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Bullying bill approved in Senate, moves to House

For many, elementary school may evoke memories of recess and nap time, but for others, elementary school reminds them of the class bully stealing their lunch money and beating them up after school. Virginia Delegate Rob Bell, R-Albermarle, proposed a bill earlier this year that would try to curb bullying behavior in Virginia schools.


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Runoff to decide Law Honor rep

After contested election results, on Monday and Tuesday of this week Law school students will participate in a runoff election for the second of two Honor Committee Representative Positions available to Law school students. The original election held last Monday and Tuesday included races for UJC representatives, Student Council representatives, and the Executive board of the Law School Student Bar Association -- the Law School's governing body -- along with Honor Committee representatives. Unlike undergraduate elections, which are conducted online, Law school elections were administered using paper ballots.


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Drug administrations evaluate Adderall

Adderall XR was taken off the Canadian market last Wednesday. Health Canada cited 20 reports of sudden death in patients taking any form of Adderall in their decision. The drug is prescribed to patients diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Nationally, five million children and three million adults take the drug, including a large number of students. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug for use in the United States and has no immediate plans to change the drugs status in the American market, FDA spokesperson Brad Stone said. "Whenever another health agency takes an action or issues a statement or a study on a drug that we regulate, we certainly look at it very carefully," Stone said.


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Study: Virginia drug use stabilizes

Binge drinking among college-age persons in Virginia has increased, while use of illicit drugs other than marijuana stabilized after an earlier rise, according the U.S.


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Student Councilwill consider hate crime Standard

Student Council is expected to vote tonight on a spring ballot referendum to add a provision for hate crimes sanctioning to the University Judicial Committee Standards of Conduct. The referendum is a general question that asks students if they would support an amendment to the UJC Standards of Conduct that would allow for harsher sanctioning in cases motivated by "hate". The referendum was proposed in response to recent racially-motivated incidents on Grounds. "What we are trying to do is make the punishment more strict for those convicted of crimes motivated by hate," said Tom Gibson, one of the Student Council representatives who introduced the legislation. The referendum is intended to gauge student opinion on the issue. A hate crimes Standard would change the judicial process because judges would need to investigate motive during a Trial For Guilt, UJC Chair Angela Carrico said. Currently, a Trial For Guilt only deals with the particular incident while a Trial For Sanction looks at other factors such as previous record, character and motive. Although there is no specific mention of hate crimes in the Standards, UJC by-laws allow judges discretion, especially in exceptional cases. "In the Trial For Sanction, judges always take motive into account," Carrico said. Any change to the UJC Standards of Conduct requires the approval of the Board of Visitors. The UJC Standards of Conduct was recently amended, with the Board's approval, in order to extend the jurisdiction of two of the Standards. The hate crimes referendum was brought before the UJC at a meeting last Sunday, and the Committee has not yet had a chance to vote on it. According to Carrico, some UJC members have questioned the need for a hate crimes amendment because other Standards already govern such conduct. "The general sense I've gotten is that Standards shouldn't overlap," Carrico said. The referendum can be placed on the ballot through a combination of a two-thirds majority of Council representatives and 25 signatures, a three-fourths majority of Council and no signatures, or a petition signed by around 900 students. Gibson said he expects the Council vote to pass and the referendum to be placed on the spring ballot. "The decision is ultimately up to the students," Gibson said.


News

General Assembly outlines budget

The Virginia General Assembly recently passed the biennial state budget amendments in both the House of Delegates and the Senate. As in accordance with tradition, the houses have exchanged their proposed bills and are currently in the process of reviewing and debating the other's suggested amendments. Later this week, conferees will be selected from the General Assembly to review each house's proposed amendments.


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House passes bill prohibiting illegal aliens from higher ed

A bill prohibiting the admission of illegal aliens into institutions of higher education has passed the Virginia House of Delegates and now will be considered in the Senate. The official title of the bill, HB2910, is "Prohibiting admission of illegal aliens to public institutions in higher education." The bill passed the House Feb.


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Honor to support sanction debate

The Honor Committee voted last night for a resolution to support debate on the sanction reform referendum expected on the spring election ballot. The resolution passed by a vote of 14-4 with four abstentions. Through the resolution, the Committee endorsed the general referendum question "Should the Honor Committee seek alternatives to the single sanction?" The resolution allows the Committee to support the debate on sanction reform, but stipulates the Committee will take no official position on either side of the question. The referendum on sanction reform is expected on the spring ballot through a student petition supported by Hoos Against Single Sanction. Vice Chair for Trials Nick Staubach said the endorsement of the Honor Committee will not affect the referendum, which is expected to appear on the ballot regardless. "This is more about us endorsing the use of honor resources for the debate," Staubach said. The resolution would allow the Committee to support educated debate on what has been a controversial issue at the University. "This is an appropriate and swift response to something that has had a lot of conversation throughout the University," Secretary Elisabeth Epps said. Much of the opposition to last night's resolution stemmed from the wording of the ballot referendum. Committee member Sunit Shah questioned the use of the word 'seek' as opposed to 'explore'. Other committee members expressed concern about the general effect of the language. "The question seems unfairly weighed in the 'yes' direction," Committee member Matt Miller said. Committee member Jeremy Chason said he questioned what sort of mandate the student body would perceive if the referendum passed.


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UBE announces Council candidates

Candidates running for Student Council offices were announced on the University Board of Elections Web site Friday. Third-year College student Thomas Gibson said he is running for Council president to improve the position. "My number one priority is student safety," Gibson said.


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'Inteligent' Design

Given the recent media attention to intelligent design, it is important to critically evaluate the merits of this idea from a scientific viewpoint.


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Asian Pacific American studies officially set to be available in fall semester

The Asian Pacific American Studies minor kicked off last night with an interest meeting in Newcomb Hall. Although the minor was approved by the College last semester, the program officially will be available starting this fall. Last night's presentation included a history of the program as well as the specifics and requirements of the minor. Asian Pacific American Studies has a long history with efforts to institute the program at the University dating as far back as 1995.


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Groups offer alternative feminist approaches

Two different representations of the feminist movement will offer University students wide discourse on women's issues this weekend. Last night marked the Network of Enlightened Women's first event of the semester.


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Athletic grad. rate on top of NCAA

Recruited athletes graduate from the University at one of the highest rates in Division I-A sports and the second highest in the ACC, according to 2004 NCAA data released recently. Student athletes who received an athletic scholarship and entered the University in 1997 and 1998 graduated within six years at a rate of 83 percent.


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Council seeks to improve appropriations

Student Council passed the final piece of the appropriations legislation Tuesday, which reformed the previous system of dispensing student activity fees to Contracted Independent Organizations. Council President Noah Sullivan said the former process was inefficient and unrealistic. "There is about a $100,000 of the student activities fee that was never used," Sullivan said.

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Latest Podcast

Since the Contemplative Commons opening April 4, the building has hosted events for the University community. Sam Cole, Commons’ Assistant Director of Student Engagement, discusses how the Contemplative Sciences Center is molding itself to meet students’ needs and provide a wide range of opportunities for students to discover contemplative practices that can help them thrive at the University.