Entries for February 27, 2007

The University of Nevada-Reno's Sagebrush has a new angle on the old politicians-joining-Facebook story. The paper counted all the political groups it could find, and then counted their members. Here's a rundown of the most popular:

1. "Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)" is the largest, with over 304,000 members this morning (and 288,388 when the Sagebrush counted).
2. "Hillary Clinton for President--One Million STRONG" has 3,960. (A group called "One Million Strong against Hillary" has 7,490.)
3. "Giuliani for President '08!" has 1,980.
4. "John McCain for President--One Million for McCain" has 1,578.

PHOTO: KIICHIRO SATO--AP
Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama makes a stop to talk to reporters Monday, Feb. 26, 2007 after attending a fundraiser in Columbus, Ohio.

A Penn State Daily Collegian columnist says he was fired unfairly for comments he posted on Facebook, but the paper's editor in chief seems to be confident in her decision. Zach Good was a member of a Facebook group opposed to "Thon," a popular dance marathon that raises money for cancer research. His membership--and comments he made on the group's Facebook page--led other students to start a Facebook campaign to "FIRE ZACH GOOD FROM THE DAILY COLLEGIAN." Yesterday afternoon, the Collegian's editor in chief--in a blog post titled "I'm no Donald Trump, but . . . "--seemed to acknowledge that she followed the group's advice. "Anyone has the right to free speech," she writes. "No one has the right to be employed at a newspaper. That is a privilege."

The blog PSU STOP! has an audio interview with Good.

First step: Call your mom. That, at least, was the priority for Mississippi State's new Student Association president, elected last week. You can find a very cute photo--along with some actual news items--in the Reflector.

The University of Rochester's tennis team is at the center of a controversy that has led nine of 11 men's varsity players to quit and two coaches to file reports to campus security. The resignations were a protest against one of their coaches, whom they said they had been complaining about for two years, the Campus Times reported earlier this month. Now, two tennis coaches have filed security reports with the university after receiving anonymous phone calls, the paper reports. The former players deny involvement and instead bemoan the fact that their spots on the squad already have been filled. "I'm extremely disappointed," one player says. "I feel like my tennis career is getting cut short by this and I am afraid that tennis players will be left behind."

A University of Minnesota student says catcalls, rape attempts, and unwanted groping were frequent occurrences she had to endure on her study abroad in Tanzania last year. She'd been warned about harassment, but the student tells the Minnesota Daily that university officials could have provided her more support.

• College students who are also parents could get more help with childcare if Washington state legislators approve a new bill, the Daily reports. Spots in on-campus daycare are so rare at the University of Washington that student parents often have to sit on wait lists for three years.
• A University of Maryland table tennis whiz could go to the Olympics--if his business and engineering double major doesn't get in the way, the Diamondback reports.
• The University of Texas's president yesterday challenged the state's "top 10 percent" law, which requires universities to reserve spots for high school students who have good grades and are state residents, the Daily Texan reports.
• The protester at the center of Berkeley's so-called Oakgate has been arraigned on charges of making threats to a police officer, the Daily Californian reports.