Entries for May 01, 2007

As if Duke needed more scandal, 34 students face penalties in the largest single cheating incident at the Fuqua School of Business, the Chronicle reports. After reviewing evidence for weeks, the school's Judicial Board charged the students with collaborating on a take-home exam in a first-year required course, a violation of the school's honor code.

Nine of the convicted students face expulsion, 15 will fail the course and receive a one-year suspension, nine will receive a failing grade in class, and one charged with lying will receive a zero on the assignment. The students are expected to appeal.

Chronicle readers chimed in, both criticizing and defending the honor system and legitimacy of take-home exams. One commenter blamed the "culture of corruption" exemplified by Enron and President Bush, while another offered friendly advice: "Call the B-School at Harvard and ask nicely for help."--Alison Go

Sporting cat ears every day is no more ridiculous than wearing Ugg boots with a miniskirt, swears Southern Methodist University sophomore Tony Nguyen, who prefers a black, fuzzy, pointy-eared pair. Nguyen is one of two "quirky" minor campus celebrities featured by the Daily Campus in its discussion about individuality.

Allee Wesolowski, otherwise known as the spork girl, prefers the fusion utensil as her accessory of choice. Both have gained Facebook notoriety, with dedicated groups such as "What the hell's with the spork?" and "I want to know why that Asian kid always wears cat ears."--A.G.

• An ice-cream party was the grand prize for students at the Adams Hall dormitory, who won the campus competition to reduce energy consumption at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Badger Herald reports. No numbers yet on how much energy went into keeping all that ice cream cold.
• Budget problems are apparently the root of disgusting bacterial infections plaguing a number of dance students, the Southern Methodist University Daily Campus reports. According to the students, underfunding has allowed facility upkeep to go to the wayside, leaving the floors dirty and sweaty.
• The University of Mississippi is looking into digital textbooks as a means to reduce the cost of school, the Daily Mississippian reports. E-books would also untether students from their rooms or the library. So they can study at the bar.
• A recent study shows two thirds of college administrators think first-year students are poorly prepared for college, the Penn State Daily Collegian reports, while the majority of high school teachers think their graduates are well prepared. Two possible explanations: a perception gap or unusually rough pre-university summers. --A.G.