The Observer, April 13, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 24
Outside the Circle
Student to plead guilty to stabbing teacher over failing grade
Nikhil Dhar, a student at University of Massachusetts at Lowell, plans to plead guilty to stabbing professor Mary Elizabeth Hooker over a failing grade. Dhar feared that a failing grade in Hooker's science class, coupled with his grades in his other classes, would result a deportation back to his home in India.
Dhar is accused of following Hooker more than 20 miles to her home. He approached her and asked to talk about failing her class. She reports that when she suggested going to a coffee shop, he took her into the yard, hit her, and stabbed her in the neck. Before the attack, Dhar said, "Now I will have to go back to my country."
Police also found a bloody note in Dhar's pocket that read, "I'm sorry I'm having to do this. But I have no options left. … You look at me and I will kill you. I have nothing to lose."
Hooker was hospitalized for several days after the attack to recover from her injuries.
Dhar's lawyer says the attack was completely out of character. "There was tremendous pressure on him because he was flunking his courses, and if he flunked out of school, he'd be deported," Hrones said. "His family is also very highly educated, and he wasn't doing well. It was a combination of those two things that exploded."
Hrones says that Dhar will definitely plead guilty to the charges, avoiding a trial. "It's going to be a plea," said Hrones. "We're not in much of a position to go to trial. The evidence is basically pretty overwhelming."
High school students vie for best college rejection letter
A high school psychology class in San Francisco has come up with a way to deal with college rejection season – competition. Students bring each rejection letter they receive to class. The student who receives the most rejection letters overall wins a prize. The students' favorite competition, however, is the competition for "worst letter."
Harvard leads the pack in the category of "most obsequious while maintaining utter insincerity." Harvard tells students that they wish they were giving a different decision, that they wish they could admit them, and that they hope the student will accept their best wishes.
Cornell is winning in the "most emphatic rejection" category. They e-mail students to inform them of the rejection, and then say that a follow-up letter will come to make the rejection official. However, they do invite students to visit their website to learn how to apply to Cornell after their freshman year at another college.
Reed College won the "total insensitivity" prize after a student applied and sent a follow-up letter inquiring about his status when the college failed to notify him that his materials had been received. Reed sent him a letter that was intended to be a memo to someone else in the admissions office which read, "He's a deny."
Students also brainstorm the best ways for a college to reject a student tactfully. The winning suggestions so far lean toward treating it as a break-up, giving an "it's not you, it's us" speech.
Do transmen belong at women's colleges?
The population of transgendered people at America's colleges is growing and getting louder. Transgendered people are seeking support, counsel, and friendship from the institutions they attend, and in large part are receiving it. However, when they enter the campus of a women's college, students and administrators aren't always sure where to draw the line.
Smith College, an elite women's college, has received a lot of public attention for its work with its transman community. Trans activists enjoyed a huge victory in 2003 when references to "she" and "her" in the Smith student constitution were changed to "the student." An annual event called the Celebration of Sisterhood was also renamed Celebration. But the decision was not without resistance.
A posting on smith.dailyjolt.com reads, "Yeah, God forbid anyone include the word 'sisterhood' … because a handful of trans students somehow feel oppressed, despite the fact that they chose to attend a women's college." A reply was posted, which read, "Let the transphobia debate begin again."
Students say that even the most liberal, accepting people voice hostility toward the transgendered students. "One of my friends, who is a lesbian also, expresses anger toward trans-identified students because she thinks they are giving up their womanhood," said a student who wished to remain anonymous.
Some students also worry that this shift will result in allowing transmen who began their transition before college or even in the college becoming coed. "I think it's ironic that there are Smithies who do not want to be women," said Samantha Lewis. "To be completely honest, it seems to me that it defeats the purpose of being at a women's college."
The administration thinks that the debate is healthy. They recently opened a Center for Sexuality and Gender for the students, and they also allow students to choose the name that appears on their diplomas.
Students think that the transman population is growing at Smith and feeling uninhibited. "The first person I met on campus was a man," Lewis said. "He said, 'Hi, I'm Ethan, and I use male pronouns.' "
