Around the Ivies
Brown University: Over winter break, 35 students from different class years and majors at Brown opted to live in a church in downtown Providence, Rhode Island in order to focus on exploring and engaging with local service issues, the Brown Daily Herald reported. The students, who were participating in the “Winter Break Projects” run by the Swearer Center for Public Service, engaged in focused discussions on homelessness, healthcare and education, among other issues, during their time on the program.
Columbia University: An analysis by the Columbia Spectator, published on Jan. 22, has found the University’s Columbia College and School of Engineering and Applied Science in violation of the Higher Education Opportunities Act, the Spectator reports. The Act, according to the Spectator, requires institutes of higher education that receive federal funding for financial aid to disclose on their online course schedules the prices of required textbooks. Only around 45 percent of courses in the top ten majors at Columbia displayed such information.
Cornell University: Randall Duchesneau ’09, a Cornell graduate who became paralyzed while performing a standing backflip as a member of the Cornell Gymnastics Club, has been ordered to pay an increased amount of owed taxes to the University, the Cornell Daily Sun reports. Duchesneau, who lost his negligence case against the University, had moved to review the amount owed to the University for varying court costs.
Harvard University: In anticipation of a winter blizzard earlier this week, Harvard suspended its operations for non-critical employees, according to the Harvard Crimson. The blizzard, which had been referred to as “crippling and potentially historic” by the National Weather Service, led Harvard administrators to cancel Tuesday classes, the Crimson reported.
Princeton University: After a preliminary investigation last week, the Princeton Police Department and the Department of Public Safety have concluded that a Jan. 24 bomb threat referencing the University was not credible, the Daily Princetonian reported. The threat was non-specific, according to a press release from the Princeton Police Department.
University of Pennsylvania: By replacing its use of disposable plastic containers with reusable containers and utensils, Penn Dining has decreased its carbon footprint, the Daily Pennsylvanian reports. Under the “Green2Go” program — which is financed by a Green Campus Partnership Green Fund grant — any student on a meal plan can use a green container to take food from one Penn’s Stouffer Commons.
Yale University: For the first time in seven years, Yale University has changed its fall term final examination ending date, the Yale Daily News reports. Finals will end on Dec. 22 in the fall of 2015 instead of Dec. 18, the former date.