Aiming to ease student stress levels, Wake Forest University transformed its campus quad as part of a larger initiative to focus on the "whole student" and enhance campus well-being, Inside Higher Ed reported. The university hired Dan Biederman, who redeveloped New York City's Bryant Park, to introduce outdoor seating, board games, classrooms and a piano, among other features, into the space. In addition, Wake Forest will hire a new director of student well-being, introduce Gallup polling to measure student responses and create other pilot projects. Professors and administrators said they hope to encourage students to "unplug" from their devices more often to promote face-to-face interaction.
EdX, a nonprofit founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, created a program that uses artificial intelligence to give students immediate feedback on essays and tests, The New York Times reported. Proponents laud the new technology for its ability to give instant feedback and foster improvement work through repetition. Professors will have more time for other tasks, and students do not need to wait weeks to receive feedback. Critics, however, argue that technology cannot measure the strength of an argument or its effectiveness, and that they have yet to see "valid research" that compares software to human graders. A group of educators, Professionals Against Machine Scoring Of Student Essays In High-Stakes Assessment, has circulated a petition opposing the software and has collected almost 2,000 signatures.
After allegedly raping a female peer, a Cornell University student has been arrested and charged with first-degree rape, The Cornell Daily Sun reported. The victim and her girlfriend identified senior Peter Mesko, a wrestler, as the assailant. Mesko allegedly raped the victim while she and her girlfriend were asleep in the latter's room on Saturday night. The victim and her girlfriend identified the alleged rapist through a photo taken after the attack. The victim first contacted the Advocacy Center of Tompkins County and Gannett Health Services, after which she was sent to the hospital and given a rape kit. She then reported the rape to the Ithaca Police Department. The victim said she had never met or spoken to the alleged attacker and did not give him consent. Mesko was released on $5,000 bail and is due back in court on Friday.
