Entries for August 2007

A Muncie, Ind., police officer crashed his patrol car after taking three Ball State University freshmen on a "joy ride," the Daily News reports. "He was driving like an idiot, and it's unfathomable about what he was thinking," said the police chief. One of the students suffered a 1-inch cut on her head and was treated and released from the hospital.

The Indianapolis Star reports that the officer was exceeding speeds of 55 MPH early Tuesday morning and subsequently crashed into a light pole and tree.

The Muncie police said that alcohol, drugs, or sex was not involved in the incident, and the officer was placed on administrative leave pending disciplinary action by the Muncie Police Merit Commission. The officer could not be reached for comment. —Alison Go

Two articles in the student-run magazine The Primary Source at Tufts University irked a student and faculty committee enough for it to call for the censorship of campus publications and force the magazine to use bylines on all its pieces last year. Tufts officials, however, reversed that decision this week—a move free-speech activists call a victory, the Boston Globe reports. Tufts did not reverse all the committee's findings, however, and maintained that the stories in question—which sparked cries of racism—did indeed constitute harassment against blacks and Muslims. —Alison Go

After a vicious knife attack sent a University of Colorado freshman to the hospital with a slashed neck, a campus acappella group decided to make light of the event, according to the Campus Press. On an audition questionnaire, the group wrote:

The recent stabbing on campus leaves you feeling:

A. Confused

B. Dazed and confused

C. Mad someone got that guy before you did

The joke was lost on almost everybody, and the group (the appropriately named Buffoons) issued a formal apology. —Alison Go

*A new study shows that Hispanic students tend to avoid large state schools, the Daily Collegian writes. Penn State's Hispanic population is about 4.5 percent, while the national makeup is around 14.5 percent.

*A copy of the world's largest published book has arrived in Oxford, Ohio, on Miami University's campus, the Miami Student reports. Weighing 133 pounds, and measuring 5 feet wide and 7 feet tall when opened, the book is, well, really big. —Alison Go

Penn State lightly tussled with a North Carolina high school over trademark infringement after the school unveiled a logo that was "confusingly similar" to PSU's sleek Nittany Lion, the Daily Collegian reports. The high school was able to replace or prohibit the logos on jerseys and other paraphernalia, but the potentially felonious feline already was plastered over the gym floor. Because PSU is so nice, it agreed to a phase-out period for the logo, which will be replaced in the gym in five years during a scheduled resurfacing. —Alison Go

The FBI is investigating the string of bomb threats that have been dogging universities across the country, Inside Higher Ed writes. Aside from the three reported threats at Iowa, threats have been arriving in spamlike succession at schools such as Oregon State. Federal authorities are looking into whether many of these threats are related. —Alison Go

The University of Iowa yesterday received its third bomb threat in a month, the Daily Iowan reports. Other schools that have recently received threats are the University of Alaska, Middle Tennessee State, Oregon State University, Princeton University, and Carnegie Mellon University.

At Iowa, the latest scare has officials on alert. "This is the first time I can recall we've had this many in the 20 years I've been at the university," said one university administrator. "And we've never had this many in a short period of time."

What's going on? Best-case scenario: some punk kids with too much time on their hands. Worst-case scenario: The influx of threats is being used to lull officials to sleep. "Then you have an actual bomb." —Alison Go

Pastor and founder of xxxchurch.com Craig Gross and prolific porn star Ron Jeremy went head to head at "The Porn Debate" on the University of Georgia campus, reports the Red & Black. Not surprisingly, the free event was filled to capacity, making it possible for students to indulge in another sin: ticket scalping.

For those who did attend, they were treated to a condemnation of porn by Gross for "degrading women, being easily accessible for minors, and creating unrealistic expectations." Jeremy defended his industry, but the great debate took back seat to the presence of a "living legend." Said one student: "He's had sex with more women than I've met in my entire life." —Alison Go

*Arkansas State University has begun looking for a new mascot in lieu of the NCAA ban of American Indian imagery and nicknames by schools, the Herald writes. The chair of the Mascot Review Committee (really) recommended retiring the names "Indian" and "Indian Family" from the ASU lexicon in July.

*Winner for most cringeworthy headline of the week: "Gonorrhea is nothing to 'clap' about," from Washington State University's Daily Evergreen.

*According to Penn State's Daily Collegian, one study shows that "course shopping," or repeatedly dropping and adding courses during the drop/add period of the semester, can be tied to lower grades.

*Because of budget cuts, University of Florida political science courses will no longer hand out paper syllabi, the Independent Florida Alligator reports.

—Alison Go

A University of Missouri-St. Louis student has been detained by Russian officials after allegedly trying to fly home with Soviet-era war medals and old Russian currency in her luggage, the Current reports. The bizarre tale involves the Chilean consulate (the woman is a citizen of Chile), possible jail time, a short-lived letter-writing campaign, involvement from Missouri bigwigs (governor, U.S. representatives, etc.), several dedicated Facebook groups (of course), and some pretty atrocious spelling errors by Russian law enforcement. Does anyone else smell a book deal brewing? —Alison Go

In an effort to curb underage drinking, Indiana University has required first-year students to take an alcohol prevention course, reports the Indiana Daily Student. Only time will tell if the program works, but so far praise is not exactly abundant: For some reason, the message not to drink is "boring," "stupid," and "ineffective." —Alison Go

Ever wonder where your professor learned how to teach? Look no further than your Notorious B.I.G. album. In this Professor's Ten Commandments via Inside Higher Ed, a musicology assistant professor advises, "Never let no one know how much dough you hold/Cause you know the cheddar breed jealousy"; "Never let 'em know your next move/Don't you know bad boys move in silence or violence"; and "Know you heard this before, never get high on your own supply." Indiana University shows little resemblance to Brooklyn, but good advice is apparently universal. —Alison Go

*Conformity rules, especially when it involves 1,100 University of Miami students gathering to break the world record for Simon Says, writes the Miami Hurricane. Unfortunately, they were 69 copycats short of world domination.

*Baylor freshmen can now sign up for Bearobics, the Baylor Lariat reports.

*Fire ants attack the dorms at North Carolina State University, the Technician reports. This story is not for the squeamish. —Alison Go

Further eroding the illusion that college is like the real world, the FS View reports that students at Florida State and beyond are in ever more contact with their parents because of cellphones. Pew research shows 82 percent of all 18-to-25-year-olds said they had talked to their parents in the past day. "One mom mentioned that she calls her son to wake him up in the morning," said one school administrator. "She said if she didn't, he might not make it to class. I told her I thought that was a bit over-the-top."

Parents aren't the only ones who benefit from the hovering—students call multiple times a day to deal with stress and homesickness. "It made me feel better to call them so much," said one recovering student. Just what the cellphone CEOs want to hear. —Alison Go

Proving that there is little that can part a college student and his beer, a change in keg laws meant to prevent the distribution of alcohol to minors has not slowed keg sales at the University of Iowa, the Daily Iowan reports. Sales at some places have actually increased. —Alison Go