National News Briefs

Evangelist Robertson Calls For Assassination of Venezuelan President

Pat Robertson called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, on Tuesday. Robertson, the founder of the Christian Coalition and supporter of President Bush, stated that Chavez was turning his country into "a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent."

Earlier this year Chavez, an outspoken critic of President Bush, had accused the administration of plotting to possibly assassinate him. Chavez also stated that he believed that the United States was planning an invasion of his country in order to secure its oil. In his remarks, Robertson stated that the oil trade would probably not slow if the assassination as carried out

Members of the Bush administration dismissed Robertson's remark as the opinion of a private citizen. Robertson later appologized for his remarks.

Obesity Increases in U.S.

America has gotten fatter again. A study, conducted by the advocacy group Trust for America's Health, found that 22.7 percent of American adults were obese; an increase of 0.7 from 2001-2003. Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Louisiana, and Tennessee had the largest increase. Oregon was the only state in the union that did not see an increase.

Shelley Hearne, the executive director for the program, stated "Bulging waistlines are growing and it's going to cost taxpayers more dollars regardless of where you live." Hearne hopes the report will help call for my government action to combat obesity in the United States.

Locally, D.C.'s obesity rate reached 21.2 percent; an increase of 0.8 percent from 2001-2003.

Google Takes on Instant Messenger

Google Inc., a company that started out as a search engine, has decided to enter the instant messaging arena. The company plans to offer its own instant messaging program along with a web-based phone calling system. "This is a missing piece in Google's larger strategy as they emerge to become a bigger Internet media player," said Greg Sterling, an analyst with the Kelsey Group.

Google Talk boasts an uncluttered designs with fewer advertisements. The program is designed to work with the recently released Google Sidebar. The company said the service would allow users to communicate with other systems such as Trillian and Apple Computer Inc.'s iChat.

Google Talk will have to compete with the millions of users on AOL IM, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, and ICQ. The program is currently available only to those with a gmail account.

Hollywood Couple's Divorce Finalized

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are on the market again. The pair filed to formally end their marriage, on Monday. The divorce will be finalized on October 2. The couple wed in a star-studded, $1 million ceremony in Malibu four-years ago.

While neither star has specifically stated the reason for the split, many Hollywood watchers point to Pitt's close relationship with actress Angelina Jolie. Tabloids first romantically linked the pair while they were filming "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." The two have been recently spotted vacationing together in Africa. Pitt was also on hand when Jolie brought home her adopted daughter, Zahara, from Ethiopia.

Freshman Survival Guide: Places To Go, People To See …

Financial Aid
The place to go for all your scholarship, grant and loan needs.
Phone: 202-319-5307; Toll Free: 888-635-7788; Fax: 202-319-5573
McMahon 6
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
http://financialaid.cua.edu/

Student Accounts
The place where you pay off what financial aid does not cover.
Phone: 202-319-5036; Fax: 202-319-6957
150 Leahy Hall
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
http://treasurer.cua.edu/

Housing and Residential Services (HRS)
Need a new room? Wanna change your meal plans? Got any complaints? Go here.
Phone: 202-315-5615
St. Bonaventure Hall
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
http://housing.cua.edu

Facilities-Maintenance
You're bound to blow a light bulb or break a towel rack. If you do, just submit a simple work request to get it fixed.
Phone: 202-319-5121
Work Requests: http://qbic.cua.edu/
http://facilitiesmaintenance.cua.edu/

Leahy Computer Lab
This 24-hour lab has both PCs and MACs. All the computers are connected to printers. Unfortunately, if you go at the wrong time, you'll be waiting for hours for your documents to come out.
Phone: 202-319-5372
24-hours
117 Leahy

CPIT
Your one stop shop for all your computing needs. They're also the people to go to if your password decides to hate you.
Phone: 202-319-5373; Fax: 202-319-6690
200 Leahy Hall
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
http://computing.cua.edu/

Campus Ministry
They run a number of masses as well as adoration, not to mention numerous programs, like Habitat for Humanity. You'll be hearing about a retreat soon.
Phone: 202/319-5575
Ground floor Caldwell Hall
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (5 p.m. to 9 p.m. is student staff only)
http://ministry.cua.edu/

Masses
St. Vinny's: Sun. 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. (this one is quite popular, but they don't have kneelers).
Basilica: daily masses: 7 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 8 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 12:10 p.m., 5:15 p.m.; Sat. 5:15 p.m.; Sun. 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., noon (choir), 1:30 p.m. (Spanish), 4:30 p.m. Crypt: Sun. 4 p.m.

Raymond A. DuFour Center
Better known as the "Doof," the athletic center is home to a basketball court, swimming pool, track, tennis courts and dance studios. Warning: Open hours are known to change at random.
Phone: 202-319- 5286; Fax: 202-319-6199
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sat. and Sun. noon to 5 p.m.
http://athletics.cua.edu/dufour

Eugene I. Kane Fitness Center
First of all, no one calls it by its real name. The fitness center is where we're all still trying to work of the freshman fifteen. Various classes from ab workouts to core training are offered at various times throughout the week.
Phone: 202-319-5705; Fax: 202-319-5705
It's the glass and brick building between CV and Regan
Mon.-Thurs. 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri. 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat. and Sun. noon to 6 p.m.
http://fitnesscenter.cua.edu

Student Health Services
If you're feeling tired or sickly… don't spread your diseases. Health services can either help you or point you in the right direction.
Phone: 202-319-5744; Fax: 202-319-4793
Located in the back of the Fitness Center
Hours: 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; also by appointment
http://health.cua.edu/

Dining Services
The place for all your dining needs, wishes, and (occasional) complaints.
Phone: 202-319-6494
124 Pryzbla
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
http://dining.cua.edu/

North Dining Hall
AKA the "Student Restaurant." This is the all-you-can-eat dining hall where you'll usually enjoy only the salads and French fries. And remember, if Reggie says no, don't eat it.
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.; 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Mon.- Sun. 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Sat. 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Sun. 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

South Dining Hall
Also known as the Food Court (we're stoked about the addition of Chik Fil-A). This dining hall is open longer and has more seating than North. Word of advice, pay close attention to the meal equivalency raters - the cashiers are on to our sweet talking.
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 7 a.m. to midnight; Sat. and Sun. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Loft
Located on the bottom floor of the Pryz, the Loft (or C-Store) is the campus' version of 7/11. It's got everything from the staples of coffee and Easy Mac to the more mundane, like bread and milk.
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 9 a.m. to midnight; Sat. and Sun. noon to midnight

Department of Public Safety (DPS)
DPS provides comprehensive programs, including security patrol, escort, transportation, identification and access services, to maintain a safe and secure campus environment that is conducive to learning, working, living and visiting … according to their website. Don't be afraid to use DPS, they're there to keep us safe.
Phone: 202-319-5111 (Remember this extension, there will be a quiz. If you fail, we kick you out.)
120 Leahy Hall
Open 24 hours
http://publicsafety.cua.edu/

Bookstore
The bookstore is a great place to buy school supplies and CUA gear. However, you might be able to find your textbooks cheaper elsewhere.
Phone: 202-319-5232
Summer hours: Mon. - Fri. 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Warning: These hours are subject to change at whim.)

Mullen Library
The stacks may seem scary at first, but you get used to it. The library has great study areas for groups or single students. Laptops (with wireless internet connections) are available for check-out at the circulation desk (and so are DVDs). And remember, if you reshelf your own books, the stacks employees will come after you.
Phone: 202-319-5060; 202-319-5070 Fax: 202-319-6101
Hours: Mon. - Thurs. 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.; Fri. 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sat. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Package Center
Everyone loves care packages (particularly if they involve baked goods). You can pick them up here. You can also send packages of your own - but who would want to do that?
Phone: 202-319-5225
Ground floor of McMahon
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
http://postoffice.cua.edu/

Engraving & Printing FCU
The only on-campus bank (with branches throughout D.C.). There is and EPFCU ATM (who doesn't love acronyms?) located in the lobby of Leahy. By the way, there is a Chevy Chase bank ATM in Leahy, and a Wachovia ATM in the Pryz.
Phone: 202-526-4528
End of the right side hallway in Leahy.
Hours: Mon.- Fri. 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Closed federal holidays)
http://www.epfcu.org

Architecture Student O'Brien in Critical Condition After July Diving Accident

Over the summer, CUA senior architecture major Derek O'Brien was in diving accident that left his spinal cord severed. He is currently hospitalized.

On July 23, O'Brien was swimming in Ocean City, New Jersey when he sustained the injury. After swimming to the surface, he was met by his friend. Two nearby doctors and a nurse imobilized him before he was taken to Atlantic City Medical Center by helicopter. Doctors diagnosed him with a severed spinal cord.

O'Brien was heavily sedated in the days immediately following the mishap. Shortly after, however, he was awake and aware of the people around him. He was also able to respond by nodding to simple questions. After suffering a collapsed lung, a ventilator was necessary to help him breathe. In early August, the doctors began to slowly take him off of the ventilator.

A few weeks later, while in surgery, he went into cardiac arrest on the operating table. Due to his high blood pressure and temperature, doctors decided to take him off the sedation to wake him up. O'Brien opened his eyes for the first time in two weeks.

On August 22, O'Brien went into cardiac arrest for the second time but was soon stabilized. He was put on another ventilator to help moisten his lungs in time for his upcoming surgery. Plans are being made to move him to a hospital closer to home in hopes of trying something new to help.

Bonny McCormick Hadiaris, O'Brien's aunt, maintains a positive outlook on his recovery as well as his return to Catholic. "We don't know, at this time, how long Derek will be in rehabilitation, but when he finishes that process, he will definitely return to Catholic," she said. Derek will resume his studies of architecture upon his return. "His dream is to be an architect, and he has stubbornly worked to achieve that dream. Yes, this accident has hit the 'pause' button, but Derek will push 'resume' as soon as he can and will earn his degree in architecture," said Hadiaris.

His family has been created a website (DerekOBrien.org) where friends and family can read daily announcements as well as an account of the accident.

Cards and balloons can be sent to Derek O'Brien, 4 Scotts Road Rockport, Maine 04856.

Enrollment Continues to Rise With Class of '09

As the new school year begins, Housing Services is experiencing problems with the amount of freshmen living on campus. Due to the lack of available dormitories, some students are forced to live in lounges that have been converted into rooms.

According to John Sawyer, Associate Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students, there are about 760 freshmen living on campus, even more than last year's amount of 709. There is also an estimated 60 transfer students moving on-campus. However, this year there are currently only 25 males occupying the lounges, a decrease in last year's 36.

It is possible that these students will be moved into rooms eventually, depending on whether students decide to move off campus. Next week Housing Services will set a deadline for the decision to move these 25 males out of their current living situation. Last year, if they were not out by October 1, they remained there all year.

In addition to placing students in lounges, some Centennial Village doubles have also been turned into triples. While Unanue is currently the only building utilizing this solution, Sawyer said that they are "prepared to temporarily" triple the end suites in other buildings. However, "at this point, it doesn't appear that we'll need to do that," Sawyer said.

Housing Services did make some improvements this summer to dorms such as Gibbons. The addition of air-conditioning made it the last dormitory to receive these amenities. The bathrooms were also redone, new fire safety sprinklers were installed, and asbestos was removed. These renovations improved the living situation immensely. "After living there last year, it is so nice to have air-conditioning. The bathrooms are a lot nicer as well," said Amy Atkinson, a senior psychology major.

Freshman Survival Guide: Spotlight on Brookland-area Restaurants, Bars, and Stores

Colonel Brook's (202-529-4002)
This tavern is a good place to go for a burger or their weekend brunch. The food is more than decent, but the bar can be a bit pricey for those of you of age-a pitcher of beer can set you back $15. (Cardinal Cash accepted)

CVS (202-526-4828)
This drug store is also the closest local pharmacy. But be prepared to wait in lines, because there is often only one employee behind the register.

Hunan Delight (202-529-8724)
While this Chinese food establishment also serves American food, be advised to stick to the Chinese selections. Follow this rule and you'll enjoy your meal. Delivery available. (Cardinal Cash accepted)

Ice Cream Station (202-529-7419)
The name can be deceiving, but this place actually has good burgers that won't leave you strapped for cash. They serve a decent breakfast and the ice cream is well worth the walk.

Johnny K's (202-832-3945)
This local bar may appear to be a dive, but don't let that fool you. CUA students as well as Brookland residents frequently occupy it on the weekends. It's also a good place to go on Sundays to watch football on their satellite TV.

Murry & Paul's (202-529-4078)
You won't know what to think when you walk into this hole-in-the-wall diner, but try the breakfast sandwiches. Late sleepers can still catch the extended breakfast hours on weekends (it beats the dining halls).

Pizza Boli's (202-635-2800)
It's not just good pizza, kids. Try the chicken parmesan sandwich, among other selections. Don't forget the best part: this place is still open when the bar closes. Delivery available. (Cardinal Cash accepted)

Trinity Deli (202-667-6886)
This is the closest deli to campus and they make excellent sandwiches. Add their signature "mama sauce" to improve any selection. Cigarettes are cash only and lottery tickets are sold here as well. But don't forget that they are closed on Sundays.

Wings Over Washington (202-588-WING)
New to the Brookland area, this place has some of the best wings around. Also, try the chicken sandwiches as well as entrees such as ribs. Delivery available. (Cardinal Cash accepted)

Local Chains: Domino's (Cardinal Cash accepted), Pizza Hut, Subway, 7-11 (Cardinal Cash accepted), Quizno's (Cardinal Cash accepted).

Campus News Briefs

Mercury Spill in Pangborn Hall Causes Evacuation, Closure

This past June during routine cleanup of engineering laboratory equipment in the hallway of the second floor of Pangborn Hall a mercury spill occurred, prompting the evacuation and closure of the building. The hallway where the incident occurred is where the school's electrical engineering department is located with a number of research laboratories. A teaspoon sized spill of the chemical prompted the evacuation of the building in the afternoon of Wednesday, June 15. The building was closed the next day while a professional cleaning crew, Tri County Industries tested the air inside to make sure the spill was limited to the second floor hallway and no other vapors of the hazardous chemical were present. After overnight ventilation, the building was declared safe on Friday, June 17 for occupancy. No one was injured due to contamination from the chemical.

Nursing School Awarded $1 Million Grant from Government to Improve Access to Healthcare

The School of Nursing was awarded a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Recourses and Services Administration in order to improve access to health care for patients at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Md. This grant, given to the school and its principle investigator, Joanne Duff, associate professor of nursing will provide funding for the implementation and testing of a model of nursing Duffy developed which puts a greater emphasis on interaction and relationships of nurses with their patients. Duffy's model will investigate the advantages of less task oriented nursing along with increased collaboration among health care clinicians.

Howie Day to Perform on Campus

Musician Howie Day is scheduled to appear on campus in early October in a concert sponsored by Program Board. Day's concert, whose break out hit "Collide," follows last semester's appearance of Gavin DeGraw at the Dufour Center in April. More information will be reported as it is released.

University Falls Nine Places in 'US News and World Report' 2006 Rankings

U.S. News and World Report's annual "America's Best Colleges 2006" ranked the University's undergraduate program in the second tier of national universities. Ranked at 120, the university ranking dropped nine places in the ranking from 111 last year.

The University was tied with four public universities: Colorado State University, University of Kentucky, University of Utah and Washington State University. This means that of the schools that U.S. News defines and ranks as top national universities, CUA is the lowest ranked private university as well as the lowest ranked Catholic-affiliated university, with schools such as Loyola Chicago and University of San Francisco ahead of it.

Despite this lower ranking, University Provost John Convey stated that ranking in the second tier is not necessarily a bad thing. "We'd have to improve on a few things; it takes time to move up," Convey said in a previous article on last year's rankings. "But the rankings give us a pretty good relative idea of who's higher than others."

These rankings are calculated using criteria such as average freshman retention rate and peer assessment. This peer assessment is determined from evaluations from faculty members from throughout the U.S. academic community. This is the highest weighted portion of the score, with 25 percent of the score determined from this factor. According the U.S. News and World Report website, "the ranking formula gives greatest weight to the opinions of those in a position to judge a school's academic excellence."

According to Convey, this system of ranking gives advantages to schools with prestigious reputations, as they will in turn get higher scores due to their visibility. "We get a smaller reputation score because smaller schools like us are lesser known," said Convey in last year's interview.

Anthony Krizel contributed to this article.

HRS Restructured, New Director of Housing Hired

Over the summer, the office of Housing and Residential Services (HRS) was restructured and split into two departments that are now directly under the control of the office of Student Life. This reorganization was developed in order to ensure for better cooperation between facilities and programs on campus.

The reorganization was developed over the summer according to Associate Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students John Sawyer. Instead of being one department, it was broken into two separate entities, both reporting to Sawyer. HRS was formerly a branch of its own of the university administration; under the new system, the two departments formed are now divisions of Student Life along with such offices as Disability Support Services and International Student Services.

The first new department created from HRS is the new department of Residence Life, which is now headed by Associate Dean Sarah Janczuk. Janczuk is now responsible for direct supervision of the area coordinators of the 5 neighborhoods of residence halls on campus. In addition, she will be responsible for overseeing Judicial Affairs on campus, dealing with student misconduct within the residence halls. "[Dean Janczuk] will manage the 'programmatic' aspects of operations in residential services," Sawyer said.

The second department created is the department of Housing Services, headed by new director Heidi Zeich who was hired this summer and began last Thursday. Her responsibilities, according to Sawyer, will include occupancy management of residence halls, marketing, business services, facilities management, off-campus housing services, and conferences support. Her department currently has a number of vacancies with the departure of such former HRS staff as Lisa Ludivico and Clay Patty who both left housing over the past few months. Zeich, who is a CUA alumna, stated that she wants "to work collaboratively with Residence Life to ensure my areas of responsibility complement their programmatic and community building efforts."

In addition to the reorganization of the main departments of HRS under the authority of Student Life, Residential Technology (ResNet) was moved from HRS into the direct control of the Center for Planning and Information Technology (CPIT). ResNet is responsible for the student residential network as well as voice communications and cable within the residence halls. However, CUA TV, which was launched last semester under the authority of the Residence Hall Association (RHA) and HRS, will still be part of RHA, not as a division of CPIT or Housing Services. RHA, a student organization will be now under the authority of the department of Residence Life.

Through these changes, the administration hopes to make the student's experience with housing and residential life more user-friendly. "We are incorporating Housing Services and Residential Life in to a more streamlined organization [in the division of Student Life] that allows us to refocus efforts to ensure our facilities and resources are better suited to support our programmatic and community endeavors," Sawyer said.

Papers, HBO Scrapped, 16 Channels Added

Beginning this semester the office of Student Life has discontinued participation in the Collegiate Readership Program due to a lack of student interest. In addition, the 6 HBO movie stations that were available for the past two years on the University cable system were replaced with 16 other cable stations for the same price.

The Collegiate Readership Program, sponsored by USA Today provided copies three newspapers, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and USA Today placed in the lobbies of all residence halls on campus. Students could take any combination of the newspapers delivered 5 days a week for no extra charge as the cost was covered by student fees. According to Associate Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Jonathan Sawyer, however, whose office assumed responsibility for all aspects of housing and residence life this summer, the program was costing more than originally expected and was only benefiting the few students who picked up newspapers each day. "The program was an open relationship based on readership that was costing some months $5,000 and others $2,000, and cost $40,000 dollars total last year," Sawyer said.

Despite the price, the University was willing to spend the money if it was it was clear that students were actually reading the newspapers. According to circulation data by USA Today provided to the Tower by Sawyer however, readership of any of the 3 newspapers was limited to only 12% of students living on campus. In addition, Sawyer stated that the readership data that USA Today provided at the end of last year showed that over the past 2 years, only 27% of the three newspapers provided were actually read. "The data does not support that it was a good investment on our part, we would rather invest in more programmatic events," Sawyer said.

Some students however disagreed with the data provided by USA Today to university officials. "In all the buildings I have lived in over the past three years, I have always seen newspapers, especially The Washington Post and The New York Times taken every day, and have seen them run out most days," said senior classics major and RHA North Neighborhood I President Rebecca Goodman. "Many students used the papers for projects and papers, and if the university wanted to see if students were actually reading the papers, they should have conducted some kind of survey before the end of last year."

With such objections in mind, Sawyer said that the university is working with other newspapers in order to provide an alternative for students who would like a daily newspaper. "We are placing newspaper pay boxes outside of Flather, Millennium South, Gibbons, Comity, and outside the south gates of Centennial Village near Unanue, and will be evaluate their use over the first few months of the semester, and if they are also not used, they will be discontinued," Sawyer said.

In the same light of better use of university funds to benefit the most amounts of students, the university cable lineup was changed over the summer. "We replaced the HBO package of six stations with 16 other televisions stations that cost the same amount," Sawyer said. "The goal of this was not just better use of funds, but to provide a better balance of local stations, sports, and news."

The cable system now has 49 stations including such new additions as both CSPAN stations, which provide live coverage of Congressional proceedings, Animal Planet, and the National Geographic Channel, which provide more general interest programming. In addition, the revamping of the cable system added the Fox News Channel to the cable lineup; this was done according to Sawyer so that the university provided all the major news stations to its community.

Notes and Asides

It Will be Alright, Mom
To all the parents dropping off their youngens at college for the first time: Don't worry! Your kids can't really get into any more trouble than you did at their age. And you were an angel in college, right? So relax
and just think of all the things you can do with your newfound free time.

Welcome to your Cell…er…Dorm Room
Feeling barraged by all the incoming information (RHA, RHO, RA, OA, Financial Aid, the Pryz, North, South, etc.)? The school is providing special sensory deprivation chambers to help combat the overload, otherwise known as your cinder block dorm room. Enjoy!

Streakers Wanted
Far be it from us to try and prevent our fellow students from making silly decisions. Go out, make those bad choices, and give us lots of good stuff to poke fun at here in Notes & Asides.

Next Page »