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Western Kentucky’s New DUI Program: Dumb or Cool?
Tweet Share on Facebook February 14, 2008 CommentIn order to slow an increasing number of DUIs on campus, Western Kentucky University police are starting a program—which one student has deemed "cool" but another called a "dumb idea"—that will reward designated drivers with gift certificates, the College Heights Herald reports. Sober students pulled over for minor traffic violations—but who also happen to be driving drunk kids around—will receive $10 gift certificates to Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar for their sacrifice/terrible driving skills.
The anti-DUI campaign wouldn't shield drunk underage passengers from trouble, and the reward would apply only to minor traffic violations (rolling through a stop sign is OK; blowing through a red light, not so much).
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Gay Porn Activist Offends Students—but Not the Ones You’d Expect
Tweet Share on Facebook February 14, 2008 Comment (2)A gay pornography filmmaker will be speaking at Stanford University tonight, and—to no one's surprise—people aren't happy about it. What is surprising is that it's not just religious conservatives finding fault. Michael Lucas, the founder and CEO of Lucas Entertainment, is known for his safe sex and antidrug advocacy but has also taken heat for his views of Arab and Muslim communities, the Stanford Daily reports.
Lucas has compared the Koran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf, saying the Muslim religious text inspires followers to kill homosexuals—an opinion that prompted Stanford's Queer & Asian group to condemn the event. "We just found [his comments] really personal for our group, because we are queer and Asian, and one of our main purposes is to talk about the intersection of race and sexuality," said one Q&A copresident. "As representatives, in a way, of the Arab and Muslim community, I don't think it would be wise on our part to sponsor the event."
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Antiwar Protest Causes Mild Ruckus
Tweet Share on Facebook February 13, 2008 Comment (3)Around 500 antiwar protesters marched on the UC-Santa Barbara campus Tuesday, the Daily Nexus reports—an event that led to the arrest of three, in addition to prompting a counterprotest and the formation of a dramatic-sounding "human barrier":
Although the march was initially peaceful, the demonstration quickly intensified when protesters responded to the arrest of two male participants. After police officers pulled the two men from the crowd and placed them under arrest, several demonstrators rushed to obstruct the path of three police cars. Forming a human barrier, they proceeded to link arms and assume a seated position, demanding the release of the persons in custody.
The protest was held in response to a military industry conference on campus and focused on both the Iraq war and the University of California's involvement in military research. Protesters accused police of excessive jostling ("Then he kicked me when I was on the floor"), but—according to the Nexus reports— activists, too, were less than well behaved—allegedly flipping tables, pounding on doors, ripping down posters (leading to the third arrest), and stealing food (really?).
Despite the mild disruption, police said the event was handled "professionally." It certainly was no University of Southern California "sit-in."
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Student Convicted of Posting Threatening Content on MySpace
Tweet Share on Facebook February 13, 2008 Comment (648)A Penn State-Harrisburg student was convicted Tuesday of charges related to threatening messages left on his MySpace page, the Daily Collegian reports. The 24-year-old's profile was reported to show a photographic illustration and poem titled "The Ballad of Cho Seung-hui," a work about the Virginia Tech shooter. The poem appeared under the headline "Virginia Tech Massacre: They got what they deserved." The profile also threatened, "Someday I will make the Virginia Tech incident look like a trip to an amusement park," according to a press release from the acting U.S. attorney for the middle district of Pennsylvania.
The man was found guilty of transmitting communications containing a threat to injure and faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.
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Stanford Students Reinvent Siesta
Tweet Share on Facebook February 13, 2008 CommentIn a stunt that can only be described as cute, students from Stanford University hosted a slumber party in the center of campus and in the middle of the day, the Stanford Daily reports. The "large-scale napping session" was an attempt to raise awareness about sleep disorders and deprivation for a psychiatry class, and potential nappers were wooed with bunk beds, sleeping bags, teddy bears, and lullabies sung by music students. A novel idea—except the Spanish have been doing it for hundreds of years.
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Toy Gun Leads to Arrest
Tweet Share on Facebook February 12, 2008 Comment (1)Two toy-gun-armed theater students rehearsing a play were arrested for "disorderly conduct" after the police halted a particularly convincing attack scene in the library, the Ball State Daily News reports. Six police officers responded to a call about a gun in the library, but the situation soon dissipated once police realized the gun was fake. Both students were released on $1,000 bail.
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Northwestern Salt Shortage Equals Peril for Students
Tweet Share on Facebook February 12, 2008 Comment (1)If there was any doubt that this winter has been worse than most, let's go to Evanston, Ill., home of Northwestern University. Forget the typical slip-and-slide sob stories; we've got hard numbers. The Midwest's rough winter has caused a spike in road salt usage—placing Evanston in the midst of a severe salt shortage. The town has already used 8,000 tons of road salt this year, in contrast to the typical 5,000 tons; all this at an additional cost of about $75,000. With salt stockpiles stretched thin, suppliers across the region are struggling to meet demand and won't be able to fill orders until the end of winter.
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Trail Mix
Tweet Share on Facebook February 12, 2008 Comment• Nothing goes better with chili than finding a job, which makes the University of Texas's combined chili competition and engineering job expo the best idea ever.
• The Daily Tar Heel reports that the University of North Carolina today celebrates the 213th anniversary of its first student coming to campus. Treats include cider, apple pie, and cookies. And the anniversary's not even a multiple of 5.
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Southern Maine Puts Programs on Probation
Tweet Share on Facebook February 11, 2008 CommentThe University of Southern Maine has placed 26 academic programs on probation—threatening suspension in an effort to reduce the school's spending, the Free Press reports. Endangered programs on "the list"—which includes some from the sciences as well as economics and the women's and gender studies program—haven't been cut (yet) but are up for evaluation.
The programs are being asked to develop a plan to address problems such as "low retention and graduation trends over time," inadequate funding, or issues with "internal communications and civility," among other things.
The university says current students and tenured faculty currently won't be affected by changes in disciplines, and certain programs are already planning their escape from the brink. One easy solution: "The largest major is undeclared," said one official. "My first rebel reaction is to ask students to join the majors on the list."
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Ohio Suicide Attempt Thwarted; S.C. Student Accidentally Shoots Himself
Tweet Share on Facebook February 11, 2008 Comment (1)While much of the media rushed to make sense of the apparent murder-suicide at Louisiana Technical College on Friday, two other schools had their own scares last week.
*An Ohio University employee who threatened to kill himself by jumping from a fifth-story perch atop a university building voluntarily ended a tense standoff after three hours, the Post reports. At the beginning of the standoff, police evacuated the building, while students and onlookers gathered around the scene to gawk, pray, and write letters of empathy. The man was eventually taken to the local hospital for evaluation.
*At Greenville Technical College, a student shot himself in the leg in his dorm. The accident caused a non-life-threatening injury, and the student was soon sent to the hospital.
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