A cheating scandal at the U.S. Air Force Academy led to the expulsion of 15 cadets, the Air Force announced Tuesday. Three other cadets resigned, and 13 more were placed on probation for their involvement in the cheating ring, according to The New York Times. The cheating, which was brought to light by fellow cadets, entailed perpetrators sending answers for the multiple-choice questions of a weekly quiz over the internet. Thirty-one cadets, whose names were not released, were charged with violating the Air Force's honor code. The code requires that the accused be interrogated by their classmates, who will reach a verdict on the alleged breach of the academy's cheating policy. Out of the 16 cadets initially expelled, nine appealed the decision, but only one cadet was absolved. "Obviously we're very concerned. The honor code is the foundation of everything we have," said the school spokesman Johnny Whitaker.
Four high school teachers, nominated by graduating Dartmouth seniors, will be receiving the first-ever Dartmouth Prize for Exceptional Teaching award at this year's commencement. The four educators were among a number of kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers to be nominated in November 2006. After reviewing the nominations, a panel composed of nine students, faculty, and administrators chose four teachers to receive the $3,000 awards, which also included $2,500 for their respective schools. These endowments, funded by College President James Wright's office and the Office of the Provost, will be coupled with an honorary luncheon and reception for the winners of the prize. The inaugural recipients will be Jim Cocoros of Stuyvesant High School, Swarti Sharma of Manchester Memorial High School, Chris Richards of Belmont Hills School and Evelyn Gates of the Paul Horn Academy.
Dartmouth's theater department is working on a new project titled "Voices: The Dartmouth Theater Visiting Artist Program," a program they hope will help draw minority artists to the College. With a scheduled debut of this fall, "Voices" will run annually in order to bring relevant minority issues at Dartmouth into the spotlight. The administration has already committed to fund the venture, and College President James Wright said he believes students would like Dartmouth to embrace more diversity in theater at the College. Theater department chair Peter Hackett has plans to inject the program with a sense of flexibility in order to accommodate artists' differing schedules and unique artistic visions.
