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AU in the News

Showcasing AU programs, professors, students and alumni in the news
January 13-19, 2007

Media Mavens
Today's generation of children, teens, and young adults, are known as Generation Digital, reported WUSA News Channel 9. American University professor Kathryn Montgomery is an expert on the digital culture that's evolving by the day. She says, 'Not long ago there was a lot of concern about kids being passive viewers, couch potatoes. Now they can be much more active and engaged, and they can be creators, communicators, actors.

Pork Problem Persists
The Las Vegas Sun reported on Sen. Harry Reid's stumbling Senate majority leader skills; he tried, and failed, to stop the Senate's anti-pork czars from meddling with his ethics reform bill. David Lublin, a political science professor at American University in Washington, said "the trip-up may not be the kind of political drama that hits home with voters, but serves as a reminder of Reid's 'paper thin' majority in the Senate and the appetite for reform after the years of scandals; maybe he needed to be a bit more aggressive than promised."

Legal Largesse
Diane Weinroth was named winner of the 2007 Jerrold Scoutt Prize, given by the D.C. Bar each year for work in an area non-profit that provides legal help to the poor and disadvantaged. Weinroth, an adjunct at WCL, is special counsel at the Children’s Law Center in D.C. The award was mentioned in the Jan. 19 issue of the Washington Examiner.

Touting Transparency
Senate Democrats and Republicans broke a difficult stalemate approving expansive legislation to curtail the influence of lobbyists, tighten congressional ethics rules and prevent the spouses of senators from lobbying senators and their staffs the Washington Post reported. James Thurber, a professor of political science at American University said the impact of the Senate bill would be substantial, "It will change lawmakers' behavior and lobbyists' behavior as well, and it will bring more transparency to lobbying."

Developing Democrats in Denver
Hoping to solidify a growing base in the Mountain West, Democrats will hold their 2008 national convention in Denver for the first time in a century, reported The Salt Lake Tribune. "They'll have to do a lot more for Utah than bring a convention to Denver", says Allan J. Lichtman, professor of history at American University in Washington, D.C., and author of The Keys to the White House.

Press Prefers Pumps over Power for Female Leaders
The coverage of Nancy Pelosi's ascent to speaker of the House suggests that people still like to discuss the appearance and physical traits of female politicians. Sarah Brewer, associate director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University in Washington, D.C. told the Chicago Tribune, "There have been many studies and content analyses on media coverage that demonstrate that women politicians are covered on their personal appearance and whether they're parents are married -- to the detriment of policy coverage."

You'd Have to be Crazy
Insanity defenses are mounted in only 2 percent of capital cases and succeed in only one-fifth of those. Legal experts say mothers like LaShuan Harris who kill their children have an easier time arguing they were not to blame. Rita J. Simon, an American University justice professor and co-author of The Insanity Defense, told the Associated Press, "It's the bizarre nature of the crime. What mother in her right mind would kill her children?"

AU in the News Archives