Universities Weblog

Along with apprehensions about classes and roommates, many new college students fear putting on the dreaded 'freshman fifteen,' the extra weight that often appears as a result of experiencing stressful situations and poor dietary habits…both of which are hard to avoid in college.

An author has faced that challenge directly, and hopes that a new diet book will prove helpful.

Drawing upon her firsthand experiences with college students' slothfulness, Oz pulls no punches.

"You just have to pinch yourself in the gut, get your lazy self out of bed, and know that what you are doing is making you healthier and more functional," she writes.
She stresses information, inspiration and motivation as catalysts for her own transformation, which she describes as "the end of my willingness to settle for a second-rate me." Oz was overweight from ages 7 to 17, peaking at 175 pounds.
With the aid of chapters such as "The Exercise Factor," "Eating 101" and "Where And How To Eat Responsibly At College," Oz offers tips on dorm room exercises, nutrition and the perils of binge-drinking and emotional eating.

Read more about The Dorm Room Diet, including reviews, here and here.

Do you think a book like this would be helpful? How have you fought against the 'freshman fifteen?'

College students sure are having fun in class these days. First, you get to launch things into space for credit. And now, you can even build robots.

Lucky students at the University of Florida recently designed their very own robots. These robots aren't just for show: they even perform nifty operations such as serving drinks, playing ball, and flying while carrying heavy objects. Cooool.

It looks almost like any other shopping cart, except sensors allow it to follow the shopper around the supermarket and to slow down when needed so items can be placed into it, and it never crashes into anyone's heels.

His cart, also known as B.O.S.S. for Battery Operated Smart Servant, was one of about 30 robots on display Wednesday by students at the University of Florida, who worked the past semester on the projects using their engineering backgrounds.

What's the coolest thing you've ever made in class?

Despite continued protests, UW Madison defends its decision not to allow the student group the Knights of Columbus to operate on campus, as the organization allows only Catholic men to acquire membership, which does not comply with UW Madison's anti-discrimination laws.

Nagy said UW-Madison has tightened its enforcement of requirements of non-discrimination and student control as a result of a 2000 U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving its use of student fees. He said six to 12 of the university's 750 recognized student groups will not be in compliance if they do not change policies.

The university's stance could signal that a legal battle looms between the school and religious groups.

What do you think? Is the university's decision merely another form of discrimination, or are they doing the 'right' thing? Are there any groups on your campus that you feel should not be there, or are there any groups you feel are unfairly discriminated against?

You can learn more about the Knights of Columbus here.

(Image Source: Bingo houston)

Take that, U.S. News. Washington Monthly has yet again issued a different take on college rankings. As it did last year, the magazine has ranked colleges and universities based on societal worth. Say what?

I'll let the magazine's editors clarify:

We asked ourselves: What are reasonable indicators of how much a school is benefiting the country? We came up with three: how well it performs as an engine of social mobility (ideally helping the poor to get rich rather than the very rich to get very, very rich), how well it does in fostering scientific and humanistic research, and how well it promotes an ethic of service to country.

Based on those criteria, they devised the following rankings:

Universities

1) MIT
2) California-Berkeley
3) Penn State
4) UCLA
5) Texas A&M
6) California-San Diego
7) Stanford Cornell
9) South Carolina State University
10) California-Davis

Liberal Arts Colleges

1) Bryn Mawr College
2) Wellesley College
3) Wesleyan University
4) Haverford College
5) Amherst College
6) Mount Holyoke College
7) Claremont McKenna College Williams College
9) Whitman College
10) Swarthmore College

You can find the complete lists here.

Stanford's business school just got a whole lot richer thanks to a rather successful alum. Phil Knight, chairman of Nike (you may have heard of it), gave his alma mater $105 million, most of which will help build a new facility. Oddly enough, the facility will be named for the donor, not his ubiquitous company. All professors, though, will be required to wear apparel featuring the swoosh (not really).

This comes from the Boston Globe:

Nike Inc. Chairman Phil Knight pledged $105 million to Stanford University Tuesday in what philanthropy experts said was the largest gift to a business school.

Prior to the billionaire's donation, the largest gift by an individual to a business school was $100 million real estate developer Stephen Ross pledged to the University of Michigan in 2004, experts said.

(Source: Rutgers University)

Interesting piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer about enrollment trends. It seems the college-age population wave is cresting, and its wake will carry headaches for institutions nationwide, but particularly for those in the Northeast.

Here's a bit:

These are bountiful days for colleges and universities, inundated as they are with more and better applicants than ever.

The fall-off everywhere will be particularly steep among white students, who historically have been more likely than minority students to attend college.

You can find the rest here.