You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.

Sign Up, It’s FREE
<![CDATA[
  • The Graduate Employees' Organization of the University of Michigan, an American Federation of Teachers unit that represents graduate instructors, is planning to strike today and tomorrow, following the close of negotiations Monday night without a new contract. A statement from the union said that while progress was being made on some issues, the university refused to continue negotiating into the night, and that there had been only "minimal movement" on salary issues and mental health benefits. A University of Michigan official told The Detroit News that the union's salary proposals were "just way too high." Brief strikes are something of a tradition in the graduate students' negotiations with Michigan. The student newspaper, The Michigan Daily, in today's editorial, said that tradition reflects the university's failure to develop "a broad solution" for supporting the graduate students and other employees. Urging students not to cross picket lines, the Daily said that "a future degree doesn't put food on the table now."
  • Brazos Higher Education Service Corp., the fourth largest holder of guaranteed student loans, announced that it would no longer issue new student loans, Bloomberg reported. Brazos officials said that they hoped to re-enter the loan field if the credit crunch eases.
  • A proposed settlement by Virginia would provide families of the victims of last year's mass killing at Virginia Tech $100,000 each, medical and counseling expenses, and the right to question the governor and university about events related to the tragedy, the Associated Press reported. The state, hoping to avoid a flood of lawsuits, made the offer with the contingency that Virginia can withdraw from the agreement if not enough families accept the proposal. The Virginian-Pilotreported that some families are angry about the proposal, with the lawyer for one calling the offer an "absolute insult."
  • The University of North Dakota is defending the right of one of its colleges to invite Bill Ayers, a distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, to give a talk at the campus, The Grand Forks Herald reported. Three student groups -- Young Americans for Freedom, College Republicans and Females for Firearms -- called on the university to condemn the visit because Ayers was once a leader of the Weather Underground. Charles Kupchella, president of the university, said in a statement: "A good case has not been made -- ever -- that free speech (speech not otherwise unlawfully harmful) should sometimes or by some people be suppressed in the interest of freedom.”
  • Some professors at Marshall University were upset that the institution accepted a gift with the condition that Ayn Rand be required reading in a course. It turns out Marshall isn't alone. Although some colleges have rejected such deals, at least 17 have accepted them, The Charlotte Observer reported.
  • Planned budget cuts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration will force scientists to stop using one of the two Mars rovers, and to limit the use of the other one, the Associated Press reported.
  • The University of Victoria, in Canada, is facing a rabbit crisis. Thousands of rabbits live (and reproduce) on the campus -- and the university is so well known for its bunny population that in the week after Easter, families that are rethinking their decisions to buy live rabbits for their children tend to dump the rabbits on the campus. The Globe and Mail reported that while students love the rabbits, the cute creatures are destroying campus gardens and athletic fields and making construction difficult. The university is now considering several approaches to reducing its rabbit population, including a "bunny cull" or efforts at rabbit birth control. One approach might be to capture the rabbits and to neuter or spay them. Another approach would be to capture them and hold them in single-sex facilities. Students are concerned about any infringement on rabbits' rights. The director of campus planning at the university told the newspaper that a cull of the rabbits would be about as popular as a baby seal hunt.

Next Story

Vice President Kamala Harris stands behind a podium and next to a blue and white poster that says Harris for President
Government Politics & Elections
Harris Has Championed Loan Forgiveness, For-Profit Crackdowns and Free College

She could become the first HBCU graduate in the Oval Office—and would likely build on the Biden administration’s ambi

Written By

Scott Jaschik

More from News

Woman helping a customer in a clothing store
Students Careers
How Concerning Is Underemployment of College Graduates?

Half of graduates land jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree, and 40 percent are still in such jobs a deca

Speaker Mike Johnson points a finger while standing behind a podium. Virginia Foxx and Elise Stefanik stand next to him.
Government Politics & Elections
House Republicans Threaten Colleges’ Federal Funding With New Investigations

Six House committees will probe 10 colleges’ responses to antisemitism.

Group of students on beach with matching blue T-shirts
Global Study Abroad
Defense Department Cuts 13 of its Language Flagship Programs

Linguists are concerned about the implications the elimination of these programs may have on foreign relations.