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Take That, Ivy League! Penn State Prof Kills IvyGate, Narrowly Avoids Home Schoolers
Tweet Share on Facebook December 22, 2006 Comment (92)U.S. News and high school boys are not the only ones who like to rank stuff. The Weblog Awards this week announced its 2006 winners, including Penn State Prof. Michael Bérubé, whose self-titled blog beat out competitors IvyGate and SpunkyHomeSchool with 38.62 percent of the vote.
Is this a defeat for the Ivy League at the mighty hands of public universities (on the rise, according to the New York Times )? A blow to poor defenseless students at the hands of one of America's 101 Most Dangerous Academics (thank you, David Horowitz)? Take heart, at least, from this: according to the New York Observer, Bérubé "seems to be one of those strange academics who actually enjoys the undergraduates."
Undergraduates and–according to a quick perusal of his blog– 2001: A Space Odyssey ("not a political film"), Justin Timberlake ("reasonably talented" but "not particularly attractive"), and something called the "We Are All a Giant Fireball Now" party (uh…looks like some kind of …political thing).
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But Really, Our Awards Are by Far the Best … Send Nominations!
Tweet Share on Facebook December 22, 2006 Comment (99)Paper Trail's Best College Newspapers Guide of 2006 is still accepting nominations via E-mail at papertrail@usnews.com. Click here for a reminder of the categories.
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Second of Many More Reminders: Rankings Bonanza 2006 Has Begun! Send In Your Nominations
Tweet Share on Facebook December 21, 2006 CommentDon't be afraid to nominate your friends, your enemies, or yourself for Paper Trail's first ever Guide to the Best College Newspapers. Unlike the other U.S. News Best Colleges guide, this edition will not actually rank anything; we're just going to name a winner. We also will not follow any kind of "methodology" or use "science." We're just going to have you vote. After all, according to one newsweekly magazine, it is your year. Even Google agrees.
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Michigan's Prop 2 Delayed Until July
Tweet Share on Facebook December 21, 2006 Comment (98)The anti-affirmative action proposition passed by Michigan voters November 7 will not take effect until July–and they mean it for real this time. The Michigan Daily reports that the district judge who needed to give final approval to an agreement reached late last week has given it. So admissions considerations really will go on undisturbed through this season. See you next year, Michigan university dailies! It's been a fun ride.
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Boise State Student Who Faked a Hate Crime Against Himself Summoned to Court
Tweet Share on Facebook December 20, 2006 Comment (23)A Boise State University student who police say admitted he made up a report of a violent antigay hate crime against himself—but not until after the report inspired hundreds to march in two campus vigils—could now face court action. In November, the student had said a white male used antigay expletives and knocked him unconscious; he had cuts and bruises to prove it. Then, after police initiated an investigation, the student confessed he had never been attacked and had actually used "a stick and his fists to self-inflict his injuries," police told the Boise State Arbiter. Now, police have summoned the student to court on charges of resisting and obstructing officers. Last month, police told the Arbiter that filing a false police report can yield penalties of up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
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And Now for Some Rankings!
Tweet Share on Facebook December 20, 2006 Comment (14)Like any good college student, Paper Trail is spending this holiday season paying respect to its roots. Yup, we're gonna start ranking! But this is not your parents' Best Colleges Guide. This is the Guide to the Best College Newspapers of 2006, and, unlike that other guide, we do not actually rank, and we do give points for style—and for how funny your university president looks on camera. The first annual awards will fall into five categories, listed below. Send nominations for each to papertrail@usnews.com. And keep checking the site! We'll announce finalists before the end of the year. In the new year, we'll announce the winners.
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In Iran, Students Were the First to Protest; Now They Fear for Their Lives
Tweet Share on Facebook December 19, 2006 Comment (14)After greeting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with chants of "death to the dictator" when he visited Tehran University last week, at least three students have gone into hiding. They fear that they might face deathly retribution for their protests, which came, the Guardian reports, "in a startling contrast to the acclaim Mr. Ahmadinejad has received in numerous recent appearances around Iran." Their fears follow a new "star-rating system" that brands students with between one and three stars; the more dissident, the more stars, and the more stars, the higher the chance of punishment–like being banned from classes altogether, says Gulfnews.
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Michigan Schools Could Win Delay on Affirmative Action Ban
Tweet Share on Facebook December 19, 2006 CommentThe state's attorney general and three Michigan universities have reached an agreement that, if approved by a U.S. district attorney, could delay implementation of a voter-approved affirmative action ban until July. That would postpone the ban until the next cycle of college admissions, the Associated Press reports.
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Oxford Won't Let Outsiders Run University
Tweet Share on Facebook December 19, 2006 Comment (25)Outsiders will not take positions on Oxford University's governing board, the school's vice chancellor announced yesterday, admitting defeat of a plan he hoped would help modernize the ancient university. The vice chancellor's plan would have handed over control of the university's finances to outsiders. But members of the university's Congregation, a 4,000-member parliament, voted against the plan, the BBC reports.
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New College Tour Videos Inspired by MTV's Cribs
Tweet Share on Facebook December 19, 2006 Comment (95)Why go on a college visit when you can watch YouTube videos instead? This is the premise of theU, which just posted its guided video tours of more than 30 college campuses for free online viewing. All you need is an E-mail address to watch girls dancing on tables, guys taking vodka shots, and University of Pennsylvania fraternity brothers saying things like this: "I don't remember spring fling. I've been told I had a really good time. I had relations with a tree. It might have been an elm, might have been a cedar. I don't really know."
The college students who troll IvyGate's comments board say the videos play to stereotypes. Did your school get fair treatment? Send us an E-mail at papertrail@usnews.com.