COLLEGE SHORTS

Author: KATHRYN FLAGG AND DANIEL L. J. PHILLIPS

MIT commits to matching grants

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently announced plans to provide matching money to students who have received federal Pell Grants, which are awarded based on financial need. The plans reflect MIT's concern that, in the face of rising tuition, high school students of modest means will be "priced out" out of a college education.

MIT joins several institutions of higher education, including Harvad, Yale and the University of North Carolina, who have announced in recent years initiatives to make education more accessible to low-income students.

According to Susan Hockfield, president of MIT, 72 percent of MIT's undergraduates receive some form of need-based financial aid. Hockfield said that the institution decided to provide matching funds because Congress has decided not to increase the maximum size of a Pell Grant.

- The New York Times

Recent grad plows down UNC

Mohammed Rez Taheri-azar, a recent graduate from the University of North Carolina, faces nine counts of attempted murder and assault after driving a car through a populated area of the Chapel Hill campus last Friday in order to avenge Muslim deaths around the world. No one was seriously injured by Taheri-azar's vehicle, which traveled through a brick-paved area near the center of campus, adjacent to two libraries, a dining hall and the student center.

Witnesses said that the former student entered the public area slowly before speeding through the crowd, according to the Associated Press. Five students and a visiting scholar were treated at local hospitals before being released, said University officials. The police who responded said that three other injured victims declined treatment.

Taheri-azar is being held on a $5.5 million bond and was scheduled to appear in court on Monday. According to the local police chief, Taheri-azar surrendered to authorities over the phone and is cooperating with investigators. He has also been interrogated by the FBI.

Taheri-azar, 22, is a native of Iran who graduated from the University last December with a psychology and philosophy degree.

- The Associated Press

Supreme Court upholds Solomon

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday to uphold the Solomon Amendment, which requires academic institutions to permit military recruiters with the same access to their campuses as other employers at the risk of losing Department of Defense funding.

The respondents in the case, Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR), argued that allowing the military to recruit on campus violates the compelled speech doctrine of the First Amendment by forcing the host institution to associate with the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy" regarding gays and lesbians.

Chief Justice John Roberts's opinion ruled that campus visits are an effective recruiting tool, and "Students and faculty are free to associate to voice their disapproval of the military's message," he wrote.

- The New York Times