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Nationwide, Students Hold 'Lie-Ins'
Tweet Share on Facebook April 17, 2008 Comment (6)So I've already written about the effects of the Virginia Tech shooting on campuses nationwide, but what exactly did students across the country do on the one-year anniversary?
For the most part, schools quietly recognized the day. Students at the University of Virginia, the University of Georgia, University of Southern California, George Washington University, and Princeton held small candlelight vigils, while many more schools—such as the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, and North Carolina State—observed a moment of silence late Wednesday morning.
The Virginia Tech campus was not the only place where "lie-ins" stirred a bit of controversy. While the Hokie event remained somewhat apolitical, similar events around the country wore their intentions more prominently. Most "lie-ins" were in fact protests of easy gun access and lasted three minutes long—the amount of time it takes to purchase a gun in the United States. Students from Wisconsin, the University of Massachusetts, the University of North Carolina, and all over Ohio held their own demonstrations.
Protesters also commandeered a section of Times Square in New York to lie down, while activists did the same on the steps of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.—an event that attracted the likes of the Rev. Jesse Jackson. "The greatest tragedy is not learning from the tragedy that occurred one year ago today," he said.
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Virginia Tech: A Day of Remembrance
Tweet Share on Facebook April 16, 2008 Comment (2)Late in the evening of April 16 last year, three students lugged 32 stones onto the Virginia Tech Drillfield in honor of those killed earlier in the day. Later arranged into a now-iconic semicircle, the memorial became a nexus for the community to gather, reflect, and grieve. Near this monument, the university held a commemorative ceremony this morning—drawing 15,000 mourners who sat and listened to Gov. Tim Kaine and the school president in near silence. Said President George Steger:
"We've searched for answers.We've searched for meaning in what is incomprehensible. We've searched for rest in our sleepless hours where the silence is shattered by the barrage of our own thoughts. And we've searched our souls for purpose and direction and peace to calm the turmoil of our hearts and minds.
"We have not found all that we've sought, but at every turn we've found each other."
The day was not without controversy, however. A "lie-in" event, which some accused of being a gun control demonstration, had its time and place shuffled because of administrative concerns. Its organizer has insisted the event was held in honor of a friend, and school officials have said the controversy has been mostly overblown. "Once you hear all the details, you realize that this is something that there is no story. It was a mountain out of a molehill."
Mostly though, students concentrated on remembrance—recalling that day, their classmates, and their friends.
The Collegiate Times has compiled stories from seemingly every point of view: the sister, the roommate, the close call, the fellow cadet, the parents, the hero, and the survivor. Writes one student: "I'm still confused at times, overwhelmed and worried about how my past will define my future.... What I've come to hope is that with each passing day we can all find a little more peace than the days before.
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College Life, One Year After Virginia Tech
Tweet Share on Facebook April 16, 2008 Comment (1)It's been a year since the Virginia Tech shooting, and three themes dominate the anniversary coverage.
1. Gun control: Seeming to defy logic, Virginia Tech and other recent mass shootings have emboldened both sides of the gun control debate. Gun control advocates blame an out-of-control gun culture for the shootings, while groups like Students For Concealed Carry on Campus say more guns on campus would deter killers and protect students.
2. Campus security: We've already talked about the proliferation of text message alerts, but schools have also boosted training of police officers, held emergency drills, and installed sirens on some campuses.
3. Mental health: Schools have started paying closer attention to their mental health responsiveness. Universities have moved to better train their professors to spot troubled students, while their counseling facilities are inundated with increasing numbers of students—a trend that is encouraging but also taxing. "We've seen about a 10 percent increase in students coming in every year," said the director of Iowa State's counseling services. "Unfortunately, we don't have a 10 percent increase in staff every year."
In Virginia, Gov. Tim Kaine last week signed multiple bills that address mental health treatment in the state. "Working with members of the General Assembly, we will make significant investments in our mental health system, and the bills before me today will establish standards for the system and increase accountability."
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Bowling Green Antifeminist Bake Sale Draws Ire
Tweet Share on Facebook April 16, 2008 Comment (3)An "Anti-Feminist Bake Sale" held by the College Republicans at Bowling Green State University caused quite the stir Monday, triggering a fervent protest of the sugar-packed demonstration, the BG News writes. Along with cookies and brownies, the bake sale participants distributed "Radical Feminist Agenda" fliers, featuring quotes such as "All men are rapists, and that's all they are" and "The most merciful thing a large family can do to one of its infant members is to kill it."
Protesters—who eventually outnumbered the College Republicans—condemned the bake sale's message, saying it misrepresented the feminist movement and reinforced old stereotypes. "They've taken quotes from first and second-wave feminists and provided no date, time, or context." These demonstrators fired back with their own rhetoric ("Anti-feminist is half-baked sale" and "Feminism is about choice") and, eventually, they persuaded the College Republicans to change the event name to "Anti-Radical Crazy-Feminist Bake Sale."
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California Schools See Boost in Diversity
Tweet Share on Facebook April 15, 2008 CommentUC-Berkeley, no different from other elite schools across the country, has reported record-high application numbers and a record-low acceptance rate. Of the 48,418 high school seniors who applied, 21.5 percent were accepted—10,388 students.
Across the University of California system, another trend is perhaps equally notable: The number of admitted minorities has increased —a relief to officials at schools like UCLA, where dwindling numbers of underrepresented minorities have had admissions administrators scrambling. This year, underrepresented minorities made up 25.1 percent of the admitted class. Last year, the figure was 22.9 percent.
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ACLU Accuses Harvard of Ties to the FBI
Tweet Share on Facebook April 15, 2008 Comment (11)The ACLU has questioned Harvard's police about why an undercover officer was photographing a political rally last month and has accused the school of maintaining a political intelligence unit that reports to the federal government, the Harvard Crimson reports.
In a statement, Harvard officials deny any relationship of the kind, but they also admit that they do film events when the "potential for violence, property damage, vandalism, HUPD arrest, or other circumstances require it."
The demonstration in question—held in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip—attracted the attention of the ACLU after two attendees were arrested, one of whom allegedly tried to photograph a plainclothes officer who was himself photographing the event. Since then, the ACLU has questioned the intent behind the school's picture-taking and has filed a Freedom of Information Act request inquiring about the school's intelligence relationship with the FBI, specifically with the joint terrorism task forces.
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Threats Close Three Schools
Tweet Share on Facebook April 14, 2008 CommentMost recently, up to 1,000 students were evacuated from Malcolm X College in Chicago after a threat was found scrawled on a bathroom wall Monday morning. Classes have been canceled until further notice.
Just 20 miles south, classes at St. Xavier University have been canceled indefinitely since Friday after threatening graffiti was found on a bathroom wall in a dormitory, according to the Chicago Tribune. The threat was actually the second in the month (the first was found on April 5) but drew special concern from school officials because of its specificity: "Be prepared to die on 4/14." Classes at three nearby high schools and an elementary school were also canceled Monday because of the schools' proximity to the university.
In Michigan, Oakland University has also closed down until Tuesday evening after threats were found in three different men's bathrooms, the Oakland Post reports. Like the graffiti at St. Xavier's, one threat referenced April 14 specifically. Because the bathroom writings were confined to academic buildings, officials did not close down the dorms, but they urged students to return home if possible.
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Duke Chinese Student Threatened After Rally
Tweet Share on Facebook April 14, 2008 Comment (9)As a result of the highly contentious pro-Tibet demonstration at Duke last week, at least one student who attended the rally has been targeted for harassment, the Chronicle reports. The student—whose personal information was on the Duke Chinese Scholars and Students Association website and was distributed over several popular Chinese-language Internet forums—has received multiple abusive phone calls and E-mails, along with messages calling for her to be burned alive with oil. The student's name, phone number, and Chinese identity number had been posted on the site (now removed). Pictures and video of her were posted on the forums; the contact information for her parents also was posted.
The student—who says she does not in fact support Tibetan independence—told the Chronicle she blames the Chinese student group for the harassment. Other campus groups like the College Republicans, Duke Democrats, and Students for Academic Freedom have banded together to condemn the threats and request an investigation. The DCSSA denies it posted the student's information, but its president says someone did send out those details using the group's E-mail listserv.
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Structure Collapse at Alabama Frat Party Sends One to Hospital
Tweet Share on Facebook April 14, 2008 CommentA structure built for a concert frat party at the University of Alabama collapsed early Saturday morning, sending one female student to the hospital with a broken arm, the Crimson White reports. The 8-foot structure, which collapsed around 1:10 a.m., was built by Theta Chi fraternity members and was inspected and OK'd by school officials for the university-approved party.
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Kent Frat Loses Pants for Charity
Tweet Share on Facebook April 14, 2008 CommentAround 30 members of the Sigma Nu fraternity at Kent State University will be sans pants for the week as part of a fundraiser for neurofibromatosis awareness and research, the Daily Kent Stater writes. The pantsless week will feature a kilt-wearing cleanup and a no-pants dance. It will also feature Monday high temperatures of 47 degrees in Kent, Ohio. Have fun, boys.