Faculty and students who participated in the University's inaugural January Term, held over the past two weeks from Jan.
A recent proposal by the Department of Education to create a new database of enrollment records on all students attending colleges and universities across the country is raising concerns among advocacy groups over the loss of privacy rights. In the past, the government only has requested specific student information on individuals who apply for financial aid.
Second-year College student David Sloan Critchfield was friendly, caring and dedicated to his family, his fraternity and his sports teams, said his friends and family. "When Sloan did anything, it's like he did it with his whole heart," Critchfield's mother Triss Critchfield told their hometown paper, The Portland Press Herald.
The Commonwealth of Virginia commended the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad Tuesday for its outstanding service to over 150,000 citizens. "I think it is an important message to our volunteers who don't always receive the proper recognition for the hard work they are doing," Squad President David Starmer said.
American employers expect to hire 13.1 percent more new graduates in 2005 than they did last year, according to a survey recently conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Students majoring in mechanical engineering, finance, electrical engineering, economics, computer science, business administration or accounting have the best chance of finding jobs, according to the survey. "Virginia graduates stand a great chance of finding employment opportunities," University Career Services Director Jim McBride said.
With America's growing dependence on foreign sources of oil and the recent increase in fuel costs, large energy consumers such as the University are looking to minimize their energy consumption and utilize other, more environmentally friendly, sources of power. The recent fall elections ballot at the University included a referendum asking students if they would be willing to pay an extra $7 a semester to have the University purchase approximately 12 percent of its total energy usage, 33 kilowatt hours, in the form of wind power, as opposed to currently used sources of fossil fuel and nuclear energy. Though only ten percent of students participated in the election, an overwhelming 87 percent of students who did vote approved the referendum, which the initiative's creators view as a clear sign that students are in support of their mission to bring clean, renewable energy to the University. A true windfall? The referendum appeared on the ballot largely due to the efforts of two environmentally focused student groups: Student Environment Action (SEA) and Student Alliance for Virginia's Environment (SAVE). "We got the idea for the referendum by learning about other schools' projects and how successful they were in making a substantial environmental impact," SEA President Khalial Wibhen said. According to SAVE President Elizabeth Dubovsky, if the administration agrees to the ballot-approved plan, the $7 per student would be used to buy wind energy credits from different wind farms dispersed around the United States. These certificates would subsidize the cost that it takes the wind farms to put wind energy on the grid, Dubovsky said, and in exchange the University would get a contract that guarantees that a certain amount of energy will be "earmarked" for the University and then added to the grid. Because there are no turbines near the University, the system of buying credits is the only way to guarantee that the 12 percent of energy it uses is replaced on the grid by wind energy, Dubovsky said. By buying such credits, the University would be increasing the demand for wind energy, in turn increasing the supply of wind energy and, more generally, increasing the general use of clean, renewable energy, she said. The biggest problem with integrating wind energy into the existing power grid, according to University Environmental Science Prof.
The ACT, a standardized college entrance exam different from the SAT, is becoming more popular among students who are applying to colleges and universities across Virginia. University Dean of Admissions John A.
The Nov. 2 elections in the City of Charlottesville will be the sixth election to feature computerized eSlate voting systems, which were originally purchased by the city in order to accommodate handicapped voters. The eSlate takes the place of traditional lever or punch-card machines by providing a large electronic screen that can be manipulated with a wheel at the base of the machine. By turning the system's selection wheel, the voter then highlights election choices and presses a button to vote.
About two dozen student leaders met last night to discuss the recently released President's Commission on Diversity and Equity report, "Embracing Diversity in Pursuit of Excellence." Student Council President Noah Sullivan began by handing out a sheet that highlighted 10 of the report's recommendations. After about 90 minutes of discussion, Sullivan then took an informal poll to see which of the report's recommendations the students felt were most important and should be addressed immediately. The three recommendations that received the most votes were broadening the first-year experience to include a residential component of the Sustained Dialogue program, creating a clear system for reporting racial incidents, and supporting programs for peer mentorship education and providing cultural group assistance for the wide range of cultural groups at the University. "My hope for this year and going forward is that if students can remain in the driver seat on issues of diversity and equity than we can make sure the student voice is heard," Sullivan said. One of the major issues discussed was the report's proposal to split the non-Western perspective requirement into two requirements: Global Diversity and U.S.
Students and members of the University's Safety and General Security Committee went on their semiannual Night Tour Safety Walk around the University and surrounding areas Monday night.
