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Federal aid screens applicants for drug offenses

Students who filled out federal financial aid forms this year may have been surprised to find a new question asking if they had ever been convicted of a drug-related offense, but apparently no University student had to answer "yes." The question is the product of a 1998 federal law that came into effect this year denying or restricting federal aid to students with drug convictions.


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Economic slowdown worries investors

A weak euro, increasing labor and oil prices and Fed-induced interest rate hikes have raised concerns for many investors in recent months. Recently, widely-held stocks, such as Intel and Kodak have been curshed by warnings that the companies would not live up to Wall Street's profit estimates.


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Student Health aims to increase insurance plans

Students seeking treatment at Student Health often are faced with the aggravating task of filing their own insurance claims if their provider isn't QualChoice. But they may not know that Student Health has been waging an ongoing campaign to expand the number of insurance providers that recognize it as an authorized healthcare provider. Three years ago, Student Health began to keep a running tally of which insurance plans cover the most students, based on incoming students' required health information forms.


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Honor delays date of report release

For the second time since September, the Honor System Review Commission missed the deadline to release its comprehensive evaluation of the University's student-run honor system and requested a postponement - a request the Committee unanimously voted to grant at last night's meeting after no discussion of the matter. The delay makes the report unavailable for an upcoming lawsuit against the Honor Committee. Citing the need to put finishing touches on its review, the Commission has requested a postponement of its report, previously scheduled for last night, to Nov.


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Local fire continues blazing

Forest fires continued to scorch Shenandoah National Park yesterday, as the second longest dry spell in Charlottesville's recorded history drags on. Park officials said it is not known when the flames will burn out, but the dangerously dry conditions prolonging the fires are expected to persist throughout the weekend. The dry leaves on the forest floor are making it more difficult to control the fires, said Jerry Stenger, research coordinator for the State Climatology Office. Stenger noted that in the past month the area received only .1 inches of rain, the most meager amount since December 1896. Two different Shenandoah mountains are blazing - Old Rag and The Pinnacles, which are located to the north in Luray, Va.


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Panel tackles future role of U.S. women

Distinguished women alumnae had the opportunity to tell the future United States president via videotape what issues they think are important to American women. The Women's Center sponsored "Women 2000: Shapers of the World," a forum in which accomplished alumnae were invited to share their experiences with the University community and express their opinions on issues such as healthcare, education and foreign policy, paying close attention to women's concerns. The videotape of the forum will be sent to the president-elect after Tuesday's election. All the women invited to participate in the event won the Distinguished Alumna Award over the past 10 years. The Shapers of the World forum was the culmination of a year-long celebration of the 30th anniversary of women gaining admission to the University, the 20th anniversary of the Studies in Women and Gender major, and the 10th anniversary of the University's Women's Center. The panelists discussed the issues most important to them, what they feel is the most important characteristic of a president and the future of women in politics.


News

Labor Board rules graduate students can form unions

In a unanimous Halloween day decision that has rattled university administrators nationwide, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) opened the way for graduate teaching assistants at private colleges to unionize and collectively bargain with universities. The Board decided TAs are employees receiving compensation from universities for labor and are covered by the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA), which guarantees employees of institutions affecting interstate commerce the right to unionize. It rejected New York University's argument that TAs are primarily students and they receive financial aid - not wages - for their work teaching classes and providing tutoring and grading services. "We will not deprive workers who are compensated by, and under the control of, a statutory employer of their fundamental statutory rights to organize and bargain with their employer simply because they are students," the Board wrote in its decision. The University is not directly affected by the NLRB's decision because as a public institution it does not fall under the scope of the NLRA, Law Prof.


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Injured first year leaves intensive care

The condition of the male first-year student who fell out of a second-floor residence hall window has been upgraded to fair and he has been removed from the University Hospital's intensive care unit. The student, whose name is not being released, was sitting on a second-floor windowsill on the south end of Lefevre House when he fell out at about 8 p.m.


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Forest fires fill city sky with smoke

Despite what Smokey Bear says, sometimes even you can't prevent forest fires. Beginning Tuesday, smoke streaming from Old Rag Mountain forest fires spread to Albemarle County, and University students began to see and inhale the effects yesterday. An exact cause is not known, but the fires probably were sparked by unusually dry conditions. The fires started burning several days ago, and as of yesterday the Virginia Dept.


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QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Astronomy Prof. Tolbert advises, "Don't ever stick your arm in a black hole." A black hole is a massive star that has collapsed and become infinitely dense.


News

Napster may begin charging users

Downloading free music may soon be history, as plans to make Napster accessible only to monthly-paying members are now underway. Napster Inc. and Bertelsmann AG, an international media enterprise, announced Tuesday the formation of their partnership to develop a new, secure membership-based music downloading system to preserve Napster in the face of legal troubles and compensate artists for their songs. Bertelsmann eCommerce Group, a division of Bertelsmann AG, will provide a loan to Napster to facilitate development of the new service and will receive a portion of Napster's equity. After announcing the partnership, Napster faces many questions from its 38 million users.


News

Erikat talks on Mideast crisis

In contrast to conventional American views that the Middle East peace process is beneficial to both Israelis and Palestinians, independent Palestinian activist Said Erikat argued in a speech last night in Monroe Hall that peace negotiations have consistently proved detrimental to Palestinians. About 60 people attended the event, which was sponsored by the Arab Students Organization. The Mideast violence erupted Sept.


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Students fearful negotiators will offer too much

In the face of escalating violence in the Middle East, Muslim and Jewish students at the University are expressing concern about the crumbling peace process and the degree of concessions they would be willing to make to achieve peace. Third-year Medical School student Hani Mowafi said Arafat does not have the right to concede land or holy sites such as the al-Haram as-Sharif to Israel during the peace talks. "Arafat can concede an internationally recognized site no more than the Pope can concede the Vatican," Mowafi said. Many Palestinians were forced to surrender their land after the creation of Israel in 1948, and Arafat cannot forfeit land to Israel that was previously held by Palestinians, he said. "All people expelled from their homes have a right to land and compensation.


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U.S. drug czar advocates rehabilitation

White House drug czar Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey advocated drug prevention and rehabilitative treatment for illegal drug users at a forum at the Miller Center of Public Affairs yesterday. McCaffrey, the White House drug policy director and retired four-star general, said the two main goals of the nation's $19.2 billion drug control strategy are preventing youths from beginning gateway drug taking behavior and effectively treating the five million American drug addicts. He addressed about 35 people, mostly Miller Center fellows and older Charlottesville residents and answered questions about the effectiveness and philosophy of the U.S.

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