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Wisconsin Cancels 'Sex Toys 101' Event
Tweet Share on Facebook April 30, 2008 Comment (3)A University of Wisconsin Law School "Sex Toys 101" talk was shut down by the school, and the event organizers—who say the event was an attempt to promote safe alternatives to sex and discuss laws concerning sex toys—are not happy about it, the Badger Herald reports.
The official reason the seminar was canceled was that policy "prohibits the promotion or sale of commercial products by a private company." But many students suspect it's possible that the event's racy fliers had something to do with it, too. Accompanied by a photo of wrists in shackles, one advertisement asks: "Finals got you tied up at the library all night? Wouldn't you rather be tied up at home?" The other, littered with photos of sex toys, is probably too scandalous for me to repeat.
The two sides have sort of worked out their differences: Event organizers filed a complaint—asking for reimbursement for the event. The school complied but hasn't backed down from its claim that the cancellation was policy related, not necessarily a matter of taste. Meanwhile, the inevitable First Amendment discussion lingers. Says a political science professor: "The larger question to be asked is to what extent can the Law School set reasonable limits on presentations that advocate certain sexual practices because they have an interest in basic decency."
Blah, blah, blah. Why can't they just kiss and make up and color in pictures of male and female genitalia with rainbows like they do in Kansas?
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Activists Fight Cuts with Faxes
Tweet Share on Facebook April 29, 2008 CommentFor the California state school students who couldn't make it to the massive protest in Sacramento last week, there are other ways to take a stand against the proposed $386 million in budget cuts to higher education. Like fax machines. Lots of fax machines.
Activists at various Cal State campuses, including Long Beach and Fullerton, have been collecting signatures—which will be faxed individually to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office in Sacramento to "basically [try] to jam up his fax machines."
Over the weekend, 659 faxes from Long Beach were sent. Protest organizers—with apparent utter disregard for the cost of paper, ink, and fax machines—say they have collected thousands of signatures across the state.
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Alumni Pan Possible Loyola (Maryland) Name Change
Tweet Share on Facebook April 29, 2008 Comment (1)A possible name change at Loyola College in Baltimore (to Loyola University) has rattled alumni enough to leap to action, the Greyhound reports. So far, the protest has been confined to digital venues—online petitions, a Facebook group, and mass E-mails to the president and alumni relations—and criticizes the school's "reductionist approach to a marketing problem" that "shows no respect for the history of the school," according to one alumnus.
The name change is part of the school's strategic plan to establish the college as the leading Catholic university in the country, a plan that could all be finalized by October 2008. Of course, the name "Loyola University" already is claimed by schools in Chicago and New Orleans.
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Could Drownings—Including a Minnesota Student's—Be Related?
Tweet Share on Facebook April 28, 2008 Comment (6)Two former New York City police detectives say they have linked more than 40 deaths of college-age people across the country—including the 2002 disappearance of a University of Minnesota student found months later drowned in the Mississippi River north of the Minneapolis campus.
The case the two detectives have put forth presents what could be an unbelievable crime spree of the style usually found on TV or in the movies—a nationwide string of deaths linked by an awful signature (a spray-painted smiley face) with no arrests yet. Minneapolis police in November 2006 denied any connection between the Minnesota student's death and other drownings in Midwest waterways. But the two New York ex-cops are convinced a link exists—and have gone public with their case in hopes of changing the way drownings are investigated—to "protect the innocent and prosecute the guilty."
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GWU Criticizes Faculty Report on Admissions
Tweet Share on Facebook April 28, 2008 CommentA report by a faculty committee at George Washington University, ominously titled "The Decline in Elite Freshmen Admissions," has school officials on the defensive, saying the report is missing information and is rife with distortions.
The report, released more than two weeks ago, focuses on the decreasing number of National Merit Scholars in the freshman class, along with a drop in the number of early-decision applicants. Critics of the report say it does not fully take into account a number of different measurements, such as SAT scores. "[The statistics] require a much further and sophisticated analysis than what might be apparent."
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Armenian Memorial at USC Damaged by Vandals
Tweet Share on Facebook April 24, 2008 Comment (2)A memorial at the University of Southern California dedicated to the Armenian genocide was partially torn down by two students, the Daily Trojan reports. The pair was reportedly yelling and stomping on the temporary display, which was built by Armenian student groups and comprise fact sheets and 1,500 carnations placed in the ground—each flower representing 1,000 Armenians killed between 1915 and 1923.
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Trail Mix: This Week's Protests Edition
Tweet Share on Facebook April 24, 2008 Comment• I seem to recall that there is in fact a Republican running for president out there, and he has been touring Democratic strongholds in the shadow of the Pennsylvania primary this Tuesday. One stop was at Youngstown State University, where he held a town hall meeting to discuss jobs and the economy—and where he was also greeted by a horde of protesters, many criticizing his stance on NAFTA and disconnect with the working class.
• Students at Webster University have rallied around a former resident adviser after the school fired him, evicted him, and revoked his meal plan, the Journal reports. His troubles began after he allegedly stole a sandwich from a school eatery. Two weeks later—after another pseudo run-in with the law—he was fired. The student declined to comment for the Journal's article.
After the firing, the ex-RA's girlfriend organized a protest, which 30 people attended last week despite the rain.
• Concerned over a number of recent reported incidents on Michigan State's campus, 35 protesters gathered to speak out on what they say is an ongoing problem of racism and sexism on campus, the State News reports.
• Not technically a protest (yet), but members of Students for a Democratic Society at Evergreen State College in Washington are crying foul after the school suspended the group for violating a recent on-campus-concert ban. Five hundred students, faculty, and staff members signed a petition to lift the group's suspension.
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Georgia Faculty Criticize Clarence Thomas Visit
Tweet Share on Facebook April 23, 2008 Comment (10)As is the case with most conservative speakers at those pesky liberal bastions (aka colleges), the choice of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as the University of Georgia's commencement speaker has inspired a "reaction that ranges from surprise to infuriation," the Red and Black reports. "Many would consider him a divisive figure because of his voting record and the past allegations of sexual harassment with Anita Hill," said a psychology professor.
The speaker announcement caps a year of sexual harassment scandals on the Georgia campus (three professors have resigned since September because of sexual harassment complaints). But it also comes at a time when faculty members believe the school has made progress on the issue. "What a slap in the face this is to everyone who has been working to bring to light the realities of sexual harassment at [the university]," said the women's studies director.
University President Michael Adams defended the choice, asking students to not embarrass themselves or the university. He also noted that the Anita Hill allegations were never proved, while another supporter cited Thomas's previous appearance at the law school years ago. "[Thomas's life] is a rags-to-riches story. I think it's the American dream come true."
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Tom Friedman Gets Pied at Brown
Tweet Share on Facebook April 23, 2008 Comment (21)New York Times columnist Tom Friedman—globalization's well-versed Joan of Arc—was pied in the face yesterday evening at Brown University, the Brown Daily Herald reports. Just as the writer was about to begin his lecture, a female audience member in the front row "leapt" out of her seat and threw a bright-green pie in his face. Immediately after, a male accomplice jumped onstage and distributed fliers explaining the stunt. The "Greenwash Guerillas," as they called themselves, then ran out of the auditorium. The woman has been apprehended by campus police.
The pamphlets thrown to audience members identified the pair as activists who were acting "on behalf of the earth" and "all true environmentalists" and contained five bullet points explaining why "Thomas Friedman deserves a pie in the face." These include "his sickeningly cheery applaud for free market capitalism's conquest of the planet" and "for helping turn environmentalism into a fake plastic consumer product for the privileged."
The pamphlets said Friedman's idea of "green" was "as fake and toxic to human and planetary health" as the artificial cream on his face.
By the way, did I mention there was a lecture, too? Though the Herald doesn't have any comment from him specifically on the incident, Friedman—after cleaning the emerald goo from his face and body—continued with his talk, titled "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" and focusing on globalization's role in environmentalism.
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Burritos Take Down Kent State Students and Track Team
Tweet Share on Facebook April 23, 2008 Comment (6)If victims of the Great Kent State Burrito Massacre of April 2008 can take comfort in anything, it's knowing Chipotle is willing to pay their medical bills as penance (and good PR), the Daily Kent Stater reports.
Health officials believe the norovirus is the cause of last week's outbreak—which affected 432 people, many of them Kent State students (and many of whom received free burrito coupons after giving blood. Where's karma now?)
The damage also spilled over to the school's track and field team, which—with six players sick—turned in a weak performance at the All-Ohio Championship. Amazingly, two ill athletes managed to compete in the hammer throw—one notching second place with a 103-degree temperature and the other throwing a personal best. The illness is still affecting one of the team's key distance runners, who will sit out of a Thursday meet where he planned to break the school's 5,000-meter race record.
The free medical care ploy also seems to be working: "I have no hard feelings," said a sophomore studying nutrition. "My stomach is still upset, though. I'm really excited that they're going to pay."
And for students with no medical bills to pay? More coupons and more burritos! "Hey, it's better than nothing," said a Kent State senior. "I'm a big fan of Chipotle."