News

Council proposes elections reform

Will Sowers, Student Council vice president for administration, proposed a bill to Council at last night's meeting which will change the way student self-governance is conducted at the University if passed at next week's meeting. Sowers, who has headed the elections reform movement since it began last March, proposed a referendum to be placed on the fall elections ballot to solicit student approval for an entirely new elections system. Discrepancies in the Spring 2003 elections prompted Council to initiate elections reform.

Community prepares as Isabel creeps toward coast

As hurricane Isabel continues to churn northward toward central Virginia, members of both the University and Charlottesville community continue emergency preparations in anticipation of its landfall. Although the strength and direction of the hurricane could change significantly in the next two days, both University and local officials urge Charlottesville residents to take precautionary measures such as stocking up on food and water, "buttoning up" their residences and securing outdoor furniture and other items which could cause damage with the expected high winds and heavy rain. "Be prepared, but calm," Director of Facilities Operations Chris Willis said.

LambdaRail communication network to debut in 2004

The official launch of a new telecommunications network, National LambdaRail, has some scientists excited about its capability to connect distant researchers. The network, announced yesterday, is slated to begin operations in most parts of the nation by the end of 2004.

Michigan students decry 'silver bullet'

A group of students at the University of Michigan is pushing for a boycott of Coors beer in response to a controversial political contribution by former company president Joseph Coors Sr. Coors, who was president of the Coors Brewing Company during a nationwide boycott of its products in 1977, recently donated over $100,000 to support Ward Connerly, a member of the University of California's Board of Regents and outspoken proponent of California's Proposition 54, which would remove racially identifying information from state applications. While Coors retired from the company in 2000 and passed away in March of this year, the student group, known as the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and Integration and Fight for Equality by Any Means Necessary, alleges the Coors Brewing Company has a history of unfair labor practices. Western Michigan University's Student Assembly endorsed a similar boycott last year after union employees were locked out of a Coors manufacturing plant in the university's home city of Kalamazoo. The Coors Brewing Company, which markets many brand names including Coors Light, Keystone Premium, and Zima, is the country's third largest beer producer.

ROTC battalions honor missing, prisoners

As taps wafted across the Amphitheater, students rose from their academic pursuits as cadets saluted in remembrance of prisoners of war and those missing in action. The three ROTC battalions on Grounds assembled yesterday at the Amphitheater to honor the nearly 90,000 American servicemen unaccounted for in the last three major wars.

A small group of students find life at U.Va. to be less than bright and gay. While University Spokesperson Carol Wood said the University's retention rate for first-year students is 97 percent -- meaning most students enjoy life at the University, or at least tolerate it well enough that inertia compels them to stay -- a few do decide to transfer away each year. Choosing to Leave Except when a student withdraws partway through a semester, administrators do not conduct formal exit interviews or surveys of students who leave the University.

IFC revisions aim to reduce liabilities

The Inter-Fraternity Council revised its Judiciary Committee bylaws last Thursday as the first in a series of steps to reduce liability and strengthen the fraternity system. One of the major revisions, informally titled the "gentleman's bylaw," stemmed from last fall's blackface incident at a joint Halloween party thrown by Kappa Alpha and Zeta Psi fraternities, said David Bowman, IFC vice president of judiciary. "The fraternities couldn't be held accountable [in the past] for anything because they didn't violate any [specific] IFC standards of conduct," Bowman said. The "gentleman's bylaw" provides grounds for a judiciary sanction should any IFC fraternity member engage in conduct that sheds a negative light on the fraternity system, IFC President Ryan Ewalt said. As stated in the Judiciary Committee bylaws, the IFC could impose sanctions on any fraternity member who engages in "conduct that is incompatible with the good character and personal responsibility expected of all members of the fraternity community and that dishonors the fraternity system at the University of Virginia." "The standards of conduct, [including] rush violations and social violations, are more clearly defined," Bowman said. Other minor bylaw revisions included grammatical and organizational changes. "We made the whole document more coherent through reorganization and amendment," Bowman said.

Woodard residents allowed to break leases

When he originally signed his lease, second-year College student Louis Ford thought that by this point in the semester he would be living in Camden Plaza.

Program allows adults to receive U.Va. degrees

Perhaps unknown to the traditional undergraduate community, adults with full-time careers and families have an opportunity to earn an undergraduate degree at the University through the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree program. "The program is designed for working adults who would like to complete their undergraduate degrees on a part-time basis or at night," said Donna Plasket, director of the BIS program. Students enrolled in the program have completed their first two years of college at an earlier time and enter as third years.

U.Va. alcohol education course deemed a success

While the current trend of "social norms" anti-drinking campaigns is drawing criticism for its purported ineffectiveness, the University boasts high success rates for a more old-fashioned approach to alcohol prevention: Classroom-based education. "Choices," the class offered through the University's Center for Alcohol and Substance Education, showed positive results for the 2002-2003 academic year, Dean of Students Penny Rue said. "Choices" consists of two, 2 1/2-hour courses offered once a month during which participants are instructed through lectures, power point presentations and videos, CASE Director Susan Bruce said. All the information presented through "Choices" is based on current research. "We believe our instruction goes beyond the level of alcohol education most people have received by the time they graduate from high school," Bruce said. The program emphasizes lifelong alcohol issues and is not limited to alcohol in a college setting, she added. "We really focus on the negative consequences of drinking," Bruce said.

Isabel delays NASA launch

University students will have to wait at least another week before their contributions to a NASA rocket are launched into space. All scheduled launches and flight experiments where the rocket is located, at the Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore, have been postponed in anticipation of rough weather conditions resulting from Hurricane Isabel. The rocket, which was originally scheduled for lift-off this morning, will remain in storage at Wallops Island until its launch can be rescheduled, possibly within the next month. The delay is not expected to negatively impact research, which will measure atmospheric and oceanic data. -- Compiled by Jason Amirhadji

City, County fail to meet 'progress' standards

Fifty-five percent of Virginia K-12 public schools met the federal government's definition of "adequate yearly progress," as set out in the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, the Virginia Department of Education announced Thursday. However, 82 percent of state school divisions did not meet Virginia's AYP standards, including Charlottesville City and Albemarle County Public Schools. Virginia educators, however, contend that the overall numbers are misleading because of the method by which the AYP standards are set and do not reflect how Virginia schools performed in the past year. The AYP tests how much schools are improving toward meeting the final goals of the NCLB Act, which are 100 percent student proficiency in reading and math nationwide by 2014. To meet the standard of making adequate yearly progress, a school had to meet between 29 and 35 benchmarks.

Students object to diversity initiative

Charging University administrators of stifling free thought with the possible imposition of a diversity training exercise, the newly-formed Individual Rights Coalition unveiled itself yesterday under the auspices of protecting freedom of speech on Grounds. Started by a group of four students, the coalition used flyers and its Web site, www.freeuva.com, to announce its formation and advocate a "Petition Against Thought Reform at U.Va." Vice President for Student Affairs Pat Lampkin addressed the IRC's grievances by pointing out that plans for the diversity training exercise have yet to be finalized. "They're responding to something that hasn't even been developed," Lampkin said, adding that it is unclear at this point whether the exercise will be mandatory. "We do want all students to be exposed to it," she said. A self-proclaimed non-partisan organization, the IRC also tabled the Lawn yesterday to promote student scrutiny of University policies dealing with speech and diversity. The IRC was formed initially in response to the University Board of Visitors' announcement in May that it planned to discuss the implementation of a Web-based diversity training system that all students would be required to complete prior to class registration. "We felt that there wasn't any organization on Grounds that would pursue this issue -

University donor support sets all-time record

Private donor support to the University reached an all-time high of $261.9 million for the now-ended 2002-2003 fiscal year, up 2.7 percent from the previous year.

Local officials prepare for Hurricane Isabel

As hurricane Isabel propels up the east coast, the city of Charlottesville and the University are preparing for potential effects of the storm. Charlottesville Spokesperson Maurice Jones said the City is working closely with the police and fire departments, as well as social services to organize a plan should the hurricane hit the Charlottesville area. "For years we have had a plan to deal with national disasters," Jones said.

MAKING A STATEMENT

Sophomore wideout turned quarterback Marques Hagans sparked the Cavalier offense to a 59-16 victory Saturday, running for 68 yards and throwing three touchdowns.

Student rocket ready for launch

University engineering students will get a chance to test their work and the bounds of gravity tomorrow when a NASA rocket modified with sensory equipment they built heads for space. The rocket, scheduled for a launch window between 6 and 10 a.m.

Noted Architecture Professor to Speak

Dell Upton, University professor of archeology and architectural history is slated to speak Friday at 5 p.m.

University of Michigan class draws fire

A University of Michigan class entitled "How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation," has become the subject of scrutiny from conservative Michigan lawmakers and interest groups including the American Family Association who deem it's content morally unacceptable and thus believe it should not be tax-payer subsidized. The class, offered by Michigan's English Department, has been offered since 2000. Michigan Rep.

16 year old allegedly raped at W&M party

A 16-year-old girl announced last weekend that she was raped at a September 6 fraternity party at the College of William & Mary. The girl, an unnamed resident of the middle peninsula area near Williamsburg, was at a party at the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity when the incident allegedly occurred. Though the girl has not filed charges and the College is not involved in the case, a state investigation is ongoing. "The matter is in the hands of the Commonwealth's attorney" Vice President for Student Affairs Sam Sadler said.