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Tropical Storm Gustav Cancels Classes
Tweet Share on Facebook August 29, 2008 CommentTropical Storm Gustav has forced more than a half-dozen colleges in Louisiana to close today, with some New Orleans schools planning to stay closed until next Thursday.
Tulane University, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Southern University-New Orleans all canceled Friday afternoon classes and plan to restart classes Thursday. Delgado Community College plans to reopen Wednesday, and McNeese State University near the western Louisiana border hasn't confirmed a reopening date. Loyola University New Orleans will resume classes Tuesday via the Internet, using its Web-based Blackboard Learning System. On-campus classes will start on Thursday.
Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge did not cancel classes today but won't be in session Tuesday. Because of concerns over evacuation traffic and police manpower shortages, school officials and the governor's office decided to move LSU's season opener against Appalachian State on Saturday from 4 p.m. to 10 a.m. CDT.
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Nebraska Ditches Land Lines
Tweet Share on Facebook August 29, 2008 CommentThe University of Nebraska-Lincoln is phasing out land-line phones, instead using the money it once spent on the seldom-used technology on wireless Internet, the Daily Nebraskan reports. The land lines cost the university up to $700,000 a year. Now, the school plans to only buy a third of its normal service for the 2008 fall semester and, by the start of the 2009 calendar, won't be signing any more phone contracts for housing at all. This also means there will be about 2,500 orphan phones fated for recycling; students who still want a phone can pay $9 a month.
With the money saved from phone lines, the school plans to spend $900,000 on wireless Internet.
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Aaron Sorkin to Write a Facebook Movie
Tweet Share on Facebook August 28, 2008 Comment (1)Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing, is going to write a Facebook movie. Really. Sorkin announced his project on Facebook itself (how meta!) and has been fielding ideas from his adoring audience. The film will focus on the creators of the site, and my guess is it will feature the ominous dealings of a now extremely rich Mark Zuckerberg, hopefully played by someone like Jason Schwartzman or Michael Cera. But do me a favor, Sorkin. No mention of Jolt cola, please.
In other Facebook news, universities will begin experimenting with the site to send out emergency alerts to students. Maryland and UCLA are already working on projects, while Iowa, Texas, Florida State, and North Carolina have at least talked about it. Officials hope that the networking sites will not only allow the school to reach out to students but also allow students to report security concerns back to the school more easily.
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Berkeley English Department Cuts Classes
Tweet Share on Facebook August 28, 2008 Comment (2)The English department at UC-Berkeley has had to cut 11 classes because of statewide budget problems, which include a 10 percent decrease in funds from the state this year, the Daily Californian reports. If there's a silver lining, the number of classes that were eliminated was slightly less than expected; 16 courses was the original estimate.
As a result, students are finding it difficult to enroll in classes, and wait lists are generally longer than usual. As one transfer student put it: "I'm overwhelmed and can't think of anything but getting into classes."
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Colleges Targeted With Big Name Pop-up Stores
Tweet Share on Facebook August 28, 2008 CommentThe Wall Street Journal reported on the growth of temporary pop-up stores on college campuses stocked by big-name retailers like Victoria's Secret and cosmetics-powerhouse Kiehl's. Think of a hot dog stand but with overpriced lip balm rather than meat.
The mini stores—which are often open for a day or so to hand out promotional items or sell small amounts of merchandise—can turn a decent profit ($20,000 a day at Penn State for Victoria's Secret, for example) but also offer retailers brand recognition in the valuable youth market.
Victoria's Secret and Kiehl's, along with sustainable-clothing brand RVL7 and flip-flop maker Havaianas market to a dozen or fewer colleges each, usually in conjunction with the school, a campus bookstore, or a student organization.
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Michigan State Sees Bump in Bike Registration
Tweet Share on Facebook August 28, 2008 Comment (1)Bike registration has increased almost threefold at Michigan State University in the past five years, the State News reports. Between July 1 and August 24 this year, 2,346 bikes were registered; 858 were registered in the same time period in 2003. Bike shop owners and the school's bike-leasing programs have also seen similar growth, especially in the past year.
Conversely, registration for commuter lot parking has declined 25 percent, decreasing from 2,124 to 1,661, although part of that can probably be attributed to higher registration fees.
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Arkansas Police Battle a Scooter Boom
Tweet Share on Facebook August 28, 2008 CommentAn onslaught of scooters at the University of Arkansas has prompted campus police to revamp their enforcement of scooter law, the Traveler reports. Last year, scooters were mostly treated as bicycles and were allowed to ride on sidewalks and park at bike racks. But complaints of too many motorized two-wheelers speeding through the walking paths and their presence in residence hallways and elevators has forced police to change their enforcement guidelines, asking students to park in designated spots and generally watch out for pedestrians.
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Florida Offers Wi-Fi in Two Gyms
Tweet Share on Facebook August 27, 2008 CommentThe University of Florida is offering Wi-Fi in two of its gyms, the Independent Florida Alligator reports. The wireless Internet network came at no extra cost to the university, which was already installing a new phone system. Officials hope the perk will encourage more students to use the gym—apparently, the thought of being away from their E-mail for an hour was keep students from working out.
The school doesn't yet have Wi-Fi in the dorms, but between this gym development, hand scanners, and new electricity-producing elliptical machines, the university has one of the most tech-fancy college gyms out there.
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DNC Disrupts Denver Student Life
Tweet Share on Facebook August 26, 2008 CommentMuch as it has done to the news cycle, the Democratic National Convention has hijacked normalcy from college life in Denver. The Auraria Higher Education Center, a combined campus for Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and the University of Colorado-Denver, canceled classes from last Saturday until this Friday, and it even planned ahead enough that it started classes a week earlier than normal, way back on August 11. Around 40,000 students, faculty, and staff members have been affected.
Even outside Denver, school life has been disrupted. Colorado Technical University, just south of the city, didn't cancel all classes but is expecting delays for commuter students. Its criminal justice department, however, has canceled a number of classes because so many of its instructors are also police officers who have been called for convention-related security.
For students who couldn't hightail it out of convention central, life has been eye-opening but mostly frustrating. University of Colorado-Denver students have been living behind gates ("Two weeks into college, everyone left, and we're just kind of stuck," said one student), while others pulled out their walking shoes. "I can't even get my car in here," a freshman said. "Last night I had to park 8 miles away and walk. It sucked."
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Central Florida's Swaying Stadium Gets Support
Tweet Share on Facebook August 26, 2008 Comment (2)Zombie Nation's song "Kernkraft 400" is about to cost the University of Central Florida about $400,000 in construction costs, the Central Florida Future reports. Students jumping and dancing in synchrony to the late-'90s techno hit was causing the school's brand-new, 45,000-person football stadium to sway at every game, earning the stadium the nicknames "The Trampoline" and "Bouncehouse."
The school, which will be responsible for about 25 percent of the cost, is now working to stiffen support beams in the stadium end zones by welding extra steel to the bottom of the beams and girders. By reducing the sway 50 percent, UCF hopes to improve "fan comfort" and ease the anxieties of the more sedate fans. Stadium officials say that the swaying is not a safety or structural concern.
If a Central Florida stadium malfunction story seems familiar, you might be thinking of last year's water shortage nightmare. During the stadium's first game ever, 18 students were hospitalized for heat exhaustion, in part because the structure had no water fountains. The school quickly installed fountains.
As for "Kernkraft": Students can rest assured that the song will still be played, albeit less frequently.