This year's first Student Assembly meeting kicked off with the election of James Lee '13, Don Casler '14 and Catherine Treyz '13 as treasurer, secretary and speaker, respectively. Assembly members also spoke about how they plan to work intimately with the College to draft short-, medium- and long-term agendas and attract more first-year students to get involved with these projects. Academic Affairs co-leader Joseph Tanenbaum '13 also suggested that his organization "get faculty and staff on the committee [to work together] to rewrite the [Organizations, Regulations, and Courses book]." The Assembly, which has a $75,000 budget for the year, has started to hold meetings in Collis 101, moving from a classroom in the basement of Carson Hall that Student Body President Eric Tanner '11 said was "too secretive and creepy."
Although community colleges are often stigmatized, a majority of Americans may actually view them as an equal or better alternative to four-year colleges and universities, according to the Associated Press. A poll by the AP and Stanford University found that Americans rate community colleges' educational value just as positively as that of four-year institutions. Larry Wyse, who was interviewed for the poll, told the AP that community colleges are more accessible in terms of cost and admissions and also offer students many job opportunities in skilled labor and technical service markets. The study was released this week as President Obama and education leaders prepare for a summit in Washington D.C. Obama will discuss his goal of increasing the falling percentages of American college graduates, as well as call attention to the frequently overlooked community colleges, the AP reported.
University of Manchester professors Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov have been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in physics, according to a Tuesday press release from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Geim and Novoselov are credited with discovering graphene, a completely new type of carbon, that may potentially revolutionize computers, cars, airplanes, satellites and more because of its transparent, thin, yet tough qualities. Geim and Novoselov carefully extracted graphene from ordinary graphite and managed to isolate the material into a flake only one-atom thick using regular adhesive tape. This material can be mixed into plastic, making it both heat resistant and able to conduct electricity. According to the release, this find makes it possible to study new and unique two-dimensional materials. Geim and Novoselov will share approximately $1.5 million as winners of the prize.
