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News

Lundy opts not to run for second term as president

By Matt Galati | February 19, 2004

The ballot for Student Council presidential candidates released yesterday by the University Board of Elections was missing a high-ranking eligible candidate -- current Council President Daisy Lundy. Lundy, a third-year Commerce student, has decidednot to seek reelection. Lundy said she plans to step down from office and seek a more educational role, easing the upcoming executive board's transition on current projects and fostering leadership among the Council's younger members. "I think Student Council is a great avenue to make changes at the University, and the experiences that I've had are definitely priceless," Lundy said.

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Rhode Island university group offers scholarship to white students only

By Cavalier Daily Staff | February 19, 2004

In an attempt to counteract affirmative action in higher education, the College Republicans at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island are sponsoring a scholarship that will be available only to people of Caucasian descent, the Associated Press reported Sunday. A member of the school's College Republicans, quoted in the Associated Press, said the organization's scholarship is aimed at highlighting the inequity white students face in scholarship contests as a result of affirmative action. The scholarship is modeled after those limited to minority student applicants, reported the Associated Press.

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UBE releases first list of candidates

By Christopher Jones | February 19, 2004

The University Board of Elections yesterday announced the preliminary list of candidates running in spring elections, as candidates geared up for today's start to the official campaigning and endorsing period. Five candidates are vying for the elections' top seat -- Student Council President. Second-year College student Elliot Haspel and third-year College student Greg Scanlon each are running as reformers, they said.

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City works on instituting online bill paying system

By AJ Frank | February 19, 2004

University students living off Grounds now will be able to pay some utility bills online, because of a new integrated computer system that the City of Charlottesville plans to implement within the next 18 to 22 months, according to Assistant City Manager Linda Peacock. The new system, City Links, was created by the company SAP.

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Rules may prevent William & Mary students from running for office

By Cavalier Daily Staff | February 19, 2004

Four students at the College of William & Mary seeking to run for city council may be kept off the ballot because of voter registration rules. None of the four students is registered to vote in Williamsburg, according to Williamsburg's Assistant Voter Registrar Dave Andrews, as reported by the Associated Press. The Code of Virginia says that in order for an individual to be considered a "resident," he or she must have domicile in Virginia and in the precinct in which he or she wishes to vote. The State Board of Elections gives localities the authority to determine residency. "We do allow U.Va.

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Winter stomach flu afflicts University

By Neelam Patel | February 19, 2004

A common stomach ailment that has been spreading across college campuses this winter has reached the University community. Norovirus, also know as the "winter vomiting disease," is the general name for any seasonal gastrointestinal virus that causes what is known as the stomach flu. There have been few reported cases at the University, but many students have experienced symptoms, said Joe Chance, director of general medicine at Student Health. Because of the virus's nickname, many think that Norovirus is only common in the winter, but it can occur at any time of the year, Chance said. Norovirus is more common during the winter because people congregate and are doing more activities inside.

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Senate: Localities can require living wages

By Lauren Todd Pappa | February 19, 2004

The Virginia Senate decided Tuesday to continue to allow Virginia localities such as Charlottesville, Alexandria and Arlington to establish a local living wage. The Senate voted 23-17 to defeat a bill that would prevent any locality, or "public body," from requiring the payment of a wage that exceeds the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage currently is $5.15 an hour.

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IRO issues inaugural publication

By Amir Khoddami | February 19, 2004

The International Relations Organization held an inaugural ceremony last night in Jefferson Hall to introduce the first edition of the Wilson Journal of International Affairs. "Other institutions of equal or even less caliber have publications of this sort so it was a shame for the University not to have its own international affairs publication," said fourth-year College student Omeed Jafari, who pioneered the journal while doing independent study research last spring. The journal is now one of two publications at the University that showcases undergraduate research. "[Jafari] thought that the International Relations Organization could do a better job at enabling the student body to express their interest about international affairs," IRO President Laura Fairneny said. The ceremony's speakers included Fairneny, journal Editor-in-Chief Kurt Mitman and keynote speaker Michael J.

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Growing the Lawn

By Jason Amirhadji | February 18, 2004

More than a century after Old Cabell Hall first closed off the south end of the Lawn, changes are coming that would reopen the landscape, albeit slowly. Originally conceived as a "Digital Academical Village" with a residential component in the late 1990s, the South Lawn Project has since been scaled back in scope, though it would still involve major changes to the University's architectural landscape. The project is expected to cost nearly $150 million and would include an additional 110,000 square feet of classroom space and the construction of a plaza above Jefferson Park Avenue. In contrast to the towering edifice of New Cabell Hall, buildings on the new South Lawn will integrate with the terraced landscape, providing transitions across an approximately 30 foot drop in elevation on the site, Project Co-Chair Richard Minturn said. "These are going to be pretty low buildings," he said. Bridging the Lawn When it was presented to the Board of Visitors in the fall of 2001, the South Lawn project was approved as a single design, only to be constructed once fully funded.

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Andrew Alston indicted by grand jury

By Kathleen Meyers | February 18, 2004

Andrew Alston, the suspended University student charged with the second-degree murder of Walker Sisk in November, was indicted yesterday in Charlottesville Circuit Court. A grand jury comprised of six Charlottesville residents heard evidence against Alston presented by Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Jon Zug before privately deliberating and returning a true bill of indictment. The proceedings were closed to the public.

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Student Council sets up cabinet committee to participate in dialogue on building projects

By Cavalier Daily Staff | February 18, 2004

In a unanimous vote last night, Student Council approved the formation of the Presidential Cabinet Committee for Buildings and Grounds. The committee is designed to give students a sustained voice in various building projects on Grounds. "I hope that students in the future have a much larger role in how the buildings look and how the buildings will accommodate them," College Rep.

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New Cabell wearing out its welcome

By Anthony LaMesa | February 18, 2004

A walk into New Cabell Hall is like a trip back in time. Passing through its worn wooden doors one is returned to an era when asbestos was acknowledged as an excellent insulator, students sat in perfectly straight rows of wooden desks bolted to the floor and the University's obsession with cutting costs on building projects led to architecturally uninspired buildings. New Cabell Hall has not undergone a major renovation since its doors opened over 50 years ago in 1952 as an annex to famous architect Stanford White's Old Cabell Hall, completed in 1896. Ironically, New Cabell, with its plethora of distinctively un-Jeffersonian architectural traits, was designed by the architectural firm Eggers and Higgins, the same firm responsible for the completion of the design for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C., Architectural History Prof.

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Study: Degrees take longer to complete

By Rachele Byrne | February 18, 2004

Nationwide, more college students than ever before find themselves studying beyond the standard four years in order to earn a bachelor's degree, a recent National Center for Education Statistics study concluded. The NCES study, which surveyed one million students in the entering class of 1996 from more than 900 institutions nationwide, revealed 33 percent of students were able to complete all of their requirements in four years.

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Correction

By Cavalier Daily Staff | February 18, 2004

Yesterday's news brief "University professor elected to National Academy of Engineering" incorrectly quoted an NAE release as reporting Prof.

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MGC delays vote to admit gay fraternity

By Corinne Shamy | February 18, 2004

Out on Rugby, a group for gay, bisexual and progressive men that is seeking status as a fraternity, will have to wait at least another month before it is given an official decision, the Multicultural Greek Council determined last night. OOR, which currently maintains CIO status, wants to establish a chapter of Delta Lambda Phi, the national gay fraternity, at the University through the MGC.

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Clarification

By Cavalier Daily Staff | February 18, 2004

In yesterday's lead editorial, "A half-baked protest," comments made by an officer in several like-minded organizations about a possible bake sale in protest of affirmative action were incorrectly associated with the leadership of the College Republicans.

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Council approves Student Tenant's Bill of Rights

By Timothy Lee | February 18, 2004

Student Council unanimously passed a resolution last night to support the implementation of the Student Tenant's Bill of Rights, designed to offer University support to student renters by outlining their "rights and expectations" when signing a lease. "We want to hold landlords to a certain standard and make sure student tenants are not mistreated," Council President Daisy Lundy said.

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House passes bill to restrict EC distribution

By Sarah R. Gatsos | February 18, 2004

Legislation that would prevent Virginia colleges and universities from dispensing emergency contraception passed the House of Delegates yesterday and went on to the Senate for consideration. Del.

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University professor elected to National Academy of Engineering

By Cavalier Daily Staff | February 17, 2004

Nicholas J. Garber, University professor of civil engineering and former chair of the civil engineering department, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering Friday. Garber was one of 76 new members and 11 new foreign associates elected to the NAE, according to a press release. "It's not only an honor for me, but for the department and also the University as a whole," Garber said. With the election of these new members, the NAE now boasts a total membership of 2,174 in the United States alone. Membership is awarded to those who have made "important contributions to engineering theory and practice," according to the press release. Prospective members are chosen by their peers in the NAE. The NAE release reported that its members elected Prof.

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Republican student groups rally support for Bush reelection

By AJ Frank | February 17, 2004

In an effort garner support for the reelection of President George W. Bush, the College Republicans and the new Contracted Independent Organization Students for Bush held a rally on the North side of the Rotunda yesterday where they were met by Democratic protestors. "We thought today would be a wonderful opportunity to hold the rally due to the primary a week ago," said Amber Vervalin, College Republicans vice-chair for campaigns.