A change in Dining at American University

By Adam Shachat, and Billy Stanton

Changes are coming in the American University tunnel. While one favorite is leaving, a new restaurant’s grand opening is right around the corner. Asian Flavors, an Asian and Chinese style restaurant will be moving into the vacant space next to the UPS store and is bracing for it’s anticipated opening next month. Asian Flavors will serve an array of Asian food such as Thai, Mongolian and Chinese food.

According to Dan Courter, the Director of Auxiliary Services at American University, Tom Gera owner of the lease on Asian Flavors, the restaurant will definitely be open after Christmas break, but there are hopes it will be open sometime during the break and will cater to staff and those who will be around campus during the holiday season. Although there is no set date for the opening, January seems to be month Courter and Gera are aiming for. On November 23, there was a meeting between Gera, Courter, and several others including student representatives to figure out what the last steps were before the opening was ready.

Construction for Asian Flavors is all set and most of the kitchen supplies have been delivered already. According the Courter the kitchen is already set up and ready to start, all that remains is a final inspection in order to receive their food license. After that, the kitchen staff will be allowed to turn on the gas and start cooking. Right now the windows looking into the restaurant are painted black, but Courter claims the paint will be removed December 10^th.

Asian Flavors was settled on by Courter and a group of people including student representatives who settled on an Asian style restaurant. The group of students helped pick a type of food that is not readily available already on campus. They also used a few surveys in which Asian food came out as the food that students wanted most. Although there is already one common complaint about the decision from a few students “We don’t have many options on the weekends if we want to use meal swipes” said junior Chris Cole. “We have three places on campus that take meal swipes but there are times during the weekend when TDR, The Tavern and Boxed Lunch are closed. Other times TDR is the only place that’s open. We should more options to use our meal swipes.” Meal swipes are worth one meal at participating restaurants on campus, which differ from Eagle Bucks which is a limited dollar amount that can be redeemed at certain places on or around campus. In addition, many students on campus have a full meal plan and can’t afford to pay for food otherwise. “ It makes no sense that I bought the full meal plan and on the weekends, and have so few options to use it,” said freshmen Michael Gardner.

However, while one restaurant is planning its unveiling, another is plotting its exit strategy. There are talks of the McDonalds closing a few doors down from the soon to be Asian Flavors. However it is unlikely its replacement will take meal swipes. McDonalds has been a popular spot for fast food on campus for about ten years now, but its lease will be up at the end of 2011 and as of now it will not be renewed according to Courter. While some students are very excited about the arrival of Asian Flavors, certain students are upset about McDonalds leaving the campus of Au. “ It was a place I could get my food quickly and it was cheap and good,” said sophomore Michael Mullen.

December 31 marks the final day that this particular restaurant will be serving such popular items as the McChicken, the Big Mac, and the McDouble. According to Courter, “They will be serving food right up until the last minute of their lease. They are not going to pull out on us.”

The McDonalds on campus just recently added to the number of hours it is open during the week, making Friday and Saturday open around the clock for 24 hour service. However it seems that the franchise owner simply did not see it as a strong enough location to renew its lease. The employees don’t know much about the lease or if they will renew. The store manager Anthony Johnson would like this particular location to remain a McDonalds for as long as possible. ““McDonalds has been here longer than I have, about 10 years I heard them say. We hope to stay here a lot longer” said Anthony. It is unclear what they employees will do when the lease is up.

In terms of what will be picked to replace it, the search has already been started. Courter has already been in communication with many of the big franchises in fast food. “We are going to cast a pretty broad net to see who is interested” said Courter. “Whoever fits the best and has the resources to make it happen will pick up the lease.”

A dinning service program has already been assembled that includes student representation to discuss options and find out what would be the most popular choice for students and faculty. They are conducting more surveys and listening to opinions on the matter. One popular idea is for a place that will accept meal swipes, although that will be unlikely if a large franchise picks up the lease.

Its very interesting because schools neighboring us such as George Washington, Georgetown, and Maryland don’t seem to have this problem infect, they have to many chooses to choose from. “ It’s a little intimidating with all the food selections we have to choose from here but, I definitely can’t complain,” said Junior Garry Devine at Georgetown and a former American University student.

Although the school is losing one popular eatery, it will shortly be gaining a new one a few doors down. Out with the old and in with the new.

AU Central- Better or Worse?

The brand-new "AU Central" office is as hassle-free as Wal-Mart for one-stop-shopping, or at least that's what American University officials hope students think about their solution to the overlap of several other campus services.

This past summer, the university combined the offices of the Registrar, Student Accounts, and Financial aid into one place called AU Central. Officials hope that as a result, students' concerns can be more easily solved and satisfaction of university services is improved.

“The days of students self diagnosing their problem and searching for answers in a variety of offices is over,” said director of operations Jonnel Clothier in an interview with The Eagle. “The students aren’t here to do their business processes, they’re here to get an education."

The AU Central office serves as the front door to the three offices of the Registrar, Student Accounts and Financial Aid. When students come into the office, they interact with one counselor. Every student who calls, e-mails, or walks into the office will have an electronic ticket opened by one of the eight counselors and the ticket will not be closed until the problem is resolved.

Though AU Central has now begun to finesse its services, it was not working as smoothly when it first opened. According to Clothier, the office's eight counseling staff members were hit with almost 1,000 phone calls the second day it was open. Some students reported being on hold for over an hour this past summer. Since AU Central opened on July 1, students' reactions to their interaction with the office have been mixed.

Sophomore Danna Hailfinger, a political science major, said she had to go to AU central midway through the semester. She needed to fill out a proof of enrollment form in order to receive scholarship money. Hailfinger said that AU Central employees were nice and made the process easy.

"I just walked right in, told them my problem, was given the form, signed it and was done," she said. "Last year when I had to do this, I first went to Financial Aid, did something there, and then I had to go over to the Registrar's office. It was a lot of annoying running around."

Yet despite a shiny new waiting room with comfy chairs and up-to-date technology to streamline student processes, some students say the place is impersonal and more trouble than it's worth.

Senior Amanda Merkwae, a Law and Society major, said she had been dealing with the Financial Aid office ever since arriving at AU. Whenever she had a question about her loans or grants, she contacted the same person who usually dealt with her file. That way, she didn't have to start from scratch every time.

Merkwae said that when the switch to AU Central was made, she had a hard time explaining her concerns to employees who "had clearly not been dealing with this kind of stuff for very long."

"I understand the office's need to train new staff members, but this lack of experience caused me to pay multiple visits to the office when they could not adequately answer the questions or file the documents that the old Financial Aid Office was able to," she said.

The senior's roommate Jesse Schwab, a junior, experienced problems when communicating via email to AU Central officials over the summer.

"The employee who was responding to me was really unprofessional, spelled tons of things wrong and generally just sounded like he didn't care too much about my concern," Schwab said. "Maybe he was busy or maybe he didn't know what he was doing, but either way I don't think an office responsible to do and know so much can afford to mess up like that."

Clothier said she and her staff have been working diligently to fix those concerns. Three new staff counselors started working in the office in early September, and work study positions have helped aid the staffing shortage as well. There is also a list of frequently asked questions on the AU Central website that Clothier recommends students check out before sending a request to the office. She has also said that since the office opened in July, approximately 72 percent of callers and visitors reported a positive experience through a random survey.

“Right now, we may not be as fast as we would like to be, but we believe a complete answer that may take a little longer to provide is what students prefer,” Clothier said in the Eagle interview.

The officials behind AU Central also hope that using technology will further streamline student transactions.

“Whether it’s paying their bill, applying for whatever, or dealing with an issue that comes up in their financial aid package, we’d like to have as many processes as possible automated so the students can just take care of it at 2:00 in the morning if they want,” said interim director Elizabeth Douglass in a June interview with American Today.

According to Student Government President Nate Bronstein, AU Central had been in the making for a couple years, and officials relied on his and other students' feedback to craft the idea in its early stages.

"Over the summer I put together a team of about 20 people to test the system, and we all thought of fake issues or problems we had and entered the office to test the advocates on everything from a blocked account, to financial aide to issues with registration to studying abroad," he said. "I would say there was about an 85 percent success rate - and for the first time, this wasn't bad at all."

Bronstein said most "failures" were in issues pertaining to scholarships and financial aid, but that AU Central incorporated the feedback into their system.

American University isn't the first college in the district to combine offices into a one-stop-shop, and Bronstein said that precedence encouraged AU to follow others' footsteps.

At George Washington University, the "Colonial Center" brings together in a "friendly, centralized, service-culture setting the offices of Student Financial Assistance, Student Accounts, the Registrar, GWorld, and the Cashier," according to its website. The Center is located in GWU's equivalent of Mary Graydon Center where most students congregate, and also has a fully-fledged online portal.

Yet at nearby Georgetown University, the offices of financial aid and student accounts are still in two separate buildings on opposite sides of campus. Suzanne Fonzi, a sophomore at Georgetown, says she had never really considered combining those services into one place but that it might be a good idea.

"Even though it's clear in theory to which place you'd bring a certain question, you end up getting shuffled around pretty often," she said. "But I don't always have time to search around the website and figure out what x problem means and where I should go, so if the most popular services were in one place it seems like it would be helpful."

A Voice 4 U, A Voice 4 All of US

Micah Deligdish

American University students have successfully elected the very first student to be on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission of the District of Columbia. Through a campaign titled “A Voice 4 U”, freshman Deon Jones won the vote for the single-member district 3D07 for the ANC. Jones’ election will give the students of American University representation in the government that makes many decisions regarding their campus life.

The Advisory Neighborhood Commissions in the District of Columbia is in charge of drafting and voting on legislation that reflects the neighborhood’s best interest. They are often consulted on the local implementation of city policies and projects and serve as a constant line of communication between citizens and their government.

A Voice 4 U was the political campaign created to elect two students to the ANC in order to get a voice in DC’s local government. American University is part of two single-member districts: 3D02 and 3D07. District 3D07 encompasses students who live around the “South Side” of campus, while district 3D02 related to “North Side” residents of campus.

No student had ever been elected to these positions before, and A Voice 4 U was the first successful attempt in doing so.

Because the ANC represents the local neighborhoods, that means it also controls the actions and developments of American University. Some of these actions include parking enforcement, building initiatives, and the AU Campus Plan.

“We believe that we can bring a unique set of interests and perspectives to the table if we are given a seat and a voice,” the A Voice 4 U website states.

The AU Campus Plan is a 10 year projection based on the growth of the university. The developments include adding housing, dining facilities, research facilities, sports and recreation facilities, a new law school, and an alumni center.

The ANC also has the power to approve and deny aspects of student life outside of the AU Campus Plan. This includes outdoor concerts, parking privileges, providing liquor licenses, and the creation of a Fraternity and Sorority Row.

According to the A Voice 4 U website, American University students make up over 60% of the constituents of ANC Single-Member District 3D02 and over 90% of the constituents of SMD 3D07.

“I think it’s important that we get a student elected [to the commission],” sophomore Michelle Lindahl, a student in the Kogod School of Business said. “It’s not fair that the majority of the residents are students, but we don’t even have control over our own campus.”

The North Side candidate was Tyler Sadonis, a freshman at American University. A native of Liverpool, New York, Sadonis interned for a mayoral campaign in high school and also won the George Eastman Young Leaders Award from the University of Rochester. As a student at AU, he is a member of the School of Public Affairs Leadership Program.

Sadonis was not elected to the ANC. A Voice 4 U will have to try again in the next election to get a student elected to district 3D02.

The South Side candidate was Deon Jones, also a freshman at American University. In Jones’ hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, he worked as advisor for the Superintendent of Fulton County Schools, a city councilman, and the Mayor of Atlanta. Deon is also a member of the School of Public Affairs Leadership Program.

“The time has come to promote common bonds, build bridges and perfect the community as involved citizens,” Jones said. “I think one thing about politics is that you should run when you can do a better job than someone already in office…I have experience making sure students are heard and making sure students have a seat.”

Even though this is the first year a student was elected. It is not the first time anyone has tried.

“Two years ago I tried to run for the 3D07 seat,” Junior and Student Government member Sami Green said. “I attempted and petitioned several times buy experienced institutional hurdles that kept me from running.”

While Green didn’t get elected herself she understood the importance of getting a student elected and remained dedicated to the A Voice 4 U campaign. The success of the campaign this year is partially the result of Student Government’s use of the student public relation group Eagle Comm.

With all the power the ANC holds over American University. The big thinkers behind the Voice 4 U

campaign thought it was only fair to get a student elected to a seat. While Sadonis was unable to grab the

seat for his district, candidate Deon Jones was victorious in his pursuits and now represents American

University in the ANC. The A Voice 4 U campaign continues to strive to bridge the gaps between AU’s

students and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Music Fraternity at AU?

Music Fraternity at AU?

On a typical Thursday night, Barry Weinstein can be found slaving away practicing his trumpet in a practice room at American University’s Katzen Arts Center… alone.

“It’s hard work, but I love my trumpet,” says Weinstein, a Sophomore Music Minor at American University. “Creating music is best exercised with a variety of talent and musical interpretations found dispersed across the campus. … it’s just really hard to find musicians to jam with,” he says.

This same frustration motivated the students at American University to create a chapter of Mu Beta Psi, a national honorary music fraternity. One of the oldest musical fraternities in America, Mu Beta Psi was founded in 1925 at North Carolina State University. Since then, Mu Beta Psi has become a recognized fraternity at 19 schools, but only nine out of the 19 schools house active chapters.

The fraternity markets itself as a service and music fraternity, and began as a male-only honor fraternity for colleges that did not offer a Music major. It wasn’t until the 1960s that the fraternity admitted women. Regardless, members of the fraternity are referred to as “Brother’s” even if they are female. By the year 2000, the fraternity grew to include multiple colleges through the eastern part of the United States.

Mu Beta Psi runs several scholarship programs, and are known for being extremely involved in their school’s music departments. Andy Stephens, the National Vice President of Expansion of Mu Beta Psi explains, “Every one of our Chapters has service programs. Some of them concentrate on helping support their marching and pep bands, others usher concerts and plays, and some work with vocal groups. Through our connections with college and local groups, our Chapters often host Battles of the Bands and large vocal concerts,” says Stephens. Mu Beta Psi takes part in all types of jobs that focus on helping out the arts; from ushering musical performances to cleaning up after theatrical shows. They ensure that band performances run smoothly, and help all bands, both large and small ensembles.

Brothers also place posters around campus to advertise for upcoming musical events. Some chapters host spaghetti dinners to get the brothers acquainted, and host formals for the students to bond with each other. “We host social events with college musicians, whether or not they're involved in music groups. It's no use being in a tight-knit group if you can't have fun together!” says Stephens.

The actual process of becoming a colony, or chapter of the fraternity, is not too complicated, but it is quite time consuming. To become a colony, potential Brothers must go through a training period of several months. Stephens explains, “Many of our Brothers consider pledging or colonization to be like adding an extra class on your schedule. Over 8 to 10 weeks (dependent on scheduling conflicts), every colonist and pledge has to prove their commitment to our ideals of Music, Brotherhood and Service. We can't run a standard pledge term with no framework in place at American, so we take the base information about the Fraternity, combine it with notes on how best to run your future Chapter, and teach through lessons, interviews, and activities,” he says. For American University’s chapter, named the Tau Colony, the training period will not start until Spring Semester of 2011, and will last into early April.

“We will probably end up with a starting colony of 25-30 people, which is still double the amount necessary to start a colony. In the future, if AU continues to be enthusiastic about Mu Beta Psi, I think it has the potential to get pretty big,” says Claire Radziwon, Sophomore at American University. Radziwon was one of the founding students who came up with the idea of having a Mu Beta Psi at AU.

Radziwon explains that in order to establish a colony, a college must elect an Executive Committee, which includes President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Member-at-Large, and Librarian. As officers, the executive committee runs meetings, keeps track of what the colony is up to, and sets up the future Chapter’s traditions and role at their college. The Executive Committee is the main contact with the Performing Arts department, and with the school in general.

Each position is vital to the running of a Mu Beta Psi chapter, and each leadership role has specific criteria. The President must be the leader of the chapter, and essentially organize meetings and activities. The Vice President is primarily concerned with the internal health of the Chapter. The Secretary takes notes on the meetings and keeps documents organized. The Treasurer maintains the chapter financially and the Member-at-Large is in charge of finding out what is going on at other Chapters on the National level of the group. Executive Committee members have a larger time commitment than most.

Radziwon has hopes of becoming an officer of the first ever chapter of Mu Beta Psi. “If I get the position that I would like, I would be very excited about it because it would enable me to be an active participant in the growth and management of the fraternity,” she says.

Even with competent leaders, a new Chapter start-up does face a lot of problems in its first few years. According to Stephens, “Often, new Chapters take on too many responsibilities, and those come at the detriment of their Brothers' class work. They may also have trouble recruiting new members consistently, though it helps to draw from all music ensembles on campus as the AU group plans to do.”

New member recruitment does not seem to be an issue for the American University campus. Yiseon Song, a Sophomore at AU, is one of 44 members of American University’s Mu Beta Psi facebook group. She is eager to join and said, “I think it would be cool to do street performances!”

But, some students are not so excited about Mu Beta Psi. “Another fraternity?!” says Jacob Ross, a Junior at AU. “Honestly, the last thing American needs is another exclusive club. It feels like Greek life is taking over my college experience, and I’m not even Greek!”

Radziwon defends Mu Beta Psi saying, “Annija and I decided to start the AU Chapter because we were interested in Greek life, but decided none of the social sororities or professional fraternities were right for us. Then we realized that there was a section of students being left out of Greek life at AU; the musicians! We wanted to give those students, including ourselves, the opportunity to be in an organization that represented music.”

Although Barry Weinstein was excited at the prospect of a new way to meet musicians, he went to the first meeting, and did not find Mu Beta Psi to be appealing. Weinstein describes a “poor marketing strategy”, explaining, “it offered more points of service than points of personal benefit”. Cleaning up after band concerts seemed to be Mu Beta Psi’s greatest selling points at the first recruitment meeting on campus, leaving once excited potential members confused. “It’s just too bad!” says Weinstein.

For now, Weinstein will continue his late night solo-jam sessions; but made a few contacts with other musicians at the first Mu Beta Psi meeting.

American University Independent Arts Collective

Bringing the “Indie” Back to AU

By: Claire Rychlewski

            B.o.B., State Radio, and Super Mash Bros may not be the only musical artists coming to AU this year—not if Carolyn Becker and Jason Toner have anything to say about it. Cue the American University Independent Arts Collective (AUIA Collective): an organization dedicated to the introduction of alternative music and art to the American University campus.

The AUIA Collective is a club for AU students who wish to see a more independent arts scene on campus—this includes visual arts and live music. Co-presidents Toner and Becker are hoping to produce a ‘zine— independent, do it yourself info pamphlets, for the more uninformed— book shows with local bands, have record fairs, and introduce American to an alternative arts scene.  “The club aims to regularly bring music and arts acts in a more interactive and empowering fashion,” Toner said,  “Further engaging the already active student body by providing another creative outlet through a different outlet than already available.

Eagle article about an AUIA show in November 2002

AUIAC was a club on campus in the early 2000s, but disbanded. Becker and Toner heard about the club at a meeting for Positive Youth Fest 6— an annual celebration of Do-It-Yourself culture, music, and activism from the Washington, DC area. The Kay Spiritual Life Center (or simply Kay) was brought up as a possible venue for the event to be held, and that is when someone at the meeting mentioned that he had started AUIAC—and that Toner and Becker could find his constitution and reactivate the club. The two immediately jumped at the opportunity to revive the club, but unfortunately, it was not that easy. Since Student Activities did not keep AUIAC’s original constitution, Becker and Toner had to start from scratch. “I thought it would be cool to revive it because its original purpose was exactly what I wanted to do: book bands that I like at AU,” Toner said. “Carolyn and I have expanded the purpose of the club to do other things we both would like to see happen as well as keeping the original intent of the club intact.”

Carolyn Becker, Co-President

            Toner expressed disappointment in the current AU arts scene. He explains that student works of art are rarely displayed, there have been no exhibitions for students to showcase their art, and the music brought to American is either mainstream bands, or a student music group. Vice-President Ryan Grant offered a more personal reaction to the current visual arts scene at American, explaining that what he sees around campus seems to be “art for art’s sake,” rather than art that has a relevance to its surrounding environment and society. “I imagine that the club’s emphasis being much more both individualistic and community oriented so that any art projects undertaken will, a.) Not be for any grades and b.) have no criteria to be met other than the artists own inspiration. So art in that sense may be a lot purer.” Becker, an art major, said that she felt under-represented in the art that is displayed in buildings like the Katzen Arts Center.  “The art students do not receive much attention and there are not many ways that all of us can interact and be aware of each other.”

            One major staple of the club is bringing D.C. indie and hard-core bands to play shows on campus. Washington D.C. has a history of being an influential and pioneering scene for music. In the 1980s, the evolution of hardcore, a genre of music born out of punk rock, began in D.C. with bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains. Additionally, D.C. is known for a unique genre called go-go, which is a blend of funk, rhythm and blues, and early hip-hop.  Being in an environment that fosters independence and promotes exploration of non-mainstream music, AU would seem like the perfect place to start this kind of club. Interestingly enough, George Mason University, located right outside D.C., also has an Independent Arts Collective with similar goals to AU’s.

“AU has been an outlet for the scene in the past, and now that we are a functioning club, we hope to bring hardcore back to AU,” said Toner. He added that he hears older people remember about shows in the basement of Kay with fondness. “It’s nice to be able to have shows on campus again,” he said.

Since AU has not been as involved with the local music scene recently, most students are unaware of its place in the independent music community of D.C. Sophomore Sara Norton is an example of this. “I wasn’t even aware that AU had a music scene. I had never considered it to be unified.” Norton said. She added that she never thought to define AU’s music scene by any specific genre, because the musical acts that the Student Union Board have brought so far have been really diverse. “I’d really like to see local bands,” she said. “I think it would be a great way to get AU involved with the community outside of just the campus.”

Ryan Grant, Vice-President

When asked about the larger student body’s reaction, Grant said “Most people on campus won’t be all that aware of what’s going on, but for a certain crowd it’ll be an option—something of an enigma in this part of town to have local shows here. “ Becker added that all students will have the opportunity to try to book bands they like to play at Kay through the permit that AUIAC has. 

As for specific plans this year, Toner and Becker are just hoping to get AUIAC off the ground and gain some recognition among the student body. Along with the scheduled shows, the club will try to produce two or three ‘zines that will be submission based. Personal stories about seeing live music, recipes, original artwork, band interviews, and album reviews are encouraged. The club would also like to have a record and CD fair sometime in March; Becker said that she wanted to ask local record labels to come with a stock of their inventory to sell, along with other local record stores and independent distribution centers (or individuals with an extensive record collection).  Additionally, Becker and Toner want to have at least one student run, student submitted art exhibition, as well as hold movie nights, political, art, and music discussions, and paint-a-thons.

 So how will this start up independent arts club—with only about dozen members at the moment—reach the rest of AU? “I think the events will draw kids themselves,” Toner said.  “Lots of kids want to have some way of blowing off some steam, and what better way than going to a show with some bands playing fast, loud music? Kids will be able to go nuts, have fun, and see some cool bands. And if kids don't want to go to some random hardcore show, what better way to unwind than checking out some cool artwork done by your peers? This club will have something for everyone, and that’s what is going to make us successful.”

SIS Global Scholars Program

Three-Year Bachelor’s Program Creates Concern With Students

Students at American University are concerned with the effects of the new three-year Bachelor of Arts program at the School of Service of International Studies.

Caroline Smith, current senior at American said, “It takes away from college experience most people anticipate.”

Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland typically have three years to complete B.A. programs, as three-year programs are the typical models at the University of Cambridge and Oxford University in England.

Currently schools in the United States are looking at three-year B.A. programs for students to complete.

American University is joining other schools by creating a three-year B.A. program for the school for the Service of International Students. The three-year BA program is called the Global Scholars Program, which will start in the fall of 2011.

The Global Scholars Program is a test program, which will admit 25 students into the first class. The students admitted into the three-year BA program work towards a degree in international relations in three years, instead of four years, with an opportunity to complete a B.A. or either an M.A. in four years. The program is also a test program as other schools may adopt three-year programs if this program is successful.

Associate Dean Marie Cowles, said, “ (The Global Scholars Program) was an act of different sources. The Provost office knew of other three-year B.A. programs at other schools. And the person who took the lead (for the Global Scholars program) was Leeanne Dunsmore.” Dunsmore looked at other models in the country and made sure the program at American University was a quality program.

The Global Scholars Program is designed too so that students participate in core-required courses in a Global Scholars cohort during the first year. According to the Global Scholars website, students are required to take certain classes including certain general education requirements.

Additionally, students are required to live in a residence hall the first year of study with other participants in the Global Scholars Program, as part of a living learning community. This living learning component is important and participants will not be allowed to live in other living learning communities such as the honors community although participants will be allowed to be apart of the honors program. Students can also study abroad to American University or the Service of International Studies Study Abroad programs during the summer between the first or second years.

Interim Faculty Director, Sarah Knight, said, “This program has all the requirements of a four year program, it’s not different in that sense.”

Participants can also conduct research, intern abroad, and study a new language in the second or the third year.

The Global Scholars program is conducted in a sense that students can “enjoy tailored co-curricular experiences such as mentoring by your Global Scholars program director and alumni, focused sequential career development and advising, and undergrad research opportunities, including presentation at research conferences,” according to a brochure for the Global Scholars Program.

Three-year B.A. programs have several benefits as the programs help to save college students tuition, as most college programs cost up to $40,000, according to a Washington post article, Colleges Consider Three-year Degrees to Save Undergrads Time, Money.

According to Dean Goodman, Dean for SIS, “the total cost for students will be about $8,000 less and students will save on living expenses.” Goodman also said, ”there are additional expenses and revenue for the summer however this will be an efficient cost of university revenue. Student’s family would save a lot of money.” According to financial aid, a students financial aid will not be affected, a student will just receive financial aid for 3 years instead of four.

Also, grad school admissions does not think a three-year B.A. program will affect a students ability to apply or to participate in a graduate school program.

Additionally, three-year B.A. programs help students save time in their undergraduate studies.

Although there are several benefits to a three-year B.A. program students are concerned with the effect a program like this can have on the college experience for students.

One concern is this program will take away from student activities. Brianna Hurley, sophomore at American University, said, “The college experience will be a rush to complete within three years and this will take away from college activities.”

Some student activities a three-year B.A. program could interfere with are athletics. Steve Jennings, Head Coach for Field Hockey, said in an email, “Without knowing any real details of the new three year program I would say while it could be difficult for athletics, it could also allow us to have a distinct advantage over other universities as student athletes may decide to begin work on their masters in year four. In essence a student athlete could get athletic scholarship money to help them through their bachelor's degree and half of their masters, which is in itself a big incentive. As always the true effect remains to be seen.”

Basketball is another sport that could be affected by a three-year degree. Jeffery Jones, head coach for men’s basketball, said, “ …It could create potential problems in a patriot league school.” Jones was not sure if the patriot league would allow a student to receive a graduate waiver if a student wanted to participate in graduate school during the student’s fourth year.

However, as a three-year bachelor’s degree may be difficult, Mark Davin, head coach for men and women’s swimming and diving said, “three years is no big problem at all, it may be a bit of a disadvantage since students may not have the ability to compete in their fourth year.” Additionally, Davin said, “studying abroad in the summer does not affect a students ability to participate in swimming, everyone does it in the summer.”

Students are also concerned with the affects the Global Scholars Program may have on a student’s general education courses as although students are required to take general education courses, there are specific courses students are required to take.

Hurley said, “The program takes away from the purpose of a liberal arts school and the program takes away from the purpose of the general education program.

The living component also concerns students as Heather Ginsberg, junior at American University said, “I wouldn’t want to live with students taking classes with it affects students social experience affects how students meet new people.”

Other schools with B.A. programs include Hartwick College on Oneonta, New York who launched its 3-year B.A. program in February 2009. Also, Bates College in Maine and Ball State University in Indiana.

And Purdue University’s College of Technology in Indiana announced a two-year bachelor’s degree, which is aimed at educating unemployed auto and manufacturing workers.

There have been failed attempts to the three-year B.A. programs as only five students chose the three-year program at Upper Iowa University when it was offered several years ago.

Currently students are being chosen for this program through the early decision process and the deadline regular decision is January 15.

Knight said, “There was nothing like this when I was in college. I did not know what my major was going to be. I probably would not have participated in a program like this. However, there are students who know what they want to do, (students who have a) crisp focus.” These are the students who are right for this program.