After limited financial resources restricted Student Council's allocation of funds to Contracted Independent Organizations last spring, many groups on Grounds are struggling to survive the year on a tight budget. "There was a shortage of money last year," said Eli DeJarnette, Council vice president of student organizations.
The organization that oversees college application processes will launch a two-year study of application and admission procedures, focusing specifically on the controversial early decision and early action options. The Alexandria-based National Association for College Admission Counseling has circulated a memo to its college and high school members declaring a moratorium on enforcement of rules governing early admission practices, said Joyce.
A Johns Hopkins University study claiming that users of MDMA, the drug popularly know as ecstasy, could suffer from permanent brain damage has been completely retracted after its authors discovered that another drug was accidentally used in the study. According to the retraction written by the Hopkins researchers, "the drug used to treat all but one animal in [the original study] came from a bottle that contained d-methamphetamine instead of the intended drug, racemic MDMA." Researchers attributed the mix-up to an error in labeling by the company that supplied the MDMA. The study, published in the September 27, 2002 issue of Science magazine, concluded that even occasional use of ecstasy could cause irreparable brain damage.
Campaigns to reduce college drinking through the emphasis on social norms do not have an effect on students' drinking habits, according to a Harvard study released July 2003. However, James C.
A commission of students, parents, administrators, faculty members and community leaders met for the first time Friday morning, charged by President John T.
Speaking to a standing-room only crowd in the Newcomb Hall Art Gallery, Gov. Mark R. Warner came to the University Friday afternoon to advance his Education for a Lifetime Initiative. In a six-point reform package, Warner addressed statewide issues of teacher retention, workforce and career preparedness for high school seniors, increased economic development and accountability in public education and higher quality child care. Acknowledging what he referred to as the "worst fiscal crisis in 50 years," Warner emphasized the importance of securing adequate funding for education. "Every state is going through a fiscal challenge, let me tell you," he said, adding that Virginia was one of only a few states that "didn't cut a single dollar from education." Warner said his budget for the next biennium will satisfy the state Board of Education's recommendations to increase education funds by $525 million to meet its Standards of Quality.
With roughly 2,000 new citizens moving in every year, Albemarle County has a population growth problem.
Gov. Mark R. Warner on Friday endorsed a congressional plan to look into widening I-66 from Rosslyn through Falls Church with the addition of a third west-bound lane.
This year, student organizations will have a way to reserve meeting places online in an attempt to streamline the process. At the beginning of this semester, the University unveiled its new online Catalog of Meeting Places and Student Spaces system, which allows Contracted Independent Organizations and other student groups to request rooms for meetings around Grounds.
Increased use of the Charlottesville Transit Service has forced the Charlottesville City Council to take action: New buses likely will be added to routes four and six, the two most popular routes, to ensure on time service for CTS passengers. "These are our 'trunk routes,' meaning they have the heaviest ridership," Vice Mayor Meredith Richards said.
On Saturday, Kate Obenshain Griffen was unanimously voted into office as chairwoman of Virginia's Republicans.
The Central Virginia Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving announced Tuesday the inaugural membership of the chapter's Board of Advisors. University Men's Basketball Coach Pete Gillen was named as one of the three individuals appointed to the newly-created Board, as was Brad Chandler, a graduate of the University Law School. Since beginning his tenure as the men's basketball coach in 1998, Gillen has compiled an 86-64 record and was named Men's Basketball Coach of the Year in Virginia by the Richmond Times-Dispatch in 2001. Chandler is presently senior partner of Chandler, Franklin and O'Bryan and has been included in the "Best Lawyers in America" for the past 20 years. Ron Huber, Charlottesville's assistant Commonwealth attorney, also was selected for the Board. The areas encompassed by the Central Virginia Chapter cuts a wide swath through the Commonwealth, stretching from Winchester to Lynchburg. Board members each will serve a two-year term.
Following the end of last year's hiring freeze and a restructuring of the provost's office, University President John T.
The Charlottesville City Council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night calling for the Virginia General Assembly to invest more state funding in public education. A decade of staggered revenue-depriving tax cuts coupled with recent economic downturns have left public schools adrift in an economic quagmire, according to City Council members. Because the state is using what local leaders consider an antiquated formula for determining a school district's need, Virginia's localities, particularly the Commonwealth's cities, are attempting to shoulder the burden to meet the educational needs of its students. "The bottom line is that localities are subsidizing the state because the state is not meeting its obligations to fund public education," said Vice Mayor Meredith Richards, and executive board member of Virginia First Cities. VFC is a coalition of the state's 15 oldest and most fiscally stressed cities, including Winchester, Hampton and Norfolk. While stressing Charlottesville schools are not in dire straits, Ed Gillaspie, director of business and finance for Charlottesville Public Schools, said the schools have been shortchanged by the state.
Selected student leaders, members of the faculty, administration and Board of Visitors members will join University President John T.
Seven Virginia public colleges and universities, including the University of Virginia, are facing a lawsuit after the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a legal challenge Tuesday on behalf of undocumented citizens, who the advocacy group says have been denied or will be denied admission at the schools based on their immigration status. Last September, Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore issued a memo of legal advice to Virginia public colleges and universities advising them against admitting undocumented citizens. "It's the attorney general's view that schools as a matter of policy should not admit illegal aliens," Kilgore Spokesperson Tim Murtaugh said.
Second-year College student Matt Mariner approached Student Council last spring with a new idea for diversity programming called "The Mix," in hopes of bringing the University community closer together.
As a result of the recent war in Iraq, there's good news and bad news for the University's ROTC programs: The good news is improved morale and increased retention rates; the bad news is a lack of scholarship funding for incoming ROTC recruits, according to Army ROTC Chair Lt.
Once again University students and Charlottesville area residents were left in the dark after Wednesday afternoon's power outage.
In a move that some see as inevitable and others fear will spawn high-rise apartments near the University, the Charlottesville City Council is set to allow high-density housing in two popular off-Grounds housing areas. This change is just one of many in a proposed city zoning ordinance, which would shape Charlottesville's development for years to come.
