One of Student Council's College seats was empty, after one of its representatives moved to a higher Student Council position last spring.
Maryland's public college and university system has come under fire for the use of race as a factor in its admissions policies. The Center for Equal Opportunity, the same conservative think tank that attacked the University for its admissions practices over the last two years, recently released another study focusing on Maryland, "Racial Preferences in Maryland Higher Education." The Center, which criticizes schools whose policies include what it calls "racial preferences," also has scrutinized the admissions policies of public schools in California and Colorado. The study shows a disparity between the average SAT scores of black and white students admitted to state schools such as the University of Maryland-College Park, St.
The Integrated Systems Project, a five-year overhaul of the University's administrative software, completed its first stage of planning and is heading into its build-and-test phase. The Integrated Systems Project will implement a new computer system to benefit faculty by making day-to-day computer procedures easier.
Twenty University students will receive the chance to go on all-expenses-paid trips to Israel during winter break thanks to the two-year-old Birthright Israel program. The Birthright Israel program started when two Jewish philanthropists, Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt, decided to give a gift to Jewish students, Rabbi Joe Blair of Hillel said. The program's founders hope that visiting their homeland will reinforce students' ties to their Jewish heritage, since fewer Jews now visit Israel than in the past. "This is an amazing opportunity for those who have never been to Israel to make a connection on their own terms at no cost," Blair said. Related Links Hillel.org   Through Bronfman's and Steinhardt's donations and those of many other individuals in cooperation with the state of Israel and the Council of Jewish Federations, the program was able to raise enough money to send 6,000 students to Israel last winter. Blair said the program gives students "a feeling of connection to the land of Israel." "It is a gift to people who are born Jews or people who have become Jews," he said. He added that there are a number of requirements to qualify for the program: students must be Jewish, accept the existence of the state of Israel and never previously have gone to Israel with a peer group. Those applicants from the University who apply through Hillel's Web site and meet the criteria are put into a lottery in which 20 names are chosen randomly, Blair said. Hillel is a nationwide college organization for Jewish students. One University student who was selected to go last year is third-year College student David Radin, who said he was able to better understand the strong national pride of Israel after his visit. The experience gave him "a deeper appreciation of why the Israelis want to hang on to their land as much as they do," Radin said. He said he was able to "look at how the people are willing to fight to keep their nation." He was impressed by the fact that Israeli citizens will join the army without protest to help out Israel, he added. "It's amazing the unity of the Hebrew nation," Radin said. He said some of the activities he was involved in included swimming - or, in reality, floating - in the Dead Sea, riding bikes around the Golan Heights and climbing the Massada, a legendary mountain on which Jewish rebels died heroically. He added that because of the generosity of the sponsors, he spent "practically no money." The deadline to apply for the program is Oct.
In an effort to encourage average citizens to voice concerns with the city government, Charlottesville Mayor Blake Caravati started a series of "Meet the Mayor" days yesterday afternoon. "I'm very pleased," Caravati said.
A methane gas leak may be the cause of the explosion that occurred Sunday afternoon at the University's Highway Research Council Building. State fire investigators located a gas leak away from the building, said Ralph O.
You and a chicken are at a loud rock concert. Both of you get hearing damage from standing too close to the speakers.
A government report released Monday reveals Latino enrollment in higher education has improved but still has a long way to go. The President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans conducted the report, which noted that 30 percent of Hispanic Americans still do not complete high school. Despite a large amount of improvement in the last 20 years, the report states that Latino students still complete college at lower rates than other Americans and take longer to graduate. One of the goals of the Commission, which President Clinton founded in 1994, is to raise educational performance of Latino students to the same level of other students by 2010. In order to do this, the report suggests colleges recruit heavily in high schools with large Latino enrollments. The report also encourages colleges and universities to study why Latino students drop out and to develop plans to solve the problem. Sarita Brown, executive director for the White House Initiative, which oversaw the report, said a similar 1996 report on the performance of Latino students "set off an alarm." Since then, some federal, state and local government and business leaders have helped increase the opportunities available to Latino students and encourage them to pursue higher education, she said. Brown also said the report is "an invitation for anybody to get involved who wants to ensure that all young people have a quality education." The improvement in educational opportunities for Latinos over the findings in the 1996 report suggests that "the strategies that can cause remarkable improvement already exist," Brown said.
You know the syringe the doctor used on you the last time you saw him? Well, guess what? It may have been tested at your very own University. Manufacturers are sending their medical instruments to the Nursing School's Health Care Evaluation Services Center on their way the marketplace. The Center, in its first year at the University, assists in testing medical devices other companies developed.
This is the second in a two-part daily series on the use of DNA evidence in criminal investigations.
In a heated four-hour meeting last night, Student Council members opted not to officially support retaining students' choice in first-year housing and listened to many community concerns regarding a racial slur against Native Americans contained in another resolution proposed last Tuesday. Council decided to admonish the administration for the lack of student involvement in a proposal to eliminate a choice between the Alderman and McCormick Road Residence Areas.
It's Tuesday night. Rugby Road is empty. But a few determined partygoers head out to the Corner where several bars have drink specials. Dan Murray, a bouncer at Buddhist Biker Bar, is not too busy yet, but the night is still young. On "any average, busy night I see at least 15 fake IDs," Murray said. He turns them away. Murray is not alone in rejecting students' attempts to drink illegally.
Albemarle County Police arrested former Charlottesville resident Nathaniel Fisher on a rape charge at 5:30 a.m.
Brian Stansbury, University Judiciary Committee Law School representative, may resign from his position if the UJC Executive Committee decides not to excuse his absence from Sunday night's Committee meeting.
After only two years in business, the Garden Room will not reopen its doors this semester, marking a setback to the 1998 Faculty Senate initiative to foster an "intellectual community" at the University. The Garden Room, located in Hotel E on the West Range, functioned as a full-service restaurant that served lunches to students, faculty, administrators and their guests. Since its opening in the fall of 1998, the Garden Room was a drain on Dining Services funds, never generating enough profits to cover the cost of operation, Dining Services Director Edward Gutauskas said. Faculty Senate Chairwoman Patricia H.
Students waiting in line for a phone at Alderman Library only need to wait a little longer. The library has just agreed to install two new courtesy phones in addition to the one already in existence. Courtesy phones are ROLM phones, similar to the ones found in University residence halls. The phones, connected to the University phone system, are placed around Grounds as a free alternative to pay phones for students and faculty to check phone mail, make an emergency call or call a friend for a ride home. Clemons Library, located next door to Alderman, has a courtesy phone on each of its four levels. This disparity prompted Student Council College Rep.
Aiming to reach out to young students across the nation, three political and mentoring organizations, including Virginia's Youth Leadership Initiative, joined forces yesterday when leaders from the three groups met in Richmond. The Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI), a program sponsored by the University's Center for Governmental Studies, formed a partnership with Virginia's Future and the program America's Promise, of which Gen.
RICHMOND -- U.S. Senatorial candidates Sen. Chuck Robb (D) and former Gov. George Allen (R) clashed over education and abortion issues Sunday night in the first televised debate of the campaign. "Both of them were very effective," said Robert Holsworth, debate panel member and chairman of international and public affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University, where the debate was held.
As the Napster war continues, University officials denied a request Friday from the lawyers of music artists Metallica and Dr. Dre to block on-Grounds access to the controversial Internet file-sharing service. Napster allows its users to share MP3 music files freely, often in violation of copyright laws.
A violent explosion rocked the University's Highway Research Council Building Sunday afternoon, causing a wall to crumble and possible structural damage. As of yesterday, the cause of the explosion remained unclear. The Edgemont Road building, although property of the University, is leased to the Virginia Department of Transportation and lies just off Alderman Road.
