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The End of the Science Lab?

by College Fix Staff on May 23, 2013

Lab science could be going the way of the dinosaur in the Cal State University system, which is looking at cutting in-person lab experiences for non-science majors, and replacing those lab sessions with online “virtual labs”:

The California State University System may bet big on virtual labs starting this fall, a sign of how heavily some policymakers are counting on technology to solve funding problems.

The effort could end in-the-flesh lab experimentation for many Cal State students who are not biology majors.

The proposal is part of a multipronged plan from the Cal State chancellor’s office to help students unable to find a path through the Cal State system. Officials are hoping to use a one-time infusion of $17.2 million for education technology to break the so-called course bottleneck that prevents students from advancing, prompts some to drop out and consumes state resources.

Officials have identified 22 bottleneck courses. Six of them are science classes, including biology courses where campuses struggle to find lab space and time for students. So, Cal State wonders: Can virtual lab software solve the problem?

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State Declares Meningitis Outbreak at Princeton University

by College Fix Staff on May 23, 2013

After four Princeton University students have come down with meningitis since late March, state health department officials are now calling it an outbreak.

A 20-year-old male student was hospitalized Monday for symptoms of bacterial meningitis, coming on the heels of two students falling sick in late March and mid-April, as well as a fourth hospitalized earlier this month with symptoms of the disease, The Daily Princetonian reported, adding “the state Department of Health has now designated the cases as an outbreak.”

Meningitis is a viral or bacterial infection and it can be deadly.

“The disease is transmitted through air droplets and direct contact with infected persons (e.g. coughing, kissing),” states the National Meningitis Association website.

Three of the four students have recovered,  and campus officials have recently sent reminders and alerts to students about the situation and how to stay healthy, The Daily Princetonian reported.

Nevertheless, concerns abound. According to Princeton Patch.com:

Despite collaboration between the state Department of Health, local officials, Princeton University Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there’s some concern on the Princeton Board of Health about whether enough is being done.

Board Member Dr. Laura Kahn said there’s never been a case of bacterial meningitis during her board tenure.

“It’s now 2013 and we’ve got four cases in just two months,” Kahn said. “I think it’s statistically unlikely it’s that random.”

Now she, and at least two fellow board members, are asking to see the raw data on the outbreak, including the epidemiological information about each case and the questions students were asked during the health investigation.

There is some concern because of an outbreak at Ohio State University that went on for two years, board members said.

Read more.

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First Lady: Black Students Need More ‘Hunger to Learn’

by Nathan Harden - Fix Editor on May 22, 2013

Breitbart News reports on recent remarks First Lady Michelle Obama’s commencement address remarks at historically-black Bowie State University.

The first lady said education was a lifeline to the first students at the nearly 150-year-old school. Its founding “was in many ways an act of defiance, an elegant rebuttal to the idea that black people couldn’t or shouldn’t be educated,” she said. “Back then, people were hungry to learn.”

But Obama said too much of the black community has lost that desire. One in 3 African-Americans are dropping out of high school, she said, and only 1 in 5 between the ages of 25 and 29 has a bachelor’s degree. She also cited statistics that show college graduates make more money and live longer than high school dropouts.

Earlier in the week, the President offended some in the black community when he gave a speech on personal responsibility, which some detractors said they found demeaning.

As The College Fix reported:

“[Trevor] Coleman, a former speechwriter for former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, said … he was disappointed that Obama almost always defaults to the clean-up-your-act message when talking to predominantly black audiences.”

Despite the similar themes of the President’s and the First Lady’s speeches, so far, there have been no public complaints from prominent African-American commentators in response to the First Lady’s remarks.

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(Image by Joyce N. Boghosian / WMC)

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Democrats Propose Student Loan Bailouts

by Nathan Harden - Fix Editor on May 22, 2013

Former College Fix assistant editor Robby Soave writes today for The Daily Caller:

Following closely on the heels of Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s recent proposal to subsidize student loans through the Federal Reserve, another senator is taking aim at student loan debt with a bill that would give a borrowers a huge break but leave taxpayers scrambling to make up the difference.

New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand introduced a bill this week that requires the Secretary of Education to offer borrowers the chance to refinance their loans at a flat interest rate of 4 percent. This would lower the debt obligations of 9 out of 10 borrowers, according to The Huffington Post.

“At a time when corporations, homeowners and even local governments are refinancing at historically low interest rates and saving millions of dollars, students and families who take out loans to pay for college are getting left behind,” said Gillibrand in a statement. “Ensuring that our graduates are not saddled with unmanageable debt by keeping interest rates low is just common sense.”

Such a break for students and graduates would come at a tremendous cost to taxpayers, however, since the current, higher interest rates generate a massive profit for the government. If rates are left unchanged, the Department of Education will make $51 billion off of student loans in the coming year.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/22/senate-democrats-propose-student-loan-bailouts/#ixzz2U2rnU63R

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1 in 6 California Law Grads Can’t Find a Job

by Nathan Harden - Fix Editor on May 22, 2013

The Sacramento Bee reports:

The job market for California law school graduates remains brutal, even as law school tuition rises to new heights.

About 16 percent of 2012 graduates from California law schools were unemployed and looking for work nine months after graduation, according to new data from the American Bar Association.

Many others were underemployed. Only half of law school graduates held full-time jobs requiring a law degree, the data show.

Tuition at the state’s law schools ranges from $38,000 to $50,000 a year.

Read more here.

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(Image by: refractedmoments / flickr)

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Sanity Prevails: Charges Dropped in Teen ‘Science Experiment’ Bomb Case

by College Fix Staff on May 21, 2013

Well, this is a relief. Earlier this month, The College Fix reported on the case of a Florida student who was facing felony charges for what school officials described as a science experiment gone bad.

On 7 a.m. on Monday, the 16 year-old mixed some common household chemicals in a small 8 oz water bottle on the grounds of Bartow High School in Bartow, Florida. The reaction caused a small explosion that caused the top to pop up and produced some smoke. No one was hurt and no damage was caused…

“She made a bad choice. Honestly, I don’t think she meant to ever hurt anyone,” principal Ron Pritchard told the station. “She wanted to see what would happen [when the chemicals mixed] and was shocked by what it did. Her mother is shocked, too.”

Today, we are happy to report that sanity, in this case, seems to have prevailed.

Even her school principal admitted that it merely sounded like a firecracker.

However, she found herself expelled from school and arrested for felonious possession/discharge of a dangerous weapon.

It emerged that the same D.A who charged her had, two days previously, decided not to charge a 13-year-old who shot dead his 10-year-old brother.

However, now there is some good news. Or, at least, sane news. The criminal charges have been dropped. She will not have to live her life as a felon.

So the same D.A. who charged this girl, who had a perfect behavioral record prior to the incident, with a felony, didn’t charge another kid for shooting someone but still had to charge this girl? Bizarre!

Well, we’re glad the case seems to have come to a happy ending and everyone can go on with their lives!

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