The Observer, September 29, 2006
Volume XXXIX, Issue 5
In Other News
East Carolina University professors' car torched
Around 2 a.m. on Sept. 21, Chris Belfiore, a student at East Carolina University, heard his neighbors' tires exploding. He looked outside to see his neighbors' new Toyota Prius on fire. His neighbors are James and Margaret Wirth, professors at ECU.
This was the second time in a week that Belfiore had made such a discovery. That Tuesday, he found his roommate's car, a Mazda Tribute, in flames across the street from their house.
Looking out to see the commotion, the first thing that Belfiore noticed was not the fire, but the note. Written on their sidewalk in still-wet blue paint was the message: "Wrong house sorry."
The professors are unsure why they were targeted for this vandalism. Since no grades have been given out this term, they speculate that someone must have been harboring a grudge for three months.
North Central College's baseball team punished for party
North Central College (near Chicago) has barred 17 team members and three coaching staff from attending the opening games in St. Louis against Webster University on March 3 to 5. They will instead take part in community service. The team is on probation for a year.
The team is being punished for a party it threw in 2005, pictures of which were found in senior Matt Shuba's Webshots account. The photos document NCC baseball players out on the softball field, playing a game of baseball in their underwear. They also show players pouring alcohol into the mouths of underage freshman. Some of the freshman received up to six bottles of alcohol. Some of these same freshman later participated in a women's lingerie fashion show on the field.
The Dean of Students interviewed those who were at the party, current and former team members, and coaches, and determined that the events were all optional and the incident did not constitute hazing. However, the punishments will range from warnings to expulsions.
Trojan releases Trojan Sexual Health Report Card for schools
Trojan Brand Condoms released its first Trojan Sexual Health Report Card on Sept. 19, ranking a sample of colleges and universities on the accessibility of sexual health information and resources to students.
The scores are calculated like a GPA and include the availability of condoms, the prevalence of sexual health information on the school's website, and the available resources for sexual health. Yale received the only perfect score, and shares the top spots with University of Iowa, University of Michigan -Ann Arbor, and Stanford. The lowest scorers included University of Memphis, Oklahoma State, University of Utah, Notre Dame, and Brigham Young University.
The study found that 76 percent of schools do not provide free condoms to students. Ninety-three percent offer STI testing to students, and 24 percent offer it for free. Thirty-two percent of schools have a sex advice column available online or in the campus newspaper. Schools in the northeast received the highest scores.
University of Baltimore to give next year's new class full scholarships for one year
Every freshman who enters the University of Baltimore in the fall of 2007 will pay nothing for the first year. This includes tuition and all fees.
The university used to serve onlygraduate students and junior and senior undergraduates, and officials hope that this move will publicize the school's move to a four-year undergraduate program. The university hopes to enroll between 100 and 130 freshman, putting the costs for the free tuition program at around $900,000. However, the possibility of students qualifying for outside grants and aid could cut the university's costs by half.
The administration decided to put money toward this program instead of toward marketing, hoping that it would be popular and the word would spread on its own. The cost-free first year should attract many students who otherwise might not have been able to afford an education, as well as students who are unsure of where they are headed.
MIT students receive approval to use residence house funds to hire a stripper
Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in an attempt to show how easy it is for students to abuse money meant to go to student groups, received funds to hire a stripper. The students received approval from the student-run government of Simmons Hall, a residence hall on campus.
The residence hall government works like a town council, where each member has an equal vote. On the day of the meeting discussing the stripper, only 29 of 350 students attended the meeting. The plan was never meant to be taken seriously.
"The purpose of writing and passing the absurd proposal was to very clearly highlight the ease of obtaining thousands of dollars for any purpose whatsoever from Simmons Hall," Matt Long, a junior involved with the scheme, said in an e-mail.
"Hopefully with the publicity our proposal made, the Simmons Hall government will rethink the logic of allowing a handful of residents to legally procure thousands (of) house dollars without a house majority approval ever again."
Students recently voted to repeal the funding, but the repeal was outvoted.
