After becoming a prominent part of University life as Student Council President, why would anyone want to voluntarily resign?
The University's 2004 contribution to the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign marks the highest amount ever given by any state agency in the Campaign's history, said Dana Rivera, administer of the CVC program at the University.
Former University student Andrew Alston was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years of suspended probation by a Charlottesville General District Court judge yesterday. Alston will serve his prison sentence in Virginia and then negotiate with the parole board to return to his native Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Attorney Jon Zug said.
In a runoff Law School election for Honor Committee representative held Monday and Tuesday, Randall Warden was declared the winner, with 206 votes to Will Doffermyre's 182. During last week's Law School election -- which took place on paper ballot -- the failure of election officials to check the identification of one of 465 voters led to a discrepancy in the results for the second Honor representative. The University Board of Elections and the Student Bar Association decided to hold an online runoff election for the two runner-up candidates in response to the discrepancy. In the runoff election, 390 students voted for one of two candidates running for the open position. Members of the UBE said they were pleased with voter turnout. In a press release, the UBE attributed the high turnout to the ability of the students to vote from the comfort of their own homes as well as to the reminder e-mail sent out by the SBA to all Law students. The Law School already had been planning to revise its election system before last week's original election.
The Inter-Sorority Council elected its executive board yesterday. The new five-member board will work with the outgoing executive board to appoint the new committee chairs Sunday. ISC members elected Sigma Kappa member Christina Valencia as president, Alpha Delta Pi member Katie Straw as vice president of judiciary, Tri Sigma member Elizabeth Snyder as vice president of administration, Delta Gamma member Christina Saunders as vice president of recruitment, and Zeta Tau Alpha member Darcey Kennedy as vice president of Finance. The new executive board members highlighted their plans and goals for ISC this year. Snyder named reaching out to other organizations and the community as one of the board's goals. "Last night, many of the candidates were talking about reaching out to the other organizations on Grounds and the Charlottesville community at large," Snyder said.
When applying for college, students have the option of revealing their racial or ethnic identity on their applications.
Off-Grounds housing at the University has come a long way. With the recent opening of the Student Council off-Grounds housing office and plans in the works for a City inspector to evaluate the quality of privately-owned student housing, improving the off-Grounds experience for students has become a major priority for Council, as well as University and City officials over the past year. Off-Grounds Housing Manager Vicki Hawes said she began her position as director of Council's new off-Grounds housing office last year intent on fulfilling the goals, plans and dreams of Council.
This evening, in an unprecedented event, the Class of 2006 will commemorate third-year students who embody aspects of excellence within the University. According to Kate Haffey, a member of the Third-Year Council Outreach Committee, selected third-year students, faculty member and administrators will gather in Alumni Hall for a dinner celebrating the students' contributions to the community.
Council rejected a bill last night to send a referendum concering hate crimes to the spring ballot. The bill needed three-fourths of Council approval, and it failed by a vote 8-13.
Minority enrollment in American colleges has doubled over the past decade, according to a recent report from the American Council on Education. Though the report has yet to be released to the public, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported yesterday that the overall number of African American, Native American, Latin American and Asian American students in higher education institutions in the United States has increased from two million in 1991 to 4.3 million in 2001. Valerie Gregory, assistant dean and outreach director in the Office of Admission, said the number of minorities at the University has "definitely not doubled," but "keeps creeping up a little each year." Attempting to increase minority enrollment, the Office of Admission has employed a personal approach to attract students to the University, Gregory said. The personal approach is exemplified by the "reach out and touch method," she said.
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.
University Business and Administration Professor Edward Freeman was honored at yesterday's 19th Annual Outstanding Faculty Awards Ceremony.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
