COLLEGE SHORTS

Author: Jason F. Siegel

Hamilton's water remains polluted

At Hamilton College, recent tests show that both the quarterly and annual levels of a disinfectant byproduct believed to contribute to pregnancy complications and cancer are still above the limit set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The level of these chemicals, known as THMs, varies with the season, and reaches its nadir in late March. Their unusually high presence is due to Hamilton's location at the end of a water pipeline, which means the water is exposed to the chemicals widely used in the region. Exacerbating the problem is the fact that Hamilton has its own water pipeline and storage system in which the water sits for an even longer time, becoming especially bad during student breaks when there is little movement.

Officials were encouraged by results of unofficial tests that showed that after flushing out the system in early January, the chemical levels dropped to about half the maximum allowance. They had attributed higher than normal results to unusually high temperatures in July and August.

- The Hamilton Spectator



UCLA alumnus bribes Bruins

Andrew Jones, a conservative alumnus of UCLA, rescinded his offer to pay students who would tape the lectures of any of 30 professors and hand the recordings to him along with lecture notes, after being informed that the students would be in direct violation of school policy. The practice would also be an infraction of California state eavesdropping laws.

Jones continues to solicit the tapes without any offer of payment, which according to university officials, is still a violation of the policies.

Jones founded the Bruin Alumni Association to target exclusively liberal professors whose opinions he found to be too far to the left. Since the announcement of his plan, at least three members of the Association's board have resigned.

- The New York Times



Blacks in higher education show uneven progress

According to a recent report published by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, black students have made steady gains in college and graduate enrollment, while losing ground in law and medical schools. Little change was seen in the number of black faculty across the nation.

The report, which touts itself as a 10-year report card, shows statistics from 1995, 2000 and 2005 in categories such as "Percentage of 18- to 24- Year Old Blacks Enrolled in College" and "Total Enrollments of Blacks in Graduate School." The most significant gains were in enrollments across the nation, as the number of black people registered in institutions of higher education climbed in nearly all nationwide categories.

Despite higher enrollment in professional schools, there has been a significant drop in enrollment in law and medical schools. This could be due to a higher number of black students in business school, as a greater percentage of black people become entrepreneurs in the United States.

-Journal of Blacks in Higher Education