University System News:
www.chronicle.com
Guns and Learning Don’t Mix
http://chronicle.com/article/GunsLearning-Don-t-Mix/236155?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=cdc1205b36a84d4fa8de122fc89665f5&elq=6542265a77f84fe193dc6c89c2b0e52f&elqaid=8721&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=2943
By Elise Langan
A bill that grants students 21 and older the right to carry concealed weapons at Georgia’s public colleges and universities was ratified last month and awaits Governor Nathan Deal’s signature. He has suggested, among other changes, that faculty members should be allowed to ban weapons from their offices and in disciplinary hearings. Those caveats are sensible, but even if they were to be included, they would hardly mitigate the law’s harmful effects. Meanwhile, Hank Huckaby, chancellor of the University System of Georgia, has decried the bill’s passage in testimony before the state legislature. He was supported by the system’s university presidents and, he said, by campus police officers, who believe that they would be at increased risk if the law goes into effect. While there is an outcry on both sides of the issue, little has been said regarding how this bill is yet another step — if an extreme one — toward undermining the role of faculty members, a process that has been decades in the making. Legislators may think that students, upon turning 21, will begin to act responsibly. Classroom experience proves otherwise. Those of us entrusted with molding these young people have learned that the quest is equal parts discipline and inspiration.
USG Institutions:
www.jacksonville.com
Simple curb along bike path could save more of Jekyll Island’s diamondback terrapins, scientists say
Other measures help, but 100 to 400 terrapins a year still killed by vehicles on island’s causeway
http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2016-04-18/story/simple-curb-along-bike-path-could-save-more-jekyll-islands-diamondback#
By Terry Dickson
JEKYLL ISLAND | A group has come up with a simple but novel way to save diamondback terrapins from getting crushed on the island’s causeway: a curb alongside a bike path. The problem is there is no bike path, and the plan for the first phase goes only from the island to the causeway visitors center and does not hit any of the terrapins’ three favorite crossings farther north. University of Georgia scientist Brian Crawford told the Jekyll Island Authority board Monday that measures implemented over the past few years have reduced the mortality of diamondback terrapins, but the population of the island’s signature turtle continues to decline. “In short, we have a problem,” Crawford said. He and John Maerz have worked with the Jekyll Island Sea Turtle Center, the Historic Preservation and Conservation Committee and other stakeholders for seven years, Crawford said. …Maerz and Crawford, both of the University of Georgia School of Forestry and Natural Resources, said they joined with stakeholders including the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the conservation group 100 Miles and others in studying the issue. The idea for a curb came out of one of their meetings, and “We thought it was a really creative solution,” Maerz said.
Higher Education News:
www.bizjournals.com
SCAD, Comcast to create ‘Campus of the Future’
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/04/18/scad-comcast-to-create-campus-of-the-future.html
Phil W. Hudson
Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Comcast Corp. partnered with the Savannah College of Art and Design to allow students who live on campus watch live TV and On Demand content on their IP-enabled devices, including laptops, tablets and smartphones. The Philadelphia-based global media and technology company (NASDAQ: CMCSA) reported the service — Xfinity On Campus — is included with room and board for students living in all SCAD residences. …The service at SCAD is available now and is powered by Comcast’s cloud-based X1 Entertainment Operating System.
www.diverseeducation.com
University, Colleges Must Seek Help to Better Assist Students
http://diverseeducation.com/article/83425/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elqTrackId=ec9757770932400faa243f9ce45c4e9e&elq=d9f331126a3a4afb83facaa31115f62e&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=771
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
National Harbor, Maryland — As more students with challenging economic circumstances pursue higher education, colleges and universities must abandon the notion that they can go at it alone and still serve their students well. That was one of the key pieces of advice that a university president shared at the Association of Governing Boards’ national conference Monday during a panel on how to balance the need to increase completion rates and maintain quality. The event drew more than 1,100 individuals. “I say this because one of the things that’s hard for higher ed—but we had to learn at Trinity and every institution must learn—is how do you build common cause and partnership with K-12 and other organizations that are building the bridge to college?” said Patricia A. McGuire, president at Trinity Washington University. “We colleges cannot do this alone. We have to be humble enough to say that we need help.”
www.insidehighered.com
A Broader Protest Agenda
Race is still a prominent issue in this semester’s rallies and sit-ins, but students are also pushing issues related to campus employees, foreign policy, state laws on sexual orientation and more — and linking the various topics.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/04/19/student-protests-year-broaden-beyond-issues-race?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=9c11e9fc37-DNU20160419&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-9c11e9fc37-197515277
By Josh Logue
While the protests that swept campuses in the fall semester varied, most focused on issues of race. This semester, students have resumed protests, especially in the past few weeks, with a series of sit-ins and lengthy protests in public spaces.
These appear to share less in the way of a theme, though students involved will tell you they are still connected. Students at Clemson University have been staging a days-long protest — during which several were arrested for trying to occupy a campus building — focusing on the university’s racial climate. A recent protest at the University of Washington also focused on race. But other campus protests have widened their scope. Duke University protesters — who occupied the president’s office for a week — are fighting for employees’ rights and a $15 minimum wage for all campus employees. Students at Appalachian State University, who also staged a sit-in, want to hear officials there denounce North Carolina’s bathroom bill, which bars transgender students from using restrooms and locker rooms that don’t match their assigned gender at birth. Ohio State University protesters are demanding transparency on finances and divestment from several companies with operations in Israel. Some of these protests — while not primarily focused on race — have touched on the issue.