College Clips

By Meg Walsh

Published April 10, 2007

Lectures say Facebook ruins relationships

Although Facebook is a great tool for stalking friends or the hottie in class, it might be the cause of death of many college relationships.

On April 2, at the University of Pittsburgh's William Pitt Union, a small group of students sponsored a lecture and discussion session presented by the University Counseling Center that focused on maintaining healthy relationships.

According to members involved in the discussion, Facebook provides too much access to information about others, including friend requests and details, picture-tagging, wall-postings and gifts.

"The worst part of it all is the news feed," one student said. "When your boyfriend writes on his ex-girlfriend's wall, you want to know and you don't want to know at the same time."

The discussion then focused on the need for communication in any healthy relationship. Counselors advised against using technology, especially Facebook, for any important communication.

— The Pitt News (University of Pittsburgh)

Flash mob at Texas gets flashed

At 12:30 p.m. on April 4, an estimated 200 people took to kneeling on the ground, and four people ran across the South Mall at the University of Texas in nothing but their undergarments.

The people kneeling then bowed 13 times while chanting, "I am not worthy." The event went on for about 10 minutes before the crowd dispersed.

Flash mobs are a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place and do something unusual for a brief period of time.

The streakers tried to sabotage the flash mob, said streaker and UT freshman Lauren King.

"They were chanting 'I am not worthy,' and I am worthy of being at this university," King said while searching for her missing clothes.

"I was so happy it was a success," said UT sophomore Grant Rossman, who co-organized the event. "The way I could describe the reaction is that it was a delicious reaction."

— The Daily Texan (University of Texas)

No one injured in Florida trash can explosion

Thursday evenings in a student residential area can sometimes end noisily. Loud bangs, drunken screams and thrown bottles heard early Friday morning can be quite typical. But exploding trash bins are something else.

Morgan Beasley, whose ground-floor apartment is about 10 feet from where the explosion occurred, said she was watching TV when the walls of her living room flashed red.

"I heard a noise, then I saw flames go across my window," she said. "I was scared."

The explosion had enough force to blanket the entire lot with chunks of flaming garbage, including smoldering Steak 'n Shake bags, a singed tampon box that shot about 20 feet and a Zephyrhills Water bottle that eventually melted into the pavement.

Members of the emergency crew who responded to the blast said they suspected a discarded cigarette butt caused the fire, which they guessed ignited an aerosol can in one of the trash bags.

— The Independent Florida Alligator (University of Florida)