four College students, one Engineering student and one Commerce student. Students also can vote on a referendum asking whether they would be willing to pay $7 per semester in order for the University to use cleaner energy. The money would be used to purchase renewable wind energy in order to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used by the University. The renewable energy referendum was created by Students for Environmental Action and the Student Alliance for Virginia's Environment.

Youth Leadership program grows

What issues do six year olds face in the political realm? For students involved in the University of Virginia's Youth Leadership Initiative, one six year old "was so upset that kids her age couldn't vote that she e-mailed her congressman," said Lea Brown, director of instruction for the YLI. The YLI, an online effort run by the University's Center for Politics, provides free lesson plans and resources intended to engage elementary through high school students in the political process. In the last two-and-a-half years, the number of teachers involved in the YLI has increased from approximately 1,400 teachers to 14,000, Brown said. The program is designed to reduce cynicism and apathy among youth regarding the political system and encourage them to become involved in many different facets of government, Brown said. "Targeting young voters is more effective if you don't wait until they're 18," Brown said. The program was created in conjunction with the Center for Politics at the University in 1998 by Politics Prof.

Police officer shoots armed suspect in Albemarle County

A burglary suspect remains in the University Medical Center's intensive care unit after a shooting involving a police officer early Sunday morning in Albemarle County.

HONOR TRIAL RECAP

An undergraduate College student was found guilty of cheating on a test in an introductory level class by a panel of random student jurors.

UJC member announces resignation

A member of the University Judiciary Committee announced his resignation over the weekend because of what he saw as misconduct by an ad hoc committee. J.V.

Assaults reported near railroad tracks

Two students allegedly were assaulted in separate incidents three hours apart Friday night near the railroad tracks behind the Corner area. A College student was walking on the tracks around 11:30 p.m.

GLU calls for graduate fees decrease

In a letter sent to University President John T. Casteen, III and other administrators last Monday, the Graduate Labor Union requested that certain graduate fees be decreased, according to former GLU treasurer Bill Craighead, an Economics graduate student. The letter also calls for a commitment from the University to discontinue the practice of increasing the graduate fees proportionally to undergraduate tuition and fee increases.

University hosts panel on Latin relations

Economic concerns were the focus of a panel discussion on United States-Latin American relations as foreign ambassadors to the United States from Argentina, Brazil and Peru met in Newcomb Hall Ballroom Friday evening. The event was co-sponsored by the Latin Student Union and 10 other University offices and organizations. The ambassadors began their discussion with opening remarks on the state of affairs in their respective countries internally and with the U.S.

Law prof. receives U.Va.'s highest honor

President John T. Casteen, III named Law Prof. Robert E. Scott as this year's recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Award at Friday's convocation ceremony at University Hall. The award, which has been given to members of the University faculty and administration since 1955, is the University's highest honor.

A Culture of Nip and Tuck

With the recent proliferation of reality shows like Extreme Makeover and The Swan, it comes as no surprise that the number of people having cosmetic surgery has mushroomed, especially over the last couple of years.

Observers discuss political division in United States

Red states, blue states. Republicans and Democrats. Fox News versus CNN. In the final weeks of the presidential race, the United States of America seems anything but united. American society is more polarized today than ever before, and public discourse resembles more of a shouting match than a meaningful exchange of ideas so crucial to a democratic society, according to this year's speakers at the third annual LaBrosse-Levinson lecture series. A group of journalists and professors from around the country all spoke to the theme of "Discourse and Democracy" in the Dome Room of the Rotunda in the two-day series, which began Wednesday. New York Times columnist David Brooks addressed the Bush administration's communications strategy as well as the polarization of American society. Brooks said the Bush administration is justified in not admitting its mistakes because doing so in a polarized society would only open itself up to criticism. "The nature of Washington is such that ... you can never admit a mistake," Brooks said. Brooks also said politicians feel a tremendous sense of loyalty to "their teams," and added such loyalty can lead to distortion. "In this world, loyalty to one's brethren is more important than loyalty to the truth," he said. Brooks attributed the deep political divide in the country to a number of factors, including a more educated electorate, media and geographic segmentation as well as diverging opinions about good leadership qualities. Ultimately, people seek out people like themselves, Brooks said, and party affiliation in many cases precedes individual ideologies. "People filter reality through their partisan labels," he said. Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, a communications studies professor at the University of Minnesota, began Thursday's lectures with a discussion about corporate ownership of the media.

LGBT Resource Center hosts mock gay marriage

"Speak now or forever hold your peace" took on a new meaning at a theatrical gay marriage in Newcomb Hall yesterday. Last spring, the University's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center came up with the idea of holding a gay marriage presentation followed by a discussion, Center Director Emily West said. Students performed the marriage last night under the direction of Atlanta performer Turner Schofield.

Community discontent deep on presence of Planned Parenthood

University students are stepping off Grounds and into the region to oppose the presence of the Planned Parenthood facility on Hydraulic Rd. The facility, which offers abortion and adoption services and plans to offer pre-natal care by 2005, opened its doors Aug.

Region collaborates to solve extreme kidnapping cases

A new Amber Alert -- America's Missing: Broadcasting Emergency Response -- system formally went into effect today in Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville and the surrounding area. The collaborative regional system has been in place unofficially for the past month.

In war on polio, mission not yet accomplished

The ancient Roman emperor Claudius was affected by it.Franklin Delano Roosevelt campaigned for awareness of it.In 1952, Jonas Salk discovered a vaccine for it.And by 1994, the Americas were declared to be free of it.So, surely the polio virus is not a concern anymore --- or is it? In 1988, the World Health Assembly launched a worldwide goal to conquer the problem, and thus the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was born.

Faculty take on larger role in tenure and promotion process

The Faculty Senate will play a larger role this year in the promotion and tenure process with the creation of a new committee comprised of Senate members. The committee plans to encourage a stronger emphasis on evaluating Web-based research and a greater consideration for faculty members with children, said Gene Block, University vice president and provost. "We've recognized portions of the promotion and tenure process that need to be looked at from time to time," Block said. Block proposed the formation of the committee to address faculty concerns with the promotion and tenure process.

TEXTBOOKS, T-SHIRTS...A CAPELLA?

Second graders lobby to clean up 14th St.

Many University students think of 14th Street -- where roads and sidewalks are often littered with paper plates, plastic cups, empty beer cans, broken bottles, chip bags and pizza boxes -- as a college student enclave. But after plodding through trash along 14th Street on their way to a field trip at the University Art Museum, a younger set of students is trying to clean up the area. Second graders from Venable School, located on 14th Street, took a trip to City Hall Monday to protest the debris. "My class was walking down 14th Street to get to the Downtown Mall to the free trolley," second-grade Venable teacher Lisa Shook said.

Public, private tuition continues to rise

As the importance of a college education continues to rise in the United States, so does the cost of obtaining one. The College Board issued its annual report on the state of college pricing and financial aid on Tuesday, which found that tuition prices continued to climb over the last year.