Around the Ivies
Columbia University: The parents of recently-graduated Columbia University senior Paul Nungesser said in a statement that the University had made their son’s life nightmarish while giving a special exemption to Emma Sulkowicz, also a graduating senior, by allowing her to carry a mattress at graduation. Nungesser is suing the University, alleging that Columbia allowed Sulkowicz to break confidentiality agreements and supported gender-based harassment against him through Sulkowicz’s senior thesis.
Cornell University: The University announced the creation of the Skorton Center for Campus and Health Initiatives on Tuesday, The Cornell Daily Sun reported. The center is to be named for David J. Skorton, Cornell’s incumbent president who is set to leave the school for the Smithsonian Institution at the beginning of July. It will support research and evaluation practices in the field of student health and will support physical, mental and sociological health at Cornell. The facility’s construction, which began in March, is slated to cost $55 million before it opens in the fall of 2017.
Harvard University: More than 60 Asian-American groups filed a complaint with the federal Departments of Education and Justice calling for an investigation into the College’s alleged “unlawful use of race” in its admissions processes, the Harvard Crimson reported. The complaint claims that Asian-American students with qualifications that meet or exceed those of applicants from other racial groups have been denied admission while similar applicants from other groups gained admittance at Harvard and other Ivy League institutions.
University of Pennsylvania: Asian-American students and groups at the University have criticized its failure to increase the percentage of Asian-American students it admits in accordance with high test scores and grades in that demographic, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported. Despite use of a holistic admissions system like that of most highly selective institutions, the percentage of Asian-American students at the school has not notably changed for roughly two decades.
Princeton University: Nearly 60 percent of graduate students at Princeton called on the school to divest its endowment from corporations involved in Israel’s presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, according to The Daily Princetonian. Between this poll — conducted by the Graduate Student Government earlier this month — and a similar poll of undergraduates, 50.4 percent of Princeton students polled expressed support for divestment.
Yale University: Former Yale President Richard Levin received a supplementary $8.5 million payout — $4.4 million after taxes — following his retirement, the Yale Daily News reported. Richard Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, said this was the largest payout ever in American higher education, as far as he knew. Members of the Yale Corporation defended the sum saying that it was necessary due to competitive offers Levin may have received.