News

Professor creates Web site to criticize students

In an attempt to stem criticism of professors on Web sites such as Ratemyprofessors.com, an anonymous professor has set up a blog for disgruntled professors to complain about their students, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. Rateyourstudents.blogspot.com posts rants of irate professors from across the United States. One tenure track economics professor from California writes of "M," "I hate her.

First years at higher risk of accidental death, suicide

Freshman are particularly at risk for death among college students attending four-year institutions, a USA Today analysis released yesterday found.

Charlottesville, University address poverty issues in local community

The Quality Community Council in a partnership with the Department of Religious Studies kicked off a discussion series on poverty, "The Persistence of Poverty: Four Community Conversations," Tuesday night at the University Chapel. The Tuesday night installment in the cycle, titled "The Face of Poverty: A Community Conversation," is the first of four such dialogues. The focus of the meeting was to raise awareness in the community of poverty's "everydayness," Religious Studies Prof.

UJC releases statistics of cases tried last semester

The University Judiciary Committee recently released statistics from last semester's 53 tried cases, revealing nearly two-thirds of the cases involved alcohol. According to UJC Chair Tim Ormsby, 34 of the cases brought through the Committee last semester involved alcohol, although only 30 constituted alcohol-related offenses. "'Alcohol-involved' signifies any cases in which the person was drinking at the time," Ormsby said.

Harassment found on campuses

Nearly two-thirds of undergraduate college students around the nation report they have experienced some sort of sexual harassment during their collegiate careers, according to a study titled "Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus," conducted by the American Association of University Women. Additionally, nearly one-third of students reported that the harassment was of a physical nature, such as being grabbed or touched in a sexual way, the survey states. The AAUW held a press conference on Tuesday at which the AAUW leadership addressed the survey's findings.

City sets historical district

The Charlottesville City Council passed an ordinance Jan. 17 designating the Rugby Road-University Circle-Venable Neighborhood area as a local historical district. According to the Local Historical District Study commissioned by the City of Charlottesville, this district consists of over 250 structures dating from the period 1890-1930, including numerous fraternity houses, sorority houses and apartment buildings. Any changes made to these structures, such as exterior alterations, new construction or demolition will now have to receive approval from the Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review, Charlottesville Mayor David Brown said. According to Brown, there had been no procedure for construction or demolition of buildings in this area, apart from zoning regulations. "Now there are standards and processes people have to follow," he said. According to History of Architecture Prof.

Withstanding the Windy Weather

Author brings 'prep' to University

Bill would punish repeat peepers as felons

A bill that would escalate the penalties for repeated peeping convictions made it on Monday to the General Assembly's full committee on Courts of Justice, said Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo. The bill, if passed, would charge someone convicted of three peeping offenses with a class-six felony, as opposed to the current law which charges all offenses with a class-one misdemeanor.

Conceiving alternatives

I sat in a cushioned chair staring at the colored flowers which peppered the walls and furniture.

Police arrest, issue summons for alcohol-related incidents

In a rash of alcohol-related arrests, the University Police arrested one male first-year student and issued summons to three other University students on grounds Monday night. University Police Captain Mike Coleman said officers arrested the first-year student on Emmett Street for underage possession of alcohol. "This was one incident of underage possession," Coleman said.

Student decides to opt for closed honor trial

The open honor trial announced last week will now be closed, as elected by the defendant earlier this week. "This is a decision that the student made, so trying to speculate on why I really can't do," Honor Chair David Hobbs said. The trial date will remain the same. Last fall, another student opted for an open trial then closed it before the trial date. "Most students from the beginning want a closed trial," Vice-Chair for Trials Stewart Ackerly said.

University nurses study rural health care

Faculty and students in the School of Nursing are currently conducting studies to gauge the effectiveness of programs attempting to provide aid to rural black adults with Type II diabetes, according to Sharon Utz, an associate professor in the School of Nursing. The study is being conducted by the Central Rural Health Care Research Center at the School of Nursing, said Utz, where about 15 researchers are involved in the study to deliver "culturally tailored diabetes education to African Americans in rural communities." The Center, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health, began the research with a descriptive study conducted mostly in 2004, said Utz.

Board committee suggests raising On-Grounds housing rate again

Last week the Board of Visitors' Financial Committee recommended increasing the average cost of all on-Grounds student housing by 9.7 percent for the 2006-2007 year. The recommendation for the rate increase is standard procedure for the BOV, explained BOV Secretary Alexander G.

Athletics donates portion of funds to band, Faculty Senate

The University's athletic department has donated part of its proceeds from the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl to the Faculty Senate and the Cavalier Marching Band.

General Assembly debates educating illegal immigrants

The debate over illegal immigrants' access to higher public education continues this month in the Virginia Assembly.

University's $3.2 billion endowment surpasses institutional average

A recent study by the National Association of College and University Business Officers found that the University's $3.2 billion endowment greatly exceeds the average college or university endowment of approximately $361 million, in part due to the University's investment of endowed funds.

Mad mess

Site allows students to outsource homework

Some computer science students across the country have been taking advantage of new Web sites offering students the opportunity to outsource their homework to computer programmers worldwide. The Web site, rentacoder.com, functions like other auction Web sites, where students can put their homework assignments up for bidding alongside businesses and others in need of computer programming code.

Survey finds SAT too long

A majority of recent SAT test takers would have preferred to take the newly expanded test on several different days, according to survey results released by Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions on Tuesday. According to Kaplan's press release, 65 percent of the 525 Kaplan students surveyed said they would have preferred to take the different sections of the test on different days.