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Dress Codes: I Thought We Already Graduated High School
Tweet Share on Facebook October 22, 2007 Comment (1)The sexy, "just-got-out-of-bed" look is now a no-go at the University of West Alabama after a student-drafted dress code went into effect this year, the University of Alabama's Crimson White reports.
Going much further than Illinois State's business school, UWA's dress policy says students must wear neat and modest casual or "dressy" attire to class, the cafeteria, and any university office. Officials say the policy in the cafeteria is a health concern, while the rest of the guidelines are subtle "advice as to what is considered appropriate for professional behavior."
With the exclusion of headpieces for religious purposes, caps, do-rags, bandanas, and hoods are prohibited in class or at any university meeting or function, as are saggy pants and clothing printed with derogatory or offensive language. Men are encouraged to cover up (no sleeveless, netted, or cut-off shirts) and must wear shoes (not flip-flops) in class.
The University of Alabama's president, referring to neighbor school UWA's new policy, has assured his students that he has no intention of implementing a similar dress code during his tenure, and it seems most Alabama students would prefer that it stay that way. There are, of course, exceptions: "If there ever was a general trend where people start to dress half naked, we may need [a dress policy]," says one UA student.
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A Dangerous Germ on Terrapin Turf
Tweet Share on Facebook October 19, 2007 CommentThe Diamondback reports today that a student was diagnosed with Staphylococcus aureus, also known as a staph infection, and has been hospitalized for several days. In the last week, the infection has put communities in Virginia and Maryland on edge after "many" high school students were reported contracting the germ. One student in southern Virginia died.
In Maryland, university officials are not taking any chances. They are throwing out the infected student's bathroom belongings and have ordered a fumigation of her suitemates' rooms and issued letters to students with hygiene tips to avoid catching the infection.
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Stanford Student Slams Spam
Tweet Share on Facebook October 17, 2007 Comment (18)Think twice before you spam Stanford. The Stanford Daily reports today on one student's crusade to make merchants consider the consequences of sending spam. Joe Wagner, working toward a doctorate in mechanical engineering, has taken several companies to small claims court for cluttering his inbox with illegal spam E-mails. He then offers them a choice: He will drop the suits if the companies agree to cut a check to charity. And it's worked. All but four of his targets have made donations to charity. Now Wagner is getting other students involved in the campaign. "If Stanford students and faculty start suing, the word will get out," he says. "Don't screw with Stanford."
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Jersey Students Compete for Green Green
Tweet Share on Facebook October 17, 2007 CommentThe Rutgers Energy Institute is offering cash to students who want to help the school go green. The Daily Targum reports today that four $2,500 cash prizes are up for grabs for the top four undergraduate entries in the "Contest for Capping Rutgers Carbon Emissions." One university official explains: "For example, you can say, 'OK, I think what we should do is buy 3,000 bicycles, paint them all red and put them on campus and let them be used by anybody who wants them. And so maybe then people will use bicycles instead of driving if they're moving between campuses." Might have a hard time keeping those bikes on campus, but the contest idea is good.
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Helmets That Study Head-on Collisions
Tweet Share on Facebook October 16, 2007 Comment (91)Why research the brains of lab rats when you can study those of football players? This fall, 63 members of the Brown University football team are using helmets with built-in sensors that measure collision impact, the Brown Daily Herald reports. These specially designed helmets are also being used by football teams at Dartmouth College and Virginia Tech in conjunction with a $3.6 million grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health.
Researchers are using the data, which include information on head acceleration, location, and direction at the moment of impact, to determine whether players sustained a concussion and to prevent future concussions from happening.
Such specially designed helmets sell for $999. Still, a linebacker says they're worth it: "You can't really put a price tag on using your brain for the rest of your life." Agreed. But isn't it really less about the price of the helmet than the price of playing the game?
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The Trouble With T-shirts
Tweet Share on Facebook October 15, 2007 CommentAn annual demonstration at the University of Maryland that seeks to empower victims of sexual abuse took an unusual turn last week. The Diamondback reports today that after the university told organizers they could not wear T-shirts with the names of alleged attackers, several students decided to protest the university's ban with an unsanctioned protest of their own. They hung seven T-shirts bearing the names of alleged attackers from trees on campus near the university-sponsored sexual assault awareness event. The university said it feared the shirts would lead to lawsuits. But as one student told the paper, "We believe that every survivor deserves a voice and should be able to express themselves however they want." The university administrators responded that those students "would be personally responsible for any liability."
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But How Many Credit Hours Can I Get for Halo 3?
Tweet Share on Facebook October 15, 2007 Comment (1)Dance Dance Revolution, the video game where players dance to synchronized music, was all the rage when it debuted in Japan. Now, it appears to be taking Northwestern University by storm. The Daily Northwestern reports today that a professor in the university's communications department is using the popular video game to teach Ph.D. students how technology influences social behavior. The newspaper quotes the professor as saying, "I bought it so we can all play it together, and I think it's the single most popular thing I've done." Looks like the games are just getting started: The professor also plans to buy her students a Nintendo Wii.
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Well, It Still Beats Watching That New Caveman Show
Tweet Share on Facebook October 15, 2007 Comment (25)Three students from the University of Texas who were reported missing inside a cave were found alive over the weekend. The Daily Texan reports today that the students spent more than 32 hours inside the 12,000-foot cave before rescuers came to their aid. But the amateur spelunkers, ages 19 to 23, seemed unfazed. One of them, a female student, told the paper, "We did our homework, we were prepared, and nothing went wrong except getting lost." Yeah, we kind of got that part already.
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Students Support Myanmar Protests
Tweet Share on Facebook October 12, 2007 CommentAt Whitman College, a Burmese student, whose family was beaten and intimidated during the junta crackdown in Myanmar, is using the recent memory of the September protests to spark sustained student interest in the situation, the Whitman Pioneer reports. While the demonstrations were happening in Myanmar, he and another Burmese student worked on campus to organize a series of awareness events, including a march, a vigil, and a 24-hour hunger strike. Since then, he has raised more than $600 for his cause and organized special events like "Eye on Burma," where students gathered at Whitman's Global Awareness House to read compiled news articles and discuss the situation in Myanmar. The next step, he says, will be public screenings of films on Burma.
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A Hate Symbol Makes Its Way North
Tweet Share on Facebook October 11, 2007 CommentA noose that was found outside an African-American professor's office at Columbia University Teacher's College has sparked campus demonstrations as police search for the perpetrators of what's been labeled a hate crime. The Columbia Spectator reports today that the incident prompted students and faculty—including Madonna Constantine, the targeted professor—to hold a rally yesterday on the steps of the Teacher's College. Constantine, whose published work touches on the pervasiveness of racism, called the incident "heinous and highly upsetting," one that "reeks of cowardice," according to the Spectator. And New York State Senator Bill Perkins said the hanging noose "sounded like an inside job," writes the Spectator. Detectives are interviewing professors at the college but so far haven't named any suspects.