The New York Times Editorial Board tackles the issue of textbook costs on its blog.
Dan Belzer, a student at Duke University, writes the reasons why he will not be giving the "Senior Gift" which his university is asking for in the *Duke Chronicle. *The "graduation gift" is becoming a more common fundraiser at institutions of higher learning. Personally, I’m not giving money to a university which I just gave $20,000 plus to get an education. Talk to me in ten years when I have money. The best part of the column, a good sense of humour.
(Aside, the Duke Chronicle runs a graduation issue in which they are selling ads to parents looking to congratulate their children. Seems to be an interesting way of raising funds.)
The Duke Chronicle also features a story about the growing business of student affairs consultants/firms in the U.S.
The Independent across the pond printed many education articles this week. They report that has the cost of education in the UK increases, so do the expectations of students. This is resulting in increased numbers of complaints filed by students; some of which are valid, others are just people whining about marks. Interestingly, mature students account for the biggest rise in complaints. *The Independent *editorial states that the current revolution in British universities should be welcomed.
For those of you who are interested in student politics, The Independent updates the attempts to reform the UK National Union of Students. The paper also writes "How Tony Blair made politics degrees glamorous again."
OLDER READS
I’ve been attending a couple of conferences recently (a few of which I am still working on my stories about) and have fallen behind on the blogging. Here are a few of the stories I have read recently.
New UMSU executive director’s name was listed on leaked CFS-BC document – *The Manitoban. *The leaked CFS-BC document provided a list of people to be hired at CFS locals and provincial branches. One of the positions was the executive director of the University of Manitoba Students’ Union. The document stated that a Cathy “Dawd” (sic) would be hired for the position. Dowd served as vice-president of UMSU with president Amanda Aziz from 2004-06. Dowd, whose name was Cathy Van De Kerckhove at the time of her vice-presidency, is qualified for the position. I will go so far as to state I cannot think of anyone more qualified for the position. The problem is not that she was hired, it is the appearance of an unfair process hiring her. The bigger problem for the CFS is how the CFS-BC document continues to be an accurate predictor of events.
Senate suggests earlier bankruptcy, debt relief – The Western Gazette
A good follow-up to thisThe Daily Gleaner article last week discussing proposed changes to student bankruptcy laws proposed by Senator Yoine Goldstein.
It takes a sit-in to make U of T listen – opinion piece by leaders of the student occupation at UToronto published in The Varsity.
Reaction to NUS Conference 2008 – a student politician’s blog post following the UK National Union of Students’ Conference. We would never seen this in Canada. Slight hint for student lobbying organizations, transparency gives credibility.
Nebraska Governor’s Office Penalizes Student Newspaper for Article It Didn’t Like – The Chronicle of Higher Education. Free advice for politicians, in today’s Internet age, the blacklisting of student journalists for being journalists always will backfire.