Entries for June 2008

Florida A&M had its accreditation reinstated last Thursday, just less than a year after it was put on probation for "significant problems" in its finances and administration, the Famuan reports. One hundred students, faculty members, and staffers gathered to hear the news, and the announcement was met with "shouts of 'Hallelujah' and 'Thank you.' "

The celebration follows months of dark times at the university—a result of years of mismanagement that came to a head during a 2007 state audit, which cited an inability to reconcile bank accounts, pay employees on time, or account for missing property, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Losing accreditation would have affected federal financial aid and the ability of Florida A&M students to transfer to other schools.

At least one student was more concerned about the school's status than about her own graduation. "Thank God, my degree will be accredited," she said. Because what good is a diploma if it's at a school with absolutely no credibility?

The New York Times profiled two law schools that are at the forefront of the fight against the military's controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The Vermont Law School and William Mitchell College of Law are the only two law schools in the country that bar military recruiters, which, under a 1996 law, allows the government to withhold federal research grants from the schools.

"They are the only institutions that have taken as dramatic and as principled a stance as they have, so it's certainly put in the category of profiles in courage," a Syracuse University law professor said. "They have done things that other schools have not done."

In defense of every other school out there, these two schools are both small and unaffiliated with larger universities—lifting the burden of other programs that might have been affected. But Vermont has not come out unscathed, losing up to $500,000 a year in federal research grants as punishment via the Solomon Amendment; William Mitchell hasn't been affected because it does not receive money from the four spending bills cited in the law.

University of Georgia football fans are in the midst of "a sad day for the entire Bulldog nation," after Uga VI, the school's winningest mascot, died Friday, the Red and Black reports. Uga VI, just short of 10 years of age, died of congestive heart failure and will be buried in a marble vault in the corner of the Georgia stadium. "He was a good one," his owner said.

Even the governor had many, many kind words: "Though much of the Bulldogs' success in recent years has been attributed to Coach Mark Richt, most true Georgia fans know that his job will be much tougher now without the winningest Uga of all time stalking the sidelines, sitting on his trademark bag of ice and carefully eyeing any opposing mascot that dared to come close."

No word from PETA on this yet. Too soon?

Paper Trail deems Steve & Barry's an epic fail after the Wall Street Journal reported last week that the financial troubles of the discount sports apparel retailer have trickled down to one of this blog's beloved student newspapers.

The chain has fallen months behind on $36,000 in bills to the Michigan Daily, the University of Michigan's student newspaper, and still owes $20,326 for ads bought more than a year ago. "It's by far our largest unpaid debt," said the Daily's business manager. "They owe us more than we set aside for all unpaid debts for the year." Steve & Barry's management did not respond to the Journal's calls for comment.

In what may be part of its continuing battle against "Muck Fizzou" paraphernalia, the University of Kansas is suing local retailer Joe-College.com, saying the store is infringing on school's trademark by printing shirts that reference Kansas athletics, the University Daily Kansan reports. The store—which openly notes on its website that it sells unlicensed goods—markets clothing and goods with the controversial "Muck Fizzou" chant (a reference to Kansas rival Missouri and also a phrase that was banned by ESPN), along with other insidery and sometimes vulgar Jayhawks(ish) gear.

Sounding much like Minnesota officials distancing their school from a Victoria's Secret collegiate line, a Kansas spokesman said the store's shirts were inconsistent with the university's brand message. "What we are looking to do is to protect our registered mark and protect the good name and good will of the University of Kansas."

The University of Central Florida has announced a new tailgating policy for football season, prohibiting open containers once the game starts, the Central Florida Future reports. Partyers will be able to drink and tailgate on the main campus starting at 7 a.m. on game day until kickoff; off-campus areas and bars and restaurants are exempt from the new rule.

The University of Minnesota is now working to distance itself from a new Victoria's Secret PINK line that features cobranded merchandise from 33 schools (a full list appears after the jump), the Minnesota Daily reports. Although the goods are still being advertised as of today on the company's site, school officials are working to get all the products removed.

The university blames a "miscommunication" with its licensing company and the great purveyor of overpriced underwear for the mishap and says that "the clothing line was not in step with [its] values and focus." A school spokesman also clarified that the university mostly takes issue with the reputation and image of Victoria's Secret itself, rather than the type of apparel in question (it already sells branded lingerie on campus). Citing body image issues as one example, the spokesman said, "There are very legitimate issues that people have with that specific company and how they market."

A copyright infringement lawsuit, which shuttered a site that improperly distributed GMAT questions, could spell trouble for the more than 1,000 prospective M.B.A. students who used the service, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports. A district court in Virginia awarded the test administrator, the Graduate Management Admission Council, $2.3 million in damages from ScoreTop.com, which offered a sneak peak at "live" test questions and unauthorized study materials to its users.

GMAC, which is now analyzing the site's payment information, posted a message at ScoreTop.com that students who used the site will have their test scores cancelled, be barred from taking the exam again, have their business schools notified, and may be subject to prosecution. "This is illegal," a GMAC spokeswoman told Business Week. "We have a hard drive, and we're going to be analyzing it. If you used the site and paid your $30 to cheat, your scores will be canceled. They're in big trouble."

Business schools say it is too early to tell what their response will be, and because prospective students who are most competitive are the ones who tend to use these services, the fallout will likely be limited to the top schools. And for the students who used the site, which has been in existence since 2003, and are already enrolled in M.B.A. programs? According to one administrator, the punishment could range "from a slap on the wrist to expulsion."

In these inauspicious times, it will surprise no one that college-age folk—law students or summer job seekers alike—are having a tough time finding jobs, and according to a vaguely scientific Harvard Crimson survey, even those in the cushy Ivy League aren't immune. Around 66 percent of workforce-bound Harvard seniors reported having a job lined up, compared with 73 percent in a similar survey last year, prompting this question: If even Harvard grads can't find jobs, what do we mere mortals have to hope for?

Another unsurprising stat: Harvard graduates are less interested in consulting and financial sector jobs (39 percent are pursuing those careers, down from 47 percent last year) and are instead opting for work in the arts, health services, media, and public service.

A year of squabbling between the Big Ten Network and Comcast came to an end when the two agreed on a long-term deal that would place the network on the largest cable carrier in the nation. Starting August 15, Comcast will begin hosting the network on its expanded basic package in all the Big 10 states (except Iowa, where Comcast does not have service). After the 2009 basketball season, Comcast has the option to switch the network to a "broadly distributed digital level of service" (read: be prepared to pay more).

In states outside the Big Ten, Comcast could put the channel on any of its cable tiers, and after spring 2009, it has the option to not offer the channel at all.

The yearlong stalemate preceding the deal has been a PR nightmare for the Big 10 schools, which had compelling games trapped on a little-distributed network. Some examples of games Comcast subscribers missed: Indiana University's November 17 nail-biting win over Purdue that sent Indiana to its first bowl game in 13 years, and the instant-classic Appalachian State upset of Michigan on September 1—which also happened to be the first football game the Big Ten Network broadcast. Quite the ominous start.

A ruling by a county superior court judge had both sides claiming victory Wednesday in the long-running dispute between tree-sitters and UC-Berkeley officials over the construction of an athletic center that would displace part of an oak grove, the Daily Californian reports. Although the judge did not lift the injunction on construction (score one for the tree-sitters and their activist brethren), she did decide that the university is mostly in compliance with environmental and earthquake zoning law—and would be able to resubmit its claim to begin construction once it made the adjustments (and score one for the university).

The protesters, however, are clinging to their small wins: "I would like to say, most of all, the children won today," said the unofficial protest leader, after the ruling was announced.

The real winners, however—as is the case with all painstakingly long litigation—could be the lawyers and the contract workers who benefit from the dispute. Both sides say their legal costs are much higher than expected, and the university has spent $375,000 on extra policing, round-the-clock security, and the construction of two fences that surround the tree-sit site—all this before Tuesday's round of treetop sparring and use of a crane to cut supply lines.

* Now that the height of the flooding has passed, University of Iowa is sending 250,000 dry sandbags to southeast Iowa to prepare for the rising river levels that just surged through the campus over the weekend, the Daily Iowan reports.

More than a dozen buildings are still flooded at the UI campus, and officials expect it to take weeks for flood conditions to abate. The school hopes to resume classes next Monday.

The closest damage estimate so far was "in the millions," with researchers saying $50 million worth of technology, which could not be disassembled and moved, could be affected on just the first floor of one lab building. And although the library and art museum were affected, almost nothing of value was damaged because books were carried to higher ground and $300 million in artwork was sent to an undisclosed location in Chicago.

* A week since an F-4 tornado wreaked $22 million worth of havoc upon Kansas State University, campus officials have given priority to making repairs that would prevent rain damage and clearing debris for students to walk safely, the Kansas State Collegian reports. The university president expects all buildings and facilities to be running by August 15.

PETA has scolded Kent State University for its new live mascot, Flash, a golden eagle contracted from an animal rescue and rehabilitation nonprofit for use at sporting events, the Daily Kent Stater reports. "Forcing a wild bird into a gymnasium is terrorizing to the animal," said a representative of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "It is totally unnatural for the bird."

Supporters of the new mascot say that Flash actually serves as an ambassador for the group's conservation goals. "The eagle is disabled; its life in the wild is over," said the director of the nonprofit responsible for Flash. "It can have a new mission."

Surprisingly, not up for debate is the price of the eagle's services: The group, Back to the Wild, received $5,000 upfront and will get $1,000 each time the eagle visits the school. Kent State also pays $750 for each photo session and a $1,000 annual fee.

A journalism advocacy group, College Media Advisers, sent a letter to Western Oregon University officials, criticizing the school for its handling of a security breach and the student newspaper's subsequent reporting on it, the Student Law Press Center reports.

The hubbub began in June 2007, when a member of the student newspaper, the Journal , stumbled upon a file on the school's public servers that contained the Social Security numbers, and other personal information, of prospective students. The paper dutifully reported on the breach. University computer technicians then rifled through newsroom files in the cover of night. The contract of the paper's adviser was then not renewed, and the student whistle-blower was punished for violating the school's computer use policy.

Although a committee formed by the university concluded school officials did nothing wrong, the advocacy group accuses the Western Oregon of a "lack of understanding of basic journalism principles and ethics."

University police began making the (maybe) final push to remove tree-sitters from an 18-month protest at UC-Berkeley this morning, the Daily Californian reports. By 11 a.m. at least 40 officers and arborists were at the scene, attempting to cut down supply lines and structures that the sitters use to travel between trees.

In response, the activists—who have been protesting the expansion of an athletic facility in an oak grove since December 2006—threw bottles of excrement at officers at the scene. "You're treating these protesters like criminals," said the protest's leader of the school's tactics of cutting supplies.

The university said it has no plans of removing tree-sitters today. "How it unfolds depends on the people in the trees," a Berkeley spokesman said. "We hope there's an outbreak of common sense."

No. Such. Luck?