It’s happened to many of us. We’re driving along, maybe late for class and going too fast or looking for a parking space and not paying attention to how we’re driving. Then we see blue lights flashing behind us. No matter who we are, we get nervous. We may wonder what we did wrong, or we may know. But even if we do know what we did, we don’t all know what to do next.

People tend to love police officers when they need their help and curse them when they get a traffic ticket. But the officer walking toward your car has a job to do, and part of that job is to give tickets to anyone violating traffic laws, which still apply on campus.

Summer can mean so many things to college students. Beach Week. Freedom. Barbeques. Lifeguard jobs at the local pool. And concerts. Oh, yes. Lots of wonderful concerts.

The summer concert season is in full swing with lower ticket prices than previous years to accommodate the state of the economy and the prevailing hesitation many people have about spending money on non-essentials. Several venues in Virginia are only charging $15 to see bands such as Blues Traveler with Carbon Leaf, Travis Tritt and the Motor City Madman himself, Ted Nugent. The June 18 concert of country star Phil Vassar at Celebrate Virginia Live in Fredericksburg costs only $12.50 in advance through TicketsToBuy.com.

Last December’s shooting at the Woodbridge campus opened many concerns on safety issues at NOVA. To address those questions and provide ideas for a safer environment for students, faculty and staff, NOVA president Robert Templin created the Presidential Commission on Safety and Security. The commission was charged with creating a report on the state of safety and security.

Despite a special web page detailing the creation of the commission, neither the final report nor a summary of its findings, are publicly available on NOVA’s web site. However, the NOVA Fortnightly was able to obtain the report through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Dr. Terry Alford’s upcoming biography, Fortune’s Fools is about the life of John Wilkes Booth, the famous actor and infamous assassin of the 16th president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln.

The Lincoln scholar has already written two books published by Oxford Press, made numerous television appearances, worked as a consultant for the 2007 film hit National Treasure 2, and helped found the NOVA Honors Program. He was recently awarded the 2010 Outstanding Faculty Award by the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is the only community college professor to ever receive the accolade.

Trust is a very difficult thing to get, especially when talking about sharing personal information.

The Census is a prime example. Thanks to the data collected through the 2010 Census, communities receive more than $400 billion in federal funds each year. This money helps job training centers, hospitals, senior centers, schools and other educational institutions including NOVA.

Most know that some information must be given to the government every decade. Everybody is informed that personal data provided is protected under federal law, and yet many people are reluctant to cooperate.

At the Annandale campus, the Korean Student Association is currently providing tutoring sessions for students taking a Korean course or those with an interest in learning the language.

On Mondays and Tuesdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in CF 230, officers of the association and some fluent speakers are teaching a few students ways to speak and write in Korean. The majority of the participants have been non-Korean but they said that they welcome those who were born in America and have Korean roots within their families. This gives them the opportunity to learn their own language.

The National Mall hosted tens of thousands of protestors determined to push a major overhaul of the immigration system to the top of the nation’s political agenda. On Sunday March 21 protestors rallied to challenge President Barack Obama and Congress to fix laws that separate families and hurt the country’s economic and social stability.

As a candidate in 2008, Obama spoke eloquently about the promise of making immigration reform a priority in his first year of government. This would help the more than 11 million illegal immigrants realize their dream of having the rights of work, study and life that American citizens have.

President Barack Obama came to NOVA’s Alexandria campus on March 30 to sign the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.
A long line had formed outside the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center long before doors opened at 9:30 a.m. Inside, the 1,000-seat Mary Collier Baker Theater filled up quickly with students, staff and members of congress.

The city of Washington will celebrate the National Cherry Blossom Festival in its usual fashion, with lots of trees and tourists. The festival is Washington’s signature springtime event and is considered the beginning of tourist season. City officials hope the weather will cooperate. Good weather always brings a sigh of relief to officials, who cross their fingers and hope for pleasant weather and a good turnout each year. With the recession, it’s especially important that tourists spend substantial money, which they’re more likely to do if they’re out and about exploring the city and not inside taking shelter from rain.

We’ve all seen the hit television series American Idol. Now NOVA has its own iteration of the show, NOVA Idol.
Dozens of students auditioned, performed, and were sent home, until only the finalists remained. At 7 p.m. on March 26 the finals will be held at Schlesinger Hall at the Alexandria campus. Eight students with great talent will compete to hold the title of NOVA Idol, as well as cash prizes for third place, second place and the Idol.