The University of Pennsylvania's Undergraduate Assembly is under investigation for allegations that the organization hazed its new members, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian. The assembly turned itself into Penn's Office of Student Conduct two weeks ago, in response to a guest column in The Daily Pennsylvanian written by assembly associate member Mo Shahin, a member of Penn's Class of 2012. The column accused the assembly of breaking hazing policies, quoting emails sent by executive board members including Undergraduate Assembly President Tyler Ernst admitting to initiation rituals such as heavy drinking. The column also called on members involved in these hazing incidents to step down from the assembly's alcohol policy review board, which is set to present its proposed changes to campus alcohol policy at the end of the month, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported.
Harvard University's budget deficit reached $130 million by the end of the 2011 fiscal year an increase from the $900,000 deficit in 2010 largely due to a 4.5-percent spending increase, The Harvard Crimson reported Friday. Harvard plans to both cut costs and increase revenue by combining the information technology systems that Harvard uses, changing its current library system and improving the university's relationships with vendors. The administration, which placed a freeze on salaries in 2008, will pursue ways to cut personnel expenses, which account for the largest portion of the budget, according to The Crimson. Harvard is also seeking to expand on its 1-percent revenue increase in fiscal year 2011, The Crimson reported.
The death rate of college students is much lower than the death rate for people of the same age who are not attending college, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia. The study, which was published Nov. 2 by the American Public Health Association, collected data on a voluntary basis from 1,154 public and private four-year colleges and universities, asking administrators at the institutions to supply the number of student deaths in the 2009-2010 academic year as well as their causes, Inside Higher Ed reported Monday. The results showed lower rates of student death by suicide, homicide and alcohol use, although some researchers disputed the study's methodology based on the lack of standardization in research methods. Lead researcher James Turner, executive director of the student health center at the University of Virginia, said the findings are accurate but more research is needed, according to Inside Higher Ed. To strengthen the findings and facilitate further information gathering, Turner is using a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a network of universities that will report data on student deaths, Inside Higher Ed reported.
