Court date set for Gnomon in coursepack copyright case Gnomon Copy, the copy shop that provides Northeastern classrooms with photocopied coursepacks, is on track to go to trial in the spring or summer of 2007, said Susan Stenger, an attorney for Gnomon. The copy shop was sued by nine major publishing corporations in November, when publishers claimed Gnomon failed to obtain copyrights to material distributed in coursepacks. Coursepacks themselves are not illegal, but copy shops must get permission to legally sell the materials, usually through the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), a liaison between copy shops and publishers. Publishing companies claimed Gnomon bypassed this step, according to a press release by the CCC in November. Last week Gnomon representatives had a scheduling meeting with a judge, which allowed a year for both parties to gather information and conduct formal interviews, Stenger said. She said the copy shop is now legally selling coursepacks for this semester, and that all the coursepacks in question were for last semester’s classes, and are not currently available.

Campus food committee discusses bagels, bananas Northeastern’s Food User’s Committee discussed a variety of on-campus dining issues at their Friday meeting, including how students feel about new bagels in Stetson East, the availability of bananas and expanding dining hall hours. The committee, made up of volunteer students and faculty with an interest in Northeastern’s food options, meets monthly to discuss food-related concerns. Members of the committee reported they have heard mixed things about the new bagels available in Stetson East, and decided to leave the bagels for a while to see if students adjust to them. “Let’s just let it ride out. Let the shock of the new bagels wear off,” said Rogan O’Handley, Student Government Association vice president for student services. Other issues discussed at the meeting included shallower butter containers, menus posted outside both dining halls and availability of vegetarian soups.

BRC denies funds for videography, lighting company Two student groups hit a financial roadblock last week when the Budget Review Committee (BRC) partially denied funding for one group and postponed the request of another. Utsav, the Undergraduate South Asian Student Organization, requested $31,457 to fund Nataraj ’06, the group’s 14th annual cultural performance. However, they were approved for $7,099.50 after the BRC decided the $21,765 requested for a production company to help with lighting and videography is on the BRC’s list of non-fundable expenses. Although Utsav has used the same production company in the past, the decision not to fund videography was a recent amendment to the student activity fee manual, said BRC Chair Billy Haddad. A request by the Northeastern University Bisexual Lesbian and Gay Alliance (NUBiLAGA) for $408.25 to fund resource books was postponed until the BRC receives additional information about the requested books. Funding for Kappa Sigma, The Arab Student Association and Northeastern International Student Association events were approved Thursday night.

Provost announces Presidential Scholarship winners The Office of the Provost has announced the students who will receive the university’s presidential scholarship. The scholarship pays full tuition for the rest of a student’s Northeastern career, and is available to middlers who have been on co-op and have a QPA of 3.5 or higher. It is given out to 12 students who apply, based on transcripts, extracurriculars, essays and letters of recommendation. This year’s winners are environmental geology major Kate Allstadt, chemical engineering major Matthew Bouchard, biochemistry major Si Chen, nursing major Kristen Daley, physics major Kristen Flowers, electrical engineering major Stacey Markovic, journalism major Megan McKee, medical laboratory science major Geetha Mylvaganam, communication studies and political science major Armine Nalbandian, history major Catherine Nunez, business major Johnny Sze and criminal justice major Allison Wyman.

Lieutenant governor candidate addresses NU Dems Sam Kelley, M.D., a democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, addressed the College Democrats last Wednesday regarding his platforms on health care, housing and education. Kelley, who graduated from Murray State University in Kentucky and earned a master’s degree in biology, formerly served as medical director for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Heidi Buchanan, president of the College Democrats, said she did not view Kelley as a major contender, although she said she agreed with many of the points he made in his address. “I don’t think the group saw him as a serious candidate because he lacks a lot of political experience,” Buchanan said. The organization is scheduled to host Andrea Silbert, who will compete with Kelley in the election, at its meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. in 346 Curry Student Center.

Speaker to address link between classes, democracy The Communication Studies Department is scheduled to present “Discussion as Democracy: Speech Pedagogy and the Public Forum,” a lecture to be given by Dr. William Keith, an associate professor in the communication department at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. The lecture will be Feb. 2 from 2:50 p.m to 4:30 p.m. in 215 Shillman Hall, and will examine the connection between discussion-based academic courses and active participation in democracy. For more information, students can contact Meaghan Sinclair in the Communication Studies Department at 617-373-5517.

– Compiled by staff writers Hailey Heinz, Stephanie Peters, Jeff Swoboda and Ricky Thompson.