College Shorts

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Suspicious package found at UPenn

Students evacuated the Upper Quad of the University of Pennsylvania following the discovery of a suspicious package on Sept. 21.

Police received word on an unattended package around 7 p.m. and arrived at the scene to investigate. Students were immediately evacuated from the Quad and residents of a nearby house left half an hour later. Police called in bomb-sniffing dogs to investigate the package amid dozens of students who crowded the area to watch.

Students returned to the area by around 8:20 p.m. and no injures occurred. Students complained about the confusion and lack of information during the situation. Others said the police told them the security came from a fire drill.

Campus security officers issued a report a day after the incident reminding students to remain vigilant towards threats that might emerge while on campus. Students were told to not leave cell phones and other electronic devices unattended at any time on public ground or on the campus.

- The Daily Pennsylvanian


Amherst mentors college applicants

Amherst College announced plans to launch a telecommunications program that will help high-achieving high school seniors receive advice on applying to college.

This year the college began the program with five current college students who will mentor 20 high school seniors on the final stages of the application process including how to apply for financial aid and how to select schools.

Students selected for mentoring were selected by Questbridge, a program that aims to give support for higher education to students who have no guides in the application process due to their backgrounds. The selected students have a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, have numerous talents, but do not have the financial resources to receive help in their college application process.

Mentors will not only offer support with parts of the application process such as completing forms for financial aid but will also give more practical advice about college life at the different campuses, and will provide the students with a friend throughout the process.

- The Amherst Student


Kalamazoo to fund tuition for students

Every public school graduate in Kalamazoo, Mich. will now have the opportunity to go to college thanks to a group of anonymous philanthropists. Last November, donors announced the creation of the Kalamazoo Promise, a fund that will pay 65 to 100 percent of the tuition for Kalamazoo children to attend a Michigan state college or university.

The fund, which is projected to cost $12 million a year once four classes of eligible students are attending college, has revitalized the once-thriving industrial city. Already Kalamazoo has seen a boom in housing sales as families all over the country are drawn in by the scholarships. This year alone the school district projects 450 new students enrolled in their public schools while area construction companies have seen a tremendous increase in building contracts in only a couple of months.

Kalamazoo officials have already fielded calls from other cities interested in setting up their own college funds, including cities in Michigan, Ohio, Iowa and Pennsylvania, but for now the city's promise remains unique.

- abcnews.com