How Offensive Was This Offensive Lineman?

MayorBob.

Posted to Sport on Mon Nov 03, 2008 at 08:07:06 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

Darris Ford believes his high school did him wrong.  He says the confrontation he had with a teacher at Hazelwood East High School near St. Louis was a "misunderstanding."  He served a suspension, but he's been reinstated to school.  Although he's back in school, he is not allowed to play with the football team.  This doesn't sit well with Ford at all because, without his being able to play the remainder of this season, he claims the school is jeopardizing his future.

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Welcome To Our Campus -- A No Politics Zone

MayorBob.

Posted to Politics on Fri Oct 24, 2008 at 10:26:55 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

One would think a national election would be an excellent teaching moment on how the American political system works.  Especially if you're talking college students, you'd anticipate schools eager to inundate students with all sorts of information on the upcoming elections.  What better way than to invite speakers, some of them deeply involved in the political process, to come to the school and lecture?  At one private school in Minnesota however, the decision has been made to disinvite guest speakers, with any political connection, until after the election is over.  It's all about fairness, don't you know?

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Please Make That Story Disappear

MayorBob.

Posted to Etcetera on Sun Aug 17, 2008 at 09:50:53 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

Shakespear Feyissa is learning a few lessons. Lesson one is that your actions can have unintended consequences. Lesson two, once something gets reported on the internet, it's awfully tough to expunge. Feyissa, a practicing Seattle lawyer, says something that happened over ten years ago is causing him pain and anguish because it can easily be googled. He says the original controversy blew over, so how about deleting that report? Problem being that the report in question is in a school newspaper archive. And the student journalists say once reported, forever archived

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MBA Made In A Mountaineer Minute

MayorBob.

Posted to Etcetera on Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 08:39:20 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

It's not often the allegation of an unearned academic degree warrants much more than a departmental inquiry in the school which conferred the degree.  But, this case is different because it involves the school in question giving a pass on almost half the credits required to earn the degree.  It's different because the course work was waived on orders from high-ranking officers at the school.  It's also different because the student in question is the daughter of the governor of the state whose university apparently gave her the M.B.A. she didn't earn.  Those are the findings of a report delivered by a five member panel following a three month period of getting at the facts of the matter of the bogus M.B.A.

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If Ignorance is Bliss, Why Aren't More People Happy?

skeeter1.

Posted to Etcetera on Tue Apr 01, 2008 at 06:44:43 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

There's been plenty of discussion about the topic in the past, but maybe it's worth reexamining.  

There's plenty to suggest that the dumbing-down of Americans is showing no signs of letting up.  My grandparents (turn of the last century) were plenty smart with 8th-grade educations, and my parents (1920s) did pretty well with high school diplomas.

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Which Two Best Teams?

Shy Elf.

Posted to Sport on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 11:34:53 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

Most major sports settle their championships by having the best teams battle to decide the championship...

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Honoris Causa Be Causin' Some Debate.

pO157.

Posted to Etcetera on Thu Jul 26, 2007 at 08:53:07 PM EST (promoted by 1fastdog). RSS.

The practice of institutions of higher learning passing out honorary doctorates at commencement started in the late 1470s. Since then, it has sparked debate on whether the unearned degrees cheapen the hard work of university students.

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How To Pass The Bar Exam - Study Hard And Pick Up A Habit (Or Two) At College.

MayorBob.

Posted to Etcetera on Sun Mar 18, 2007 at 07:11:03 PM EST (promoted by 1fastdog). RSS.

Drinking and drug use on college campuses in the US is hardly what you could call breaking news.  Examples of campus binge drinking and other forms of substance abuse aren't difficult to come by.  However, a report claiming the problem is a bit wider and deeper than thought, might mean the end of "ho hum" responses to reports of college substance abuse.

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Virginia Is For Lovers ... And Suicidal Undergraduates.

MayorBob.

Posted to Legal on Mon Feb 26, 2007 at 02:43:54 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

Suicide is the second leading cause of deaths of college students and is nearing "epidemic proportions." (pdf doc)  In light of the increasing body counts, many schools are slowly coming to grips with the problem and beginning to set up programs aimed at identifying potential suicides in order to get them help before they make an attempt on their lives.  But, what to do with those who try to do away with themselves and fail?  Should they be kicked out of school or stigmatized while on campus?  The legislators of at least one state - Virginia - are answering those questions with a very firm no.

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Loans To 3.4%... Eventually... And Then They Double Again

pO157.

Posted to Business on Sat Jan 27, 2007 at 08:21:06 AM EST (promoted by 1fastdog). RSS.

By a vote of 356-71 (8 not voting) the House of Representatives passed HR 5, which will lower the rate at which college students borrow education loans over time.

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Go To State U. And Meet A Better Class Of People

MayorBob.

Posted to Etcetera on Sat Dec 02, 2006 at 02:17:16 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

Institutions of higher education all share similar primary missions -- to seek, to teach, and to preserve knowledge.  But, large public institutions have other, at times equally important missions in mind.  One of those is to extend the hope and promise of formal education to the general public beyond the secondary education level of the public school systems.  Thus, one would think that public universities would have a special mission to attract minority and low-income students, assuring them of fair access to all the benefits that a college education can confer on a person.  One might think that but, if you believe what a major non-profit education foundation has to say, this is decidedly not the case.  According to a recently released report, large public universities are becoming preserves of the privileged and denying fair access to the disadvantaged.    

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Suspended Sophomore Seen as Suicidal Secures Sweet Settlement

pO157.

Posted to Etcetera on Mon Nov 13, 2006 at 04:49:55 AM EST (promoted by Acefantastik). RSS.

On 11/1 both sides in a court case announced they had reached a settlement deal. What made this case noteworthy is what some view as outrageous actions taken by the defendant(s) that instigated the lawsuit. The case dealt with a George Washington University sophomore who had been barred from campus, sent orders of suspension, and threatened with expulsion for violating the school code of conduct. His crime? Voluntarily seeking help for depression.

(8 comments, 628 words in story) Full Story