“Don’t Tase Me, Bro” most memorable quote of ‘07
On the shaky video footage, 21-year-old student Andrew Meyer, surrounded by police officers, shouts in a plaintive voice, “Don’t Tase me, bro!” before an officer pulls out the shocking device and shoots Meyer with it. He screams in agony for what seems like minutes, and then officers drag him out of the forum at the University of Florida where he was so recently asking questions of Senator John Kerry.
The scandalous scene caused an uproar among students across the country, who felt that Meyer had been Tased for exercising his right to free speech, rather than for being disruptive. The jury’s still out on that, but we’re not sure why just being annoying merits a shock with a Taser.
Later Meyer apologized, promised to do community service, went on probation for 18 months, and mea culpa-ed his way out of punishment.
But his Internet fame continued on after the incident - his heartfelt message, with its ironic juxtaposition of a plea against violence and the term “bro,” usually a word reserved for close friends, made him an instant celebrity. Mashups of the incident and an MC Hammer music video caused many people to laugh more than they should at a violent act, and t-shirts and Halloween costumes were made to celebrate Meyer’s ridiculous choice of words.
The quote was recently named the most memorable of 2007 by the Yale Book of Quotations, beating out Mahmoud Amahdinejad’s declaration that Iran did not have homosexuals and Miss Teen South Carolina’s tortuously confusing monologue about U.S. Americans. or something. Here’s the video, I promise that it will make you happy.
Denzel Washington drops Texas college a cool million
Enigmatic celebrity actor Denzel Washington has a lot of money he’s itching to give away, apparently.
So much, in fact, that he gave Texas’s Wiley College ONE MILLION DOLLARS to restart their debate team, after he appeared there this week to screen his new movie, “The Great Debaters.” The movie, starring Washington, is about the all-black college’s 1930 debate team. Denzel said he’d “like to get the team going again.” Talk about priming the pump, holy shit.
Now, I’m all for charity, and I’m all for celebrities giving away their money (Denzel already has a history of this) but a million bucks for a debate team? You can start those for free! I imagine the school will simply put the money towards scholarships with the requirement that recipients join the debate team or Denzel will cry.
What the New York Times thinks is important: this
Because finals week is here, this guy is overwhelmed by actual work feeling kinda lazy. So here are a couple of links to articles on higher education that are topping the education news at NYTimes.com.
So How Do We Get to Berkeley? Spend Big on SUNY, Panel Says
The article in a glorious little nutshell: SUNY sucks, other public university systems (basically just California’s) rock. How do we fix this, New York? Prime the pump with $3 billion for research grants, 2,000 more teachers, and the ability for schools to independently raise their own tuitions. Sounds like all they want is M-O-N-E-Y.
On Facebook, Scholars Link Up With Data
Money quote: “Social scientists at Indiana, Northwestern, Pennsylvania State, Tufts, the University of Texas and other institutions are mining Facebook to test traditional theories in their fields about relationships, identity, self-esteem, popularity, collective action, race and political engagement.” Just creepy, guys, just creepy. Plus, most of the time they’re doing their research very methodical stalking without the users’ knowledge.
Accusation of Attack Stuns Police and College
A Rider University student claims she was sexually assaulted by seven state troopers in one night. The state troopers’ response: totally consensual. With all seven of us. All night. We swear. So how did this law enforcement orgy meet up? At the KatManDu Club - which, according to the Times, “features $1 beers at its College Daze on Thursdays.” Sounds more like Get-Wasted-And-Hook-Up-With-Seven-Troopers-Night to me.
Orgies, murder, study abroad: not a good combo
Amanda Knox’s strange tale is a terrifying example of how easily a semester spent studying abroad can go wrong. Really wrong.
This is easily the weirdest story I’ve read in a long time. Here it goes: On Nov. 2, 21-year-old British student Meredith Kerchner was found murdered in her apartment in the Italian town of Perugia. Authorities said it looked like she died fighting off a sexual assault. They arrested the 20-year-old Knox, Kerchner’s roommate and a University of Washington student studying abroad for a semester, and charged her and two other men (also acquaintances of Kerchner) with murder after she allegedly tried to get Kerchner to have an orgy with her and the men.
Predictably, the European tabloids have been all over the case, calling her a “wild American” and “man hunter” in print, and the justice system hasn’t been much better. A panel of Italian judges on the case called her “self-assured and cunning,” with a tendency for theatrics, and media outlets across the world have seized on some drunken videos she posted to YouTube (note to self is self-evident) as proof that she is, in fact, a murderer. So it’s pretty obvious she’s been tried and convicted already. Such is life, Amanda.
She’s not the only one who’s been affected by this: The New York Times ran a piece recently by another - coincidentally - 20-year-old college student from Seattle named Sophie Egan, who describes very eloquently how the whole case and resultant frenzy has severely changed her study abroad experience. It’s a good read.
So what have we learned? Under no circumstances ask someone to have an orgy with you while in another country and then kill the person when they won’t agree to it. Not saying she did it, just throwing a little common sense out there.
$500 for every Maine baby’s college fund
Change my birth certificate, Mom: Starting in 2009, babies born in the state of Maine will get a $500 wad of cash stuffed into their college fund.
The infants’ windfall comes from the fortune of the founder of the Dexter Shoe Company, Harold Alfond, who died last month. And don’t you worry about that sticky little thing called inflation: the money will be deposited in a tax-free savings account, and according to the Finance Authority of Maine,
“With no additional contribution, each $500 account could grow to $2,000 by 2026.”
This little nest egg is already making some college students from Maine upset, jealous, and even a little steamed.
Blogger Wild Bill hails from Cumberland Maine, and thinks it’s horribly unfair that HE didn’t get any dough.
“I deserves 500 dollars, I think,” he said, wiping his tears on the sleeve of his tacky red sweater.
Good to see Maine taking care of the kids.
Thoughts on Loans and Financial Aid
Sorry for the long delay in posting, even though I know I’m not the only one reeling from all the work that has to be submitted before finals week (something to do with that Dec. 25 final grade submission… Thanks Registrar!) A little something meta on the blogs: We have a new comments policy that our commenters should all be aware of, so acquaint yourself with it. Now onto the important stuff:
A wolf in (Oregon) duck’s clothing: There’s this loan group from Florida that’s gotten into a lot of trouble from New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo. He’s investigated a bunch of other loan companies earlier this year for their dubious actions, which include cash for friend referrals and signups, but the most recent group, Student Financial Services, has been using team names, logos and mascots for their marketing to students.
Apparently not all universities keep the rights to their mascots, but have them through an intermediary group, so that’s how this loan company was able to use the marks (maybe that’s how Washburn University got an eerily similar logo to U. of Wisconsin?).? The Times reported that at least 17 have since suspended their arrangements with the group, and the Chronicle is reporting that the remainder, 63 in total, are also cutting their ties. Cuomo is also reportedly was working with the company to make an agreement so they don’t have to pay a penalty ? instead, they’ll have a code of conduct developed by the attorney general’s office.
Recapping other loan stuff: Munzer got to it earlier this week, but this Harvard financial aid thing is only the latest in universities taking financial aid into their own hands. In the middle of last month, the Chronicle (pay-walled) reported on three colleges in the Northeast that are doing away with loans for students. Williams College is getting rid of loans entirely from its financial aid packages, and Colby and Wesleyan are doing similar things to reduce their burdens.
The Harvard situation is merely an extension of their 2004 initiative to help those coming from lower economic backgrounds in staying in college. It’s a wonderful idea, and while I question the need for such deep discounts to the children of six-figure breadwinners, solving the cost problem is an issue the industry needs to answer ? and they’ve been terrible about doing so.
There are good reasons why college costs so much, especially here (something about the first major capital campaign in a 116-year history…). Some colleges, like Williams, are doing smart things. Even at Ithaca, students rise the the occasion, such as the HEOP program with Lobby Day [disclosure: I worked for Academic Enrichment Services last year]. When students get into hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt when they graduate with degrees in English or Outdoor Adventure Leadership, it’s a pretty scary situation. Or, they don’t even make it past their first semester here. And when college seems to be the prerequisite and no longer an honor, it needs to become more affordable.
Something completely different: Can Antioch stop losing steam? There’s now a plan being set in motion to separate Antioch College from the associated university system to address the many issues that plague the institution. At first glance it sounds like a terrible idea, considering that the whole system started with the undergrad program. While I’m sure the Antioch College Continuation Corporation would have the college’s best interests at heart, especially with some very passionate people ? who wouldn’t give money when the agreement to save Antioch was penned last month ?? it moves the burden off the current administration of the Antioch in a dangerous way. Furthermore, it doesn’t help that as of Tuesday, the payment agreement made last month is no longer in effect [via Chronicle]. And what’s worse, if the transfer does happen, it’s most likely the school will have to get accreditation, since it won’t be the old Antioch.
NEWSFLASH: You probably won’t get shot in Ithaca
Ithaca - as the shirts attest - may be gorges, gangster, cold, your mom, ad infinitum, but probably best of all, Ithaca Is Safe.
According to a new study, you’re less likely to get shot, mugged, hit by a tornado, earthquake, poisoned by mercury (but maybe TCEs), attacked by terrorists (but maybe college kids will piss on your lawn), or lose your job in Ithaca, which was ranked the third safest small city out of 138 U.S. towns with populations under 150,000.
The ranking was part of the fourth annual Farmers Insurance Group of Companies study and was compiled by a database company called Best Places.
Last year they ranked Ithaca as they fifth safest small city, so we must have gotten just that much safer since then. I know I feel safer.
What’s most interesting about this study - and I know, cuz I did some serious research on The Google - is that the top five safest small cities have at least two colleges. And out of the top 20, 16 have at least one college.
Now, I’m no scientist, and there’s no real way to prove this without me expending actual effort, but it seems there’s a correlation between higher education and general peacefulness. Just hope that you’re not a dog named Princess.
Harvard to subsidize (throw money at) rich kids
Are households with incomes of $120,000 to $180,000 still considered to be in the middle class?
Well, Harvard University thinks they are. In an effort to seem like they’re making college more affordable for the middle upper middle class, the university just announced that it will give the families of students who fall into this income category a huge break on tuition. Of course, students in families with an income between $60,000 and $120,000 will also get the tuition discount, but those kids actually need it.
Here’s my problem: the rich families will ALSO only have to pay 10 percent of their yearly income to tuition, so a family earning 120k would only have to pay $12,000 a year to send their child to Harvard, land of opportunity, secret societies and a $35 billion endowment, which is the reason they can throw money at well-off families and call it “making college more affordable.” That’s the equivalent of some state school tuitions.
Harvard also already waives all tuition costs for students whose families make less than $60,000 a year, so we can’t accuse them of not treating economically disadvantaged students badly, but I don’t think subsidizing wealthy families is any way to balance the scales. If anything, give that money somewhere that it’s needed.
Is Ithaca one of the nation’s ‘ugliest’ colleges?
OH NO YOU DIDN’T! Ithaca College just got some Hate-erade dumped all over it.
Some dinky blog called the Campus Squeeze, which proudly describes itself as “not just any college Web site,” has pronounced our admittedly aesthetically-challenged campus the 17th ugliest of any college in the United States. Now, I don’t have any serious issues with this proclamation, because let’s face it, there are some uggggly buildings on our pretty ‘lil campus.
But these guys obviously didn’t look at every single school to make their decision - they just decided to check out some colleges’ Web sites, asked students to bash colleges on their message boards, and then made a blanket, uninformed statement about beauty, which as we all know, is a very subjective thing. Then they wrote it all down in a big, annoying list.
The dude who writes the piece says that he’s “extremely unimpressed” by our campus and that it “pales” next to Cornell. Yeah, sure, we’ve got a lot of gray, brick-shaped buildings, but c’mon, at least we’re trying now. I blame 60’s architecture, personally.
(College Ave. thanks Tipster Krar for the link. )
Binghamton student dies after dorm boxing match
Maybe it’s not a great idea to start your own fight club: A Binghamton University student died on Sunday after he was injured in a “consensual” dorm boxing match, according to news reports and the university’s press release. Although the 18-year-old student, Anders Uwadinobi, was wearing head gear and gloves, he was apparently surrounded by a number of people who were watching the fight. The university has said they do not think the boxing match “was a regular occurrence.” Duh. The first AND second rules of Fight Club are you DO NOT talk about fight club. Seriously, though, it sounds like a really tragic accident. Maybe next time you guys over there should just play with foam swords. They’re not nearly as cool, but you can’t kill anyone with them.
Feed for College Ave.
