President Obama’s Right: Americans Might Be Growing Numb to Mass Shootings. Here’s Why. The Washington Post President Obama’s Right: Americans Might Be Growing Numb to Mass Shootings. Here’s Why. Dan Romer of the Annenberg Public Policy Center comments on the desensitization of Americans when hearing about mass shootings.
Escalating Demands Inside Higher Ed Escalating Demands When black students at the University of Missouri at Columbia issued a list of demands in October, eight items were listed. The demands were far-reaching, including the ouster of the university system president (a protest goal that was achieved), the hiring of more black faculty members and significant expansion of efforts to promote an inclusive campus. When students at Amherst College staged a sit-in in November, they had 11 demands.
Disease: Closing the Door on HIV Nature Disease: Closing the Door on HIV Jim Riley, Carl June and Pablo Tebas of the Perelman School of Medicine are mentioned for their HIV research.
Graduation Rates Rise, for Some Inside Higher Ed Graduation Rates Rise, for Some Graduation rates have been steadily improving at universities for about a decade now. But a report released today by the Education Trust shows that at some public institutions, the gap in graduation rates between minority students and white students is actually growing. The Education Trust is an advocacy group for low-income and minority students. At 26 institutions, the researchers found, the completion rate increased more for minority students than for white students from 2003 to 2013, resulting in a narrowing of the racial gap.
Proposal to Limit Student Housing in Rittenhouse Amended PlanPhilly.com Proposal to Limit Student Housing in Rittenhouse Amended A proposal to ban housing for students in the neighborhood surrounding Rittenhouse Square was amended by a City Council committee on Wednesday so that it will now pertain to just the single block it originated from. Instead of prohibiting housing for students, it now simply prohibits landlords from specifically marketing apartments to students on the 2000 block of Rittenhouse Square Street. The bill was introduced in September on behalf of Council President Darrell Clarke.
Mass Incarceration Discussed at Penn Philadelphia Tribune Mass Incarceration Discussed at Penn Members of Black Men at Penn of the School of Social Policy & Practice are highlighted for hosting a lecture on “Ending the Age of Mass Incarceration.”
Trigger Warning Skepticism Inside Higher Ed Trigger Warning Skepticism Much of the debate thus far over trigger warnings -- the flagging of specific course content that might offend or otherwise upset students -- has centered on anecdotes, some of them obviously controversial. At Oberlin College, for example, proposed trigger warning guidelines said that Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart might merit a trigger warning. The idea upset many professors who said labeling it as excessively violent could undermine the experience of reading the novel.
Audio: A Bad Night’s Sleep Might Do More Harm Than You Think “All Things Considered,” National Public Radio Audio: A Bad Night’s Sleep Might Do More Harm Than You Think Heather Schofield of the Perelman School of Medicine comments on the effects of chronic sleep deprivation.
Growing Push to Expose More Students to Computer Science Associated Press Growing Push to Expose More Students to Computer Science Yasmin Kafai of the Graduate School of Education comments on the importance of integrating computer science into schools.
Penn Linguist Researching Philly ‘Accent’ in American Sign Language PhillyVoice Penn Linguist Researching Philly ‘Accent’ in American Sign Language Jami Fisher and Meredith Tamminga of the School of Arts & Sciences are featured for researching a unique dialect of American Sign Language.