While students are perhaps more familiar with current construction projects on Grounds such as the South Lawn Project and the new dormitories on Observatory Hill, University Facilities Management is also busy with maintenance and restoration efforts. Mark Webb, associate director for work management, said 79 maintenance reserve projects are currently in progress.
Former second-year Engineering students Guanyu Lu and Baichuan Shu pled guilty yesterday morning to abduction with the intent to extort money, according to attorneys involved in the case. The students were arrested in November in Fairfax County for kidnapping Fairfax County resident Paul Wang and holding him against his will in a Falls Church motel. Shu's attorney Daniel Krisky said Shu and Lu had separate hearings, and both pled guilty to the charges to avoid causing further pain to their victim. "The reason they pled guilty is they are guilty of the offense," he said.
Following the elimination of its early decision admissions program, the University saw an increase in both the number of applications for admission for the Class of 2012 and the number of acceptance letters issued. Dean of Admissions John Blackburn noted the University received a record 18,758 applications, compared to last year's 18,046.
Plans for the University's Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center are nearly set in stone, and construction will begin following a ground-breaking ceremony April 12. University Health System spokesperson Peter Jump said the center will be home to the latest technologies and will offer patients state-of-the-art therapies for cancer treatment.
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors' proposed three-cent tax increase from 68 cents to 71 cents for real estate property taxes dominated discussion at a public hearing last night regarding the Board's recommended fiscal year budget for 2008-09.
Students planning to attend the Foxfield Races this year should expect harsher consequences for alcohol-related offenses than those from prior years. Authorities plan to treat Foxfield-related cases this year in exactly the same manner as offenses committed any other day of the year, Albemarle County Commonwealth Attorney Denise Lunsford said. "What in the past has been sometimes loosely referred to as 'the Foxfields discount' will not be the case anymore," Lunsford said. To support this effort, some policies have changed, primarily to cut down on excessive alcohol consumption, Foxfield Races Marketing Director Anne Susen said. For this year's races, all alcohol brought into the event must be contained within a 30-by-17-by-18-inch, "regular-sized" cooler.
After a selection process involving tests, seminars and interviews, 47 prospective University students were offered admission to the University as Jefferson Scholars Monday. The Jefferson Scholars Foundation is designed "to identify, attract, and nurture individuals of extraordinary intellectual range and depth who possess the highest qualities of leadership, scholarship, and citizenship" according to the Foundation's Web site. Prospective scholars received notice of their acceptance via e-mail Monday afternoon, following a weekend at the University, Jefferson Scholars Foundation President James H.
The Charlottesville Police Department took a suspect into custody following a robbery yesterday afternoon at the University Avenue branch of Bank of America.
Student Council discussed implementing a new CIO Consultant program and the possibility of increasing funding for the Blue Ridge Mountain Rescue Group at last night's meeting. President Matt Schrimper said Council has set a desirable precedent with the proposal of the CIO Consultant program. "This is exactly what Student Council should be doing; it's an example of Council fulfilling a very real need for University CIOs," Schrimper said.
Starting this fall, incoming first-year University students will no longer be able to show a preference between the McCormick Road and Alderman Road areas when applying for on-Grounds housing. In its present state, the housing process can result in "artificial separation by area,"said Angela Davis, associate dean of students and director of resident life.
A judge recently ruled in favor of The Cavalier Daily, Inc. and Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech, Inc., publisher of Virginia Tech's Collegiate Times, regarding their publications' right to sell advertisements promoting alcoholic beverages. The American Civil Liberties Union represented the publications in the lawsuit against the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Thanks to the University's Supreme Court clinic, a group of Law School students recently had the opportunity to prepare an argument heard by the U.S.
The Honor Committee introduced its newly appointed Executive Committee at its meeting Sunday night, also discussing a bylaw amendment and announcing two scheduled open trials. Outgoing Vice Chair for Trials Brian O'Neill said that while two open trials are scheduled, the possibility exists for the accused students to change their minds and close their trials. "Basically, [accused] students have the right to open or closed trials," he said.
When sophomore Kelly Haller, a first baseman on the Virginia softball team, discussed the rigorous schedule of being both an athlete and a University student, a friend suggested she take a semester off. "There are no semesters off," Haller said. How about taking fewer credits? "No, I have to take at least 12 credits," Haller responded.
Following the shootings at Virginia Tech last April, Education Prof. Dewey Cornell found that Virginia high school students have become more likely to report a threat of violence in their schools. In the Virginia High School Safety Study conducted last April, about 7,400 freshmen from 296 high schools across the commonwealth were surveyed about the atmosphere of their school, the amounts of structure and support offered, and their willingness to report a threat of violence, Cornell said. In comparing survey responses, "we found students surveyed after the Virginia Tech shooting showed an increase in willingness to seek help," Cornell said, adding that about 75 percent or more of students surveyed said they were likely to seek help if a fellow student talked about killing someone. According to a summary of the study, 85 percent of students agreed that they would tell a teacher if a student brought a gun to school.
If slithering snakes make you cringe, you are not alone: Recent studies conducted by a University professor and a University alumna suggest fear of snakes is a trait present in people from birth. Developmental Psychology Prof.
