October 13, 2006
So what better day to try a new technology to manage the mailing list for
[email protected]? Actually, we've passed the magic number with 104 subscribers, and it's time to automate the list management. Today's newsbrief will be distributed from our account on Intellicontact, which will also allow us to set up an RSS feed, and plenty of other nifty features in the weeks ahead.
So what better day to try a new technology to manage the mailing list for
[email protected]? Actually, we've passed the magic number with 104 subscribers, and it's time to automate the list management. Today's newsbrief will be distributed from our account on Intellicontact, which will also allow us to set up an RSS feed, and plenty of other nifty features in the weeks ahead. Intellicontact should send you both an HTML and a plain text version of this message -- please let me know if you encounter any technical difficulties!
Deaf students at Gallaudet University escalated their protest over the "tainted" selection of Jane K. Fernandes as the school's next president, by occupying the main academic building last week. On Wednesday, members of the university's football team manned the front gates and shut the campus down, joined by hundreds of students who formed a human chain to block anyone trying to enter. Almost 20% of Gallaudet's faculty signed a statement supporting the students, and calling for Fernandes' resignation. (See editorial at
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/10/12/gallaudet )
the Thanksgiving season comes what first-year students anxiously call the "turkey dump" -- breaking up with old boyfriends or girlfriends when frosh return home from school for the first holiday. An group discussion in Wilfrid Laurier University 's student newspaper, The Cord, suggests that girls are more likely to say they can still be friends, depending on the reasons for the breakup. Guys are more likely to go cold turkey, unless their friends also like their ex. Students discuss reconciliation, sex, and jealousy at
http://www.cordweekly.com/archives/1085Commerce students at Mount Allison University , in Sackville Nova Scotia , are urging the campus community to help replenish the city's food bank after the Thanksgiving holiday by stuffing a Hummer this Saturday outside a local grocery store. (With thanks to Laura Dillman at Mount Allison )
In conjunction with the Lake Huron Learning Collaborative, the University of Western Ontario has started offering introductory Sociology and Biology courses in Goderich , Ontario at the Huron County Museum . Administrators hope the program, which has met with early success, helps address the low proportion of youth in Huron County who pursue PSE. They are also considering a similar venture in Sarnia , where UWO has its own research park. (See
http://communications.uwo.ca/western_news/story.html?stories::listing_id=22009 )
On Wednesday, when national NDP leader Jack Layton spoke to Wilfrid Laurier University students and faculty, it was ironically in the "Paul Martin Centre." Layton , who has 30 years experience as a university prof, commented on what he saw as the "progressive exhaustion" of the student body: "Far too many students are working far too many part-time hours in order to cover the cost of being a student and that's wrong." Layton emphasized the need for Canada to invest in higher education, and observed that China graduated 325,000 engineers this year. For his comments on education, the environment, and nuclear proliferation, see
http://www.cordweekly.com/archives/1088In the US or Canada , merit scholarships can be a deciding factor for high-achieving applicants who otherwise would not qualify for financial aid. In 2003-4, merit scholarships jumped from 6% to 16% of all US college financial aid. But a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on Wednesday reports that a small but growing number of US colleges are trying to reduce their investment in merit aid, and are considering obtaining an antitrust exemption so they can discuss joint action. (See
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06284/729091-298.stm )
In-state
students from low-income homes will be able to attend the University of Washington absolutely free under an ambitious scholarship program the university intends to launch next year. The UW said Wednesday that its "Husky Promise" will top-up Pell or State Need grants for all Washington-state students who qualify, no matter how much tuition and fees increase. The university expects to support about 5,000 undergraduates a year, at a cost of $1.6 to $2.8 million. (Bill Gates Sr. is chairman of the UW's fundraising campaign.) Several other US universities have implemented similar programs, including UNC Chapel Hill. (See the article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer at
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/288403_uw12.html )
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