Around The Ivies
Brown University:A Brown University online sexual assault education program was shut down after malicious hackers stole personal information from an associated web service, the Brown Daily Herald reported. The program, Agent of Change, and its web vendor, We End Violence, noticed a potential hack on Aug. 24 and proceeded shut down the website two days later. A press release from the vendor noted that information submitted directly to the website — usernames, passwords and associated demographic information — was compromised. Ravi Pendse, vice president for Computing and Information Services, confirmed that more damaging information like social security numbers was not lost, adding that an investigation into the incident has begun.
Columbia University:A group of three students at Columbia University have won national acclaim after inventing an apparently simple but possibly life-saving health product, the Columbia Spectator reported. The product, Highlight, is a blue coloring added to various clear disinfectants that can show which areas of a target surface have been cleaned and which have not. The team has won Columbia’s Ebola Design Challenge and the USAID Fighting Ebola Grand Challenge and has integrated their product into the New York City Fire Department’s decontamination policies.
Cornell University:On Friday, Cornell University announced a second round of changes to its sexual assault policy, the Cornell Sun reported. The amendment moves responsibility for the investigation of students’ Title IX complaints out of the Judicial Administrator’s Office and into the Workforce Policy Office. The changes are part of a movement to conform to a recent New York law titled “Enough is Enough,” which requires colleges to use an “affirmative consent” standard for assault and provide drug and alcohol amnesty for students reporting an assault, among other provisions.
Harvard University:Spee Club, one of Harvard University’s finals clubs, may be the first of 13 clubs to go coed after inviting women to “punch,” or begin the process of joining the group, the Harvard Crimson reported. Spee Club is one of eight currently all-male final clubs at the university. The off-campus social groups have recently come under more scrutiny, the Crimson reported, due to concerns about sexism and the potential for sexual assault to occur on club premises.
Princeton University:Nate Ruess, the former frontman of the band Fun., will perform at Princeton University for its fall “Lawnparties” festivities, along with Indie pop duo Holychild, the Daily Princetonian reported. While with Fun., Ruess topped the Billboard 100 with the song “We Are Young” (2011) and proceeded to start his solo career after the group disbanded in February. The choice of Ruess comes after controversy last spring around the selection of Big Sean for Lawnparties. Shorty after Big Sean’s April selection, a pair of students circulated a petition asking the student government to rescind the invitation because the artist’s lyrics allegedly support misogyny.
University of Pennsylvania:A new program at the University of Pennsylvania will allow school administrators and athletics department staff members to ride along with Penn’s Division of Public Safety and observe the officers’ day-to-day interactions with Penn students and the greater Philadelphia community, the Daily Pennsylvanian reported. The program was conceived to reframe administrators’ perception of the division and give an accurate portrayal of the work that officers do every day.
Yale University:Abullah Kamel, a Yale University donor, has received criticism following Yale Law School student Omer Aziz’s recent column in the Huffington Post, “Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia and Their Gift to Yale,” which accuses Kamel and the Saudi Arabian government of being complicit in the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City. Kamel donated $10 million to establish the Abdallah S. Kamel Center for the Study of Islamic Law and Civilization at Yale Law School on Thursday, the Yale Daily News reported. Despite the controversy, professor and former dean Anthony Kronman maintained that Kamel and his gift were appropriately vetted.