Vanderbilt students protest school in Abu Dhabi
Students at Vanderbilt University are protesting a proposal to construct a school of education in Abu Dhabi. Two Vanderbilt seniors, David Pasch and Theodore Samets, started the group Students Against Vanderbilt in the Emirates out of concern that possible discrimination, lack of human rights and limits on academic freedom could damage the reputation of their university, according an article on Inside Higher Ed. In an editorial in the Vanderbilt Hustler, Pasch and Samets wrote that creating a campus in Abu Dhabi would "hurt the perception that our university is a welcoming place for Jews, the LGBT community and anyone who cares about human rights and the dignity of all peoples."
Vanderbilt has not formally announced its plans to build the new school. Provost Richard McCarty will be having a meeting with the two students today to discuss the future, according to the article.
— Kat Thornton
Harvard and Stanford connect through video communication
This semester, students at Harvard and Stanford University created a six-week course called "Ideas for A Better Internet." The course connects students at the two universities through video communication, according to a March 29 article in the Crimson. The course — part of a joint project between Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society and the Stanford Center for Internet and Society — focuses on the future of the internet in addition to cyberspace privacy issues and government intervention policies. For the last two of their winter vacations, Harvard students have visited Stanford to participate in a demanding short course on problems with the internet, the Crimson reported. The current spring course is part of an effort to make the class into a year-long program.
— Ashley Aydin