Watching the Ivies: 2/11
BROWN: Kendrick Lamar and A-Trak will headline two concerts during Brown University’s Spring Weekend Concert, on April 19 and 20. The Brown Daily Herald also reported that local band What’s Cheer? Brigade will join Big Feedia, the Dirty Projectors and Deerhunters as supporting acts over the weekend festival. The acts were announced surprisingly early this year, after an email with a false lineup that included The Postal Sevice and Toro Y Moi was sent to the BlogDaily Herald.
CORNELL: Students at Cornell University developed an iPhone application that aims to help other students access emergency services in risky situations, “such as walking home alone late at night from the library or from a party,” according the Cornell Daily Sun. The app, named ResCUer, offers two options on the main screen: “Get help” and “Go home.” The first option shows several emergency services numbers while the second links to the phone numbers of the Blue Light Services and local taxi companies. In addition, the app allows users to input their friends’ numbers in the “Call a friend” feature. The students are developing a similar app for the Android market.
COLUMBIA: The Columbia University Inter-Greek Council Judicial Board voted last week to derecognize the Columbia chapter of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. The move came as a result of a hazing infraction at the chapter and will cause the fraternity to lose its house, according to the Columbia Spectator. Executive director of ZBT international Laurence Bolotin stated that the international board intends to appeal the decision.
HARVARD: A new proposal presented last week at Harvard University’s Committee on Undergraduate Education would change the structure of reading period. If accepted, final papers and projects would be due during designated dates during the exam period instead of during reading period. In conjunction, committee members considered altering the length of both the reading period and the exam period, which are currently seven to eight days and nine days respectively, The Crimson reported. In order for the proposal to be enacted, the faculty would have to vote on the decision after several different discussions.
PRINCETON: Two Princeton University students developed a “TigerApp” — an online application that requires a Princeton identification number to log in — that can alert students to vacancies in classes, according to the Daily Princetonian. The app, called “Princeton Pounce,” allows students to monitor a course’s enrollment activity and receive text or email notification of a course’s availability.
UPENN: In a continuing effort to deal with possible impending cuts to federal funding for research, the University of Pennsylvania spent more on lobbying in 2012 than any other Ivy League institution. The Daily Pennsylvanian reported that the university spent $677,738 on lobbying expenses in order to “make the case for federal investment in scientific research,” as the so-called “fiscal cliff” may affect research funding. Dartmouth College spent the least, with $22,000 in lobbying expenses.
YALE: The Office of LGBTQ Resources now has a physical plant at Yale University, according to the Yale Daily News. The LGBTQ Office will share its new space with the Office of Gender & Campus Culture and the Alcohol and Other Drugs Harm-Reduction Initiative. Since the LGBTQ office did not previously have a location, directors expect that logistical issues will be reduced and the office’s members will feel a greater sense of community.