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News

IRO scuffle ends with compromise, dropped charges

By Maria Tor | June 15, 2000

The scuffle that broke out at a Model United Nations conference in Newcomb Hall March 25 has been resolved without any convictions. Charges of assault and battery against rising fourth-year College student Arun Jesudian for assaulting rising fourth-year College student Richard "Ricky" Kim on March 25 were dropped by Albemarle General District Court Judge Steven Helvin on May 31, according to Jesudian. Jesudian, president of the International Relations Organization, quarreled with fellow IRO member Kim when he tried to get Kim to leave the Virginia International Conference Simulation. Kim was arrested for punching Jesudian in the jaw after Jesudian intervened in an argument Kim was having with VICS Secretary-General Allison Snider. Snider had asked Kim to help other IRO members take out the trash, and he refused.

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Phi Delt loses charter, plans to appeal

By Edward Hock | June 15, 2000

The General Council of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity suspended the University chapter's charter May 2 for violating its risk management policies. The General Council is a five-member board that governs the national actions of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. According to Bob Biggs, Phi Delta Theta executive vice president, the action "officially closes" Phi Delta Theta on Grounds. The risk management policy is a set of guidelines governing actions and behavior of all chapters.

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Judge throws out part of Tigrett suit

By Maria Tor | June 15, 2000

A federal judge dismissed seven of the 10 complaints in a $1.5 million lawsuit filed by suspended University student Harrison Kerr Tigrett against the University October 22 1999.

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NCAA forces restructuring of scholarship

By Sam Le | June 15, 2000

In an effort to make its program comply with NCAA scholarship rules and reinstate two Virginia athletes previously suspended, the Jefferson Scholars Foundation has restructured its scholarship into institutional aid under the guidance of the University Financial Aid Office, paving the way for future Jefferson Scholars who wish to compete in intercollegiate athletics. In late January, the University Athletic Department declared rower Jen Blomberg and wrestler Jason Bernd, both rising fourth-years, ineligible to compete after the department discovered that the Jefferson Scholarship violated an NCAA rule prohibiting aid from independent foundations under specific circumstances.

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Riders on the storm

By Lindsay Wise and Nicola White | May 20, 2000

Things got off to a wild start for the Class of 2000 in their first semester when Hurricane Fran stormed through Grounds, causing classes to be cancelled for only the fourth time in University history.

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University to offer new residential college option

By Abby Curran | May 20, 2000

The University soon will have a more international flavor when a new International Residential College opens in the fall of 2001. The residential college, which joins the Mosaic House, Brown and Hereford Residential Colleges as the fourth such complex at the University, will house both American and international students. "We want vibrant, very bright students who have an interest in international studies and foreign languages," said Barbara Nolan, vice provost and chairwoman of the committee that created the final proposal for the college. The new college will be housed in the Munford, Gwathmey and Lewis residence halls on Sprigg Lane.

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Improvements add to stadium budget

By Rakesh Gopalan | May 20, 2000

With its construction deadline rapidly approaching, the expansion of Scott Stadium at the Carl Smith Center is set to open before the Cavs kick off against the Brigham Young Cougars at the first home football game Sept.

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Clark renovation to expand scientific research facilities

By Abby Curran | May 20, 2000

After Clark Hall consistently was ranked as one of the buildings on Grounds in most disrepair, the building will undergo major renovations and gain a new four-story wing as part of a three-year construction project scheduled to start this summer. The new space will be used primarily for research facilities for the environmental sciences department.

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Casteen cites need for added funding in annual address

By Maria Tor | May 20, 2000

University President John T. Casteen III is calling for increased funding to bring the University up to par with its peer institutions. At his annual State of the University address in Old Cabell Hall May 3, Casteen said many of the University's peer institutions receive more state funding to spend on in-state students. For example, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill receives $23,089 per in-state student while the University gets only $11,149 per in-state student. Casteen said the University has suffered since the General Assembly withdrew 10 percent of the University's operating budget in 1990.

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Newcomb director to leave position

By Katie Dalton | May 20, 2000

Before Newcomb Hall Director Eddie Daniels took his position in 1995, the University's student center lacked an outdoor plaza and its dining hall dated to the 1950s. In 1997, the University completed a massive overhaul of the building, and Daniels worked to reestablish Newcomb as a vibrant center of student life -- a task he names as one of his best professional experiences. As Daniels prepares to leave his post this summer and take a position as director of campus activities at the University of Connecticut, he remembers fondly the work he has done in the last five years. "I have had a really good experience at U.Va.," he said.

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Lawyers settle balcony suits for $790,000

By Rakesh Gopalan | May 20, 2000

The Commonwealth has settled two of the five lawsuits that resulted from the Pavilion I balcony crash that killed a 73-year-old woman and injured 18 others during the 1997 Medical School commencement ceremonies. The two settlements, which totaled $790,000, go to the family members of Mary Brashear, who was killed when a section of the balcony fell during the ceremony.

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Honor grants appeal in cheating case

By Katie Dalton | May 20, 2000

The Honor Committee granted an appeal May 4 to second-year Engineering student Patricia Gonzales, who was found guilty of cheating on an organic chemistry exam and was subsequently expelled from the University. Gonzales now will stand a second trial, probably next fall, Committee Chairman Thomas Hall said. Third-year College student Matthew Sachs, a teaching assistant in Gonzales' CHEM 241 course, initiated the charges and Gonzales was found guilty in an open honor trial -- the first open honor trial since Sept.

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Plan gives University more flexibility to set wages for classified employees

By Abby Curran | May 20, 2000

With a fully revamped system set to govern the University's classified employees' pay structure, employers will have more authority over their workers' salaries and will be able to grant pay raises more easily if they so desire. Classified employees are paid a salary rather than an hourly wage and receive health care and retirement benefits.

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Construction to begin on Special Collections

By Christine Buurma | April 28, 2000

Groundbreaking for a new library that will house unique relics of American history will take place tomorrow in front of Alderman Library. The new library, the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature and Culture and the Albert H.

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Honor listens to student suggestions

By John McArdle | April 28, 2000

Four Honor System Review Commission members met with about 20 students last night in an open forum in Minor Hall to discuss concerns about the system. Commission members said this feedback will be important as they head into the most intensive phase of their evaluation of the Committee's procedures. Committee Chairman Thomas Hall, Terra Weirich, former Committee vice chairwoman for trials, Amy Campbell, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences representative, and Neil Bynum, interim assistant dean of the Luther P.

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University will offer dual degree program

By Abby Curran | April 28, 2000

Students from the University of Virginia's College at Wise now have the opportunity to spend their fourth year in a dual degree program taking classes at the University's Engineering School. The College at Wise is a University branch located in southwest Virginia. Through the program, selected students would study math and science at the College at Wise for three years, and then spend their fourth year in the Engineering School.

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Dorm segregation concerns officials

By Jacqueline Roper | April 28, 2000

First years soon may be unable to choose between Old and New Dorms if University officials initiate a proposal to increase diversity in some first-year residence halls. Housing officials and deans are looking for ways to decrease the disparity between white and non-white students in first-year housing.

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Stiffer competition shocks hordes of hopeful Hokies

By Jason Baker | April 27, 2000

Admissions applications to Virginia Tech are up 12 percent this year, allowing Virginia Tech admissions officials to be more selective than ever before. Virginia Tech received about 18,400 applications this year - almost 2,000 more applicants than last year's 16,500.

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EPA fines University $33,990 for environmental violations

By Shelley Johnson | April 27, 2000

The University faces $33,990 in penalties for not complying with Environmental Protection Agency codes concerning hazardous wastes and oil spill regulations. EPA spokeswoman Ruth Podems said the University has corrected the violations. "The University now has submitted an oil spill prevention plan and has certified they are in compliance with hazardous materials regulations," Podems said. Last fall, the EPA targeted higher education as an area for inspection and reform, making the University an obvious focus in the Commonwealth of Virginia, said Ralph Allen, director of the University's Environmental Health and Safety office. Upon inspection in June and September, the EPA noted the University was not in concurrence with two regulations - the Resource Conservation Recovery Act and the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Act.

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Survey searches for reason behind runners' daily grind

By Vince Gaiani | April 27, 2000

Like sunny weather and flowers in bloom, the sight of students running around Grounds seems to be a rite of spring at the University.