News

Brown decision remembered with play

Fifty years after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, University students are reflecting on how the Supreme Court's decision impacts their present-day lives. To commemorate the landmark desegregation case's 50-year anniversary, the Black Student Alliance and the Office of African-American Affairs sponsored a performance of Marcia Cebulska's play "Now Let Me Fly" Saturday evening. The play depicts Thurgood Marshall's role in taking the Brown case to the Supreme Court in 1954 and the efforts and sentiments of the nation's black community at the time. "The movement was also started by everyday people," said Isaac Agbeshie-Noye, a third-year Engineering student and cast member.

Tomato shortage plagues C'ville

Hit hard by Florida hurricanes and puréed by floods in California, tomatoes have faced some challenging months recently.

Wisconsin to open minority scholarship to white students after complaint received

Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction announced it would rename its Minority Pre-College Scholarship Program and allow non-minority students to apply for scholarships beginning in 2005, according to a report in the Chronicle of Higher Education. According to the Chronicle, the change was made in conjunction with the federal Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, after the office began investigating the program because of a complaint received in 2001. Under the agreement, the program will remove any references to or criteria regarding race or ethnicity.

TURNING UP THE HEAT

IFC rejects ETA Lodge admittance request again

The Inter-Fraternity Council denied ETA Lodge admittance into the IFC for the second year in a row at Thursday's Presidents' Council meeting. ETA Lodge is not to be confused with Chi Psi, the national fraternity known as "the lodge" at the University. "The Council decided, at this time, it will not be sponsoring ETA Lodge as a probationary member of the IFC," IFC spokesperson Alex Berrang said. The Presidents' Council consists of the members of the governing board and a representative from each active fraternity. Berrang added that the Presidents' Council's decision was based solely on ETA Lodge's performance in the past year alone, and that no weight was placed on the previous year's decision, or the events leading up to it. "We've been working really hard towards this one goal for over a year, so to have no reward in the end is very disappointing and frustrating," ETA Lodge President Tyler Cain said. The meeting consisted of a presentation from the members of ETA Lodge, followed by a question-and-answer session.

University student charged with trespassing, vandalism at local church

A University student allegedly broke into a Corner-area church early Saturday morning, WINA radio reported yesterday. According to local affiliate NBC-29, Charlottesville police found third-year Engineering student Andrew J.

Honor debuts sanction Web site

As the single sanction debate heats up on Grounds, students now can go online to read about and discuss the issue through a new Web site sponsored by the Honor Committee. The site, www.singlesanction.com, officially was launched on Friday, and finishing touches will be completed today, Sanction Reform Committee Chair Sara Page said. Page said the goal for the site is to engage students who may not have a clear position on the single sanction issue and might not be familiar enough with the honor system to make an educated decision about whether the sanction should be reformed. "I think the Web site is an awesome resource that will let students look at the single sanction issue with the full information they need to make the best decision on the issue," Page said. The site presents a summary of the arguments for and against the single sanction that traditionally have been raised in public debate over the issue. Zach Williams, chair of the Web site subgroup of the Sanction Reform Committee, said he thinks the presentation of the opposing arguments is the site's strongest feature. "I like how students can go to the site, make two clicks and be fully informed about how leaders on both sides of the debate are thinking," Williams said. The site also incorporates the faculty's perspective on the single sanction with links to two statements by the Academic Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate as well as a resolution by the Arts and Sciences Council. Also, the site contains a "useful resources" page with a link to honor case statistics posted on the Honor Committee's Web site and a link to the National Center for Academic Integrity. In addition to literature about the single sanction, the site also has an interactive discussion board where students can post comments and take part in an online discussion about the issue. "I see people sort of exploring the issues" on the discussion board, Page said.

Professor identifies youngestknown galaxy

Astronomy Prof. Trinh Thuan recently identified the youngest galaxy ever discovered in the universe. Thuan and Yuri Izotov, an astronomer at the Kiev Observatory in Ukraine, were able to determine the age of the I Zwicky 18 galaxy after requesting that the Hubble space telescope be directed at the galaxy. They identified the galaxy as only 500 million years old, compared to, for example, the Milky Way galaxy, which is 12 billion years old. The galaxy "sat around as a cloud of gas for 13 billion years," Thuan said.

U.Va. to host first international undergrad research conference

This April, the University will host the first-ever international undergraduate research conference. "The purpose of the conference is to bring students and faculty together to celebrate undergraduate achievement," said Nicole Hurd, assistant dean and director of the University's Center for Undergraduate Excellence. The 2005 Undergraduate Research Conference is sponsored by Universitas 21, an international network of leading research-intensive universities.

MONTY WELLS...AGAIN

Third-year College student Monty Wells gives a repeat performance at Open Mic Night in Kaleidoscope.

University: Watch out for bogus bank e-mails

University inboxes have been cluttered recently with fraudulent e-mails claiming to be from banks and requesting from recipients personal identification information, such as bank account and credit card numbers. A warning was sent to students Wednesday in the weekly Connections e-mail, distributed by the Vice President for Student Affairs' Office. "Please be aware that banks and other financial institutions are highly unlikely to request sensitive information from you in an e-mail," the warning said. Shirley Payne, University director for security coordination and policy, said it is vital to improve online security awareness, as e-mails such as the bank hoaxes are becoming increasingly common. "The bottom line is, when you receive unsolicited e-mail that's requesting personal information, you should get really suspicious," Payne said. She advised students to use the same common sense in cyberspace as they would in the physical world. "If someone walks up to you, even if they're wearing a Wachovia shirt, and asks to verify your credit card number, you're not going to give it to them," Payne said. Whenever a student provides his or her e-mail address to a Web site, they are at risk for spam, said Chris Husser, technology coordinator for student activities. "When you enter your e-mail address in a Web site, companies collect e-mail addresses and send them to spammers," Husser said. Spammers also have other means of obtaining e-mail addresses.

School system audit reveals gap in scores

Black students "are not being served as well in Charlottesville City Schools" as white students, according to an audit recently completed by the Bloomington, Ind.-based Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. The audit's critique of the City's school system offered hope for some parents who responded to the document at the Charlottesville School Board's meeting last night. "This is going to drive what we do in the foreseeable future," parent Charles Morel said. The audit cited a disparity between the test scores of white and black students and the low number of black students receiving advanced curriculum instruction as evidence that the City's school system is not providing equal public education. While white students compose 45 percent of the school system, they account for 77 percent of gifted educational programs.

Students bemoan late-night evacuation

Residents of Echols were forced to evacuate their residence hall at 2:57 a.m. yesterday morning after a fire alarm sounded.

ROBOT RACE

Va. candidates prepare for 2005 elections

As the presidential election fades into the past, Virginia politics is already focused squarely on the 2005 elections, and the wealth of legislative and executive positions up for grabs. In the highest-profile race, Democratic Lt.

Student groups offer feedback on U.Va. sexual assault policy

On the heels of protests and increased media attention to the University's sexual assault policy, the Sexual Assault Leadership Council held a "community concerns" meeting last night in the Physics building to collect input.

High winds cause minor problems for University

High winds yesterday felled trees and knocked down power lines in the area, causing some power outages both on and off Grounds. Several power lines reportedly were knocked down near the intersection of Madison and Preston Avenues yesterday because of the unusually heavy winds.

County raises money for police dog

The Albemarle County Police Department has raised more than enough money purchase a new police dog, the County announced in a press release yesterday. After Ingo, a German Shepard, was fatally shot while responding to a reported burglary Oct.

Student database raises privacy concerns

A recent proposal by the Department of Education to create a new database of enrollment records on all students attending colleges and universities across the country is raising concerns among advocacy groups over the loss of privacy rights. In the past, the government only has requested specific student information on individuals who apply for financial aid.

Harvard Law to resume policy barring military recruiters

In response to a federal appeals court ruling that colleges and universities may bar military recruiters from their campuses without losing federal funding, Harvard Law School announced it will resume its ban on military recruiters, Dean Elena Kagan announced Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. On Monday, the third U.S.