The Commonwealth has settled two of the five lawsuits that resulted from the Pavilion I balcony crash that killed a 73-year-old woman and injured 18 others during the 1997 Medical School commencement ceremonies. The two settlements, which totaled $790,000, go to the family members of Mary Brashear, who was killed when a section of the balcony fell during the ceremony.
The Honor Committee granted an appeal May 4 to second-year Engineering student Patricia Gonzales, who was found guilty of cheating on an organic chemistry exam and was subsequently expelled from the University. Gonzales now will stand a second trial, probably next fall, Committee Chairman Thomas Hall said. Third-year College student Matthew Sachs, a teaching assistant in Gonzales' CHEM 241 course, initiated the charges and Gonzales was found guilty in an open honor trial -- the first open honor trial since Sept.
With a fully revamped system set to govern the University's classified employees' pay structure, employers will have more authority over their workers' salaries and will be able to grant pay raises more easily if they so desire. Classified employees are paid a salary rather than an hourly wage and receive health care and retirement benefits.
Groundbreaking for a new library that will house unique relics of American history will take place tomorrow in front of Alderman Library. The new library, the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture and the Albert H.
Four Honor System Review Commission members met with about 20 students last night in an open forum in Minor Hall to discuss concerns about the system. Commission members said this feedback will be important as they head into the most intensive phase of their evaluation of the Committee's procedures. Committee Chairman Thomas Hall, Terra Weirich, former Committee vice chairwoman for trials, Amy Campbell, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences representative, and Neil Bynum, interim assistant dean of the Luther P.
Students from the University of Virginia's College at Wise now have the opportunity to spend their fourth year in a dual degree program taking classes at the University's Engineering School. The College at Wise is a University branch located in southwest Virginia. Through the program, selected students would study math and science at the College at Wise for three years, and then spend their fourth year in the Engineering School.
First years soon may be unable to choose between Old and New Dorms if University officials initiate a proposal to increase diversity in some first-year residence halls. Housing officials and deans are looking for ways to decrease the disparity between white and non-white students in first-year housing.
Admissions applications to Virginia Tech are up 12 percent this year, allowing Virginia Tech admissions officials to be more selective than ever before. Virginia Tech received about 18,400 applications this year - almost 2,000 more applicants than last year's 16,500.
The University faces $33,990 in penalties for not complying with Environmental Protection Agency codes concerning hazardous wastes and oil spill regulations. EPA spokeswoman Ruth Podems said the University has corrected the violations. "The University now has submitted an oil spill prevention plan and has certified they are in compliance with hazardous materials regulations," Podems said. Last fall, the EPA targeted higher education as an area for inspection and reform, making the University an obvious focus in the Commonwealth of Virginia, said Ralph Allen, director of the University's Environmental Health and Safety office. Upon inspection in June and September, the EPA noted the University was not in concurrence with two regulations - the Resource Conservation Recovery Act and the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Act.
Like sunny weather and flowers in bloom, the sight of students running around Grounds seems to be a rite of spring at the University.
Although the University's new basketball arena has not yet begun to be constructed, students and administrators already are discussing the role students will have in its development. "We want to assert ourselves early on so that our claims don't get pushed by the wayside," Student Council President-elect Joe Bilby said.
The proliferation of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria could nullify the effects of antibiotics, the miracle drugs of yesterday. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved Zyvox, an antibacterial drug that is part of a first new class of antibiotics to be developed in 35 years.
Two of the 14 Contracted Independent Organizations that appealed for more funding from Student Council got what they asked for at Tuesday's hearing, which lasted until early Wednesday morning. Council's Appropriations Committee granted the Virginia Club Ice Hockey team and CAINE, a comic book and animation organization, more Student Activity Fee money than the Committee originally allocated.
Following criticisms of voting practices during this year's Republican presidential primaries, the U.S.
About 98,000 Americans are dying from medical errors each year. Such an appalling statistic is the equivalent of one jumbo jet plane crash per day. The blatant truth of the matter is that we never hear it in quite such harsh terms.
National College Scholarships For Second Years: *Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship gives outstanding natural science or math-majoring college sophomores and juniors up to $7,000 for a year of study. For Third Years: *Beinecke Memorial Scholarship for need and merit, covers tuition and expenses for about 12 college juniors to finish their senior year and pay for two years of grad school *Barry M.
After two more University students reported yesterday that they received suspicious phone calls from a man claiming to be an Honor Committee representative, the Committee is taking steps to better inform students of its phone call policies. A total of three students now have reported receiving phone calls on Sunday night between 1:30 and 2:15 in the morning from a man calling himself "Jack." The man, who spoke in a foreign accent, reportedly told the students they were being brought up on honor charges and that they should meet him at either Espresso Corner or Espresso Royale Café to discuss the charges. According to Vice Chairwoman for Investigations Ginny Rothschild, in the most recently reported phone call, the student thought the caller was one of her friends playing a joke on her.
The University soon may host one of 10 Regional Humanities Centers nationwide if it receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The regional center would serve as an educational and research facility available for all the region's residents, focusing on exploring and preserving local history. Encyclopedias, films, radio recordings and other historically significant items would be available at the centers. The NEH is founding the 10 centers based on the idea that by "understanding regionalism, one can really get in touch with the history of the whole nation," NEH spokesman Jim Turner said. The institution housing each regional center would receive $5 million over a five-year period and would be expected to raise $15 million on its own over seven years. The University now is in competition with the College of Charleston to host the South Atlantic Regional Center.
Spectrum Theatre, the Chinese Student Association, and CAINE, a comic book and animation group, appealed their Student Activity Fee fund allocations at the Student Council meeting last night. The SAF is a $39 fee each student pays in addition to tuition for funding student organizations. While 17 Contracted Independent Organizations appealed the Appropriation Committee's decisions, only three of the groups' appeals had been heard at press time. The groups whose appeals were not heard last night will be heard at a special meeting Thursday. Spectrum Theatre appealed its appropriations allocations because it did not receive any money for a new lighting system. It requested about $6,000 in its appeal. The group withdrew its appeal after Chief Financial Officer John Finley promised the group funding for the lights from $23,000 set aside for the purchase of equipment for Newcomb Hall. The Chinese Student Association appealed for an additional $1,000.
If you win one merit-based scholarship, there is a good chance you will win another. Merit-based scholarships are established by private donors without tapping into University revenues.
