A ProPublica analysis of data from the Department of Education indicates that public universities have awarded a declining amount of grant money to students whose families are in the lowest income quartile, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported Wednesday. Colleges are increasingly awarding athletic and merit-based scholarships instead, which attract students whose presence can boost their national rankings at the expense of overall student diversity. Colleges have also increasingly sought students with greater financial resources in order to save scholarship money, The Chronicle reported. In the past two decades, four-year state schools have educated fewer low-income students, forcing students to instead attend community colleges or for-profit institutions.
Many colleges have begun warning students about the dangers of using the illicit club drug "Molly," a purer form of ecstasy, in response to a series of suspected overdoses by New Hampshire students who took the drug, Inside Higher Ed reported Friday. Two students, one attending the University of New Hampshire and the other Plymouth University, have died from suspected overdoses in the past week. A 2012 report by a team of researchers at the University of Michigan found that 5.8 percent of college students had used ecstasy, a 1.6 percentage point increase from 2011, Inside Higher Ed reported. David Arnold, BACCHUS Network's director of alcohol abuse and impaired driving prevention initiatives, questioned the recent emphasis on "Molly," arguing that the risks associated with alcohol and marijuana use still outweigh other substances in their impact on student health.
Brandon Mull of Claremont, N.H., was arrested on felony charges on Sept. 10 in Charleston, N.H. for two counts of burglary after he allegedly robbed several homes in Hanover on July 30. Mull was linked to a vehicle spotted in the burglaries, and a warrant for his arrest was obtained on Aug. 2. Hanover Police had previously determined that Mull had left the area, likely to Oklahoma. After learning about the arrest warrant, Mull returned to New Hampshire and cooperated with police in his arrest. He is currently being held in the Grafton County House of Correction because he could not post the $5,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 19.
