The 10th annual Virginia Festival of the Book, held each March in Charlottesville, begins today and will run through Sunday. Every year, the festival draws hundreds of authors and publishers to discussions, book signings and readings, Program Director Nancy Damon said.
In an effort to promote scrutiny of the use of race and ethnicity in higher education admissions policies, the National Association of Scholars sent letters to presidents at top public institutions in 20 states requesting information about admissions processes and data, NAS Executive Director Bradford Wilson said. "We asked for information about admissions policies with respect to how they group people when they are considering them for admissions," Wilson said.
As the University continues to expand, a group of concerned students are working to integrate some "green" into the new red brick buildings that are being built on Grounds. Last night, Student Council unanimously approved the creation of a Green Grounds Committee.
Student Council Executive Vice President Rebeen Pasha retained his position as EVP last night despite rumors of a possible motion to impeach him.
The Board of Directors for the National Collegiate Athletic Association is considering a proposal to institute a more rigorous system of academic incentives and disincentives for Division I athletic programs at colleges and universities across the country. The new system will evaluate several aspects of student-athlete academic performance, including graduation rates, and will punish schools that fail to graduate at least 50 percent of its athletes, according to the Board's report. The University, however, does not expect to be impacted by a stricter system, said David Storm, Athletic Department director of compliance.
Since the Department of Homeland Security mandated the creation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System after the Sept.
Police charged two University students with felony breaking and entering after they were found walking away from Monticello early Sunday morning, according to Albemarle Police Lt.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Representatives from the file-sharing, film and recording industries are still at odds over the future of Internet downloading. A group of industry executives -- including leaders from the Recording Industry Association of America, the Motion Picture Association of America, Verizon Communications and major file-sharing software companies -- and consumer advocates held a panel discussion yesterday at the D.C.
The parent of a University student created a Web site Sunday titled uvavictimsofrape.com in response to what she said she considers an inadequate response from the University administration after her daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted. The 50-year-old mother, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said she created the Web site to address what she said was the University "turning a blind eye" to sexual assault. "My goal is for the students to finally raise the point to the administration that sexual assault should be an honor code violation and that the only acceptable sanction would be dismissal from the University," she said. The parent said her daughter contacted the appropriate authorities at the University through several phone calls and e-mails but received responses that questioned her desire to file charges. "She has verbally spoken with the correct office and has sent e-mails, yet they have continued to come back and ask her if she wants to do this," she said.
Colonial Williamsburg is scheduled to hold its first Celebrity Golf Invitational and Culinary Weekend April 1-4, reported The Richmond Times-Dispatch. The event is co-sponsored by Bon Appetit magazine and the James Beard Foundation.
Transportation adjustments as a result of the construction of the Emmet/Ivy parking garage and the John Paul Jones Arena will likely affect the traffic flow at Final Exercises May 15-16.
Engineering students were prevented from accessing MathCAD, a commonly used calculation program produced by the Mathsoft Company, in Thornton Library after the server temporarily crashed Sunday. The program is designed to increase engineers' productivity by allowing access to a framework that creates and shares engineering calculations, according to the Mathsoft Web site.
Some brandished signs saying, "Stand Up for Peace," "Abstain from War," and "Honk for Peace." Others chanted, accompanied by the beat of African drums, "Bush, Bush, you corporate whore.
The Faculty Council of Boston University will raise the issue of same-sex domestic partner benefits with administrators, according to a Friday report in the Daily Free Press, Boston University's student newspaper. Currently, Boston's policy denies partner benefits to gay faculty members.
The University Board of Elections released final expenditure reports yesterday, marking the last step in this year's spring elections process. The UBE released both the final reports for candidates and endorsing organizations.
The University Center for Global Health has received an $810,000 grant from the Ellison Medical Foundation to fund the center's fight against diseases, the University Health System announced Friday. The foundation's three-year grant contains a two-year renewable option if the center demonstrates progress, according to a University press release.
The Alpha Mu chapter of Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity currently is recruiting new members after November hazing incidents left the fraternity with a depleted membership. The fraternity, which never lost its standing with the Inter-Fraternity Council, looks to surpass a potentially damaging point in its 83-year history at the University. "We want to be a social organization that has its values properly aligned -- that doesn't haze," Delta Sigma Phi Treasurer James Marshall said. Recruitment is the next step in the fraternity's reorganization process, which current members hope will revive Delta Sigma Phi's presence at the University. Delta Sigma Phi was suspended by its national Grand Council in November after a hazing incident concluded with two independent investigations by the University and the Grand Council. The Grand Council called for an immediate reorganization of the local chapter when it suspended its charter. The national office either expelled, suspended or retained Alpha Mu chapter members when reorganizing the fraternity's local chapter. "Some of the former members [were] allowed to continue as active members of the fraternity," said Aaron Laushway, assistant dean of students and director of fraternity and sorority life. The national office could not be reached for comment. Once completed, Delta Sigma Phi underwent a four-week re-education process conducted by its national office, during which the fraternity shortened its pledge process from over a semester to eight weeks. The re-education "let people know what the fraternity is about," Marshall said.
When my dad and I stepped off a plane in Madrid the first day of Spring Break and our cab pulled recklessly onto the highway, the first thing we noticed were the giant banners advertising candidates for the upcoming elections. "Did you know they were having elections this week?" I asked my dad. He didn't. "Do you think we should be here?" I persisted.
George A. Beller donated the documents of his late wife Emily Couric, a former Virginia state senator, to the University Library Saturday. The donation "adds great richness and depth to our existing collection," University Librarian Karen Wittenborg said.
College Dean and History Prof. Edward L. Ayers was among three historians to be awarded Columbia University's Bancroft Prize this year, the New York Times reported. The book, entitled In the Presence of Mine Enemies: War in the Heart of America, 1859-1863, was published in 2003. The awards, given in the areas of American history, biography, and diplomacy, were founded in 1948 and the monetary prize was raised from $4,000 to $10,000 this year, according to the Times. Other Bancroft award recipients included Steven Hahn of the University of Pennsylvania and George M.
