college shorts

Author: Brian Fung

Gunman kills two at LTC before herself

Three female students at Louisiana Technical College were fatally shot on Feb. 8 when, according to police, one of the three entered a crowded classroom and shot two in their desks before turning the weapon on herself.

The victims' identities have yet to be released. Baton Rouge police officers say they are still busy interviewing witnesses.

According to College officials, a recently installed intercom system helped the institution respond to the threat, which came less than two months after a double-homicide at Louisiana State University, and less than a year after the deadly Apr. 16 shootings at Virginia Tech.
- The Daily Reveille


Students practicing play with toy gun arrested

Officers from Ball State University's Department of Public Safety arrested two students on Feb. 10 who were rehearsing for an upcoming play involving a toy gun. Both students have since been released on $1,000 bail, according to BSU's Daily News.

Administrators were alerted to the false threat when one student claimed that someone was wielding a firearm at the University's Bracken Library. Six Public Safety officers responded to a call for assistance.

"They saw one of the students pointing what appeared to be a gun at a student who was down on the ground," said Arthur Hafner, dean of University Libraries. "The sergeant yelled 'Drop the weapon,' which the student immediately did. It turns out the gun was a toy gun, but it looked real. The students said they were in a theatre department and they were rehearsing a play."
- The Daily News


Candidate for Colorado top job hurt by past sins

Bruce Benson, candidate for the presidency at Colorado University, faces an inquiry from students regarding his past criminal record. At issue are a DUI charge, as well as an accusation of impropriety by his ex-wife.

According to an affadavit uncovered by The New York Times during Benson's campaign for Colorado governor in 1994, Benson "harassed, taunted and threatened" his wife and engaged in an affair two years before he sought a divorce.

Benson also told his son that he planned to kill his ex-wife, according to the divorce records. Since then, he has apologized for his remarks.
- The Campus Press


William & Mary head resigns amid drama

President of the College of William and Mary Gene Nichol announced on Feb. 12 that has stepped down from his position after the institution's Board of Visitors informed him that his contract will not be renewed in July.

Nichol had been dogged by intense criticism since October 2006 because of a controversial decision to remove a cross from the nation's oldest college chapel in an effort to make non-Christians feel more comfortable at the school.

"We are charged, as state actors, to respect and accommodate all religions, and to endorse none," wrote Nichol in a campus-wide e-mail. "The decision did no more," he said.

Students and faculty rallied in Nichol's support, arguing that the former president was being forced out of his position. Still, the board claimed in a statement that its decision regarding Nichol's contract was not made in response to "ideology or any single public controversy."
- Associated Press