News

Imam addresses Islam and the media

At the kickoff event for Muslim Awareness Week, Imam Siraj Wahajj spoke at the University in Wilson Hall last night about free speech in light of the recent Danish cartoon controversy. Wahajj is a prominent speaker and world-renowned member of the Muslim-American community, according to the Muslim Students Association. Wahajj is imam of the Masjid At-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn, N.Y., and also serves as a board member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Society of North America. In his talk, Wahajj said people must ask several questions as they consider freedom of speech. "Whenever you talk about freedom of speech, I ask three questions," he said.

Honor discusses conflict of interest policies

Honor Committee members discussed a possible change in the Committee's by-laws dealing with conflicts of interest of Committee members, honor advisors and counsel. Conflicts of interest include any situation in which an Honor Committee member, advisor or counsel has reported the case in question or had the case in question reported against him or her.

Cornell student dies while visiting U.Va. over weekend

Cornell University freshman Matthew Pearlstone was found dead Friday morning in the Cauthen residence hall where he had been the guest of a first-year University student. University Police sergeant Melissa Fielding said the cause of death has yet to be determined. "Any death is investigated as suspicious," Fielding said, noting that in this case, there were "no outward signs of anything criminal." Pearlstone's body was transported from the University Medical Center to the medical examiner's office in Richmond for an autopsy, University Health Systems spokesman David Foreman said. Pearlstone was a computer science and electrical engineering major at Cornell, according to his mother, Rebecca Pearlstone.

Fewer high schools calculate class rank for college admissions

As high school seniors eagerly await college acceptance letters in the coming weeks, debate continues over a component of applications that is increasingly absent--class rank. Recent findings indicate that 39 percent of high schools have abandoned class rank.

Faculty Senate awards research fellowships

Four University graduate students will be awarded with Faculty Senate Dissertation-Year Fellowships, which are given to support research and graduate student teaching. The four fellowships are valued at $25,000 each and include tuition referral, health insurance and a stipend.

Senator Ted Kennedy speaks at Miller Center

Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy emphasized the importance of lawyers and lawmakers in public service in his keynote address at the Law School's conference on public service and the law.

Strike up the band

VQR nominated for six awards

The Virginia Quarterly Review has been nominated this week for six awards by the American Society of Magazine Editors, according to VQR editor Tim Genoways. Two nominations are for essays, two for fiction, one in the review and criticism category and one in general excellence for magazines with a circulation under 100,000. "This year the thing that is just amazing and exciting for us is six nominations," Genoways said.

Grad rate for black students first in nation

For the 12th year in a row, the University's graduation rate for African-American students, at 86 percent, is the highest of any state university, according to an article published in this week's issue of the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. The University is followed by other public colleges such as the University of California at Berkeley, with a 70 percent graduation rate among African-American students and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a rate of 69 percent. Large public universities educate 75 percent of all African-American college students, according to a press release from the University, making the state school black graduation rate a significant benchmark. The peer advisor program contributes to the University's strong showing, University spokesperson Carol Wood said.

A student remembered

U.Va. hosts simulation technology event

On Monday, the University Nursing School held a conference, bringing together over 80 nursing education professionals representing 30 different academic and health care institutions for the first ever statewide conference on the use of simulation technology in nursing education. The conference was held by Laedal, the producers of the SimMan patient simulator, according to a press release.

Faculty, TAs respond to CASE survey

The results of a survey conducted by the University's Center for Alcohol and Substance Education (CASE) and Center for Survey Research were recently released and reveal that a majority of faculty members and teaching assistants would be willing to help students address issues with alcohol and other drugs but are interested in learning more about resources that are available to students. The survey was distributed to 600 randomly selected faculty members and 150 randomly selected teaching assistants in November of 2004. The release of survey results was postponed until the completion of CASE's Web site this past January. "We wanted faculty and staff to have resources available," Assistant Director of CASE Paige Hawkins said.

Restructuring continues to progress

The process of restructuring higher education in Virginia is making progress, according to University sources. The restructuring aims to change the way the public universities of the Commonwealth, including the University, Virginia Tech and the College of William and Mary, approach funding as state support of public universities continues to dwindle. In 1985, funding for higher education represented approximately 17 percent of the state's general fund budget; in 2004, state appropriations were just 10 percent of the state general fund budget. According to the University's Web site, the changes would make the University more autonomous and thus able to make more decisions about the direction of funds and tuition that were previously impossible.

Conference on stem cell, organ transplant begins today

Today marks the beginning of a special conference hosted by the Center for Biomedical Ethics on human embryonic stem cell and organ transplantation research. The conference is bringing together students, faculty, doctors and scholars to discuss the ethical, legal and scientific aspects of the innovative field of study, along with several speakers. Conference organizer Jonathan Moreno, director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics, said University scholars have been heavily involved in national discussion and efforts to create policies regarding the research being discussed at the conference. "People need to learn more about [embryonic stem cell research] as arguments become more complicated," Moreno said. The topic has taken on greater significance due to the recent admission by South Korean scientists that they faked what many believed was ground-breaking embryonic stem cell research. "They shouldn't have done that," Moreno said.

Windshields smashed behind Thornton Hall; damages estimated to be $1,300 The rear windshields of two vehicles were shattered in the parking lot behind Thornton Hall early Wednesday morning. One vehicle owner was Hui Shen, a graduate Engineering student, who discovered the crime at 1:40 a.m.

Peace Corps honors U.Va. participation as program celebrates 45th anniversary

As the Peace Corps celebrates its 45th anniversary, it recognized the University's history as a consistent supporter and supplier of volunteers during a panel discussion and Rotunda dinner yesterday. This year, the University is ranked as the number-one supplier of Peace Corps volunteers among mid-sized colleges and universities for the fifth year in a row. According to Heather L.

Lawmakers pass textbook pricing bill

A bill attempting to lower the cost of textbooks for students enrolled in Virginia institutions of higher education was passed yesterday in the state House and Senate. According to House Bill 1478, "The governing boards of public institutions of higher education shall implement policies, procedures, and guidelines that encourage efforts to minimize the cost of textbooks for students at public colleges and universities while maintaining the quality of education and academic freedom." Del.

Piedmont Comm. College president sparks controversy

Controversy has emerged in the wake of a commentary on community college budgeting by Piedmont Community College President Frank Friedman. Del.

Central Grounds

awn acceptance letters were sent out Feb. 10 -- the 2006-2007 Lawn class has been chosen. Two hundred eighty-four rising fourth-years applied for 47 coveted non-endowed Lawn rooms. Every year, a new selecting committee sifts through the hundreds of applications and chooses the following academic year's Lawn residents.

Virginia knocks off Mt. St. Mary's