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College presidents taste life outside their offices
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In his three years as president of George Washington University, Steven Knapp has tried nearly everything to bond with undergraduates. He moved onto campus, right across the street from a freshman dorm known for its party culture. He hired a graduate student to tell him which events to attend. He helped students haul their stuff into the dorms, created a Facebook account, danced at parties, judged a pie-eating contest and drummed with a basketball player.
Still, many students thought he was boring and out of touch.
They kept comparing the quiet academic to his gregarious predecessor, Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, who worked the campus like a politician for 19 years and wrote a book called "Big Man on Campus."
A generation ago, it was typical for college presidents to be stuffy and hard-to-approach chief executives, the type who inspired the Dean Wormer character in "Animal House."
(Photos of college presidents mixing it up with students)
Many of the barriers separating a college's top-paid leaders from its tuition-paying students have disappeared in the past decade. E-mail, text messaging and social media give students unprecedented access to a chief executive, who can no longer hide behind a secretary and an office door.
Today, many students -- and their increasingly over-involved parents -- want a personal bond with the president. Instead of occupying the president's office, more students are stopping by to chat. They want to be friends -- and not just on Facebook.
In an effort to be more cool, presidents across the United States are starring in YouTube videos, serving hot dogs, starting blogs, hosting parties and eating with the masses in dorms.
Knapp's big break came in February, when he stopped by a nighttime snowball fight between GWU and Georgetown University, surprising student organizers.
"It was like a Civil War battle. We were all lined up," Knapp recalled. "I think I was a target, because I got pretty pelted." After victory was declared, Knapp made a speech and canceled classes for the next day. Suddenly, he had some street cred.
Ethics and Values: Pillars of Economy
Says Rev. Jim Wallis
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WASHINGTON, DC – Rev. Jim Wallis is in Davos, Switzerland this week providing leadership to the ethics and values pillar, one of six pillars, at the World Economic Forum.
According to recent survey findings released by the World Economic Forum and Georgetown University, two-thirds of the 130,000 respondents, from ten countries, including the United States, believe that the current economic crisis is also a crisis of ethics and values. In response, the World Economic Forum has placed corporate ethics and personal values as one of the six core pillars of this week’s conference.
Wallis helped begin this conversation about personal values and corporate ethics by telling the assembled leaders at last year’s Forum that they were asking the wrong question. Instead of asking, “When this crisis will be over,” the question should be, “How will this crisis change us?” At this year’s Forum, Rev. Wallis will once again help guide the conversation by participating in a number of key sessions, including a plenary session entitled “Rethinking Values in a Post Crisis World.”
From his experience last year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Jim Wallis expanded upon his thoughts in a new book, “Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street and Your Street” launched only a few weeks before this year’s Forum. Over the past few weeks, Wallis has embarked on a nationwide media and publicity tour, with stops on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, MSNBC’s Morning Joe, and PBS’s The Tavis Smiley Show.
50% of Soft Drink Fountains Are Contaminated
Many Contain Bacteria Contaminants
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You may want to think twice before gulping down a soft drink from a restaurant, according to new research. The study found 48 percent of the sodas from fountains were contaminated with coliform bacteria.
Researchers from Hollins University tested 90 beverages from 30 fountains in fast food restaurants. It's unclear if the bacteria, which is a form of fecal contamination, came from people with dirty hands or the soda fountains. "You can get collections of bacteria in the water line and that then runs through the whole machine and gets in to the beverage. Any time any water or liquid sits somewhere, it's just a breeding ground for bacteria," said Dr. Alanna Levine, a Primary Care Physician. The study also found the bacteria from soda fountains was resistant to antibiotics, which would make it more difficult to treat. "We all have bacteria living in our bodies and our intestines. Normally it really becomes more of a problem for people who have compromised immune systems," said Dr. Levine. For most people, drinking soda from contaminated fountains would only cause stomach flu-like symptoms.
Electric Car Charging Station For Iowa University
Station Enough to Charge 47 Electric Vehicles
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Plans for a solar charging station for electric cars is back on track at the University of Iowa. Planning for the $1.3 million project started two years ago, but it lacked funding. It was then shelved when last year's flood damaged several buildings on campus.
The project was revived this year when the Iowa Office of Energy Independence announced a round of grants funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The state awarded the project a $250,000 grant, but it's about $390,000 short of the $1.3 million needed. The charging station would be 180 feet long and provide 57 kilowatts of solar power capability. University officials say that would be enough to charge up to 47 electric vehicles and would provide power back to the grid when it's not needed for charging.
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New York Transit To Slash Student Passes, Cut Services
Attempts To Close 383 Million Deficit
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New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority is going to cut services to close a nearly $383 million deficit. The proposed cuts, which would include shutting down two subway lines and slashing night and weekend hours on a system that operates around the clock, will be aired at several public hearings this winter.
In addition, a recent court ruling ordered the authority to pay $541 million in wage increases to unionized workers.The MTA chairman said the authority must share the blame. "In the two months that I've been here, it has become apparent to me that the MTA doesn't operate in a way that ensures that every single dollar we receive is being used as effectively as possible," said Jay Walder, chairman since September. The deep cut MTA's plan also calls for laying off 700 workers, reducing management salaries and phasing out free and discounted fares for students, which has sparked widespread opposition. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking to reporters Wednesday, said the city's four representatives on the transit board would vote for the budget "because we really don't have any alternative."
American Student Found Guilty of Friend's Murder by Italian Court
Alleged Drug Fuelled Sex Session
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American Amanda Knox and her former lover Raffaele Sollecito have been found guilty of cutting their British room mate Meredith Kercher's throat after she refused to take part in a drug-fuelled sex session at her flat in Italy in November 2007. Police found her semi-naked body covered by a duvet. Her bedroom door was locked, but the window had been broken. Miss Kercher's body showed signs of bruising, and tests revealed evidence of sexual activity shortly before her death - but a post-mortem examination could not confirm she had been raped.
But police soon arrested Knox, 22, and Sollecito, 25, and prosecutors accused them of killing Miss Kercher because she had refused to take part in an extreme sex session. A pathologist's report said her death was slow and painful because despite the fact that her throat was cut, the blow did not sever her carotid artery. Miss Kercher's brutal and mysterious death has fed intense media speculation in both Europe and America.
One man, Rudy Hermann Guede, 22, who has joint Italian and Ivory Coast nationality, had already been convicted of her murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is appealing against his conviction. Knox and Sollecito are also thought likely to appeal against their convictions. They have been sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively.
University of Maryland Wins Greenest Campus Award
Best School Campus at Reducing Carbon Footprints
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Washington, DC –November 16, 2009: America’s Greenest Campus, the nationwide contest that engaged over 450 colleges to compete against each other in reducing their carbon footprints, will present representatives of the contest’s winning school, University of Maryland – College Park, 1st place, at Harding Room, Marriot Wardman Park in Washington, D.C. Brian F. Keane, President of SmartPower, and co-founder of America’s Greenest Campus, along with Linda Silverman of the U.S. Department of Energy, will award the University the 1st place during a conference presentation on the role of new media in influencing young people to use energy responsibly.
“The students at University Maryland at College Park were unstoppable—they prove the potential for young people to help change the wasteful ways we normally consume energy,” said SmartPower’s Keane. “Joanna Calabrese and her colleagues got over 2,000 of their peers to make commitments to do daily actions to save energy. These actions—like unplugging a cell phone charger or using a power strip may seem small—but when 2,000 people start taking those actions, it saves a lot of energy—and a lot of CO2 pollution.”
America's Top 7 College Towns
Coolest College Towns
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Burlington, Vermont; Just another day in a thriving college town -- this one happening to be home to the University of Vermont. Affordable restaurants serve up authentic cuisines from all around the world. The streets are densely packed, Nature is usually accentuated: the shimmering Lake Champlain, backdropped by a sawtooth silhouette of peaks, forms the western edge of Burlington.
Madison, Wisconsin; is situated on an isthmus between two lakes that draw hordes of hikers and bikers. Boulder, Colorado, is an outdoor enthusiast's dream. And don't forget the bars.
Olympia, Washington; (Evergreen State College)
State capitals and colleges fit together seamlessly in a number of locales (see Austin and Madison). Olympia nicely mixes buttoned-up government workers and dreadlocked students. It's hard to miss the Capitol Campus -- you can see the legislative building's sandstone dome from almost anywhere in the city.
Boulder, Colorado; (University of Colorado)
In a town that always pops up on "healthiest cities in America" lists, bike trails are abundant and outdoor options are endless.
The Wild West begins along Baseline Road in Boulder, in the foothills of the Rockies known as the Flatirons
Berkeley, California; (University of California)
If coffee shops define a good college town, Berkeley has the competition beat. Some host bands, others show art, many sell fair-trade blends, and most offer a space where it's okay to relax for hours.
Ann Arbor, Michigan; (University of Michigan)
If a town's name references trees, it's a good bet nature will figure prominently. At the lush, 123-acre Nichols Arboretum, gravel paths wind past blazes of yellow, pink, and white peonies and the occasional reclining student. The "Arb" is also frequently the setting for Shakespeare stagings.
Slake your thirst amid more flora at Dominick's, whose garden is ideal for enjoying any of the 10 local microbrews on tap.
Chapel Hill, North Carolina; (University of North Carolina)
Yes, there's a fine clutch of Georgian classroom buildings around a shaded, picturesque quad, but during the winter months, everyone's attention is fixated on the Dean Dome, home to the powerhouse Tar Heels basketball team.
Come November, tickets that haven't been snapped up by students are available to the public.
Mt. Kilimanjaro Receding Ice Caps
Glacier Retreat or Global Warming
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Lead author Lonnie Thompson, a glaciologist at Ohio State University who has been to the summit of Africa's tallest mountain repeatedly over more than a decade, says that while the glaciers did start melting a century ago, their retreat has sped up dramatically in recent years. "We've lost 26% of the ice since 2000 alone. And that, unfortunately, is just what we predicted would happen." Within a few decades, he says, most if not all of Kilimanjaro's glaciers will be gone.
Indeed, glacier experts have been waging an intellectual war for years over what's really causing the ice loss atop Kilimanjaro. The simplest explanation would be that warming temperatures are making the ice melt — and indeed, Thompson believes this is a big part of what's going on.
But other scientists insist that melting, if it's occurring at all, has a relatively minor effect. "The fact that you have melting may mean air temperatures have increased, but it doesn't necessarily," says Philip Mote, who heads the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University. "And in fact, the temperature on the summit of Kilimanjaro is essentially always below freezing, which makes it hard to accept warming as the reason [for glacier loss]."
5 Tips To Be More Successful in School
Some Help From Michele Borba
1. Get Get Enough Sleep
"Setting and keeping to a nighttime routine is the key,"
2. Applaud Your efforts the right way.
3. "Praise your efforts, not his IQ
4. Respect Your learning style. Obey your style.
5. Identify how best you learns, then find ways to use those strengths to boost learning success.
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