College

The Columbia Association Teen Advisory Committee and Howard County Library will sponsor a college fair from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. April 13 at Centennial High School, 4300 Centennial Lane in Ellicott City. Representatives from more than 80 schools will be present. The event is free. For more information, call 410-715-5523.

MEN'S Division I semifinals No. 7 seed Duke (14-5) vs. Cornell (14-3) Saturday, 2:30 Comment: The unseeded Big Red have won six of nine meetings with the Blue Devils, but Duke has won both contests in the NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils are making their seventh consecutive appearance in the national semifinals - an impressive accomplishment considering their 2-4 start. But subpar openings and strong finishes have become the M.O. of Duke, which is blessed with an offense that ranks third in Division I (13.8 goals per game)

For athletes and parents, the college recruiting process can be confusing and overwhelming without a little help, so the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association is providing some guidance. Designed to inform everyone from athletes to parents to coaches to guidance counselors about college athletic eligibility and the recruiting process, a new webinar is available on the MPSSAA website. The webinar, free of charge, covers the following topics and more: Three rules of being a parent Scholarship myths and facts NAIA and JUCO education Scholarships, do they differ?

The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association unveiled Thursday morning its list of Division I players who earned All-American honors. Local programs and the Baltimore metropolitan area were well-represented. Maryland put two players on the first team in senior midfielder John Haus and senior long-stick midfielder Jesse Bernhardt. Johns Hopkins and Loyola were represented by senior defenseman Tucker Durkin and junior defenseman Joe Fletcher, respectively. North Carolina senior attackman Marcus Holman (Gilman)

Bright and motivated college-bound immigrants will do Maryland proud ("A flawed compromise," March 8). These young people came here as children, are fully assimilated into American culture and want to be contributing members. We are lucky to have them working for our future. The Central Americans come from countries torn apart by wars paid for by the United States. Paltry aid for rebuilding is nothing in comparison to what we spent to damage Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. These countries are still recovering from the murder and destruction we rained on them.

In his op-ed ( "Cooling out poor, minority kids in community college," May 9), Fred Millar has insulted the success by every student of any color who has attended and graduated from a community college. Despite being an "educational sociologist," Mr. Millar also perpetuates the myth that grades should not matter for eligibility to either 2- or 4-year colleges. While discussing the quality of remedial courses for those in both institutions, Mr. Millar never mentions why remedial courses are necessary in the first place.

After putting off finishing her college degree for more than two decades, Elizabeth Smith this year needed just one more class — an algebra course — to earn her bachelor's degree in theater arts. The full-time worker and single mother of two didn't have time or money to spare, so she signed up for a course offered by Baltimore-based StraighterLine Inc. She finished the course in seven days over the summer, working on her laptop as her kids frolicked in a pool. And the course cost only $138 — a fraction of the price for a similar course at a four-year or community college.

The op-ed piece by Janet Gilbert about a college her son visited 500 miles away drew my attention ("The college we visited was might nice … and mighty white," June 16). Her position of not being a racist by rejecting a school for being too white makes her a racist by definition. If she truly wants her son to be in a more diverse community, why is she living in Woodstock and working in Baltimore? I am sure many city high schools are less white than the Woodstock school. I know Douglass, Walbrook, or perhaps Dunbar high schools would give her son a great education with diversity.

In their first televised debate, Gov. Martin O'Malley vehemently accused former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. of having raised tuition rates at state universities by 40 percent. If Mr. O'Malley is so adamantly against this hike in tuition, then why hasn't his administration lowered the rates by 40 percent during the last four years? Just curious. James Bauernschmidt, Severna Park

Your editorial "A flawed compromise" (March 8) argued that children of illegal immigrants should be allowed to pay the reduced in-state tuition at Maryland public colleges and universities. However, since these people should be deported to their native countries, why should the citizens of Maryland subsidize their educations? Do we wish to spend our money to enhance the value of people that we should be deporting, so that they can do better when they return to their native countries?

There's been a lot of talk in Division I women's college lacrosse about parity, and it certainly has shown within some conferences and with a few new teams in the NCAA tournament this spring, but that parity still isn't making it to the top. This year's final four bracket is - so far - a rerun of 2010 (when Maryland won its last national title). Not only are the same four teams in the national semifinals Friday night at Villanova, but they are matched up the same way: Maryland vs. Syracuse and Northwestern vs. North Carolina.

College basketball Antonio Barton expected to announce his choice Sunday Antonio Barton , a Baltimore native and former Memphis guard, will announce Sunday afternoon where he is transferring. Will Barton , Antonio's brother and a Portland Trail Blazers guard, posted the news on his Twitter account Tuesday night. Antonio Barton , a Lake Clifton graduate who is considering Maryland and Tennessee among other schools, would be eligible to play next season because he plans to graduate from Memphis this summer.

Jason Collins' coming out received large media fanfare. Brittney Griner's was met with something close to a yawn. The debate over what caused the difference has been pretty public, with some pointing to sexism , others to the way heterosexual men react to gay men and one commentator noting that society doesn't perceive lesbian athletes to be playing against type in the same way it views gay male athletes. Addressed in all three perspectives is the widespread perception that lesbian athletes have an easier time being open about their sexuality on the court and in the locker room.

Some safety officers at Carroll Community College will be armed as a result of a memorandum of understanding signed this week between the college and the Carroll County Sheriff's Office. The May 20 memorandum outlines the policies and responsibilities for public safety efforts between the college and the Sheriff's Office. The college's Board of Trustees voted May 15 to approve arming certain safety personnel - known as campus Special Police Officers - as designated by Maryland State Police, according to a news release from the college.

Traditionally, the bride's parents are the hosts of the ceremony. They send out the invitations, pay for the reception and coordinate a long day of celebration. The groom's family takes care of the bride's ring, the marriage license and their honeymoon.  That sounds all fine, well, and good. But, neither Enrique's nor my parents work, and we've yet to find that elusive bride. Planning duties fall on us and we have to do everything within our already busy schedule.  Enrique works in northern Virginia and has weekend duties at a gym. I work in Baltimore and attend classes four nights a week.

Fidelity Investments reports that 70 percent of the Class of 2013 leaves college with on average $35,200 in debt. That's all kinds of debt, from student loans and money owed to Mom and Dad to credit card balances. And half of 2013 graduates say they are surprised how much debt they have accumulated, despite so much publicity on the subject, the Boston-based financial company said in its study released last week. The study found that 39 percent of grads - a jump of 14 percentage points over two years ago - said they might have made different decisions had they realized they would have a debt hangover.

Revenge was oh so sweet for Salisbury's women's lacrosse team, especially when it came with a national championship. The Sea Gulls polished off a 23-0 season with a 12-5 victory and the Division III national championship by avenging last year's title-game loss to Trinity College in a battle of undefeated teams Sunday at Stevenson University's Mustangs Stadium. "We've been cheering 'Redemption' all year and 'Road to redemption' and that word has really meant a lot to us," said Sea Gulls senior attacker Lauren Feusahrens, who scored five goals.