Correction Appended
Legislation allowing students to carry a concealed weapon on college campuses has been introduced in Arizona, Texas, Florida, Nebraska, New Mexico and Oklahoma, according to Inside Higher Ed. An additional 20 states previously proposed similar legislation in response to the 2007 shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Andy Pelosi, the director of the Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus, said in an interview with Inside Higher Ed. Currently, only 25 colleges permit students to carry concealed weapons. Although all previous bills failed to pass, Pelosi said he expects to see a higher number of similar bills proposed this year. Incidents such as the accidental death of Florida State University student Ashley Cowie raise concern among opponents of the legislation, Inside Higher Ed reported. Cowie was shot and killed at a fraternity party when an intoxicated student displaying his rifle accidently discharged it, according to Inside Higher Ed.
One hundred Iraqi academics, various education-ministry officials and 22 university presidents analyzed the current and future state of higher education in their country last week at the University of York, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Coordinated by the Institute of International Education, the conference, called "Reconstruction of Higher Education in Post-Conflict Iraq," brought many academics who relocated out of the country to discuss the present state of the Iraqi education system. Although Iraq's universities were once famous for their quality of education, many attendees criticized the lack of coordination and vision of the current institutions, which some viewed as a result of the 2003 American invasion. Many argued that Saddam Hussein's government spent more money on higher education compared to the mere 1.2 percent allocated in the current budget, according to The Chronicle. The conference was established to convince academics to return to Iraq to help revitalize the academic situation, although many of the conference's attendees said they fear attacks or abductions upon their return, according to The Chronicle.
Instead of undergoing a costly process to upgrade its steam plant, the Board of Trustees of Pennsylvania State University plans to switch the campus's coal plant to natural gas, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. While both options would be similar in cost, Penn State officials feared that coal and its emissions would be burdened by even stricter government regulations in the near future. Cornell University, Duke University and other major institutions have also followed President Barack Obama's initiative to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and have switched to natural gas, according to The Chronicle.
