college shorts

Author: Patrick Jobson

Memphis football star gunned down at night

University of Memphis junior Taylor Bradford was shot to death on Sept. 30 on university grounds, prompting the university locked down all residence halls and canceled Monday classes as an "early precaution" in case that there was still an armed perpetrator on campus, University President Shirley Raines said.

Police stated that Bradford, originally from Nashville, Tenn., and a defensive lineman on the football team, was apparently shot around 9:45 p.m. Presumably, he then got into his car and drove for a short distance before crashing into a tree close to the campus residence hall.

Due to the rarity of such cases, Memphis Director of Police Services Larry Godwin said that the attack "may very well have been targeted." Since the shooting, three men have been arrested and charged with attempted aggravated robbery.

Tommy West, the University of Memphis head football coach, said that Bradford was "very popular within our team, very popular on our campus. Very upbeat, very up-tempo personality. Always smiling, always talking. Very well-liked on this campus."
- CNN.com


Wesleyan plans launch of new sex magazine

Students at Wesleyan University plan to launch a new sex magazine named "Unlocked." The magazine aims to be a 60-page biannual publication in which students can submit photographs and written pieces related to sex.

"I don't know if Wesleyan needs a sex magazine, but I think Wesleyan wants one," Ben Kuller '10, one of the two editors-in-chief and co-founder of Wesleyan's upcoming sex magazine, said in an interview with The Wesleyan Argus.

Both creators of "Unlocked," Kuller and Yannick Bindert '10, affirm that they are attempting to create a publication that conveys progressive and positive ideas about sex, including a possible section on sexual health.

If they receive sufficient participation from students and funding from the Wesleyan Student Assembly, they expect to publish the first issue of "Unlocked" this semester.
- The Wesleyan Argus


Senate endowment plan brings Harvard ire

The U.S. Senate is contemplating ways of regulating universities' endowments, possibly by keeping tuition steady and taking funds from current endowments. One of the main targets of this proposal is Harvard University, with its $35 billion endowment and a tuition rise of 3.9 percent this academic year. Harvard claims that Congress should not control the university's funds and how they are spent.

"The most highly endowed colleges are in fact the ones doing the most to support affordability among the individuals that go there," said senior director of Federal and State Relations for Harvard Kevin Casey in an interview with The Harvard Crimson. "Harvard, Yale, and Princeton have been using significant methods to bring down tuition. They already are the most generous."

Advocates of regulating universities' endowments argue that the students are not seeing the benefits of the universities' rising wealth. Jane G. Gravelle, an economic policy specialist for the Congressional Research Service, said in a report that the "small additions from the endowment distribution could mitigate or eliminate tuition growth and substantially expand student aid."

According to the College Board, the average tuition for four-year colleges in America has risen 35 percent since 2002.
- The Harvard Crimson