‘A Night to Unite’ raises money for WTC victims

Three hundred students packed the Hippodrome Friday to listen to an array of bands and remember the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Bicycle Thieves, Combination Lock, Cactus Patch and a hip-hop group from American University performed as students donated money to the Twin Towers Orphan Fund.

The Twin Towers Orphan Fund is a charity to continue education and health care for children who lost parents in the World Trade Center attacks.

Freshman Sarah Nir, a member of the Emerging Leaders Program, organized the event. It was co-sponsored by several groups, including the GWBlitz, Hillel, GW Journal, Community Living and Learning Center and Student Association.

The event also included a Jell-o eating contest and other games, a raffle giveaway of a DVD player and signed Guster posters.

Organizers said the event did not raise as much money as it could have, because several attendees did not give donations.

Dining Services lengthens Starbucks hours

Starbuck’s coffee, located in J Street, will expand operating hours next week to help students during exam time. Starbucks will be open until 2 a.m. starting Wednesday through Dec. 18.

Starbuck’s currently closes at 11 p.m. every day of the week. Opening hours will remain the same. Starbuck’s will start serving at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday and at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The J Street Columbian Square dining area will also remain open until 2 a.m. during exam week so students can have a quiet place to study, work in groups or take a break from preparing for exams, according to Dining Services.

Dining Services is also planning to expand the Starbuck’s hours until 12 a.m. during the month the January to see if there is enough business to maintain permanently expanded hours.

Sushi will be open on Sunday in January from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and, like Starbuck’s, if the new hours attract business they will remain expanded for the duration of the spring semester.

Former Reagan campaign adviser awarded fellowship

GW awarded former Reagan campaign adviser Peter D. Hannaford a School of Media and Public Affairs Shapiro fellowship. Hannaford currently runs his own public affairs and public relations company and will hold several discussions on campus next spring.

The discussions will cover current events and issues surrounding media and public affairs. He will lead brown bag lunch discussions covering topics including “Osama: 13th Century War; 21st Century Communications,” “English for Flacks” and “Politics 2002: New Civility?”

He plans to hold a public lecture on the war on terrorism in April.

Hannaford has worked in the field of politics and public relations for almost 40 years including a stint as Senior Communications Adviser for former President Ronald Reagan in 1980.

The Shapiro Fellowship program, funded by the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Charitable Trust, is awarded to “respected professionals” who can give students advice on their particular fields from a working perspective and inform them about current issues.

AOL-Time Warner CEO to discuss TV war coverage

AOL-Time Warner CEO Gerald M. Levin, who recently announced his spring retirement, will appear on the Kalb Report Monday to discuss the business of covering war and the financial implications of war coverage on newsrooms.

The forum, titled The Kalb Report: Journalism at the Crossroads, is third in a seven-part series and will be held at 8 p.m. in the ballroom of the National Press Club (14th and F streets).

-Trevor Martin