Many University community members believe the 1840 murder of Law Prof. John A.G. Davis was the catalyst that led students to create the honor pledge two years after that incident.
Starting in fall 2009 the University Office of Admission will begin accepting the Common Application from prospective students in place of the traditional University application. "We felt strongly that having a universal application would make it easier for students," Associate Dean of Admissions Greg Roberts said, adding that the Common Application will completely replace the University's old application. According to the Common Application Web site, students can fill out one standardized Common Application and use it for any of the more than 300 participating colleges and universities.
During the past few weeks, University students have shared Central Grounds walkways with groups of prospective students hoping to learn more about the University. The level of participation in tours for this school year is about the same as past years, Associate Dean of Admissions Greg Roberts said, noting that neither the amount of participation nor the popularity of spring tours have been affected by the University's decision to no longer offer early admissions. According to fourth-year College student Blake Segal, a University Guide, the spring is the most popular time of year for admissions tours.
In an effort to head off future lawsuits stemming from the Virginia Tech shootings, the commonwealth has proposed a settlement available to all of the families of victims. Each of the families has been offered a settlement of up to $100,000, in addition to medical and counseling expenses, if they give up their right to sue the commonwealth's government or Virginia Tech, according to Associated Press reports.
During their first meeting of the term, the newly elected Student Council members discussed the hotly debated JuicyCampus.com.
The Honor Committee presented assessments on transformation and heard community concerns about the cancellation of the upcoming open forum during Monday night's meeting. Asian Student Union President Carlos Oronce said he was disappointed in the Committee's decision to cancel the event. The forum, according to Josh Hess, vice chair for community relations, was cancelled because of low expected turnout after the Committee "tried to generate turnout with typical methods such as e-mail." Minority Rights Coalition Co-Chair Patrick Lee said he felt the lack of expected turnout was reflective of how the public generally views Honor. The Committee's goal was to cosponsor the forum with another student organization, Hess said, but none expressed significant interest. "Historically these type of events have low turnouts," Hess said.
The Young Alumni Council and the Office of Development and Public Affairs have joined forces to find new ways to connect with the University's young alumni base, recently launching the "Contest to Change" competition. The contest, also known as C2C, seeks to develop a plan to increase young alumni giving by incorporating the best ideas from current students, alumni, faculty and staff, Young Alumni Council President Brian Johnson said. Members of the University community can submit proposals for project ideas through the contest's Web site until April 22 in the medium of their choice, Johnson said.
It might not be juicy, but it is serious: A group of University students recently gathered to discuss concerns about the college gossip Web site Juicy Campus, and now Student Council is considering action against the site. Alexandra Arango, co-chair of the Resident Staff Program, said she coordinated a small meeting on the steps of the Rotunda Sunday afternoon, during which she and other concerned students discussed the Web site.
In an effort to boost research excellence and provide faculty with a research consultant, the Education School recently named its first associate dean for research and faculty development. Daniel Berch, former associate chief of the child development and behavior branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, will fill the new position, Education School Dean Robert Pianta said. "Dan comes with a wealth of experience in every area of the position," Pianta said, noting that Berch's qualifications stood out from those of the other candidates. Berch said he is excited by the opportunities his new job offers. "Developing this position, which is somewhat unique, represents the dean's and the school's vision to attain an even higher level of research excellence," Berch said. Berch explained that his new position deals with both the administrative and developmental aspects of educational research.
University Judiciary Committee members elected their Executive Committee for the upcoming year last night. Third-year College student Merriam Mikhail was elected UJC chair, replacing fourth-year College student Connor Sullivan. Mikhail, who previously served as a UJC counselor, vice chair of the First Year Judiciary Committee and vice chair for first years said she is looking forward to fulfilling her duties in the upcoming term. "I'm very thrilled," Mikhail said.
The comic artists responsible for the March 13 and 14 TCB comic strips decline to comment on their work at this time.
The Cavalier Daily sincerely regrets any offense readers may have taken to two recent comics in the strip TCB published March 13 and 14.
University students who regularly debate whether taking the bus or walking to class is faster will no longer have to guess when making that decision, as new GPS-equipped bus-finder systems have been unveiled.
Five years ago, only 4 percent of incoming University first-year students owned a Macintosh computer, according to an Information Technology and Communication 2007 First-Year Student Computer Inventory.
The University received an award of excellence yesterday for being the top contributor in the commonwealth to the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign, a giving campaign for commonwealth employees. The University gave $888,888, up about $73,000 from last year, CVC Program Manager Anne Dinterman said, with the help of 2,798 donors, or about 40 percent of the University's employees. The campaign allows state employees to give back to their communities, Dinterman said, and donors can choose which charities their money will benefit.
The Cavalier Daily sincerely regrets any offense readers may have taken to two recent comics in the strip TCB published March 13 and 14.
Patients suffering from cardiac arrest or brain injury have a new chance at full recovery thanks to a machine recently made more widely available at the University Medical Center. The University Hospital is the only medical center in Central Virginia using the Alsius CoolGard 3000, a device that allows doctors to control a patient's body temperature to prevent possible further brain damage, said Mark Adams, a registered nurse in the coronary care unit. The hospital's four new CoolGards could mean the difference between suffering extensive brain damage and walking out of the hospital fully recovered, Adams said.
