The Charlottesville water supply rose yesterday to reach 73 percent, and as a result of recent rainfall, Charlottesville City Council will re-appraise current citywide water restrictions. An Oct.
Black and Hispanic students scored higher on most of Virginia's Standards of Learning exams this year than in the past year and closed the gap with the general student population on some exams. Black students improved on 22 of the 28 SOL exams, while Hispanic students improved on 20 of the exams. As a whole, the Virginia student population improved on 23 of the exams over last year's scores. Charles Pyle, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Education, attributed the higher scores to the individual work of educators. The improvement is "due to the tremendous efforts on the part of the teachers and administrators," Pyle said. More schools have made their curriculums match with state standards and this has helped improve SOL scores, he said. The SOL exams, which are still in their testing phase for students in grades 3-12, will be used to determine whether students graduate and schools receive accreditation by 2007. In this year's exam results, gaps remained between black and Hispanic students and the general student population, though the gap narrowed on some exams. Black students improved compared to the general population on 19 of the 28 exams.
This week, the Muslim Students Association will offer discussions, lectures and films in an attempt, as MSA executive committee member Saima Malik put it, to expose Islam's "very rich culture." Islam Awareness Week, which began yesterday and will last through Thursday, will address an assortment of topics relating to the religion, according to MSA President Zeenat Igbal. "We're trying to cover different aspects of Islam," Igbal said. Third-year College student Bilal Qureshi, an executive committee member in the MSA, also emphasized the breadth of the events. "We want to showcase the diversity of the Muslim community," Qureshi said. Fourth-year College student Saima Malik, also an MSA executive committee member, said this week is an opportunity for everyone to be exposed to things "we've never heard about or talked about before." Islam Awareness Week is the result of a collaboration between the MSA, the Middle East Studies department, the Echols program and the Children of Abraham club. Presentations cover topics from the civil liberties of Muslims in America to Muslim Spain to interpretations of the Qur'an. The organizers also will set up a table on the Lawn staffed by MSA members to answer students' questions about Islam. Tonight's event, a showing of the award-winning film "Islam -- Empire of Faith," explores the origins of Islam.
A gunman who was apparently failing out of the University of Arizona College of Nursing shot three female professors yesterday morning before shooting himself. The shooter, later identified as Robert Flores Jr., 41, shot one of the professors in her second floor office and then entered a fourth floor classroom and shot another two professors.
The Honor Committee made plans for establishing five ad hoc committees focused on building Committee and community dialogue at its meeting Sunday night. The ad hoc committees, each composed of a core group of Committee members, aim to devise strategies for implementing productive policies and revising facets of the system. "This is a way to coherently address some of the issues we see in the honor system in timely fashion," Committee Chairman Christopher Smith said.
In light of the water shortage that has characterized the first semester at the University, student recycling coordinators have extended their roles to include water conservation. As part of the effort, University Recycling, University Housing and Residence Staff have organized an upcoming conservation contest to encourage first-year students to conserve water more actively. This Wednesday, Oct.
Accomplished third-year students and recognized faculty members gathered on the tarp-covered basketball court at University Hall on Friday afternoon for this year's Fall Convocation.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Over 100,000 people filled the streets of the nation's capital Saturday in a nonviolent protest against possible U.S.
Poll finds that Maryland governor's race could depend on black voters The most recent poll conducted by the Washington Post found that the dead heat for Maryland's gubernatorial seat may be resolved by the number of black voters that go to the polls. Democratic candidate Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Republican candidate Robert L.
You walk into a Disney store and find all the colorful, cheerful clothes on display. But have you ever wondered about the factories where these clothes are made and the condition of workers there?
On the night of Saturday, Oct. 13, a van packed with C4 plastic explosives obliterated a crowded nightclub in Indonesia's main tourist island of Bali, killing more than 180 people and injuring hundreds more.
Saying he always wanted to think outside the box, Nicolas Cage premiered his directorial debut "Sonny," a seedy new film about prostitutes and drugs, Saturday night in Culbreth Theatre. "This is the first time in the United States that 'Sonny' has been shown," Cage told a sold-out audience at the 15th Annual Virginia Film Festival before premiering what he called his "baby." "Sonny," set to be released in December, stars James Franco ("Spiderman," "James Dean") in the title role, playing a former male prostitute recently discharged from the military, setting out to restart his life with a new career. Brenda Blethyn ("Secrets and Lies," "Little Boys") stars as his pimp mother, and Mena Suvari ("American Beauty") plays the part of Sonny's love interest Carol.
A growing concern for properly conducted clinical experiments involving pharmaceuticals at universities was addressed in a survey published Oct.
No one likes to be picked on, not even a high school. Charlottesville High School, the city's only public high school, says it is fed up with the press passing nasty slanted notes to the public. Students and administrators are forced to combat what they call "unfounded" community misconceptions that the school is a hotbed for violence and racial tension, according to several CHS students and alumni. "The school gets a bad rap," said second-year College student Brian McCollam, who graduated from CHS in 2001.
Despite the continuing budget crisis, the Harrison Awards, grants to students interested in conducting undergraduate research, will still be available this year. According to Nicole Hurd, director of the Center for Undergraduate Excellence, funding for the Harrison Awards was never in jeopardy because University officials saw the award as a priority. University President John T.
Rugby Road shuts down due to a leaking attic in Kappa Kappa Gamma A leak in the auxiliary drain located in the attic of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house, located at 503 Rugby Road, caused the busy street to shut down yesterday at 1:20 p.m. "It looked a lot worse than it was," said Charlottesville Fire Dept.
In one of the largest demonstrations of student self-governance in recent memory, approximately 400 students protested outside The Cavalier Daily office in the basement of Newcomb Hall on Wednesday evening. The Black Student Alliance, the Griot Society and other concerned community leaders sponsored the march and sit-in, entitled "Hoos Silent," partially in response to an opinion column written by Anthony Dick in Wednesday's Cavalier Daily. "The column was only a symptom of a larger problem," said Tim Lovelace, a fourth-year College student and student member of the Board of Visitors.
Anxious University students and Charlottesville residents were reassured yesterday to learn that Maryland police had arrested two men believed to be responsible for a slew of sniper shootings in Virginia and Maryland that lasted three weeks and left 10 dead and three injured. "People in the Washington metro area are breathing a collective sigh of relief," Montgomery County, Md., Executive Douglas M.
Following last year's successful response, "Comfort Zone," an event combining all four of the University's fraternity and sorority councils, has expanded to draw increased support from the Greek community. Comfort Zone combines philanthropic and social activities in hopes of improving race relations among Greek councils. The event was founded in the fall of 2001 by two members of the Black Fraternal Council -- Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. -- as well as Sigma Pi, a member of the Inter-Fraternity Council, and Gamma Phi Beta, an Inter-Sorority Council member. This year, however, the event has grown to include the IFC's Sigma Chi fraternity, the ISC's Pi Beta Phi and Delta Gamma sororities, the BFC's Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., and two members of the Multicultural Greek Council -- alpha Kappa Delta Phi and Lambda Theta Alpha.
Local parents' concern over the recent sniper shootings in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia led Albemarle County and Charlottesville school officials to eliminate all outdoor activities yesterday. The restrictions will last through tomorrow, when school officials will re-evaluate the situation. Field trips and athletic events will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, according to Charlottesville spokesman Maurice Jones. Albemarle County spokeswoman Lee Catlin attributed the restrictions to specific worries that parents have voiced. "Parental concerns have been heightened in response to the [sniper's] specific threat to children," she said. Over the weekend, police found a letter they believe was written by the person responsible for the shootings. The letter was discovered in the woods behind a Ponderosa Steakhouse in Ashland, Va., where a 37-year-old man was shot Saturday night. The handwritten letter warned in its final sentences that children "are not safe anywhere, at any time." County and city school officials stress that the policy is a precautionary measure, and not in response to any direct threat to the community. "We feel that it is important not to overreact since we are not impacted directly," Catlin said.
