University of Rochester economics professor Steven Landsburg's blog post, which posed a rhetorical question of whether rape should be illegal if the victim is unconscious and does not suffer any physical harm, has drawn fiery criticism from Rochester students and alumni, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. In the post, Landsburg wrote, "As long as I'm safely unconscious and therefore shielded from the causes of an assault, why shouldn't the rest of the world (or more specifically my attackers) be allowed to reap the benefits?" Daniel Nelson, a doctoral student in the English department, drafted a petition calling for the university to censor Landsburg's comments. The petition gathered roughly 600 signatures as of April 4, The Chronicle reported. Landsburg wrote a note on his blog Wednesday that he merely intended to promote discussion on "psychic harm" and its role in policy making.
Columbia University humanities professors are still debating whether to make course evaluations public after the university Senate passed a resolution encouraging, but not requiring, open course evaluations last year, the Columbia Spectator reported. Most of Columbia's science departments support the idea of open course evaluations and have initiated a pilot program that allows assessments to be released to the public at the end of this term. While some believe that open course assessments give incentive for professors to inflate grades, others do not think that allowing public access to the assessments will change teaching behavior, the Spectator reported. The question of whether to make course evaluations at Dartmouth public has been posed on Palaeopitus' Google Moderator forum, through which students can submit questions to Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson.
Cornell University president David Skorton said at a Student Assembly meeting Thursday that the university does not intend to divest from the fossil fuel industry in the near future, citing concerns of potential financial risk and a negative impact on the university's endowment, The Cornell Daily Sun reported. Over 20 student organizations have written letters to Skorton encouraging the university to divest. A decrease in the university's endowment could force budget cuts and increase tuition in order to compensate for lost revenue. Cornell's Student Assembly passed a resolution in February, which asked the university to divest from the fossil fuel industry by 2020 and reinvest 30 percent of the divested funds back into sustainable companies.
