function ajaxFunction(url) {
	var xmlHttp;
	try {  // Firefox, Opera 8.0+, Safari  
		xmlHttp=new XMLHttpRequest();  
	}
	catch (e) {  // Internet Explorer  
		try {
			xmlHttp=new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP");    
		}
		catch (e) {    
			try {      
				xmlHttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");      
			}
			catch (e) {      
				alert("Your browser does not support AJAX!");      
				return false;      
			}    
		}
	}  
	xmlHttp.onreadystatechange=function() {
		if(xmlHttp.readyState==4) {
			if (url == "Announcements") {
				var input = xmlHttp.responseText.split("%");
				//parses out info for each event
				for (var i=0; i<input.length; i++) {
					var ev = trim(input[i]).split(/\n/g);
					var d = ev[0];
					var myDate=new Date();
					myDate.setFullYear(d.substring(6,10),d.substring(0,2),d.substring(3,5));
					var today = new Date();
					if (myDate > today) {
						var str = "<b>" + ev[1] + "</b><br><div style='margin-left:15px;'>";
						for (var j=2; j<ev.length; j++){
							str += ev[j] + "<br>";
						}
						document.getElementById(url).innerHTML += str + "</div><br><br>";
					}
				}
			}
			else {
				document.getElementById(url).innerHTML = xmlHttp.responseText.replace(/\n/g, "<br>");
			}
		}
    }
	xmlHttp.open("GET","data/" + url + ".txt?nocache=" + new Date().getTime(), true);
	xmlHttp.send(null);
}

function trim(stringToTrim) {
	return stringToTrim.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g,"");
}