Headlines @ U.Va.

WHAT IS A ‘JUST WAR’?
When New York Newsday wanted a Muslim perspective on the religious concept of “just war” in the light of possible U.S. action against Iraq, it sought out religious studies professor Abdulazziz Sachedina. He explained that Islamic tradition calls for wars against Muslims to be led by other Muslims, although exceptions can be made if the cause is righteous and no Muslim leader is able to lead. “Sachedina — who has traveled to Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon in the past year — said there is no such backing for another war against Iraq. He said that Muslim scholars, angered by U.S. support for Israel during the Palestinian-Israeli conflict over the past two years, did not view Bush as the sort of righteous non-Muslim leader eligible to direct a war against Iraq,” the reporter wrote.

— Newsday, Oct. 12

DROUGHT DRAWS NATIONAL ATTENTION
Residents of this historic university town are grimier these days, according to a recent account in USA Today. So are their cars. Water conservation signs are prominent all over the University of Virginia campus. A functional drinking fountain is almost unheard of, a functional public restroom a welcome surprise. “There's nothing it hasn't touched,” says Rich Hopkins, acting head of the landscape department. “You think about it every day.” Hopkins surveys the University of Virginia's Lawn, perhaps the nation's most famous piece of university real estate. The grass looks terrible. “I'm hoping things turn around enough that I can get the Lawn ready for graduation.”

— USA Today, Oct. 11

TAX INCREASE MAY BE WAY OUT OF BUDGET CRISIS
As budget-cut rumors swirled in the days before Gov. Mark Warner made his Oct. 15 statewide address, William H. Wood, director of U.Va.’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership, warned the budget can't be balanced with spending cuts alone. He told the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "It's more evident that some sort of revenue increase - that is, a tax increase - is going to be a necessary part of the equation. It's a question of who blinks first, the legislative branch or the executive branch."

— Richmond Times-Dispatch, Oct. 11

ASSESSING CARTER’S LEGACY IN THE WAKE OF NOBEL
Word that Jimmy Carter had won the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize sent reporters scrambling for some perspective on the former president’s career. Larry Sabato, politics professor and director of U.Va.’s Center for Politics, agreed with the popular sentiment that Carter has been a better ex-president than a president. “He left office at a very low point – he was very unpopular and very unsuccessful,” Sabato told the Associated Press. “But through his hard work and dedication he has done more good out of the office than he has when he was in it. He had a star-crossed presidency.”

— Associated Press, Oct. 11