Coming soon: ' iCollege' app

Fresh from The Daily Show" (via Gregg Presbury)

Wired Campus  (wiredcampus):
Minn. Governor: Students Will Stop Hauling Keisters to Class, Start Downloading $199 'iCollege' http://tinyurl.com/2w4am4q
http://twitter.com/wiredcampus/status/15963471314
(Sent via Seesmic http://www.seesmic.com)
Gregg's Droid sent this.

Thanks, Gregg

Large universities changing freshman experience

What an odd concept. It seems that large classes and unconnected peers makes for a hard time starting college.

Large universities changing freshman experience - Yahoo! News: "Overwhelmed freshmen in many places still sit anonymously in large lecture halls, surrounded by hundreds of peers whose names the professor couldn't possibly remember. Dorm life isn't much better, with total-stranger roommates sharing little other than a desire to survive those first rocky semesters.

It sounds like the kind of thing that fraternities and sororities are designed to overcome. The schools are trying to move into this space too.

But such cattle-call approaches to higher education are increasingly out of fashion. At the University of Missouri and many other schools, from large public universities to selective liberal arts colleges, first-year students increasingly live and learn in small groups with those who share similar interests[...]"

Yeah, it is such a good idea that the colleges themselves are making competition for the experience typically provided by Greeks.

Nearly one-third of Missouri's 5,620 first-year students participate in freshmen interest groups, or FIGs. They share rooms with each other, or entire sections of residential housing. They take four courses together, making the oversized auditoriums "psychologically smaller," as one university official says.

And they meet in small groups with a peer adviser who helps them navigate the school bureaucracy while offering tips on time management, and how to speak with professors.

"It's an immediate connection," said Matt Hibbard, a junior peer adviser and former interest group participant. "You build really strong relationships right off the bat."

These so-called living/learning communities, as well as first-year seminars that don't include a residential component, are not new. But as enrollment at many schools continues to increase, so does the popularity of such programs.

The first-year residential program at Missouri has grown from 21 interest groups in 1995 to 110 in the current school year, with nearly 1,900 participants. FIG participants have higher grade-point averages and graduation rates, school statistics show.

Doesn't "living/learning community" sound similar to the concept behind RLCs? It makes me wonder if there is a challenge/opportunity on the horizon for the entire Greek system. What would happen if the "FIGs" expanded to be a four-year experience? Could we compete? Is there room enough for two different ways of approaching the problem of helping new students to acclimate themselves? We shall see, I suppose.

Which High School Students Are Most Likely to Graduate From College?

U.S. News & World Report reports on a new study which notes the college graduation rate in the U.S. is only 44% and shows that success indicators may not be the ones people usually expect.

The implication for fraternity and sorority programs is interesting. Perhaps we should be putting more of a focus on the graduation rate of Greek members compared to the general population. Letting parents know that their son or daughter is more likely to finish a degree if they join a fraternity or sorority will likely resonate more than examples of "brotherhood" or even campus leadership - (Ed. Note).

Parents: Stop fretting so much about which high school your youngsters attend or how they score on the SATs. If you want your student to make it to a bachelor's degree, it's far more important for him or her to earn at least B's in high school and reach for the best possible college. Oh, and saving a few thousand bucks by sending your kid to a community college could turn out to be an expensive mistake.

Some of the nation's best-respected educational researchers are likely to reconsider much conventional wisdom today with the release of surprising findings from an analysis of educational records of more than 200,000 freshmen who started at public four-year colleges in 1999.

In the new "Crossing the Finish Line," William Bowen, a former president of Princeton University, argues that so many undergrads are dropping out (44 percent) that the country is in danger of losing its competitive edge to other nations.

The findings about actions parents, teachers, and institutions should take are interesting and may spark controversy:

• High school grades are key
• But the nature of the high school doesn't make much difference
• Students shouldn't settle for less in a college
• Admissions tests don't predict graduation
• True achievement tests are useful indicators
• B minuses aren't good enough
• Today's community colleges are not the best solution
• Cash helps but is not a cure-all
• Some colleges are doing a much better job than others
• There is some hope

More about these points in the full article:
Which High School Students Are Most Likely to Graduate From College? - Yahoo! News

What, no backpack full of books?

The rise of technology. Or perhaps the hegemony of Amazon.

Six colleges and universities are participating in a pilot program using the Kindle for accessing textbooks. Princeton University, the University of Virginia, Case Western Reserve University, Reed College, Pace University and Arizona State University are all testing the technology in select courses this fall.

In May, Amazon announced its launch of a new version of the Kindle (the Kindle DX) with a larger screen designed for textbook and periodical reading and a better web browser. This pilot program is putting the new e-reader directly in the hands of its intended market

I have had a Kindle for about a year. It's great to read at lunch, or riding the light rail to work. Or on the plane to Orlando. The neat part is only having the one device that can hold as many books as you want. That way I don't have to pack a "backup book" for trips. And if I do run out of reading material, I can buy and download a new book in about a minute right to the Kindle.

Seems like a natural fit.
Colleges Look to Cut Down on Paper with Kindle

Stimulus: Billions to colleges and students

Stimulus, Schimulus, what's in it for me? As a hard working middle-aged white guy who got a mortgage I could afford and has a bit saved up in a 401-K (though not as much as last year) - not much. But my kids, who are in college now, and many of the SigEps reading this blog may have a chance at some stimulus largess...

The stimulus plan emerging in Washington could offer an unprecedented, multibillion-dollar boost in financial help for college students trying to pursue a degree while they ride out the recession.

It could also hand out billions to the states to kick-start idled campus construction projects and help prevent tuition increases at a time when families can least afford them.
[...]
"We're ready to go, there's great jobs involved, and we're educating kids who wouldn't have other opportunities if we weren't there," Chuck Middleton, president of Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago, said Sunday. His university has a $135 million new building with classrooms, labs, dorms and offices on hold after financing dried up. Construction could be under way in six months, he says, providing 600 jobs for two years while helping Roosevelt's diverse student body.

Also helping students, the House and Senate both call for expanding the Hope tuition tax credit from $1,800 to $2,500 and making it partly refundable. Now, almost half of families with children pay no income tax, so the current tuition tax-credit system doesn't help them (the full benefit kicks in for families earning at least $43,000).

There is more, including the disclaimers about what is getting cut, but lets hope those idiots in Washington stumble over each other and get it right, this time. Maybe there is even hope for the bill authorizing tax deductions for fraternity house building and renovation contributions.

WHO GETS WHAT: Billions to colleges and students - Yahoo! News

Coed dorms rooms about compatibility, not hanky-panky

My first thought when I read the article was "How will a trend like this affect/threaten Greek housing"? My second thought, as a been there and done that Baby Boomer was "Gosh, that kinda takes the fun out of panty raids."

At least two dozen schools, including Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, Oberlin College, Clark University and the California Institute of Technology, allow some or all students to share a room with anyone they choose — including someone of the opposite sex. This spring, as students sign up for next year’s room, more schools are following suit, including Stanford University.

As shocking as it sounds to some parents, some students and schools say it’s not about sex.

At least, that's what they tell Mom and Dad.

Parents aren’t necessarily thrilled with boy-girl housing.

Debbie Feldman’s 20-year-old daughter, Samantha, is a sophomore at Oberlin in Ohio and plans to room with her platonic friend Grey Caspro, a straight guy, next year. Feldman said she was shocked when her daughter told her.

"When you have a male and female sharing such close quarters, I think it’s somewhat delusional to think there won’t be sexual tension," the 52-year-old Feldman said. "Maybe this generation feels more comfortable walking around in their underwear. I’m not sure that’s a good thing."

Yeah, those XXL "Scooby-Doo Underoos" really don't make a positive statement about your maturity. Ought to be Batman or Spidey, at least.

Coed dorms rooms about compatibility, not hanky-panky - BostonHerald.com

Making good by being bad - JuicyCampus.com

Web entrepreneur, Duke graduate, and SigEp Matt Ivester is making waves with his "JuicyCampus.com" gossip site. The site has recently been in the news and on TV with the usual pundits decrying yet another sign of the impending collapse of Western civilization.

Matt Ivester, the site’s founder, recently declared on his site’s official blog that “hate isn’t juicy,” and attached an exculpatory note from his legal team.

Mr. Ivester, a 2005 graduate of Duke, declined requests for interviews and did not respond to e-mailed questions. In February he told The Daily Bruin, a student newspaper at the University of California, Los Angeles, that Juicy Campus was part of a trend toward “gossip 2.0” and that he found it “pretty entertaining.”

The Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity has been crucial to the success of the site and of Mr. Ivester (whose Facebook profile photo shows him wearing a fraternity T-shirt and cap). When he founded Juicy Campus in August 2007, he asked his fraternity brothers across the country to provide feedback on how the site was organized and to offer material for some of its earliest posts.

But now many of these same fraternity brothers are part of the backlash against the site. “I don’t see any value in it,” said Aulden Burcher, a senior at Duke, a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon and a friend of Mr. Ivester’s. “Look at what it does to the Greek system: rankings, sex, drugs, what happened at parties. Nobody is made better by it.”

Some student bodies are trying to ban Juicy Campus from their campus. Last month the student government at Pepperdine, in Malibu, Calif., passed a resolution urging the administration to prohibit access to the site.

Of course the talk of banning the site and "Ain't it awful" segments on the Today Show (they equated the site with the high school girl who committed suicide over a Facebook humiliation - not related at all) will only drive more hits to the site. If you can't get in today (you know you're going to look) it will be because there are so many others who are also trying to get a look.

So far, the site content is assumred to be perfectly legal, based on a precedent that web sites are not liable for content provided by visitors to the site. I wonder how long it would stay up if someone started posting the "mystic goodies" of the fraternities and sororities that are the biggest contibutors and readers?

A Crash Course in Online Gossip - New York Times

Poll: Many college students majoring in stress

Feeling stressed out? You are not alone. A recent poll shows 4 in 10 students feel, stress often.

Majorities cite classic stress symptoms including trouble concentrating, sleeping and finding motivation. Most say they have also been agitated, worried, too tired to work.

"Everything is being piled on at once," said Chris Curran, a junior at the Albany College of Pharmacy in Albany, N.Y. He said he has learned to cope better since starting school. "You just get really agitated and anxious. Then you start procrastinating, and it all piles up."

Many cite eating problems and say they have felt lonely, depressed, like they are failures. Substantial numbers are even concerned about spring break, chiefly not having enough money or being in good physical shape.

More than a quarter of the students sometimes think they should cut down on drinking or going out. A third say they sometimes want to use drugs or alcohol to relax. About 15 percent say they're at least somewhat concerned about drinking too much on spring break.

(My concern was usually whether I could drink enough on spring break.)

Seriously, stress and depression are treatable. Schools have counseling services available - even if that is not a high priority choice.

The poll shows a spotty sense among students of how to find assistance handling pressure. Just over half say they are sure whom they would turn to for help. Only one in seven say they were very familiar with the counseling offered at their schools.

Overall, 26 percent of students say they have considered talking to a counselor or getting other professional help. Just 15 percent say they have actually done so.

"The profession needs to do more to make us more approachable," said Christine Moll, a professor in counseling and former director of counseling services at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y.

Professional help, though, is not atop students' lists when they need help. Three-quarters say they would be most likely to turn to friends, nearly two-thirds cite their parents and half say they would talk to siblings. Only one in five say they would seek out school counselors.

Poll: Many college students majoring in stress (w/video) | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Big Man on Campus pageant at UMKC raises $3,000 for charity

OK, I confess I must be approaching 'geezerhood.' I do not see the attraction here, just the absurdity. But if it raises a bunch of money for a good cause, I guess it must have some redeeming value.

Looking straight out of “Miami Vice” (except for that black shirt), Shawn Hartman walks away with the BMOC title Friday night at UMKC. He was sponsored by Sigma Phi Epsilon. His talent: a “demonstration of anatomy” — striking bodybuilding poses to the song “I Touch Myself.” His hobbies: golf and checking the stock market.

Next time you’re in a beauty pageant, just follow the lead of the 11 contestants in UMKC’s BMOC pageant.

To be the BMOC — that’s Big Man on Campus — you have to strut your stuff in beach wear (like breakaway shorts) and formalwear. And, like Miss America, you have to display a talent.

But creativity counts. So your talent might be playing the video game “Guitar Hero” against someone in the audience. Doing a Christian rap while wearing a tutu. Striking bodybuilder poses to the Divinyls’ “I Touch Myself.” Or grinding on a girl (think lap dance) while singing over Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.”

These dudes were creative in the interview segment, too. Zach Tebow (rep-ing Lambda Chi Alpha), asked to name his favorite holiday, chose his birthday: “People give me stuff, and I don’t have to give anything back. Fantastic.”

And Jesus Butler (sponsored by, appropriately, Campus Crusade for Christ) declared Jessica Alba to be his Hollywood crush, “because she’s a great actress, and I respect her talents immensely.” Uh-huh.

The pageant Friday night was Delta Zeta sorority’s 15th annual BMOC show, which raised about $3,000 for the speech and hearing clinic at Children’s Mercy Hospital and the Painted Turtle, a camp for sick kids. Points from the pageant and from pre-show fundraising determined the winner.

Bodybuilding poses? Extolling the "talents" (both of them) of Jessica Alba? Guitar Hero? - - - This is entertainment? Oy.

www.kansascity.com | 11/05/2007 | Big Man on Campus pageant at UMKC raises $3,000 for charity

Hall Wars helps freshmen interact, serves a good cause

Quinnipac SigEps are the sponsors of the yearly "hall wars".

Three hundred and fifty freshmen participated in the all-day Hall Wars event that took place Saturday, Sept. 8 on the quad.

Additionally, there were over 200 volunteers from the student programming board, residence hall council and members of Greek life, particularly Sigma Phi Epsilon, the event's sponsor.

"President Lahey stopped by for the first time since we've had Hall Wars, which really shows how far we've come," said Mike Bohmerwald, the head of Hall Wars.

The event, in its third year, raises money for youth aids. "We'll be raising over $12,000 this year, but we won't know the exact amount until next week," Bohmerwald said. "Brothers collect money during the summer from parents and friends and then we go through the dorms in the beginning of the year," he said. Sig Ep also raises money with a table in the student center. This year, the event raised just over $12,000.

Hall Wars helps freshmen interact, serves a good cause - Campus News

Congress Approves Student Loan Overhaul

We believe this bit of news is timely for the blog since many of the undergraduate members depend on student loans to pay for at least part of their college expenses.

Congress gave final approval to a broad overhaul of federal student loan programs today, sharply cutting subsidies to lenders and increasing grants to needy students.

In quick succession, both the House and Senate approved the changes, allowing Democrats to say they had made good on one of their campaign promises last year to ease the strain of rising college costs. In the Senate, the bill passed 79 to 12, reflecting broad bipartisan support, while in the House it passed in a voice vote.

The Education Secretary, Margaret Spellings, said that she was recommending that President Bush sign the bill because it “answered the president’s call to significantly increase funding” for Pell grants for low-income students. The administration had issued a veto threat against an earlier House version of the legislation.
[...]
The legislation, hammered out in a House-Senate conference committee this week, alters many of the ground rules for financing higher education, offering forgiveness on student loans to graduates who work for 10 years or more in public service professions like teaching, firefighting and the police, and limiting monthly payments on their loans to 15 percent of their discretionary income. It also raises the maximum Pell grant, the basic federal grant for middle- and low-income students, to $5,400 from its current level of $4,310 over the next four years. To pay for the changes it slashed federal subsidies to lenders by roughly $20 billion.
[...]
Representative George Miller of California, the Democratic chairman of the House education committee, said that last year, Republicans took nearly $12 billion from student Pell grants. “We took $11.39 billion and put it back into Pell grants,” Mr. Miller said. “That’s the difference that an election makes.”

Campaign trail promises aside, the changes reflect the steep and sudden decline in the fortunes of the $85 billion student loan industry, after years of generous subsidies and support in Congress. Investigations by Congress and the New York attorney general revealed a series of potential conflicts of interest as lenders had provided free travel, gifts, and financial incentives to colleges and college officials in the hope they would steer student borrowers their way.
[...]
With the law, Congress is reducing federal subsidies to lenders by roughly $20 billion and gradually halving the interest rate on student loans over the next five years. Some $11.4 billion of that money will go toward stepping up Pell grants.

For the first time, the government will now auction off the right to make federally-backed educational loans to parents in each state, instead of setting the rate from Washington. The two lowest bidders will win the right to make subsidized college loans to parents.

As always, the devil is in the details and the law of unintended consequenses is sure to apply. As a general principle however, any legislation that makes it easier to attend and pay for college is a pretty good thing.

Could it possibly be that the "Repugnicans" and "Demoncrats" are figuring out how to work together? Nah, that's way too much to hope for.

Congress Approves Student Loan Overhaul - New York Times

Fast Approaching Graduation

In September of 2004 I started taking courses toward an MBA at the University of Phoenix. Fortunately they have ground campuses in Houston (four of them!) so I was able to to everything in a classroom setting.

Now, after several fits and starts,I can see the end. I have one session left in my current class and then one more six-week class and that is it! Whew! Because of the way UoP does graduation - once a year - I will actually be attending commencement on Sep 15, about a month before I officially finish up. I can't wait.

It has not exactly been easy. In the intervening time I have had to deal with all the usual life stuff that you get in your mid-fifties. I lost my Dad, had to deal with kids starting college, got a grandchild added to the mix, shakeups and killer projects at work. You know, life. Oh, and I write a couple of blogs in my spare time. But thank goodness we are nearly done.

Was it worth it? That depends on how you count. Even with my company helping out it was not cheap, and I wonder if I will see an immediate jump in salary. Even so, I am close enough to retirement that I may not see the NPV of any gains outweigh the cost (see- I can speak MBA now!) But I really did not do this for the money. I did it for personal growth. I wanted to see if I can still compete and follow through. Well, that and the fact that my wife got a doctorate a few years ago and I felt like I needed to play catch-up.

The SigEp part of this story is interesting. I guess I had heard so much of the "Sound Mind - Sound Body" propaganda that I felt like I had to work both sides of the equation. I started exercising by walking every day, then running. Last year I began going to the gym at work a few times a week and added resistance training on those devices that look like relics left over from the Spanish Inquisition. I am not going to run a marathon anytime soon, and "Ah-nahld" need not fear my bodybuilding prowess, but I feel good and look pretty OK for an 'old fart', so I am happy on that score too. As far as being a "Balanced Man" it looks pretty good from this angle.

The real story here is that I decided to stretch my goals and have done it. That is the part that feels great and it is a reward sufficient to itself.

What have you done lately to stretch yourself?

Advice from Ben Stein

Ben Stein is the droning-voiced pundit who shows up on "CBS Sunday Morning" from time to time. Those of my age remember as the boring economics teacher in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" ("Bueller?...Bueller?....").

His son is starting college this year and Ben has some advice for him. It is generally pretty good stuff. There is more in the article, but these are the high points.

So, what follows is some advice for our son and for all college students, and maybe for all students of any age, about how to maximize the value of time spent in higher education

• First, make friends with your teachers.
• Next, do your papers neatly, according to the assignment, and on time.
• Take courses that will be of genuine use to your mind.
• Make friends, and preferably join a fraternity or sorority.
• Don't smoke or drink to excess.
• Play a sport.
• If you're not happy with your roommate, switch.
• Try to have a significant other.
• Above all, develop habits of work.

If you can learn to work, think, and make friends, you're way ahead of the pack.

Good luck.

Hmmm. Sounds pretty "Balanced" to me. I wish I had actually done all of that when I was in college.

Old-School Lessons for the College-Bound

Sex May Have Been Part of Cash-for-Grades Scheme

(Courtesy of The Fratboy News)

Student Says Community College Cash-for-Grades Scheme May Have Involved Sex

In what sounds like a scheme straight out of the movie 'Slackers,' police are now saying sex may have been involved in a ring of students at Diablo Valley Community College who were said to have charged classmates about $600 per grade to change the final marks on their transcripts at the school's registrar.

Police have been investigating the ring of cheating for about 16 months. They said the students orchestrated a cash-for-grades system, where students who worked in the office would change the grades on the transcript for a charge.

About 84 students were believed to have been involved in suspiciously changing more than 400 grades. Since May, about 20 students have been cleared of all charges. The rest could face charges from real police for falsifying records.

A student was reported to have come forward and said that sometimes sex was exchanged in lieu of cash for the grades.

Police say the scam now dates back to 2000, and many of the students have transferred to four-year colleges using the transcripts.

Duke MBA Students Appeal Cheating Ruling

Convicted in Fuqua case cry out
By: Wenjia Zhang

Three international students from Asia spoke out Wednesday, claiming that cultural discrimination played a part in their penalties from the Fuqua School of Business for violations of the Honor Code.

All convictions and penalties brought against Fuqua School of Business students were upheld by the school's appeals committee, officials announced June 1.

Twenty four of the 34 first-year masters of business administration program candidates charged with violations of the Fuqua Honor Code in a required first-year course submitted appeals in late May.

In a case that received national attention, the Fuqua Judicial Board ruled in late April that nine students should be expelled and 15 students receive a one-year suspension and a failing grade in the course. Nine others will receive a failing grade in the course and one student will receive a failing grade on an exam.

"This has been a regrettable time at Fuqua, but it also provides us with a valuable reminder that our honor code is what unites us across the diverse nationalities and cultures that we welcome here at Fuqua," Dean Douglas Breeden said in a statement.

In an interview with The Chronicle Wednesday, however, three students from Asia who have been convicted of Honor Code violations said cultural differences played a role in the outcome of the case.

The students said they wished to remain anonymous because of the sensitive nature of the case and were given aliases for this article."There is a difference in the legal cultures," said "Joe," a first-year MBA candidate who has been expelled. "Cheating is not acceptable here or in Asia or globally. Cheating is a wrongdoing. We know that."

Although the students said they do not believe they cheated, they said they pleaded guilty because they were not familiar with the procedures of a judicial review.

Joe said in his home country the traditional legal system is based on the presumption of guilt, adding that he did not fully understand the right to not incriminate himself.

"According to my feelings, I felt pressured to explain the [offenses]," Joe said, adding that he did not realize he had the right to remain silent."
Sally," who will receive a one-year suspension and a failing grade in the course, said she did not know what it meant to plead guilty when she was asked at the hearing process"

It sounds like a funny story to me now, because it was the first question I was asked during the hearing and at the time no one explained that term," she said. "For me, guilty is like sorry. I was the third person in this joint hearing, the first two students pled guilty and I felt the pressure so I just followed them."

Both Joe and "Bob," who will also receive a one-year suspension and a failing grade in the course, said they pled guilty but thought it was a way to express remorse.

"In Asian culture, society can only forgive the person who shows deep regret for his doings because the society believes the person learned something from his wrongdoings," Bob said. "And he's going to be given a second chance to be an honorable member of the community again."

Joe said he did not realize when he pled guilty that he was admitting to both of the charges brought against him."I didn't know the serious consequences by pleading guilty," Bob said. "Once students plead guilty the Judicial Board normally have no further questions relating to the facts of the case."

The students noted that all 10 students in their three separate hearings, including themselves, are students from Asia.

Fuqua administrators, however, said cultural differences did not play a role in the outcome of the case."The students who have received the severest penalties of expulsion or a one-year suspension come from three continents and represent both foreign and domestic students," Michael Hemmerich, associate dean for marketing and communications of Fuqua, wrote in an e-mail.

Although the students said they are not sure if the school was discriminating against Asian students, they raised many questions regarding the process. All three students submitted an appeal but said they felt the outcomes were predetermined.
Even before the appeals committee received any information from the students, Bob said, Breeden-a member of the commitee-indicated decisions are rarely changed. "They told convicted students to not have too much hope about the results," Bob said.

"Because the hearing is conducted by Fuqua, and appeals is also dominated by Fuqua people, there is no incentive to change the result because it will be admitting they were wrong before."

Administrators, however, said they stand by the decision of the appeals committee.
"After a thorough and exhaustive investigation the appeals committee concluded with the highest confidence that the lead investigator and Judicial Board procedures were fair and without fault," Hemmerich said in an interview Wednesday. "Convictions were correct, and penalties were appropriate in each case."

The student visas of the international students who have been expelled or suspended will expire June 14, and they must leave the country or transfer their visas to another institution.

"Fuqua will assist the affected students as much as possible regarding visas and will certainly work with and support the students who have received suspensions in obtaining visas for their return to Fuqua," Hemmerich wrote in a separate e-mail. "We will welcome them back as members of the Fuqua community upon completion of their suspension."

Bob and Sally, however, said they are not sure if they would return."If the school realizes the procedural error they have made and changes it, maybe I will go back," Sally said. "If [they] correct this mistake, I still have some hope in this school. That's why we're still here and have the courage to fight."

The students said they have not yet left the country because they wish to bring the case to the University-a quest that may prove futile.

"The decisions are final, the administration cannot do anything," said John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations.

Bob, however, said he will exhaust all options in opposing the sanctions."After such a tragedy or disaster I think some people will become even more stronger and more resilient," Bob said. "If you don't fight to the end, you'll always be a loser-forever."

Indoctrinate U - Our Education. Their Politics.

We generally stay away from politics on S&P. After all, a fraternity that can embrace Ron Brown and Scott McClellen must have a bond that transcends traditional political boundaries.

However, this documentary came to our attention recently and it seems to impact right where most of the undergraduates members live - on college campuses. The people who made the movie are having trouble getting it shown so they are asking people to sign up so they can give the proof to the distributing companies.

Watch the trailer and decide for yourself. If you want to see the movie head to the web site and let them know. They will arrange to bring a showing to areas with at least 500 sign ups.

Indoctrinate U - Our Education. Their Politics.

FIJI Demands UV Apology

Dismissed Hazing Charges Trigger Demand for UVM Apology
Brian Joyce

A University of Vermont fraternity has just won another legal battle over hazing charges.

Now UVM may be facing legal action of its own.

It all began a year ago when the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, also known as FIJI, was accused of hosting a pledge party that included gay-bashing and drinking.

University police charged four of the FIJI officers with violating the state's new hazing law, a civil offense punishable by a one-thousand dollar fine.

The students fought the hazing charges in court and they won.

The presiding magistrate at the November 28 hearing in Burlington said that the "evidence that I have in front of me does not meet the statutory requirements of proving hazing."

The Vermont Attorney General appealed that dismissal on behalf of the university. But on Wednesday the attorney general dropped the charges.

The attorney general's office says they still believe the hazing conduct occurred but didn't believe they could win the appeal.

The university also still stands by the police investigation and the hazing charges.

"There are technical aspects of the case that they did not feel would give them enough supporting evidence to prevail in the appeal," said UVM spokesman Enrique Corredera.

"I think this is political correctness run amok," said Brad Stetler, a Burlington lawyer who represented one of the accused frat officers. He says his client's victory is long overdue.

"Every lawyer and judge who took a look at this case has concluded that my clients and the other clients involved did nothing wrong or did nothing illegal. Perhaps the university should have their own legal department look at it," said Stetler.

The lawyer for the other three fraternity officers says the university defamed the students with the false charges. He says they may sue the school and UVM should apologize. But an apology is not coming.

"We strongly believe that we've acted appropriately in this case and we are prepared to defend it in whatever fashion," said Corredera.

While the state's charges of hazing were thrown out, the fraternity was suspended for nonetheless by the university for violating the school's intern.al policies regarding hazing and alcohol. A spokesman for FIJI says the fraternity is gratified that the hazing charges were dismissed in state court, but FIJI has accepted the university suspension.

The fraternity suspension ends in September. But FIJI will remain on probation for two years while the lawyers decide if the four fraternity officers will sue UVM.

Phi Psi President at SIUE Posts Bomb Threat

Student’s behavior stirs SIUE concerns
Maria Baran

After a Southern Illinois University Edwardsville fraternity president was charged with making a bomb threat, a campus official said Friday the fraternity might need new leadership.

Andrew Stone, a 21-year-old junior, posted bond Thursday for his release from jail after he was charged with making a bomb threat on a social networking Web site.

On a Facebook page, the Phi Kappa Psi president reportedly made this comment: "I'm going to bomb the school because it's obvious we cannot co-exist."

The arrest came weeks after one of Stone's fraternity brothers, Brandon Rardin, painted a slur aimed at another fraternity on a large rock.

"The Rock," in the Stratton Quadrangle, is intended as a message board for friendly rivals among Greek organizations. "

Both Brandon Rardin and Andy Stone are members of the same fraternity," said John Davenport SIUE's coordinator of Greek life. "This is definitely something we're looking into -- what is going on in this organization now? Is there something here that is causing this stupid behavior?"

Davenport said he already has contacted the fraternity's national headquarters in Indianapolis. He said while talks between the university and the national group are in the preliminary stages, the chapter might need additional assistance from the university or a change in leadership.

University spokesman Greg Conroy said in addition to Stone's arrest, the dean of students is looking into the code of conduct for what disciplinary actions could be taken against him by the university.

"It could range anywhere from a slap on the hand to expulsion," Conroy said.Davenport said he was surprised when he found out about Stone's arrest.

"Knowing Andy, I don't think he intended violence," Davenport said. "He probably was just really thoughtless and did not think about how anybody could see this and how it could be taken by anybody else."

The alleged bomb threat came two days after the massacre at the campus of Virginia Tech.

Sophomore Laurie Estilette said it was poor timing for a bomb threat. [Duh!]

"There is never a good time, but especially such a short time, after something like that (Monday's shootings), you have to be prepared for people to take some things as seriously as possible," she said. "He did it to himself. Sorry, but someone has to be made an example of. There's really no excuse for it."

Estilette, who will serve as student senate president next year, said she does not think the entire fraternity should be held responsible for the actions of two of its members, but that it reflects badly on them.

"I think its reflecting poorly on our campus as a whole, so definitely it would look bad on Greek life," Estilette said. "It's a shame because the students are trying to strengthen Greek life and make it more appealing to incoming students, and things like this will definitely hurt that effort."

Last fall, another student faced disciplinary action after making slanderous remarks about a female student on Facebook.

Davenport said the university might look at the possibility of amending the student code of conduct to specifically mention online networking sites."It's a possibility. It's something that right now is a big issue in student affairs nationwide. It's technology that comes out of nowhere," he said.

Louisiana Plans to "Get Real" With Greeks

ULS effort to address hazing concerns welcome
By Monica Carter Tagore

Louisiana can be a model for other states to follow. The University of Louisiana System is among the first in the nation to participate in an intensive program aimed at getting a real handle on the "Greeks gone wild" phenomenon.Grambling State University and Nicholls State University undergo the assessments this spring, followed by Louisiana Tech, Northwestern State University and the rest of the system's schools this fall.

One of the highlights of college life for many students is joining a fraternity or a sorority. These organizations often provide a needed feeling of community for students - many away from home for the first time - who are forming lifelong relationships. They also make important contributions in the forms of community service and leadership.

But the good of sororities and fraternities is being undermined by the increasingly dangerous antics in which some of their members engage. News stories often have highlighted a tendency to participate in increasingly demeaning and dangerous activities. Many of these activities - commonly referred to as hazing - target those who seek to join the organizations. Pledges who fulfill the members' demands to do these things are rewarded with membership.

But that's only the best-case scenario. Too many pledges end up scarred, injured or even dead as a result of the activities. Greek letter organizations have faced multi-million dollar lawsuits filed by families of those who have been seriously hurt or killed at the hands of their members. Yes, we know it is true many organizations officially deny hazing and say it does not go on, but any would-be pledge can dispute this.

The Greek-life college culture allows this hazing.

That is why this move by the UL System to try to find ways to change this culture is welcome.

Make no mistake, participation in this intensive national program must be taken seriously. Hazing gets a pass on too many campuses. So does the incessant drinking and partying that many fraternity and sorority members engage in on a regular basis.

The national program examines many areas of Greek life, including leadership, good citizenship and graduation rates. Those who review these assessments must not be fooled by what these organizations look like on paper; they must identify and address any destructive behavior. Plans call for the assessment team to report findings and detail steps to curb questionable behavior and build stronger college communities.

To be sure, some previous efforts to deal with the bad behaviors often associated with college life have failed because they could not penetrate the permissive Greek-life culture. Success here will hinge on actions taken after assessments are in. Serious investigations into claims of dangerous, illicit behavior must be followed with stiff penalties for offenders.Making positive and lasting change in campus culture is to Louisiana's benefit.

An Honest Conversation About Alcohol

(This article has been passed around to several alumni group mailing lists. We got it and think it is worth reading and passing on.)

An Honest Conversation About Alcohol

by Scott Jaschik
/Inside Higher Ed/
February 16, 2007

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Two months after he finished up as president of Middlebury College in 2004, John M. McCardell Jr. wrote a column for The New York Times called

"What Your College President Didn't Tell You." In the piece, he discussed how he was "as guilty as any of my colleagues [as presidents] of failing to take bold positions on public matters that merit serious debate." Taking advantage of his new emeritus status, he proceeded to take a few such positions. Among other things, he wrote that the 21-year-old drinking age is "bad social policy and terrible law," and that it was having a bad impact on both students and colleges.

His comments didn't surprise college presidents, many of whom boast about dry campuses or dry Greek systems that don't actually exist. But the prevailing attitude among college leaders about McCardell and his column was: "Easy for him to say now that he's retired - and he may well be right, but it's not like he could ever do something about this."

McCardell is about to try. With backing from the Robertson Foundation, he has created a nonprofit group, Choose Responsibility, that will seek to promote a national discussion of alternatives to the 21-year-old drinking age. The group is preparing a Web site with studies that challenge conventional wisdom about the advantages of the law, while explaining its flaws. The group will also push an idea - floated without success in the 1990s by Roderic Park, then chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder - to allow 18-20-year-olds who complete an alcohol education program to obtain "drinking licenses." And McCardell and others plan to start speaking out, writing more op-eds, and trying to redefine the issue.

The current law, McCardell said in an interview Thursday, is a failure that forces college freshmen to hide their drinking - while colleges must simultaneously pretend that they have fixed students' drinking problems and that students aren't drinking. McCardell also argued that the law, by making it impossible for a 19-year-old to enjoy two beers over pizza in a restaurant, leads those 19-year-olds to consume instead in closed dorm rooms and fraternity basements where 2 beers are more likely to turn into 10, and no responsible person may be around to offer help or to stop someone from drinking too much.

Any college president who thinks his or her campus has drinking under control is "delusional," McCardell said, although he acknowledged the political pressures that prevent most sitting presidents from providing an honest assessment of what's going on on their campuses. But he said that the dangers to students and institutions are great enough that it's time for someone to start speaking out. While he was president at Middlebury, one of his students died, a 21-year-old who was driving after drinking way too much.

Until the 1980s, states had a range of drinking ages, but a gradual upward push became a de facto federal policy in 1984 with the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which required states wanting their full allotment of highway funds to have a drinking age of 21. The states all complied. Since then, federal and state officials have largely hailed the law's impact, noting among other things notable declines in the number of teenagers killed in drunk driving accidents. At the same time, federal officials have also issued warning after warning about alcohol use by teenagers - many of them starting to drink at much younger ages than ever before.

After the Times ran his op-ed, McCardell said that he obtained a small grant from the Robertson Foundation that enabled him to hire some Middlebury students as assistants, and they started looking at available research. Their findings led the foundation to believe a larger campaign made sense - and it awarded McCardell $200,000 to start his new group, with the idea that he would also start to raise more money.

What was striking about the research, McCardell said, was how little of it conclusively backs up claims about the positive impact of the 21-year-old drinking age. "This is by definition a very emotional issue, but what we need is an informed and dispassionate debate," he said. He said that the major flaw in analyses to date has been false assumptions about causal relationships. If DWI accidents among teens have dropped, that must be because of the rise in the drinking age, proponents say.

But McCardell noted that a range of other factors could be at play, too - such as changing attitudes about seat belts, the availability of airbags, etc. At the same time, those who see a causal relationship in one set of statistics ignore others - showing continued drinking by college students (under 21) and substantial evidence of truly dangerous drinking by a subset of that population.

"Data are data," McCardell said. "Facts are stubborn things."

Why does he think the law should change? Under the current system, "family members are marginalized and disenfranchised," McCardell said. To try to teach responsible drinking could involve violating the law. And teens end up experimenting with alcohol "surreptitiously and recklessly."

Then these students land at colleges, creating "an impossible situation" for institutions, McCardell said. "You either become an arm of the law, which you are not about, or a haven from the law, which poses a fundamental ethical dilemma," he said. To the extent colleges have changed drinking patterns, they have not stopped drinking, but forced it off campus or underground. Students are then "much more vulnerable."

McCardell is well aware of the odds against changing the laws, but he said that so few members of the public have ever seen or thought about the evidence - and that change is possible with a sustained public campaign. As a former president, McCardell said that he can understand why a sitting president wouldn't want to take the lead on this issue, but he said he thinks some will join the effort if it can establish traction. "I hope to encourage them," he said.

Such a campaign will be welcomed in some quarters, but not others.

Henry Wechsler, who surveyed the drinking habits of thousands of college students for a series of projects at the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol study, called McCardell's approach "a poor idea." Wechsler said that 19-year-olds just don't drink responsibly so there is no reason for them to drink, period. "Nineteen-year-olds do not have two beers. When they drink, they drink a lot," he said. "What happens to 16- and 17-year-olds. Should they also be legal?"

Also skeptical is Drew Hunter, president of the Bacchus Network, a national group that helps colleges discourage alcohol abuse. Hunter acknowledged that the drinking age of 21 has not so much altered students' drinking habits as "pushed alcohol off campus," and that "students who want to go out and drink in large quantities are going to do so - regardless of the drinking age." He also said that McCardell was correct on the situation the law creates: "We're putting a large number of our students in a situation where they break the law on a steady basis."

But Hunter said he did believe that the drinking age has saved lives, especially those of teen drivers. He also said that his organization supports the current law and that he did not think McCardell would succeed. (One irony: Bacchus, the group favoring the 21-year-old drinking age, receives some financial support from the alcohol industry, and its board includes executives from Anheuser-Busch and Coors. McCardell said that his new group in its push to change the law will not take funds from the alcohol industry. "There will be every temptation, but we are not going to let ourselves be tarred in that way," he said.)

Other experts contest Hunter's view that the public will not be swayed on this issue. Michael P. Haines, director of the National Social Norms Research Center, at Northern Illinois University, said that while large majorities of Americans have reported being concerned about underage drinking, focus groups have found that this view is a nuanced one. When Americans say that they oppose underage drinking, they are thinking of high schools and middle schools, Haines said, not "a 19-year-old who is married and working full time, a 20-year-old in the military, or a 19-year-old in college."

Haines, whose group has argued that scare tactics about alcohol abuse fail to reach students, said he was pleased to learn of McCardell's new campaign. "I think the 21-year-old drinking age is a disastrous failure," he said. It has forced many colleges to avoid communication with students of the sort that might actually lead to healthier behavior, he said. "Many colleges are worried that if they talk about alcohol with their freshmen, they will be charged with condoning underage drinking," he said.

Honesty is badly needed if colleges are going to reach students, he said.

McCardell said he knows some will make fun of a former president for crusading on this issue, but he also spoke about the importance of honesty. "This is not about giving more beer to young people," he said. "This is about opening our eyes to the social reality around us."