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AU in the News

Showcasing AU programs, professors, students and alumni in the news
Week of March 31 - April 4

Long-Term Effect of Tax Cuts
Although they opposed all of President Bush’s big tax breaks in 2001 and 2003, not only are Senators John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama looking to keep some of the cuts, but Obama may be planning to add more, reports The Washington Post. “Those are the provisions that detract from long-term growth even if you finance them with a reduction in government spending," said Robert Carroll, a former Bush Treasury official who teaches at American University. "If you pay for them with future tax increases, I think that would be awful."(3/28/08)

NASCAR goes to China
In response to decreasing sponsorship, NASCAR is going international for support, the Washington Business Journal reports. Under the guidance of Robert Sicina, a professor at American University’s Kogod School of Business, five MBA students--as part of a course project--are acting as consultants to NASCAR in an effort to bring more sponsorship. The results will be presented to companies in China this summer. (3/31/08)

What Will Happen at the Conventions?
Every presidential election season, the National Party Conventions are seen as multi-million dollar pomp and circumstance that has, over the years, become less important or relevant to the media. However, with a tight Democratic race and the possibility of a vice presidential candidate being named at the Republican Convention, there is more interest than ever in the conventions. James Thurber, director of AU's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, brought together a panel of political and media experts for a discussion of the 2008 National Party Conventions, which was broadcast on CSPAN2. (4/2/08)

Iraq War Documentaries
According to Pat Aufderheide, a professor at American University and documentary film expert, all documentary films on the Iraq war fall into three distinct categories: "Grunt docs," "why are we in Iraq" and "Learning from the Iraqis." While she admitted to The Washington Post. that policy change has been slow, Aufderheide believes the films have the potential to create change. "In the aggregate, they do make a difference," she noted. (4/2/08)

Israel Turns 60 at the Katzen
In what is being viewed as the largest exhibit of its kind in D.C., more than 50 works by 15 Israeli artists will be on display at American University’s Katzen Arts Center to honor Israel’s 60th birthday, reports Washington Jewish Week. “Personal Landscapes: Contemporary Art from Israel” will be on display until May 18, and introduces a new generation of artists, according to museum curator Jack Rasmussen. (3/27/08)

The GOP vs. John McCain
Sen. John McCain has gained many opponents during his 25-year tenure in Congress, but the number has decreased since becoming the GOP presidential nominee, reports U.S. News and World Report. According to American University professor James Thurber, McCain will bring a vast amount of experience should he win the election, but will run into issues with legislation on major issues. "I don't see how he can reach over to the Democratic Party [while wooing] a very conservative Republican Party to get the winning coalition to pass these things,” he said. (4/02/08)

New Electoral System?
Recent polls show vast dissatisfaction with the current system of elections and presidential nomination, spawning talks among the Republican party for new rules in the system for 2012, the Dallas Morning News reports. "Everyone thinks this year is a mess," said Curtis Gans, director of American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate, in light of the ongoing Democratic primaries and the swift end to the Republican nomination race. (4/1/08)

Harsh Interrogations Allowed
According to a 2003 memo, military interrogators were given authority by the Justice Department to use extreme methods when questioning detainees, arguing that they were exempt from laws banning the practice due to wartime powers, The New York Times reports. “This is a monument to executive supremacy and the imperial presidency,” said Eugene R. Fidell, who teaches military justice at Yale Law School and the Washington College of Law at American University. “It’s also a road map for the Pentagon for fending off any prosecutions.” (4/2/08)

AU in the News Archives