The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Gender Neutral Dorms Create Safer Environment For Gay Students

High school seniors looking forward to departing for college now have a new wrinkle in dorm life to consider, courtesy of the Rutgers University webcam trial. In the wake of Tyler Clementi's death in 2010, the gay community at Rutgers University lobbied for "gender-neutral" housing in which men and women could be roommates. The thinking was that a gay student might feel more comfortable — or even safer — rooming with a female friend. At the Newark campus of Rutgers, a pilot program placing 16 students in gender-neutral rooms has gone so smoothly, Angelita Bonilla, associate dean of housing and residence life, calls it "a godsend." Read more at:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/more_gay-straight_dorms_on_col.html

Gay Pride Week Celebration Is A First For A Military College

A Vermont military college that held what's believed to be the nation's first gay pride week on a military campus is refocusing the mission of its gay and lesbian club after some alumni were upset that it held a "condom Olympics" and "queer prom." Norwich University President Richard Schneider said Tuesday that the administration should have had more oversight of the activities of the school's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Allies club -- formed after the end of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" rule. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2012/04/10/some_military_college_alumni_upset_by_pride_events/

Achieving College Student Diversity Is A Challenge In This Region

African-Americans account for 13 percent of the nation’s population but just 4 percent of UR’s total student enrollment last school year. Hispanics — the fastest growing segment of the population — account for 16 percent of the nation’s population but only 4 percent of UR’s enrollment last school year. The trends are not much better for local four-year colleges that draw more heavily from the Rochester region. Even though African-Americans make up 15 percent and Hispanics 7 percent of Monroe County’s population, most of the schools enroll 5 percent or less of these minority groups. Local efforts to achieve diversity have focused on both extending outreach efforts to minorities, both here and beyond the region, and forging closer ties to area high schools. Read more at:
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120318/NEWS01/303180003/Diversity-area-colleges?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CLocal%20News

Supreme Court Decision Will Impact The Future Of Higher Education Diversity

Diversity is the last man standing, the sole remaining legal justification for racial preferences in deciding who can study at public universities. Should the Supreme Court disavow it, the student body at the University of Texas and many other public colleges and universities would almost instantly become whiter and more Asian, and less black and Hispanic. A judicial retreat from diversity would be deeply symbolic, too. The term — a gauzy, unobjectionable way to talk about the combustible topic of race — has had a remarkable run. If the diversity rationale falls apart in university admissions, it could start to test the societal commitment to it in other arenas, notably private hiring and promotion. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/sunday-review/college-diversity-nears-its-last-stand.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Professor Of Stuttering Student Claims "Character Assassination"

Calling herself “the victim of a character assassination,” the college professor who asked a student with a severe stutter not to pose questions in class said that her actions were misinterpreted, and that she did not mean to silence him. She did so, she said, partly to put him at ease, and also because he would have taken up too much class time if she had let him. “He seemed to want to answer every question,” she said, adding, “you’d have to take into consideration the amount of time he takes to get the answer out.” But she insisted that her ideas were only suggestions, and that “there was never any intent to stop him from speaking.” Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/nyregion/professor-of-philip-garber-nj-stutterer-defends-actions.html 

 

U.S. News Ranks Campuses By Ethnic Diversity

College-bound students who believe that studying with people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds is important will want to consider student-body diversity when choosing a school. To identify colleges where students are most likely to encounter undergraduates from racial or ethnic groups different from their own, U.S. News factors in the total proportion of minority students, leaving out international students, and the overall mix of groups. The data are drawn from each institution's 2010-2011 school year student body. Read more at:
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/campus-ethnic-diversity

Student Bake Sale Creates Outrage On Campus

A Facebook post announcing plans by a UC Berkeley Republican group to sell baked goods priced according to race, gender and ethnicity - "White/Caucasian" pastries for $2 and "Black/African American" pastries for 75 cents, for example - has drawn outrage on campus. Students say the joke is anything but funny. More than 200 students responded to the event, most opposed, and some violently so. One threatened to burn the table and set the cupcakes on fire. Read more: 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/23/BATO1L8RLL.DTL#ixzz1Z5hHGw8O

There Are Now More Hispanic Than African-American College Students

A study released today by the Pew Hispanic Center finds that enrollment of Hispanic students aged 18 to 24 rose by 24 percent in a single year, reaching 1.8 million in October 2010. That’s 349,000 new Hispanic students. By contrast, black enrollment rose by 88,000 and Asian American enrollment rose by 43,000. White enrollment declined by 320,000. These crisscrossing numbers amplify the shift in the overall makeup of the college population. Growth in Hispanic enrollment is fed by a rapid increase in the nation’s Hispanic population. Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/study-hispanics-now-outnumber-blacks-in-college/2011/08/25/gIQACG1udJ_blog.html?wprss=college-inc 

 

HBCUs Are Increasingly Seeking Out Non-Black Students

Katy Daugherty enrolled at Tennessee State University because of the school's flexible daytime, evening and online classes and its new urban-studies program. Once on campus at this historically black college, where more than 70% of the students are African-American, Ms. Daugherty, 29, who is white, became the minority. In what has become a mutually beneficial relationship for schools and students, many of the nation's 105 historically black colleges are increasingly wooing non-black students. The goals: to boost lagging enrollment and offset funding shortfalls. Read more at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903480904576512372651069468.html

Creating More Housing Options For Transgender Students

The University of South Florida is offering transgender students the opportunity to live alone or with a friend of a different gender in campus housing. Beginning Thursday, students can identify themselves as male, female or transitioning on their housing applications. Anyone who checks transitioning can live alone, with a friend or with a randomly assigned roommate. A student's choice of transitioning won't be disclosed to any randomly selected roommate without permission. Read more at:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/fl-transgender-dorm-20110707,0,3160747.story