Student Assembly is currently working to create an updated version of the student survey used before last year's budget cuts, Student Body President Frances Vernon '10 said at Tuesday night's Assembly meeting. The survey is intended to help the College as it seeks to outline budget cuts in the wake of this weekend's announced target for budget reduction. "We will hopefully be able to make recommendations as to what is essential to keep, what can be cut, and what should be restructured," Rebecca Hellerman, spokesperson for Student Assembly, told The Dartmouth. Hellerman said she believed College administrators were "receptive" to the results of last year's survey, citing the negative student body response to Lone Pine Tavern and its subsequent closing. Student Assembly will finish updating the survey within the next few weeks, Hellerman said.
Benjamin Wagner '82, who has worked as a federal prosecutor for more than 17 years, was sworn in as the new U.S. Attorney for the eastern district of California, the Sacramento Business Journal reported on Monday. Wagner spent the last nine years heading the region's special prosecutions office. Wagner also spent two years stationed in Jakarta, Indonesia, as the Justice Department's resident legal advisor for the area. After graduating from the College, Wagner attended New York University School of Law, graduating in 1986. He worked for a private law firm until 1992, when he joined the Department of Justice. The Senate confirmed Wagner's nomination on Thursday and President Barack Obama signed the appointment on Friday.
Several New Hampshire Republicans are urging the state's U.S. senators to vote against the health care reform plan, which passed the House of Representatives last week, the Concord Monitor reported on Tuesday. Former Health and Human Services commissioner John Stephen told the Concord Monitor that the bill, if passed, "will be devastating to state budgets." Under the House bill, the state could lose up to $1.2 billion and might be forced to implement an income or sales tax, Stephen said. New Hampshire has about 142,500 uninsured residents, according to the Concord Monitor. Democrat Ned Helms, another former New Hampshire Health and Human Services commissioner and co-chairman of Obama's New Hampshire campaign, criticized Republicans for seemingly ignoring the number of people who do not have insurance, and the high premiums paid by businesses.
