Around the Ivies
Brown University: Brown had a record-low acceptance rate this year, dropping 0.1 percent from last year for a rate of 8.5 percent, the Brown Daily Herald reported. This year was also the second largest pool of applicants in Brown’s history, with 30,397 total applicants and 2,580 accepted students.
Columbia University: More than 100 students attended a candlelight vigil to honor those affected by the April 25 earthquake in Nepal, the Columbia Spectator reported. The Nepali Students at Columbia University, the Mailman School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Organization for Migration and Emergencies and Amnesty International organized this event, which featured signs that read, “I stand with Nepal.”
Cornell University: About 60 students blocked off an intersection of campus on the morning of May 1 for annual May Day protests, according to the Cornell Sun. The protest, which began around 9:30 a.m., was aimed at numerous issues including Cornell’s $350 mandatory health fee, graduate student rights, Freddie Gray’s death in Baltimore and capitalism.
Harvard University: A lawsuit against Harvard for alleged race-based discrimination in the admissions process that was put forward by the nonprofit group Students for Fair Admissions has continued, The Harvard Crimson reported. During a meeting on April 30, William Consovoy, the lawyer representing Students for Fair Admissions, requested that Harvard supply extensive paperwork from its admissions records. The nonprofit purports that Harvard’s undergraduate admissions offices set “target percentages” for underrepresented minorities and illegal quotas on students of Asian descent.
Princeton University: On May 3, the Daily Princetonian announced that an educational foundation, the Princeton Prospect Foundation, had contributed a total of $30,985.50 to one of Princeton’s eating clubs, the Cap & Gown Club. The foundation — established to “stimulate and encourage the love of learning and pursuit of knowledge” within eating clubs — helped pay for a $5 million addition to the group’s clubhouse.
University of Pennsylvania: Finals week means one thing for students at Penn — food deliveries. The Daily Pennsylvanian reported that Penn made Grubhub’s list of top 14 schools that order the most food during finals, ranking tenth. Virginia Polytech Institute and State University topped the list, followed by Cornell University in second.
Yale University: Yale reported an unusually low yield rate for its graduate program in the Spanish and Portuguese Department this year — zero students, the Yale Daily News reported. Of the five students offered admission by the University, none accepted the offers. Many professors attribute the low yield rate to the unsigned letter that brought charges of sexual harassment against an individual in the department earlier in March.