College Campuses

Parents of rising high school seniors with college aspirations have likely spent a good chunk of time this year experiencing that peculiar educational tradition known as the "college visit. " Even those who have already criss-crossed the country catering to the whims of a child enthralled with the prospect of attending school on the West Coast or maybe in the Northeast or perhaps Florida, or all three simultaneously, if that were only possible, may have miles to go yet before they sleep.

College freshmen are completing their first month on campus. According to the website  The Other Freshman 15 , "The first 15 weeks of college can be the riskiest for sexual assault. ... One out of five students experience rape or sexual assault while they are in college, and in the great majority of cases (75-80 percent), the victim knows the attacker. " The  Washington Post  recently carried a front-page story about campus sexual assaults. As the father of former college students, two of whom are daughters, I was stunned by the presumptions in the story.

For college students, MTV is more reality television than music television. But MTV is returning to its roots with mtvU, a channel broadcast exclusively on college campuses and devoted primarily to music videos. The idea is to scour universities and survey students to discover lesser-known bands that aren't getting airplay on mainstream radio stations. Network executives hope mtvU and its audience will serve as a training ground for those musicians who could graduate to MTV. "Just playing music isn't enough," says Steven Friedman, general manager of mtvU.

Last Friday, the White House announced an "It's On Us" initiative aimed at combating sexual assaults on college campuses. I'm all in favor of combating sexual assault, but the first priority in combating a problem is understanding it. That's not the White House's first priority. Roughly six weeks before Election Day, its chief concern is to translate an exciting social media campaign into a get-out-the-vote operation. Accurate statistics are of limited use in that regard because rape and sexual assault have been declining for decades.

After visiting six college campuses in four days, high-school junior Shaen Robertshaw had reached his limit -- a full day and two campuses before the tour was scheduled to end."At that point, we gave up and drove home," said Shaen's mother, Susan Lewandowski. "When they've had enough, it's time to quit."Lewandowski knows those glazed looks all too well. She's an admissions officer at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., where high school students and their families come from as far as California and abroad to see the classic New England women's college and other campuses nearby.

WASHINGTON -- For weeks, Charlotte Hernandez tried not to look at the tree draped with shoes on the campus of George Washington University. Word among some students was, every time two brothers slept with the same woman, they threw a sneaker over one of the branches. The brothers denied the tradition existed, but Hernandez didn't believe them. So, she fought the fraternities and lobbied the administration to get the shoes removed.The next thing she knew, she had become a symbol herself."I'd hear stuff like, 'Oh there goes the Femi-Nazi' and names like that," says Hernandez.

President Bush went to a college campus in Michigan last Saturday to launch a crusade that can only be called intellectual Willie Hortonism -- the use of contrived symbols to scare the wits out of people. As a blatant attempt to make political hay out of the phenomenon called PC ("political correctness"), Bush's speech is better characterized as PS (political shamefulness)."Political correctness" is the term used by the right wing to mean the forcible suppression of ideas deemed offensive by minorities and women on college campuses.

AS A COLLEGE student, I am acutely aware of both the legal and social effects of the USA Patriot Act on my life and on the lives of my peers. Passed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Patriot Act has led to a broadening of governmental power to define protest as terrorism and to intrude on our fundamental rights as citizens. I am concerned by the Patriot Act's impact on the lives of all citizens, but especially on my peers in colleges across the country. No matter what provision of the Patriot Act we examine, its effects are tenfold on a college campus.

Job outlookEven as companies trim their work forces, they haven't stopped recruiting on college campuses. But many companies are concentrating on students with special, high-tech skills.International Business Machines Corp., for example, is focusing on key areas such as engineering, computer programming and some technical areas of manufacturing, said Andrew McCormick, recruitment communications specialist for IBM in Purchase, N.Y.Downsizing and layoffs notwithstanding, "companies still need junior-level executives to come in and be trained in broader responsibilities," said Christopher W. Hunt, co-publisher of the 1992 edition of "The Greenwich Register" ($39.

I appreciate the Sun's recent coverage of the issue of sexual assault on college campuses ( "New guidelines to battle sexual assault at colleges," April 29). Towson University is committed to preventing sexual assault and promoting the safest possible environment for our students. In addition to our strong commitment to address sexual assault, Towson University is one of the 10 institutions that formed The Maryland Collaborative. The Maryland Collaborative was established to reduce college drinking and related problems through the application of a range of evidence-based strategies.

When Brian Stewart accused a local fraternity chapter at Morgan State University of discriminating against him for being gay late last year, the university stressed its commitment to diversity and began investigating. The two results, Stewart said this week, were that the Alpha Iota chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi was placed on probation for breaking university discrimination policies, and Stewart became an even bigger target of harassment  on the school's Baltimore campus. "I had figures - hidden by the shadows of a campus residence hall and the night sky -- yell threats to me intentionally calling me a [gay slur]

I've been thinking a lot about college lately. It's not as though it's staring me in the face, either. The oldest is finishing his freshman year in high school. The youngest is still in elementary school. Still, what's occurring on America's college campuses is on my front burner. First and foremost is the ever-escalating cost of a four-year degree - the cause of many a sleepless night for moms and dads. Tuition, fees, room and board for many private colleges has now hit $60,000 a year.

At every Washington Capitals home game, hockey fans at the Verizon Center - including platoons of well-heeled defense industry consultants - rise to their feet to salute one soldier, sailor, Marine or airwoman from the "Wounded Warrior" program. Every honoree has served in either Afghanistan or Iraq; many have served multiple tours. In the next few weeks, hundreds of thousands of college students with beaming smiles will march across graduation stages to accept their diplomas.

I appreciate the Sun's recent coverage of the issue of sexual assault on college campuses ( "New guidelines to battle sexual assault at colleges," April 29). Towson University is committed to preventing sexual assault and promoting the safest possible environment for our students. In addition to our strong commitment to address sexual assault, Towson University is one of the 10 institutions that formed The Maryland Collaborative. The Maryland Collaborative was established to reduce college drinking and related problems through the application of a range of evidence-based strategies.

The horrifying statistics on rape and sexual assault on college campuses in this country speak for themselves. Studies show that about one in five undergraduate women has experienced such an attack or an attempted attack at some point during their college years, but only 12 percent of incidents are reported. Why is justice so difficult to find in what is supposed to be a protected and enlightened atmosphere of a college or university? Advocates say there are numerous institutional barriers that discourage reporting, including administrators who treat reports of sexual assault with disbelief and on-campus judicial systems that are difficult for a victim to navigate.

On Friday, President Barack Obama met with college students at the White House to reprise a familiar appeal on behalf of the nation's young people: urging lawmakers to prevent the cost of student college loans from doubling on July 1. Interest rates on Stafford student loans are set to rise from the current 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent at the end of this month unless Congress acts, an increase the president says would add an extra $1,000 a year to...

Why people hate one another because of skin color or ethnic background always has sparked sociologist Howard J. Ehrlich's interest -- even when he was a kid.He witnessed the senselessness of ethnic violence at an early age when he saw New York street gangs clash.For the past eight years, Dr. Ehrlich -- he has a doctorate in sociology from Michigan State University -- has documented racist acts and studied prejudice as research director at the National Institute Against Prejudice and Violence in Baltimore.

Chara Bauer, 17, is never sure what to answer when someone asks what grade she's attending at school. "I usually ask them if they want to know about high school or college," she said. "Then I say that I'm a senior in high school, and I'm finishing up my sophomore year of college." The Baltimore resident is one of a small but growing number of high-school-age homeschoolers who are finding a second home on the campuses of community colleges across Maryland. They're completing high school courses such as chemistry and calculus that might be difficult to study at home.

After a year away, the Basketball Academy returns to a college campus, Morgan State, for the 17 t h annual event that combines academics and service learning with three days of top-notch high school boys and girls basketball Thursday through Saturday. Last January, The Basketball Academy games had to be moved to Lake Clifton and the academic components to Mervo after a new NCAA rule banned basketball tournaments run by non-scholastic entities from Division I campuses. The rule aimed to prevent college programs from gaining a recruiting advantage by colluding with organizers to bring events such as AAU tournaments to their campuses.

The U.S. Supreme Court takes up the issue of racial preference in college admissions on Wednesday, and that ought to be a concern for those who believe such policies have provided countless opportunities for minorities - and enriched the educational experience for whites. There is a growing movement in this country to eliminate affirmative action on the grounds that it's no longer needed - or was even helpful in the first place. Granted, this can be a complex issue, and even the most liberal interpretations of the race-conscious policy acknowledge that a balance must be struck to make colleges diverse but also keep the admissions process fair and merit-based.