News

News

Bloomfield program finds more matches

By Sarah Salwen | November 30, 2001

Physics Professor Louis Bloomfield's 149 honor cases have presented a major challenge to the University's Honor Committee over the last eight months, but, they could be symptoms of an even more serious epidemic. According to information obtained by The Cavalier Daily from the Honor Committee, Bloomfield's computer program, which checks for matching strings of words in students' papers, could have found 238 more cases of cheating under different standards. Bloomfield's program, which he wrote himself, locates strings of six words or more that are exactly alike among in students' papers turned in over the last six semesters. His data indicate that he found 78 pairs of papers with 100-199 matching words, 18 pairs with 200-299 matching words, 11 pairs with 300-399 matching words and 12 pairs with 400-499 words. The new numbers of implicated papers have raised some eyebrows among Honor officials. "I'm concerned about how Louis Bloomfield is handling the information he has," said fourth-year Honor counsel David Metcalf in an e-mail.

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Racial remarks prompt sit-in at Colgate U.

By Sara Jeanblanc | November 30, 2001

A group of Colgate University students staged a sit-in at the school's admission office last Monday protesting a series of recent racially insensitive events at the school. More than 70 students, many of them black, were involved in the sit-in, which lasted for more than seven hours. Many Colgate officials, including the university's president, Jane L.

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URN aids in undergraduate research projects

By Sarvi Batmanghelidj | November 30, 2001

Two years ago, third-year College student Shadi Kourosh envisioned a network which would enable University undergraduate students to pursue their own research projects.

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Jury awards former U.Va. student damages

By Deirdre Erin Murphy | November 30, 2001

A Charlottesville court ordered former University student Richard W. Smith to pay $200,000 in punitive damages to former student Alexander "Sandy" Kory on Wednesday. Criminal charges originally were brought against Smith and three others for attacking Kory in 1997. Harrison Kerr Tigrett, Bradley Kintz and Wesley H.

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Council releases dining survey

By Christopher Makarsky | November 30, 2001

The Student Council Dining Affairs Committee recently released the results of a survey, that found most students viewed their University dining experience as "average." The survey was distributed randomly via e-mail to 1,500 upperclassmen earlier this semester.

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Patch provides birth control alternative

By Rebecca Brooks | November 29, 2001

Women may not have to rely on "the pill" anymore. Now introducing, "the patch." Ortho-Evra, the first-ever skin patch contraceptive, was approved last week by the Food and Drug Administration.

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Council revisits housing proposal

By Paul Quinlan | November 29, 2001

Old dorms or new? Every year, this same deceptively simple question is posed to 3,000 rising first years - the response to which, as anyone will tell you, will largely define a student's revered "first-year experience." But in a move that may eliminate incoming students' ability to state their preference, Student Council is revisiting a fall 2000 proposal put on hold by the University's ad hoc enrollment committee, comprised of five faculty members and no students. Under the proposal's plan, the housing department would randomly assign entering first-year students to either McCormick Road or Alderman Road residence areas. The proposal is intended to address what has been "a perceived racial divide between old and new dorms," Dean of Students Penny Rue said. Traditionally, the McCormick Road residence area houses a much lower percentage of non-white, non-Virginian students than does the Alderman Road residence area. Officials also expressed concern that old dorms were reputed to be more "social" than the new dorm alternative.

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For professors, a final exam

By Shelley Johnson | November 29, 2001

Though a student's days studying in the classrooms of Cabell Hall or tossing Frisbees on the Lawn are fleeting, some faculty members spend lifetimes at the University.

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Are you taking too many antibiotics?

By Leah Rosenberg | November 29, 2001

Ah ... the changing colors of trees, the chilly mornings, the runny nose, congestion and the sore throat-it must be cold and flu season. Late fall is the beginning of cold and flu season, and also marks the time that many students come to Student Health with these type of medical complaints. The growing problem of community antibiotic resistance is a cause of concern for doctors as well as the general public.

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Cyber-terrorism: More nuisance than threat

By David Friedman and Keen Brown | November 29, 2001

Imagine a cyber-terrorist shutting down electrical power to all of lower Manhattan with a desktop computer a thousand miles away.

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Greek Jewish Council aims for inclusion

By Mary Catherine Wellons | November 29, 2001

Jewish culture and the Greek system will merge in the newly created Greek Jewish Council, which is designed to provide Jewish University students with new outlets for social interaction. The GJC will function largely as an umbrella organization for all Jewish students involved in the Greek system, said Elizabeth Levy, GJC vice president and a second-year College student. The GJC gained official Contracted Independent Organization status two weeks ago.

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Funding for capital projects secure

By Sara Jeanblanc and Justin Bernick | November 29, 2001

Although the declining state economy has had far-reaching effects in many areas of the University, officials say it has not seriously affected plans for capital improvement projects around Grounds. The economic downturn has not drastically affected general funds provided by the University for these projects, officials said. Plans for the new "studio arts building have been the only casualty of the budget problems," said Colette Sheehy, vice president for management and budget.

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MBI opens to select group of undergraduates

By Sara Page | November 29, 2001

In an attempt to compensate for the lack of a business minor at the University, the McIntire Business Institute will open up a small number of its slots for undergraduate students this summer. Student Council, in collaboration with MBI Director Neil Snyder, has worked to open admittance to the summer business program to 10 rising fourth-year students.

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University to add new programs abroad

By Brad Harrison | November 28, 2001

University students may have to look no further than their own backyards when searching for study abroad opportunities.

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University works to limit impact of reduced state funding

By Kevin Hechtkopf | November 28, 2001

The Commonwealth of Virginia's projected revenue shortfall of at least $890 million in fiscal year 2002 has prompted deans of three schools to halt hirings of new faculty members.

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News in Brief

November 28, 2001

The University Health System is employing a therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer developed by medical company Galil Medical. The technique, called cryotherapy, kills cancer cells by freezing them and uses thin needles in outpatient settings. The procedure has very few side effects, including pain and frequency of urination.

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Patriotism inspires students to join ROTC

By Ben Sellers | November 28, 2001

Though college students are traditionally credited with being apathetic toward national affairs, in the months following the Sept.

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Proposal for wellness house to be revised

By Adrienne So | November 28, 2001

Last May's wellness house proposal currently is undergoing a series of revisions before it will be presented to the Committee on Residence Life and Housing. According to the proposal, the wellness house is intended to provide an environment where students can "maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit." The original proposal was drafted in May 2001 by University students Corbin Martin, Jenny Murrill, Marc Olsen and Leonard Woody III, all of whom are members of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team.

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Graduate students may receive more funding

By Chris Wilson | November 28, 2001

The Faculty Senate currently is looking for ways to increase funding that is available to graduate students. As of now, the University is unable to offer the same stipends and tuition coverage for graduate students that other competitive universities offer. "This problem is so complicated that it will take the better part of a year to understand," Faculty Senate Chairman Robert Grainger said. The University, along with most other higher education institutions, pays the tuition of graduate students and offers them a stipend for living expenses. Most schools, however, allow out of state graduate students to pay in-state tuition after their first year of graduate school. The University does not offer in-state status to graduate students who applied with out-of-state residency but have lived in Virginia for their first year at the University.

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State offices prepare for recession

By Brad Harrison | November 27, 2001

Gov. James S. Gilmore III recently announced that the Commonwealth of Virginia officially is in a recession.