College shorts

Guns may be allowed in Texas Universities

Texas state legislators have drafted a bill to allow licensed handgun owners to carry their guns on university campuses. Fourteen state senators joined the bill’s author, Republican state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, in support of students’ ability to be able to bear arms on campus. The bill stipulates that guns must be concealed, and in accordance with current Texas state law, no student under 21 can carry a gun. Texas’ Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a national organization established after the Virginia Tech shooting, supports the bill.

Many people — even students who are generally in favor of gun rights — are opposed to the bill for fear of greater violence on campus. Similar bills have failed in 23 states, but Wentworth is confident that it will pass both the Senate and the House of Representatives this year.

— UWIRE

Harvard advocates career specific training

A recent Harvard Graduate School of Education study found that college graduates lack essential vocational training. The study partially based its conclusions on the finding that 30 percent of people with vocational licenses or certificates were earning more than those with bachelor’s degrees.

Individuals who pursued vocational training instead of a more traditional liberal education may be getting the jobs that college graduates want, the study reported, resulting in an increasing number of college dropouts. Furthermore, practical technological knowledge is also key to success. Instead of focusing merely on traditional courses, the study suggests that colleges offer alternatives paths to success through vocational and career education in order to keep students enrolled and graduating with promising career opportunities.



— UWIRE

UPenn requires sexual assault training

A new Penn. law requires all universities to provide sexual assault education to incoming freshman. The bill, passed in Nov. 2010, will require all freshman orientations in Fall 201l include information about preventing sexual assault. The training, which is specifically geared towards freshmen as they are the group most likely to experience sexual assault, will explain what sexual assault is and what to do if it happens. Students will also learn that sexual assault and alcohol abuse often go together. Students have voiced positive opinions regarding this new form of education.

— UWIRE