Emma Smith '13 has been chosen as a 2012 Harry S. Truman Scholar, which provides juniors who are interested in careers in government and public service with up to $30,000 for future studies as well as career counseling, according a College press release. The scholarship will fund Smith's pursuit of a law degree in human rights, conflict and justice at the University of London. Smith, a double major in history and geography, plans to work in conflict zones such as Sudan and South Sudan and hopes to help shape U.S. and international policies related to human rights abuses. Smith was one of 54 Truman Scholars selected from 587 applicants and is Dartmouth's 23rd Truman Scholar since the award was first given in 1977, according to the release.
The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity recommended the publication of two revised papers examining the H5N1 avian influenza virus on Friday, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. In a controversial decision in December, the advisory board said the papers needed to be censored because they contained information about bird-flu virus mutations that could potentially lead to a pandemic. Currently, the wild form of the virus is only transmissible between birds, but the papers demonstrate that certain mutations in the virus could cause airborne transmission amongst mammals with a predicted human fatality rate of 50 to 60 percent, The Chronicle reported. The advisory board reversed its decision, however, after reviewing revised versions of the papers, which described the significance of the findings to public health and included descriptions of laboratory biosafety and biosecurity, according to The Chronicle.
The United States Senate's pending Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization bill would require colleges to track and report claims of dating violence, domestic violence and stalking on campus, according to Inside Higher Ed. While colleges are currently required to report sexual assault, the bill aims to broaden the crimes that colleges report to include stalking and more general applications of domestic and dating violence. The bill would expand the provisions of the Clery Act, which requires that colleges track and publicly report instances of certain crimes each year, Inside Higher Ed reported. While some argue the bill will prevent domestic violence and rape and ensure that such crimes are prosecuted, others say the bill would place an unnecessary burden on colleges while not necessarily improving safety, according to Inside Higher Ed.
