As a result of state budget cuts to funding for higher education, student leadership at the College of William and Mary has decided to lobby Gov.
Following recent decisions by Gov. Mark R. Warner to veto and modify several pieces of new legislation, Republican State Attorney General Jerry W.
Hundreds of students and faculty members packed the Wilson hall auditorium last night, many leaving in tears after four University students shared their personal experiences from living in war-wrought countries. University student survivors of wars around the world engaged in the third annual "Children of War" panel to educate the University community about the consequences of war and the scars it leaves behind. "The purpose was to communicate, in personal and real terms, what it means to live through a war," said Faculty Senate Chair Michael J.
In an effort to bolster Virginia's strategies for preventing and responding to domestic terrorism, Gov.
With the help of James Madison, a group of researchers from the University of Virginia and the University of Arkansas have developed a history of central Virginia precipitation for the past two centuries. Their study, published recently in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, shows a shift in the timing of spring precipitation from May to June. At the urging of Thomas Jefferson, Madison recorded over 16000 weather observations at his Montpelier plantation between 1784 and 1802. The modern-day researchers used these 18th century observations, along with 20th century instrumental records, to relate the width of growth rings in white oak trees at Montpelier to seasonal precipitation. Precipitation levels are a major factor dictating the width of the ring a tree adds to its trunk each growing season. "More precipitation generally leads to a wider growth ring," Environmental Sciences student, Dan Druckenbrod, the study's main author, said. Druckenbrod feels fortunate to have Madison's records because they allow him to calibrate what he saw in the tree rings with actual precipitation. "These were guys who lived the ideals of the enlightenment," he said, indicating that the records of Madison and Jefferson met the highest scientific standards of their time. Work at Madison's plantation has provided a unique and valuable data set, which includes both a long period of continuous tree growth and centuries-old weather records. "Madison was both interested enough in weather and wise enough not to clear-cut," Environmental Science Professor and co-author of the study, Michael Mann said. Mann added that studies of this nature usually only have 20th century data available to relate ring width to precipitation. Due to a lack of data, other studies are forced to assume that the relationship between precipitation and ring width has not changed significantly over the past few centuries. Based on Madison's journals and information gleaned from ring width, the recent study shows that there was a significant shift in precipitation over the past 200 years. Today, spring rains fall mostly in June.According to Mann, however, the growth rings from the late 18th century showed "an extremely high correlation with May precipitation." This observation agrees with what Madison recorded in his diaries. Mann indicated there were many reasons such a shift could have occurred, but that these speculations were outside the scope of this study. The joint University of Virginia/University of Arkansas research is an important contribution to our knowledge of Virginia's climate in that it provides a long record of drought. While the drought of the past few years was too recent to be included in this study, Druckenbrod noticed other years of drought in the tree rings."1911 and 1918 were both years of extreme drought," as indicated by small growth rings, he said. The results also show the dynamic nature of Virginia's climate."This suggests the climate is variable, or has been variable for the past 200 years," Druckenbrod added. The largest drought noted by the researchers occurred in the early 1790s. "That's also known to be [the period of] one of the most severe El Niños in the past three centuries," Mann said.
Caroline Moss, a 2002 graduate of the University, passed away Sunday, March 16, while in Paris on a teaching assignment. Moss, who graduated with a double major in French and Spanish last spring, died in her sleep.
Students packed into O'Neil's Irish Pub last night to bid on dates with athletes from more than ten varsity teams, auctioned off to raise money for Kappa Delta's third annual fundraiser bennefiting Prevent Child Abuse America.
University Medical Center nurses and other professionals, currently in high demand in the south eastern United States, will receive significant increases in pay this month in attempt to retain high quality employees, following a decision by administrators March 2. The salary increases, between 1 and 7 percent, target positions which are difficult to recruit and retain, such as nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians and computer programmers.
Five University undergraduate students recently received national recognition from two Congressionally established scholarship programs. Third-year college students Katie Hamm and Sean Driscoll were two of 76 college juniors to win Truman Scholarships.
Students, professors and honor committee members met yesterday in Gilmer hall to discuss the purpose and future of the single sanction at the University. Much of the debate on the policy, which mandates expulsion for students convicted of honor offenses, centered on a question posed by third-year College student and honor counselor Lucia Cruz. "Is the purpose of the single sanction to punish students or to reform them?," she asked. Single sanction doesn't allow for students redeem themselves after making a mistake, Astronomy Prof.
Wouldn't it be scary to know that you have a 50 percent chance of having a fatal disease, but not know for sure until you were 40?
University administrators recently released a list of programs that will benefit financially from the $6.6 million generated by last fall's tuition surcharge.
Taking the first step toward pushing back lease signing dates, over two dozen students, administrators and landlords gathered last night to discuss solutions to problems associated with off-Grounds housing. Currently, many Charlottesville residential groups begin accepting contracts early in the first semester. Student Council President Micah Schwartz and Inter-Fraternity Council President Ryan Ewalt helped organize the housing forum. "We're trying to figure out why the system works as it does now to determine solutions," Schwartz said.
Three Curry School professors recently concluded their two-year study on the changing face of education and published their findings in a book in early March entitled, "Educational Leadership in an Age of Accountability." Curry school professors Daniel Duke, Pamela Tucker and Walter F.
As the United States continues to wage war in Iraq, pundits and political figures are left wondering what effect the war will have on the American political environment. Representatives of both the Republican and Democratic Parties say war should not be used for political gain, yet both sides accuse the other of having done just this in recent months. Brad Woodhouse, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said he thought it was important to disassociate politics from the war. "The war, whether you are for it or against, should not be about politics," Woodhouse said. Carl Forti, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, agreed. "At this point I think both Democrats and Republicans are rallying behind the President," Forti said. Both Republicans and Democrats, however, say the other side has exploited concerns about security and war for political gain. Democrats cried foul last fall when Republicans ran ads in a Senate election in Georgia that used images of Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden in arguing their candidate cared more about homeland security. Similarly, remarks by Democratic Senate Leader Tom Daschle that Bush had "failed so miserably at diplomacy" two days before the war in Iraq began ruffled the feathers of many Republicans.
Novelist and short-story writer Richard Bausch, a creative writing professor at George Mason University, will present a reading and a talk at the University next week as the Rea Visiting Writer in fiction. Bausch has penned eight novels and five story collections. He will meet with University students in the English department's Creative Writing Program, give an informal talk on the craft of fiction on Monday and give a reading from his work next Wednesday as part of his week-long visit to the University. His speaking events are open to the public and will take place at 8 p.m.
The vision of a safe and effective footbridge crossing Emmet Street and connecting Lambeth Commons with University Hall soon will become a reality. The bridge will begin about halfway across the parking lot between U-Hall and Emmet Street.
Some students who left backpacks unattended or bikes unlocked yesterday on Grounds discovered a surprise upon returning -- a sticker courtesy of the Honor Committee declaring "Congratulations!
The Commonwealth of Virginia will see an increase in federal funding this year to help prepare for bioterrorism attacks.
Last night, Student Council voted down a resolution to promote social and political activism by a vote of six to eight after a period of debate. The resolution encouraged faculty to consider being more lenient with students who wished "to participate in direct social and political action both within and outside of the University Community." Although there are 28 voting representatives on Council, only 14 voting members were present for the representative body portion of the Council meeting.
