COLLEGE SHORTS

Author: Cara Lovell

U. of Wisconsin Halts Undergraduate Admissions

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents called a halt to all undergraduate admissions on the institution's 26 campuses last Saturday. This extreme action was due to the approval of more budget cuts at the University last week by the Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee in addition to the $50 million dollar cut proposed by Gov. Scott McCallum's budget reform bill. The Wisconsin State Assembly Republicans convened on the same day to respond to what they viewed as an impulsive decision by the Board of Regents. The Assembly decided to cut an additional $20 million instate funding to the University of Wisconsin.

The budget cuts are mostly focused on advertising, travel and study abroad grants, though a new cap of 8 percent on tuition increases will also drastically affect revenue. However, the bill will not become law unless it passes in the State Senate and is signed by Wisconsin Governor McCallum. The Board of Regents' decision to halt admissions will not have an immediate effect upon the admissions office. Applications are still being reviewed, but students cannot be notified of their acceptance until the Board of Regents has thoroughly considered the possibility of admitting students to each campus considering the overwhelming budget cuts the University of Wisconsin faces.

Source: UwireToday.com

Oregon State Junior Dies After Alcohol-Related Fall

Spencer M. Haugh, a junior at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore., died last Thursday after falling from a fire escape at a fraternity house the Friday before. Haugh was rocking on the outdoor railing of the fire escape at a Kappa Sigma fraternity house and was estimated to have a blood-alcohol level of at least .20 when he fell three stories to the concrete below. He suffered extensive brain damage and remained on life support in critical condition for six days.

Haugh's family, including his two parents, his brother and his stepbrother, received an outpouring of support from the University. They are not interested in pressing charges against the fraternity but said they hoped that the college community would learn from the severe consequences of the event and take action to prevent similar drinking-related accidents in the future.

Haugh was originally from Gresham, Ore., and had recently transferred to Oregon State from Spokane Falls Community College to be an art major. He was not a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, which declined to comment on the incident.

Source: UwireToday.com

Labor Groups Mobilize at Several U.S. Institutions

In keeping with the recent nationwide surge in the activity of labor groups, teaching assistants and research assistants at Columbia University in New York will vote today on whether to join the United Auto Workers. The debate has been the predominant issue on campus, with an intense flow of communication between various student groups and the administration. At the University of Massachusetts at Amherst last week, resident assistants formed an original undergraduate collective bargaining unit. The resident assistants are asking for a higher annual compensation package. Also, graduate employees at the University of Illinois are preparing for their second strike of the year for next month.

Many college administrations are resisting the organizational efforts because even graduate students are seen as students first and employees second, giving them less right to organize. However, since the National Labor Relations Board decided in 2000 that New York University graduate students had the right to organize, the issue has become hotly debated.

Student activists nationwide have been joining the "living wage campaign" for college employees such as dining, security and janitorial staff. As a result of this campaign, Harvard University recently offered its janitors a 16 percent pay increase. The raise, retroactive to last May, brings janitors' wages from $9.75 an hour to $11.35 an hour.

Source: CNN.com

Davidson College Hosts Royal Shakespeare Company

Davidson College, a small liberal arts school near Charlotte, N.C., hosted the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) for two weeks before the company returned to tour in the United Kingdom. The theater company participated in a two-week residency at the College where it performed a novel new version of "The Merchant of Venice" until this Saturday. The performance marked the inauguration of Davidson College's new Duke Family Performance Hall.

The RSC, supported by $1.2 million raised by Davidson, also focused on innovative, interdepartmental activities to include subjects like English, psychology and even chemistry. The company also gave workshops, lectures, masterclasses and seminarsand visited local public schools.

Source: CNN.com