College Clips

By Meg Walsh and Steve Oslica

Published April 17, 2007

Oprah's dress raises money for university library

Poor college students can understand the importance of resale clothing. The gently used garments can be life-saving when students need something new for not a lot of money. At Bowling Green State University, a used little black dress raised the school $7,500.

At the 40th anniversary of Bowling Green's William T. Jerome Library, Oprah Winfrey's dress was auctioned off to highest bidder. All of the money raised by the dress will go to the library.

"People know the university needs money for scholarships and athletics, but we also rely on the generosity of the community," said Kelly Broughton, co-interim dean of University Libraries, after the dress was auctioned off.

About 200 people came to celebrate the library's anniversary and bid on items to help raise money for the library's future.

— The BG News

(Bowling Green State University)

Utah students get chance to display secrets on postcards

"My butt sweats when I get nervous."

This is one of the confessions found in My Secret, one of the books in the PostSecret series, which publishes anonymous secrets sent in by thousands of people from all over the world. Secrets also are posted on a Web site that is updated every Sunday.

The University of Utah's Union Programming Council has adapted the idea originally instated by Frank Warren, a small business owner in Maryland.

The Union Post-Secret is giving students the chance to confess a secret on postcards, which are available at UPC offices. The postcards will then be featured in a display somewhere in the Union.

"The postcards are blank so you can really write anything," said Jon Hayes, UPC arts and special events director. "And we can reprint as many postcards as needed, so there's no limit on how many secrets you can confess."

Hayes said the program is something everyone can take advantage of.

"Everyone has a secret," Hayes said. "This is just a cool, fun, creative, artistic way to share it."

— The Daily Utah Chronicle

(University of Utah)

More women apply to Brown

In what could be considered good news to both men and women, Brown University's female to male ratio has increased for the next admitted class. The admitted class of 2011 was 53 percent female while the current undergraduate population is 52 percent female. Women comprised an even greater proportion of the applicant pool with 59 percent of applicants being female.

The higher percentage of women at Brown mirrors a broader national trend. In 1970, women made up 42 percent of the U.S. undergraduate population, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That figure rose to 57 percent as of July 2006, according to a report by the American Council on Education.

"If the trend continues, I think Brown needs to think about what it's doing that isn't attracting men," Brown sophomore Chantal Tape said.

— The Brown Daily Herald

(Brown University)