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Protesters Vandalize University of California-Berkeley Chancellor's House
Tweet Share on Facebook December 15, 2009 Comment (5)We've spent a lot of time covering the ongoing budget crisis in the University of California system. Protests made national news as students occupied campus buildings. It was hard not to feel for the students, who were upset with the state university system's decision to increase fees by 32 percent in January.
But Berkeley students took things a bit too far this weekend, trashing University of California–Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau's campus residence. Eight—two students and six nonstudents—have been arrested for breaking windows and throwing burning torches at Birgeneau's house, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. As many as 75 protesters surrounded the mansion late Friday night as Birgeneau and his wife slept inside, the report says.
"These are criminals, not activists," Birgeneau said in a statement. "The attack at our home was extraordinarily frightening and violent. My wife and I genuinely feared for our lives."
Meanwhile, the Contra Costa Times reports that vandalism can only complicate student protests, with explosive and violent protests like the one in Berkeley starting a philosophical battle over the best way to protest the tuition hikes.
"If you can't convince a farmworker in Central California that his taxes should be going toward higher education, then you're not going to convince Sacramento" by vandalizing property, Will Smelko, president of the Berkeley student association, tells the Times. "It's stuff like this that reflects poorly on our campus."
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Northern Illinois University Police Chief Cleared of Wrongdoing
Tweet Share on Facebook December 14, 2009 CommentThe formerly embattled police chief at Northern Illinois University has been cleared of all wrongdoing and has returned to work.
The Northwest Herald reports that Donald Grady, who gained national fame for his sprint across campus during the shootings at Northern Illinois in 2008, was reinstated Friday. The panel investigating claims against Grady found no evidence of misbehavior or misconduct following Grady's reported tirade against editors at the Northern Illinois student newspaper, the Northern Star. The Star published an editorial on October 8 calling for Grady's resignation.
In a statement, Northern Illinois University President John Peters called the panel's investigation "deliberate," saying that the impartial group's findings exonerate Grady.
Meanwhile, the Star editorial board isn't sold, releasing a statement that the paper would stand behind its editors.
"The Northern Star stands by its October 8 editorial," the statement says. "We are disappointed that the university's investigation appears to have focused overwhelmingly on one particular point in [the October 8] editorial, when the intent was to illustrate a wide-ranging list of public concerns."
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Pianos Vandalized at Ithaca College
Tweet Share on Facebook December 14, 2009 Comment'Twas the night before finals when a vandal damaged more than 60 pianos at Ithaca College. The discovery stunned the school of music and its students.
A sophomore music student stumbled upon the instruments that suffered vandalism Sunday, the Ithacan reports. The expensive instruments had front sound panels and music racks pulled off. Even some baby grand pianos were damaged, the report says. A few pianos had been "completely flipped over."
"It's perfect timing," says Andrew Thomson, the student who discovered the vandalized pianos. "It's wreaking havoc."
Dave Maley, Ithaca's associate director of media relations, says that there is "significant dollar damage" to the pianos. Officials are still investigating and assessing the damage.
In the meantime, students held a candlelight vigil Sunday night in support of the music school.
Some students were angry, the report says. "You talk to any music student about this and we all feel like there has been some horrific murder here," Thomson tells the Ithacan.
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Fairfield Student Paper Drops Controversial Column
Tweet Share on Facebook December 11, 2009 CommentFor the past several months, the Fairfield University student newspaper has come under fire for a sex column it published in September. Some students at Fairfield filed harassment charges against the Mirror for a particularly eye-catching "He Said/She Said" column. The administration even threatened to pull funding for the paper.
In reaction to the maelstrom of criticism, the Mirror finally decided to ax the controversial column all together. In a letter from the senior executive board of the paper, editors say that publishing the September 30 column was an obvious mistake. But the letter also says that the mistake is not worth cutting the entire funding of the Mirror or questioning the paper's value.
"That language was printed with the potential to offend did not mean the Mirror should be punished and it did not mean the students should lose their right to an independent student newspaper free from the influence of the university," the letter says.
According to the letter, the Mirror's editorial board and the students who had filed harassment charges against the newspaper met this past weekend. The Mirror's editors agreed to cut the "He Said/She Said" column for good, saying the character behind the column had become "stuck inside the box of 'He Said' and simply portrayed stereotypes instead of challenging them.
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Notre Dame Football Finds New Coach
Tweet Share on Facebook December 11, 2009 Comment (3)It's become a cyclical thing, like a presidential election. Every few years, there's a new search for a new Notre Dame football coach. This time around, things were just starting to heat up when news broke that the search had ended.
Turns out Notre Dame has its guy, the South Bend Tribune reports. It's Brian Kelly, the star coach from the University of Cincinnati who guided the Bearcats to a perfect 12-to-0 season and a BCS bowl game. Kelly, 48, agreed to a five-year contract to be the 29th head coach in Notre Dame's rich history.
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NCAA Investigates Tennessee Football
Tweet Share on Facebook December 10, 2009 Comment (2)There have been plenty of NCAA investigations of college sports programs over the years, but the NCAA's inquiry into the University of Tennessee football team's recruiting has caught the attention of many. Not only does the investigation come at an unusual time, but it also has some intriguing details.
The NCAA is focusing on the use of "recruiting hostesses" by the school, the New York Times reports. The hostesses reportedly traveled hundreds of miles to see high school football prospects who were being recruited by Tennessee play. The report says that it's not clear if the university sent the hostesses to visit the players.
In its statement on the inquiry, the university refers to the Orange Pride, one of three student groups that assist the school's admissions office.
"We are concerned about the alleged activities of some members of the Orange Pride," a statement UT's website says. "Both university and NCAA guidelines are a part of the Orange Pride's orientation and training. If those guidelines were violated, we will take appropriate action. Because of federal student privacy regulations, we can't comment further."
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Amazon to Make Kindle Blind-Accessible
Tweet Share on Facebook December 10, 2009 CommentLast month, Syracuse University and the University of Wisconsin expressed concern that Amazon's Kindles weren't accessible for blind students. Amazon responded this week.
Amazon announced plans to create a blind-accessible Kindle, the Daily Orange reports. The new gadget will have an audible menu and an extra large font for visually impaired users. The product should be ready by summer, Amazon says.
"I think it's a great thing they're talking about developing the Kindle further, but they haven't developed them yet," Pamela McLaughlin, Syracuse's director of communications and external relations for Syracuse's E. S. Bird Library, tells the Daily Orange. "A lot of times vendors will come out with a story like this, and then they will see that it's harder to do than they thought."
At the urging of the National Federation of the Blind, Syracuse and Wisconsin announced they would reject the use of Kindles on campus until the devices are accessible for vision-impaired users.
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Alabama Extends Winter Break for Bowl Games
Tweet Share on Facebook December 8, 2009 CommentThe usual excuse for not having a playoff system in college football is that it would extend the season. That would force student-athletes to miss class for more than just one game after Christmas, which wouldn't be fair to the academic side of the "student-athlete" label.
So much for that argument.
The University of Alabama has extended its winter break so that students can support the Alabama football team in the national championship on January 7, the Crimson White reports. That means a delayed spring semester for students. Students will have to do additional work to make it up once school starts again.
Alabama will play for its first national football championship since 1992, when it was voted the national champion in both major football polls. The Crimson Tide will play the University of Texas.
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Illinois Prepares for Furloughs
Tweet Share on Facebook December 8, 2009 CommentIt seems like a never-ending story: "[Insert name of university here] is making budget cuts." Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any end in sight for that trend, and the University of Illinois is the latest major institution to make cuts.
Illinois expects to implement furloughs for faculty and staff some time in the spring, the Daily Illini reports. The mandatory unpaid breaks from work are just part of the solution for the university's economic distress, the report says.
"I think there's a likelihood of furloughs," Illinois Vice Provost Richard Wheeler tells the Illini. "We are in a situation where that's one of several cost-saving measures that will probably have to [be voted on]. . . . The reason furloughs are under discussion is because they are a short-term, cash-flow, partial solution to a very big problem. But beyond that, the reason furloughs are under discussion is because they are a more humane option than firing people."
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Mixed Emotions at Texas Christian, Boise State, and Cincinnati
Tweet Share on Facebook December 7, 2009 Comment (5)Death, taxes, and anti-BCS rhetoric: Those are the things we've come to expect in life. And so, after college football bowl announcements came out Sunday, the public outcry against the Bowl Championship Series system that decides the national championship reached its usual rancor.
Three undefeated teams—Texas Christian University, Boise State University, and the University of Cincinnati—will not have a shot at the national title. That's not to take away from two deserving undefeated schools—the University of Texas and the University of Alabama—that will play in the national championship, but reactions to the bowl announcements at the three schools that missed out were mixed.
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