College Clips

By Jewels Phraner

Published Feb. 6, 2007

Ball State unsettled about erotic film

Controversy surrounding a recently released vampire pornographic film is putting Ball State University in the spotlight.

Ball State allowed filmmaker Christopher Gregory to shoot a horror movie on campus. Provost Terry King said the university was misled about the erotic nature of the movie.

"It was portrayed as a horror film," he said. "It was described as a gothic vampire film. Clearly, no one on Ball State's faculty and staff would ever condone anything with questionable content."

Gregory said he never misled Ball State about the content, and the university should have understood he was making an edgy, erotic horror film.

"As a filmmaker, when I make a movie, I do this with the full intent of being creative and keeping content of a story line private because I think if you give too much away, you can run into problems with individuals down the road who may not like what I did," he said.

— The Daily News (Ball State University)

Women taking interest in cheesemaking

More women are making their way into the Wisconsin cheese industry, according to Jeanne Carpenter, spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Within the last three years, six women have pursued their cheesemaker's license, compared to only 38 within the past 60 years.

Additionally, University of Wisconsin-Madison offers courses aimed toward encouraging this trend.

"Wisconsin is the only state in the nation that has such an intensive cheesemaking class," said Heather Porter-Engwall, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board spokeswoman.

Due in part to the resurgence of artisan cheeses, cheesemakers are able to command a premium profit for their product, a major source of the growing interest.

— The Daily Cardinal (University of Wisconsin)

Rodents make their home on Columbia campus

Many students at Columbia University claim they have noticed a marked increase in the rodent population on campus this year compared to previous years.

Columbia College Student Council President Seth Flaxman, a senior, sent an e-mail to Senior Executive Vice President Robert Kasdin asking the administration to address the problem.

"There is a rat problem on campus, and I'm not talking about the graduate students," he wrote. "Students are telling me there are more rats on campus at night than any of us have ever seen before. I don't know what's causing this ratification, but I'm hoping you can talk to facilities and lead us in our fight against the rat invaders."

Flaxman said he felt that the problem was more severe last semester and that the infestation seemed better recently.

"I haven't seen any rats this semester at all," he said.

In his e-mail, he added: "Mission accomplished."

— The Columbia Daily Spectator (Columbia University)