Category Archives: Students

Striking students

Inside Higher Ed: Striking Students

A hunger strike at Columbia University is nearing the end of its first week, while some students at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst are planning to attend Thursday and Friday teach-ins about issues such as college cost instead of attending class. In both cases, it’s unclear if and when negotiations or meetings would provide a quick end to the actions.

Five students — two from Barnard College and three from Columbia — began fasting on Wednesday in protest of the university’s response to recent hate incidents and the university’s plans to expand into neighboring Manhattanville, among other issues. One Barnard student was hospitalized over the weekend and ended her hunger strike, but a Barnard political science professor has told his class that he would begin to fast, according to Jamie Chen, a student who is helping support the effort.

California: Federal Court Strikes Down University’s Civility Policy as Basis for Discipline

The Chronicle News Blog: Federal Court Strikes Down University’s Civility Policy as Basis for Discipline

California State University cannot use its civility policy to investigate or discipline students, a federal magistrate ruled last week.

Ohio: Racial tensions–Denison students take over ‘timeout’

The Columbus Dispatch: Denison students take over ‘timeout’

Angry Denison University students blasted the school’s administration for trying to limit student speech yesterday during a forum about race and discrimination issues on campus.

Nearly 1,800 students had gathered in the Mitchell Center for a campuswide “timeout” sponsored by student groups and the faculty to talk about issues spurred by several recent incidents. When Denison President Dale Knobel tried to limit discussion so that classes could resume, the students refused to leave and lined up at the microphone to object.

Pomona College immigration debate ends prematurely

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin: Pomona College immigration debate ends prematurely

CLAREMONT – An immigration debate at Pomona College ended prematurely Thursday night when a group of students critical of the event began chanting protest slogans, drowning out the two speakers and fueling shouting matches between audience members.

Anti-immigration activist Marvin Stewart debated Jacob Hornberger, an open-borders advocate, for about an hour, often eliciting strong responses from the audience of nearly 600.

Survey Finds Today’s Students Are More Civically Engaged but Are Ambivalent About Politics

Inside Higher Ed: Millennials, Unspun
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/11/08/civic

The report, from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), which studies civic engagement among young people, suggests that students are tired of partisanship and “spin,” are wary of the political process in general and tend to distrust the overwhelming array of media sources that vie for their attention.

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Today’s Students Are More Civically Engaged but Are Ambivalent About Politics, Report Finds
http://chronicle.com/daily/2007/11/635n.htm

Young people entering college today— most of whom are part of the so-called Millennial Generation born after 1985— are neither cynical nor highly individualistic, according to a new report released on Wednesday. Compared to their predecessors, Generation X, the Millennials are more likely to volunteer and be involved in social issues, researchers found.

The report, “Millennials Talk Politics: A Study of College Student Political Engagement,” is based on a study conducted by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, in collaboration with the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. The study examined the barriers to political engagement that young people face.

The authors of the report conducted focus groups with nearly 400 students on a dozen four-year campuses, including Bowdoin College, Kansas State University, and the University of New Mexico. They also conducted a written survey and drew on a national telephone survey.

CSU students not ready to make nice – and they don’t have to

San Francisco Chronicle: CSU students not ready to make nice – and they don’t have to

The 417,000 students at California State University’s 28 campuses are expected to be civil to one another, the university says in its policy manual.

It sounds innocuous – but a federal magistrate says it’s an unconstitutional restriction on speech when the policy is used to investigate or discipline students, such as the College Republicans whose members stomped on two flags bearing the name of Allah during an anti-terrorism rally at San Francisco State last year.

“It might be fine for the university to say, ‘Hey, we hope you folks are civil to one another,’ ” U.S. Magistrate Wayne Brazil said last week at a hearing in his Oakland courtroom. “But it’s not fine for the university to say, ‘If you’re not civil, whatever that means, we’re going to punish you.’ “

Britain Begins New Security Checks for Some Foreign Students

The Chronicle News Blog: Britain Begins New Security Checks for Some Foreign Students

Under a new screening program that went into effect in Britain last week, graduate students from outside the European Union and the European Economic Area must obtain a special security clearance before applying for a visa if their field of study falls within one of the 41 disciplines that the government has deemed “sensitive subjects.” Those include science, engineering, or technology-related disciplines, such as aerospace engineering, metallurgy, veterinary sciences, and agriculture.

France: University students angry over reforms disrupt classes

International Herald Tribune: University students angry over reforms disrupt classes

French university students angry over a law making their schools more market-friendly have shut down classes at several campuses across France and are mobilizing to join nationwide protests later this month over President Nicolas Sarkozy’s reforms.

For the past week, students have disrupted classes, at least sporadically, at about 10 campuses, from Montpellier and Toulouse in the south to Rennes in the west and the Tolbiac campus of the University of Paris, according to the Education Ministry.

The reforms, passed by lawmakers in August, will make all state-run French universities independent within five years, granting them the right to control their own budgets, raise tuition and accept private donations. Proponents believe the law will make French graduates more competitive in the global marketplace by improving facilities and reducing university dropout rates.

Poll: Many Californians believe college is key, but out of reach

Union Tribune: Poll: Many Californians believe college is key, but out of reach

Many Californians believe a college education is key but consider it out of reach, a new poll says.

Nearly two-thirds, or 64 percent, of people surveyed by the Public Policy Institute of California, said a person must have a college education to succeed in the workplace. Three-fourths, or 76 percent, said the state’s college system was “very important” to the future of California.

Gaza College Students Trapped in Gaza

AP: Gaza College Students Trapped in Gaza

Mona Bkheet’s academic year is under way at Southern Illinois University, but the civil engineering student is far from the classroom, stranded in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip by an Israeli blockade.

Human rights groups say 670 Palestinian students have become trapped in Gaza since the Islamic militants took over the territory this summer and Israel halted travel in and out. More than 30 of the students are enrolled at U.S. universities.

Report Assails Canadian Program Aimed at Drawing Foreign Students

The Chronicle News Blog: Report Assails Canadian Program Aimed at Drawing Foreign Students

International students in Canada are so disillusioned by the nation’s after-graduation job program that many move to the United States or other countries to work after they obtain their degrees. A report, commissioned by the Canadian Bureau for International Education and scheduled to be released on Tuesday, will recommend that the
government create a national strategy on international students and take a hard look at how other countries, such as Australia, handle the issue.

Florida: Students protest for second amendment rights

FSUNews.com: Students protest for second amendment rights

This week Florida State University students are taking part in a protest of state laws that prohibit students from carrying guns on campus as a part of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC). Students participating in the rally are wearing empty holsters on their belts all week.

Student Hounds a Faculty Member Running for Congress

The Chronicle News Blog: Student Hounds a Faculty Member Running for Congress

An assistant professor of political science at Central Michigan University thought he had enough problems running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a challenge that pits him against an eight-term Republican incumbent in a district the Democratic leadership considers vulnerable.

Ohio: College students say hidden guns should be allowed on campus

Akron Beacon-Journal: College students say hidden guns should be allowed on campus

Students at Ohio State University and at other U.S. schools planned to wear empty gun holsters on their waists this week to protest laws that ban concealed weapons on campuses.

The protest, organized by Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, aimed to get students and faculty at more than 110 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. to participate, according to the group’s Web site.

Offer of Chocolate Changes the Way Students See a Professor, Study Finds

CSU Northridge: Offer of Chocolate Changes the Way Students See a Professor, Study Finds

Can the simple offer of chocolate from a stranger change the way students view their professors, particularly at evaluation time?

The answer is yes, according to a soon-to-be published study by Cal State Northridge assistant professor of psychology Robert Youmans and Benjamin D. Jee, a researcher at Northwestern University. Their study, “Fudging the Numbers: Distributing Chocolate Influences Student Evaluations of an Undergraduate Course,” is expected to appear in the fall edition of the journal Teaching of Psychology.

Palestinian Students Accepted at Israeli Universities Wait in Limbo

The Chronicle: Palestinian Students Accepted at Israeli Universities Wait in Limbo

Palestinian students on the West Bank are being prevented from taking their places at Israeli universities and colleges under a blanket government ban that was challenged almost a year ago by the Israeli Supreme Court.

Teen sues college over bullying

Nashua Telegraph: Teen sues college over bullying

A former student has sued Daniel Webster College, charging the school didn’t do enough to protect him from a bully.

Anti-Muslim at GW posters intended to be satire

Inside Higher Ed: Anti-Muslim at GW posters intended to be satire

Seven students at George Washington University — members of what they call Students for Conservativo-Fascism Awareness — have admitted that they are the ones who put anti-Muslim posters around campus this week. In a letter to the student newspaper, the GW Hatchet, the students said that they were trying to oppose “the true racist propaganda” of “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week,” which David Horowitz, the conservative activist, and his supporters are holding on many college campuses later this month. The posters — which said “Hate Muslims? So do we!” — appeared Monday morning and were immediately removed. Numerous students groups as well as university leaders condemned the posters. The students who said that they put them up said in their letter that their “creative political action” was designed to be a “horrific exaggeration of the racism” behind the Horowitz-inspired events. University officials said Wednesday that they were still investigating the incident. The posters implied that they were sponsored by the campus chapter of Young America’s Foundation, which is sponsoring events similar to Horowitz’s program, but which disavowed the posters and condemned them. The national office of the foundation issued a statement condemning the students who admitted to putting up the posters and accusing “leftist administrators” at GW of using the incident to go on “a rampage” against student conservatives trying to criticize radical Islam.

Tufts offer of loan aid steers grads to nonprofits

Boston Globe: Tufts offer of loan aid steers grads to nonprofits

Tufts University is offering graduates an unusual deal: Take a job as a public school teacher or social worker, or work for any nonprofit, and the university will help pay off their college loans for years to come.

Student Editor Keeps His Job, but Is Warned About Ethics

The New York Times: Student Editor Keeps His Job, but Is Warned About Ethics

A headline in Friday’s Rocky Mountain Collegian hit especially close to home for the writers and editors of the college newspaper at Colorado State University.

“Collegian Editor Will Keep His Job,” it said, reporting that an independent review board that oversees The Collegian had decided to admonish, but not fire, the editor who had approved a vulgar, four-word editorial about President Bush in a space that would usually run to hundreds of words.