College Clips
Published Jan. 23, 2007
Condom machines not getting any
One of the most heated debates waged on the MU campus last semester was about a proposed plan to place condoms in on-campus residence halls. Although the plan at MU was eventually nixed, other schools across the nation have implemented such a system.
At Northwestern University, condom machines are available to students, but there's a problem: students aren't buying the condoms.
Donald Misch, director of Northwestern University Health Service, said only 100 of the 15,000 condoms purchased by Health Service were sold from vending machines in the last spring quarter.
Misch said the condom issue doesn't come down to morals or ethics. Instead, he said, it comes down to dollar signs.
"Vending machine companies want to maximize their revenue," he said. "If Snickers sells better than condoms, then they have to stock Snickers."
At Northwestern, LifeStyles condoms are available in three residence halls at $1 each or $2.50 for three.
— Daily Northwestern (Northwestern University)
Affirmative action denied admission
Friday, the United States Supreme Court denied a request that would have allowed three Michigan universities to delay implementing Proposal 2, which bans the use of affirmative action by public universities in Michigan.
The appeal, filed on the behalf of the University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Michigan State University by the pro-affirmative action group By Any Means Necessary, would have let the schools finish their admission cycles using affirmative action.
Proposal 2 was initially supposed to take effect on Dec. 23, but the three institutions, wishing to complete their admission cycles under one policy, received a ruling from a district court that allowed the measure to be postponed until July. That was short-lived when the circuit court then overturned the previous ruling saying that the proposal would have to take effect immediately.
By Any Means Necessary claims it will continue to fight the measure.
— Michigan Daily (University of Michigan)
Residence hall problems say cheese
Residence hall deficiencies and slow responses are a sort of inherent risk involved with living on campus at most colleges, but the University of Florida is taking an interesting approach to alleviating student concerns about problems with their residence halls.
The school's Department of Housing and Residence Education has handed out disposable digital cameras to about 50 students living on campus so they can document aesthetic or maintenance issues around where they live.
Housing and Residence Education Director Norb Dunkel said about 1,200 pictures, including broken stairwells and tile cracks, were taken last semester in accordance with the "In Students' Eyes" program.
— Independent Florida Alligator (University of Florida)