The wildflowers in the median of Interstate 95 through Georgia and South Carolina remind one former Marine of his days in Kosovo, but his sentiments rarely reflect the beauty.
On a mid-July day in 1999, Marine Pfc. Robinson Rodriguez, then 19, was assigned work detail. He assumed he would be cleaning up road kill, like on previous work details.
But when his work party arrived at a field, Rodriguez realized the group was to collect the remains of a corpse into a body bag.
“That was the hardest thing for me to let …

Admission officers at 85 of the country’s top medical schools said 44 percent of the schools are expected to increase the number of available seats, some for as early as the incoming fall 2009 class, according to a new survey conducted by Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions.
But, gaining admittance into top medical schools are becoming increasingly dependent on standardized testing rather than GPA or relevant experience.
“The likelihood that more medical school seats will become imminently available is good news for students considering applying to medical school,” said Amjed Mustafa, director …

In the wake of budget cuts and the faltering economy, many students feel their wallets are being targeted, but there are also others struggling financially at UNF, even in the same classroom – professors.
“We’re at the low end in a state that pays low salaries,” said Henry Thomas, United Faculty of Florida’s UNF Chapter president.
UNF professors earn just above the state average at $96,700 compared to $90,600, according to the Association of American University Professors’ 2007-2008 Faculty Salary Survey. In 2006-2007, the average salary was $98,974.
While a lot of the …

Jan. 20 – Possession of a Controlled Substance (Building 38) – UPD responded to the parking lot behind Building 38 in reference to two men placing fliers on vehicles.
When the officer looked up their identity, one of the men had a warrant out for his arrest for possession of a controlled substance. He was arrested and searched.
The subject had nine Ecstasy pills on him and the other person was issued a notice of Trespass Warning and told not to return to campus.
Jan. 21 – Petty Theft (Housing Office) – UPD …

More than 1,000 students are expected to join the current dorm residents once construction on The Fountains is complete in summer 2009, UNF officials said.
Despite the 6-percent increase in all 2009-2010 housing rates, the university expects to fill the residence to maximum capacity, said Lynn Hendricks, director of Residence Life. At $4,500 per person, per semester for a private room, Osprey Fountains is the most expensive campus housing offered at UNF.
But considering the state of the economy and rising utility costs, the dorm is still an affordable option for students, …

During tumultuous economic periods, parents and college students are increasingly looking to more cost effective health insurance plans.
Many are students at an in-between period where they are dropped by their parents’ insurance and don’t have full employer benefits. But UNF offers a student insurance plan through Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida and Collegiate Risk Management.
And many parents are calling to switch their kids from their current insurance to UNF’s because the premiums tend to be lower, said Mary Beth Janson, Student Health Service program assistant.
“What happens often when they reach …

City council approves MOCA purchase for university
The Jacksonville City Council approved UNF’s acquisition of the Museum of Contemporary Art Jan. 27 with a 17-2 vote. Recently, the purchase has come under scrutiny due to declining assets and the $500,000 increase in debt that the university will assume.
UNF students, staff join community in homeless count
The Emergency Services and Homeless Coalition of Jacksonville sponsored its annual homeless count Jan. 26. More than 150 volunteers, 60 of whom were UNF students and 12 were staff members, combed the woods, looked under bridges and …

A recently developed myWings application is in the works to assist academic advising and help with raduation and retention rates, according to UNF officials.
The Roadmap Initiative is currently in phase II of enhancements on 10 pilot roadmaps – two programs being chosen by department heads from each of the five colleges.
Academic Roadmap adviser Rachel Broderick said the application was designed to be an additional tracking tool to supplement the degree evaluation and has been presenting demonstrations to department chairs to develop the pilot roadmaps.
“We want to use this as an …

AROUND THE STATE
Missing fund manager turns himself into Tampa FBI
The missing Floridian investment fund manager – whose $300 million in investment funds are actually worth less than $1 million, according to a federal lawsuit – turned himself in to the Tampa FBI field office to face fraud charges, the FBI said Jan. 27.
Arthur Nadel “recently transferred at least $1.25 million from two of the funds to secret bank accounts that he controlled,” according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Nadel fled after a partner in his firm told him that following …

President Barack Obama’s efforts to stabilize a tenuous cease-fire between Israel and Hamas were jeopardized Jan. 27 when a roadside bomb planted by Palestinian militants hit an Israeli patrol along the Gaza Strip border, killing one officer and wounding three others.
Israel launched a series of counterstrikes after the explosion, killing a farmer, according to Palestinian medical officials.
The tit-for-tat assaults cast a cloud over the arrival in Cairo, Egypt, of George Mitchell, Obama’s Middle East envoy, who’s on a mission to cement the 10-day-old cease-fire.
The former U.S. senator headed to Jerusalem …