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| PUT THE FLAG BACK UP |
[Feb. 14th, 2005|06:03 pm] |
AUBG removed a Taiwanese flag from the grand staircase (defacto, flash), giving in to the pressure built up by Chinese students who felt the flag offended their national dignity.
Here's a summary what they say: Taiwan is not an independent state, Bulgaria and the US are not recognizing Taiwan, there's nobody in Taiwan at the American university in Bulgaria (the flag was sent in by a Taiwanese alum), so take it down.
A POS major in the past, I have never liked those independence movements. Once, I protested against a protest against Chinese occupation of Tibet. And I feel the world would be a calmer place with China and Taiwan holding hands. But now I am kind of starting to see the Taiwanese point.
You gotta love the spin. The US has been rooting for Taiwan from day one. Maine is not an independent state and there hasn't been anyone from Barbados for a while now. Let's take their flags down, too.
The entire thing is so ridiculous on many levels, but somehow no one is laughing.
I can believe that these guys got 130 people to sign their petition - I remember petitions of 400 against Thursday pizzas in the canteen and sign-up lists for an AUBG porn club.
What I can't believe is that the Student Government even talked to these guys. I can't believe the administration took the SG seriously. And I can't believe they obligingly took the flag down, for the first time in AUBG's history, and after spending thousands on diversity and tolerance trainings with Swiss consultants.
The wonderful thing about AUBG is that this place is the best sandbox your tuition money can buy. Unlike the US Army, AUBG is the place where you can be whatever you want to be, a luxury the real world doesn't provide. You can play out any conceivable dream: you can pretend you are a media mogul, a business guru, or a political leader, for the four short years anyway. And yes, you can dream Taiwan (or Kosovo, or Northern Ireland, or Corsica, or Texas) is independent. AUBG has never censored dreams.
And while you are playing out that weird dream of yours, there would be people who disagree with you, and these guys would argue, scream, mobilize masses and raise hell against you. Just as in real life.
But unlike in the real life, no one would ever burn your flag. Until now.
Ilya Vedrashko
FlashNews Publisher
AUBG Class 2000 |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 8th, 2005|12:24 am] |
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From the producers of Moroners
AUBG ALUMNI MEGA REUNION
bringing together graduates of all 11 AUBG and 2 EMBA classes to spend three days and two nights feeling young again.
May 27 - 29, 2005
Blagoevgrad
more...
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| Bobby Phillips on Pres. Bloom's Resignation |
[Feb. 8th, 2005|12:16 am] |
A letter by Prof. Phillips to AUBG Alumni Board; abridged.
By now you may have heard that the president of AUBG is resigning. I just wanted to let you know a little about the situation on campus.
In truth, it has been a really tough year and a half. Until two days ago, morale and general situation on campus was as bad as I've ever seen it. Many good members of the AUBG community were simply worn down by worry, by frustration, by disappointment, and by even a little anger. It was a situation that simply could not last.
I won't go into details here, but I will say that the vast majority of staff, faculty, and students believe that this resignation and the new presidential search is a very positive step. We are pleased and very relieved that the board recognized the seriousness of the situation and that three board members came to talk to the AUBG community to tell us the news. In the words of one staff member, "This is the first time in 14 years that the board has come to talk to us here at AUBG." I have to agree with her. The day of absentee-landlordesque board members needs to be over. I hope it marks a new road in real two-way communication between the board and the AUBG community.
We will also be taking on a new provost, Ann Ferren, who will arrive in March. She has been a dean and interim provost at American University in DC and has served as vice president for academic affairs at a small liberal arts college in Ohio. I was on the search committee for this position, and the committee finds her very qualified for the position.
So what to make of all of this change? I just wanted y'all to know that the mood on campus is very, very positive.
The biggest perk that comes with working at AUBG is that it keeps one hopeful and optimistic. But how could it be otherwise? AUBG has given me the opportunity to meet y'all...so many wonderful, caring, and intelligent people. Y'all, each in your own beautifully individual ways as you make your own paths after leaving AUBG, have made it someplace respected by the larger world.
And every semester brings forth new interesting people to meet and new chances to be hopeful and optimistic...to be optimistic about our small AUBG community ...the future of the region...and the larger world.
AUBG has a place and a future.
We've just been through yet another tough phase in our short life at the university, but the energy is coming back...even in the span of a few days.
I can't guarantee success; there are still too many variables out there to do that. What I can guarantee is that the vast majority of the AUBG community...faculty, staff, and students...are going to give it one really good try in the next year. So send us your positive energy (and for those like me who are theists, your prayers). We'll be needing it. Feel free to send this note on to other members of the AUBG community if there's someone whose email addresses are not in my notebook.
Bobby Phillips |
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| Loans: The Black List, Court Decisions. |
[Feb. 3rd, 2005|02:05 pm] |
Here's the official Black List of AUBG Alumni Whose Loans Are in Past Due Status (read: default).
And here's the court decision (pdf) on a first poor (but nameless) chap in default; more are promised to follow.
And here's an excerpt from a discussion on the Alumni Board mail list (open to public):
Alex Alexandrov (Board's treasurer, AUBG CFO):
"While I agree that the language of the contracts is not the best thing there is, I can assure you that the contracts are very much "inforcable" [sic.]. (For reference, check the aubg.bg/loans site). Latzi may have just volunteered to be among the first 10 (of 60) cases that will be brought to court. Please do not get me wrong, I do not want to spend my time engaging in lawsuits. Legal action will only be used if there is a refusal to acknwledge the receivable and the validity of the contract. And I GUARANTEE you that AUBG is resolved to bringing the accounts current." |
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| President Bloom Resigns |
[Feb. 3rd, 2005|09:23 am] |
The Board of Trustees of the American University in Bulgaria accepted the resignation of President Reynold Bloom. The Board has asked Dr. Bloom to stay through graduation in May 2005, and he has agreed to do so. Board Chairman David Flanagan stated, "The Board appreciates Ron Bloom's many contributions to AUBG, and we wish him well in his future endeavors. The Board also appreciates Dr. Bloom's willingness to continue in his position through the conclusion of this academic year.
--AUBG press release, Feb. 3, 2005 |
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| Pittman @ 50 |
[Dec. 9th, 2004|11:44 pm] |
The CFO turned 50 today. NaZdrave's go to dwpfc at yahoo.com.
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| Alum JamSession, Sofia, "Alcohol", Dec 9, 9pm |
[Nov. 26th, 2004|01:16 pm] |
Peter Svarc and Tony "Prezidenta" Ivanov on guitars unplugged with a lead singer Olia in a two-hour session at Sofia's "Alcohol" on Thursday, Dec. 9, starting 9pm. Other guest performers expected.
Address: Sofia, Rakovski 127 (map) |
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| deFacto: Hilltop to Host SWU Students |
[Nov. 17th, 2004|06:53 pm] |
"Hilltop is getting ready to shelter 150 students from the Southwestern University. These will be mostly correspondent students who do not attend regular classes but only come to Blagoevgrad to sit for their exams, the guard says. The regional administration gave Hilltop for free to the Southwestern University for a three-year term. The building is state-owned and had been an AUBG dormitory for eight years: from 1993 to 2001."
--deFacto |
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| Alumni survey |
[Nov. 17th, 2004|06:40 pm] |
AUBG administration asks alums to fill out a small survey. "The survey is vital to AUBG’s accreditation efforts with the US and Bulgarian Accreditation Agencies, and an important means to improve operations at the University. It will take you no more than five minutes to complete."
http://www.aubg.bg/survey |
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| Alum Party, Sofia "Alcohol", Thu Nov.11, 9pm |
[Nov. 8th, 2004|01:18 pm] |
Dear Alumni,
On behalf of the AUBG Alumni Association board of directors, I invite you to a AUBG autumn party. The party will take place on Thursday, November 11th, 9pm in club "Alcohol" - Sofia. The address is 127 Rakovski st.
Features: No cover charge, AUBG shots, mega-alumni-reunion announcement and details, cool music, nice atmosphere and a few surprises.
Hope to see many of you there!
Cheers,
Anguel Anguelov-Mostuna
AAA president |
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| AUBG promo event, Hilton Sofia, Oct.27 |
[Oct. 26th, 2004|09:57 pm] |
AUBG would like to invite you to join us at the AUBG evening, which will
take place on October 27, 2004 at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Sofia.
This event will give you the chance to learn the news about the College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences in Blagoevgrad and the College of Business
in Sofia, as well as share your experience with prospective students and
their families. Your presence will be highly appreciated!
Please join us at 7:00 pm on October 27, 2004 at the Hilton Hotel. We
are looking forward to seeing you there!
Sincerely,
The Admissions Staff
AUBG |
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| The Ultimate GRE Prep Guide |
[Oct. 22nd, 2004|03:18 am] |
GRE prep stuff that got AUBG alumni in their grad schools:
1. The official GRE book full with real questions from past tests. $21 plus shipping, and you will need a credit card. A great investment for your money, if you can get it.
2. Free official PowerPrep software. Current version is 3.1. You don't need to buy previous versions as the tests are the same (the last version is optimized for a greater screen resolution and includes essay writing tips).
3. This free vocabulary builder (zip, 350Kb) software easily beats everything else on the market. Practice 4500 Barron GRE words on your computer with this highly flexible tool that is essentially a collection of digital flashcards. No ads, no need to register. Highly recommended. Works on any computer with DOS.
4. Kaplan GRE CD is the best big-name third-party software. A pirated copy can be ordered from http://testove.com/gre.htm for 16lv + shipping (around 3lv). The order usually arrives within 10 days. You pay at the post office upon receipt. Vendor is reliable. Disks are not copy-protected.
Tips:
- All issue topics for the writing assignment are available at http://www.gre.org/issuetop.html. The topics are around 270 (245 if you remove the paraphrased duplicates). All topics can be neatly arranged in about 10 categories (politics, education, society and innovation being the largest). Use this .xls file with all topics filtered by category.
- Hard copy flash cards do help.
- The only good reason to buy a Barron's book is the high frequency word list. These words really come up on GRE and most of them are on this site anyway. For everything else, use Kaplan. Barron's CD is really a waste of money.
- There is no reason at all to buy Princeton Review's materials.
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| Mostuna Urges Alumni Pay Loans |
[Oct. 20th, 2004|03:24 am] |
Dear Alumni,
As president of the AUBG Alumni Association and ex-officio member of
the
AUBG Board of Trustees, I would like to inform you that during its
October 8-10 meeting, the AUBG Board of Trustees unanimously approved
the next steps proposed by the AUBG administration in regard to the
collection of the outstanding alumni loans.
( more... ) |
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| AUBG Faculty: Lost and Found, Part I |
[Oct. 13th, 2004|09:19 pm] |
One thing that all these different people have in common: "American University in Bulgaria" on their CV. At one point or another, they all taught or governed at AUBG. They have been gone for a while, but FlashNews brings them back in case you need a letter of recommendation or feel nostalgic.
( more... ) |
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| Next Steps For Loan Collection |
[Oct. 13th, 2004|05:11 pm] |
The Board of Trustees endorsed and authorized the administration to proceed with the next steps for student loan collection:
- Offer consolidation of past due amounts if 10% of the total balance is repaid
- Give past due amounts over 3 years for collection - November 1, 2004
- Give past due amounts over 1 year for collection - January 1, 2005
- Finalize negotiations with US credit bureaus - January 31, 2005
- Factor (sell) remaining past due amounts over 1 year - March 1, 2005
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