Daily Debriefing
Newsweek ranked Dartmouth first among the 25 "most desirable rural schools" and eighth overall in the magazine's 2010 College Rankings. The rankings were based on criteria including student-faculty ratio, student population and U.S. News and World Report rankings for schools most committed to teaching. Dartmouth ranks 13th on Newsweek's "brainiacs" list, 13th on schools "stocked with jocks" and 11th out of the "best schools for power brokers." The College is also ranked the 24th most diverse school.
A report released by the Obama administration on Wednesday revealed that its "American Opportunity Tax Credit" has almost doubled the amount of money given to taxpayers through education tax credits, according to Inside Higher Ed. The new tax credit, which was created as part of last year's economic recovery package, gave funds to over 12 million college students and their families. The average credit amounted to $1,700, about 75 percent more than the non-refundable Hope Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit, which preceded the creation of Obama's initiative.
A Quinnipiac University poll found that 76 percent of Connecticut voters supported the death penalty for Steven Hayes, who killed the wife and two daughters of William Petit '78 during a home invasion in 2007. Petit's daughter, Hayley, was to matriculate with the Class of 2011. Sixty-five percent of poll respondents expressed support for the death penalty, an increase of 6 percent from poll results in 2005. According to the poll, support for the death penalty in Connecticut has risen since Hayes and his accomplice Joshua Komisarjevsky committed their crimes. Death penalty proceedings for Hayes will begin Oct. 18. Although the death penalty issue may play a role in the upcoming Connecticut gubernatorial elections, only 6 percent of poll respondents said they would vote based solely on a candidate's position on the death penalty, the poll found.
