News

Fake ID users beware: Va. licenses get makeover

University of Richmond students who have bought alcohol or tobacco with fake Virginia driver's licenses are about to have a harder time getting away with it. For the first time in 10 years, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles is redesigning its driver's licenses, a move that will cost Virginia $6.5 million per year and will make the cards almost impossible to counterfeit. The cards were first issued March 24, in Tappahannock, Va.'s, DMV location.

Men for Change: Group to discuss men's issues

The University of Richmond's Women Involved in Living and Learning program strives to educate its members on gender and its relation to sexuality, race, class and culture, according to its Web site.

UR addresses abortion issues with debate on campus

Abortion is ordinarily a touchy subject that often sparks heated and unpleasant discussions, but the mood in the University of Richmond's Alice Haynes room on Monday night was light and friendly during the abortion debate, "Women, Choice and Abortion: What are the Issues?" The Rev.

UR addresses abortion issues with debate on campus

Abortion is ordinarily a touchy subject that often sparks heated and unpleasant discussions, but the mood in the University of Richmond's Alice Haynes room on Monday night was light and friendly during the abortion debate, "Women, Choice and Abortion: What are the Issues?" The Rev.

Discount market to benefit female business owners

The University of Richmond will host the Ivy Market next week in the Jepson Alumni Center, offering students and community members marketplace shopping to benefit organizations in the Richmond area. The Ivy Market will feature female-owned businesses from along the East Coast, offering exceptional prices on a variety of items including art, jewelry, paper, gifts, ceramics, clothing and shoes. The market will be open 5 p.m.

'I'm sure Smith and Darwin are dancing in heaven right now'

"I'm sure Smith and Darwin are dancing in heaven right now," said Elias Khalil, an organizer of the symposium about emotions, natural selection and rationality that took place last weekend at the University of Richmond's Jepson Alumni Center. Khalil, who is associate professor of economics at Monash University in Australia and a visiting lecturer in economics at Richmond, was referring to Adam Smith, author of "The Theory of Moral Sentiments" (1759), and Charles Darwin, author of the "Origin of Species" (1859). Smith and Darwin's ideas have received a resurgence of interest, thanks to recent discoveries and new techniques in experiments and neuroscience. Jonathan Wight, Richmond professor of economics and international studies, also helped plan and organize the event. "This symposium provides an outstanding opportunity to think across schools and departments," he said, "and to celebrate two great thinkers -- Smith and Darwin -- who provide us today with continued inspiration." The event also served as a kick off for a new major that will be offered to support the school's Strategic Initiative, which will focus on developing synergies among the various schools.

Marketing professor diagnoses problems with Starbucks

Bill Bergman, a Robins School of Business adjunct marketing professor, told University of Richmond students Wednesday evening that Starbucks was a phenomenal case study in the world of marketing. "It clearly just got too big," Bergman said.

Murray takes RCSGA presidential election

Mike Murray has defeated Andrew Howell for president of the Richmond College Student Government Association. "They both ran laudable campaigns and represented themselves well," said Matthew Whittaker, outgoing RCSGA president. Murray, a junior business major and leadership minor, captured 483 votes and Howell, also a junior, won 108.

Ayers joins Justice Souter on humanities panel

Since his inauguration, University of Richmond President Edward Ayers has stressed the need for students to study the humanities, which he says offer important lessons that can be used in all facets of work. "The humanities prepare people to be leaders, to see the largest contexts and consequences of things, to make subtle distinctions and create new experiences, to deal with ambiguity, novelty and complexity," Ayers wrote in a recent issue of Daedalus, the quarterly journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. But Ayers has also articulated this need to a national audience. On March 9, Ayers joined David Souter, associate justice of the U.S.

RCSGA debate focuses on improving campus dialogue

Two students vying to become the next Richmond College Student Government Association president expressed a strong initiative to reform the lack of student participation in major campus issues, events and decisions during a debate that began at 8 p.m.

After death, Oldham's legacy lives on in scholarship

Although a life's accomplishment for many people would be changing the life of one person, for University of Richmond honorary alumnus and trustee emeritus W.

Smoking to be banned in bars and restaurants

Restaurant and bar patrons in Virginia will have to brave the elements if they choose to smoke after Dec.

NYU professor discourages conformity

A New York University law school professor and author spoke to a crowd of students, staff and community members last week about how society forces members of the GLBTQ community and all minority groups to "cover" distinguishing personal qualities that set them apart. Kenji Yoshino, who wrote "Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights" and is involved in a variety of social issues, said assimilation into society for someone who is different from the mainstream wasn't easy and often required those who were different to hide that which distinguishes them. President Franklin Roosevelt frequently sat behind a table and attempted to hide his physical disability, even though everyone knew he was confined to a wheelchair, Yoshino said.

Club and Intramural

Police Report: 3/05/09

Assault Feb. 25, 3:19 p.m. -- A University of Richmond police officer was assaulted while serving a summons to a woman off campus in the City of Richmond.

A&S grad school merging with Continuing Studies

The University of Richmond Arts and Sciences graduate school admitted its last class of students in 2008 and will move its Liberal Arts program to the School of Continuing Studies That's according to Kathy Hoke, associate dean of arts and sciences.

Anonymous screenings aim to detect at-risk students

The man who runs the university's mental health programs says he believes most students at the University of Richmond "are operating on a regular basis very close to their breaking point." Dr. Peter LeViness, director of Counseling and Psychological Services, said he knew there were students on campus who never came to CAPS, but were functioning daily in in an unhealthy mental state. "We would like to get them to lower that threshold so they're not so close to their breaking point," he said. CAPS is currently in its second year of providing free online mental health screenings to students, but only a small number of students have taken the evaluations, and many remain unaware that the service is available. The CAPS Web site offers multiple self-assessments, each designed to recognize a number of problems, which include depression, alcoholism, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety and post-traumatic stress. CAPS pays an annual subscription fee to link to various evaluations on the Web, one of them being through mentalhealthscreening.org. The organization's Web site describes the benefits of the surveys, saying that taking them "offers students a year-round venue to explore and identify symptoms of: mood and anxiety disorders/eating disorders/harmful and hazardous alcohol use and to seek timely and appropriate help from their counseling and health services centers." With roughly one-third of Richmond students going to CAPS at least once during their four years at Richmond, LeViness said CAPS treated roughly 12 percent to 13 percent of the student body each year, including law school students.

7 inches of snow bury campus in worst storm in 8 years

Video When Sadia Gado Alzouma invited her friend to visit Richmond last weekend, she intended to show her a stunning campus set against the backdrop of a warm spring-like day. Instead, Alzouma, an international student from Niger, saw her first snow and took photos of a campus draped in white after a significant snowstorm struck the university Sunday evening and continued into Monday, burying the campus under 7 inches of snow. The university canceled all undergraduate, law and continuing studies classes, and all scheduled events for Monday.

GLBTQ students embrace alternate social scene

This article is the second in a series about issues facing the GLBTQ community at the University of Richmond. On a recent Wednesday night, a handful of University of Richmond students went to a nondescript looking bar in downtown Richmond for "College Night." Inside on the dance floor, lights flashed brilliantly as scantily dressed women moved in sync next to well-dressed men, hip-hop and techno thudding from giant speakers.

Administration attempts to save bus route to campus

As the Greater Richmond Transit Company considers cutting its bus service to the University of Richmond, campus administrators are creating a marketing plan they hope will increase ridership among students and staff. Earlier last year, Human Resource Services contacted GRTC to purchase bus passes for its employees, said Lisa Miles, coordinator of Common Ground and a member of the Common Ground Action Committee on accessibility and transportation. The administration ultimately decided to commit to investing in bus passes for employees because it would help fulfill the community engagement aspect of the Strategic Plan, would assist employees who may not otherwise have a means of transportation to the campus and would reduce the carbon footprint of the university, said Carl Sorensen, associate vice president for human resources. As of fall 2008, all University of Richmond employees have access to free GRTC passes, and about 70 staff members use the Route 16 bus regularly, Sorensen said.