The Observer, March 7, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 20
Outside the Circle
Obama on books
If Barack Obama is elected president, students may rejoice at lower textbook prices. Although Obama hasn't proposed any legislation officially on textbooks, he was quoted last week at the University of Texas-Pan American criticizing the money-making scam professors engage in when they write their own textbooks.
The Chicago Tribune quoted him as saying: "Books are a big scam. I taught law at the University of Chicago for 10 years, and one of the biggest scams is law professors write their own textbooks and then assign it to their students. They make a mint. It's a huge racket."
And in a discussion with The Wall Street Journal, Obama reiterated his criticism of private student loans. He also reminded students to be careful about their own spending in college: "Just be careful about those credit cards, all right? Don't eat out as much," the Journal quoted him saying.
Latest student polling data
Rock the Vote released a poll last week with the latest voting patterns and attitudes of young voters in the election. This national poll is consistent with recent primaries around the country, showing strong student support for Barack Obama with less support for other candidates.
Of those in the poll, 38 percent had a very favorable opinion of Obama, 17 percent had a very favorable opinion of Hillary Clinton, and 10 percent had a very favorable opinion of John McCain.
When the category of "very favorable" was combined with the category of "favorable," Obama still maintains the lead, with 69 percent of the vote, Clinton following at 51 percent, and McCain at 44 percent.
Obama scores well with young black voters as well as young Latino voters in the poll.
When asked to identify the most pertinent issues for the next president, young voters said the economy (17 percent), followed by Iraq (12 percent), health care (11 percent), and education and the cost of college (10 percent).
Attack on animal researcher
A faculty member at the University of California at Santa Cruz, whose research includes the use of animals, was attacked in a home invasion last week. Authorities believe that some of the six attackers who attempted to break into his home were students. One family member of the professor, who has not been named, was attacked in the invasion.
George Blumenthal, the chancellor of Santa Cruz, issued a statement in which he said: "Disagreement, debate, and dissent on a range of subjects are all hallmarks of a healthy university community. However, an attempted home invasion by masked perpetrators is not free speech – it is a criminal act that threatens, intimidates, and stifles academic freedom."
Drill terrifies students
Students and faculty are receiving counseling at Elizabeth State University in North Carolina after a mock safety drill that left many stunned and shocked. Last week, someone pretended to be a killer and entered a classroom with a fake gun, "shooting" at students and the professor.
The mock emergency drill was supposed to test the campus' response to the situation.
Anthony Brown, vice chancellor for student affairs, said, "The intent was not to frighten them but to test our system and also to test the response of the security that was on campus and the people that were notified," Brown said.
Administrators sent an e-mail and a text message which alerted students to the drill, but full details of what would transpire were not disclosed.
The gunman entered the classroom and lined the students and professor against the wall. Jingbin Wang, the professor of the class, stated that the gunman claimed he had been kicked out of school and needed a lung transplant.
The unknowing professor said he "was prepared to die at that moment."
After 10 minutes, students heard voices outside the door, and in an instant, authorities broke through the door, subduing the gunman, but not before students had sent text messages home and contemplated jumping out the window. No one was hurt during the drill.
University chancellor Willie J. Gilchrist said in a statement that the drill was a learning experience and a way to increase the traditional scope of scenarios, which usually includes hurricanes and tropical storms.
"Unfortunately we learned lessons from frightened students that result when live scenarios are carried out," he said in a news release. "However, we want our campus to be ready in case of such an event."
