College Clips

By James Patrick Schmidt

Published Feb. 23, 2007

Wisconsin students take on booze plan

University of Wisconsin students are planning to fight for their right to party.

The university is drafting a policy to limit alcohol consumption at university events. The policy consists of 15 points calling for "clear and concise alcohol standards" and "measures of accountability."

Some student leaders plan to speak out against the plan, addressing the nature of the policy, its language and its effects on a larger scale. The students also feel the university needs to work with the student groups.

"They haven't given us an opportunity to weigh in on this (and) have been very secretive," Wisconsin Union Directorate President Shayna Hetzel said.

Associate Dean of Students Elton Crim said administrators made presentations to several student organizations about the proposed policy.

According to Hetzel, the policy will punish violators with consequences including probation, suspension or expulsion, as well as possible punishment for the individual's organization.

— The Badger Herald (University of Wisconsin)

Bill could name official state language in Kansas

Kansas immigrants and Spanish-speaking residents are angry about a new bill they say might make the transition for immigrants to Kansas more difficult.

The bill, which the Kansas House of Representatives passed Tuesday, would make English the official state language and limit the use of foreign languages in state and local governments in Kansas. To become law, the Senate must pass the bill and the governor must sign it.

"It would put people who don't speak English at a disadvantage," Kansas State University senior Sammy Ornelas said.

Ornelas' family immigrated to Kansas from Mexico. He said he agrees immigrants should learn the common language in the United States, but people need to understand it takes time.

"It is important for them to learn English," Ornelas said. "But we need to understand where they came from and the education they have."

— The Kansas State Collegian (Kansas State University)

Cornell professors slam student use of Wikipedia

Lo and behold, teachers don't like Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.

Middlebury College's history department recently banned the use of Wikipedia as a source after multiple students cited incorrect information from the Web site.

"Wikipedia is very seductive," Don Wyatt, chairman of the history department told The Chronicle of Higher Education. "We are all sort of enamored of the convenience and speed of the Web. From the standpoint of access, it's a marvelous thing. But from the standpoint of maintaining quality, it's much less so."

One of the concerns about Wikipedia is that it is openly edited; anyone can update entries. Although legions of so-called "Wikipedians" spend hours of volunteer time maintaining the site, even Jimmy Wales, the site's co-founder, said neither Wikipedia nor any other encyclopedia should be used as an academic source.

A December 2005 study by Nature, a scientific journal, found that Wikipedia had on average four errors per article compared to Encyclopaedia Britannica's three.

— The Cornell Daily Sun (Cornell University)