Student Union
- By Devon Sgubin
Second Stabbing in Few Days at US Universities
Travis County Emergency Medical Services has tweeted that one person is dead at the scene near the campus' Gregory gym and three others have been transported. The agency notes there also are reports of additional patients with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Associated Press.
The suspect is in custody and there is no longer a threat according to UT Austin police's twitter account.
The University of Texas is blocks from downtown Austin and the Texas capitol building and is one of the nation's largest universities, according to Associated Press.
University of Texas President Greg Fenves issued a statement to the UT community after the incident.
"There are no words to describe my sense of loss. ... Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, the witnesses to the crime, and every member of Longhorn nation. We all mourn today."
The UT Austin website has also notified the UT community that all classes and events are cancelled for the remainder of the day.
Members of the UT community were left with mixed emotions after the school's emergency alert system failed to notify them about the incident in a timely manner.
This is the second incident involving knives within a week at campuses around the U.S. Friday, a man attacked students at Transylvania University in Kentucky, after asking their political affiliation.
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‘College Deserts’ leave many communities without higher education options
“College Deserts” – areas where high schools are located more than 30 miles away from the nearest community college – leave large groups of people unable to pursue higher education because of transportation problems, Lexi Lonas Cochran writes in The Hill.
Most college deserts are in the Southern U.S., with a recent study in Texas showing that long commuting distances discourage many potential students from attending college. (December 2024)
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If current trends continue, the rate of college closures is expected to increase, according to a new study reported in Forbes.
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Judge upholds racial considerations in US Naval Academy admissions
Although the U.S. Supreme Court last year decided that civilian colleges and universities could not consider race or ethnicity in admissions, a judge ruled that the U.S. Naval Academy had established a national security interest in a diverse officer corps.
That means the academy – and other military service academies – can continue to consider race. A similar policy at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point has also been challenged, but that case has not yet gone to trial, according to a report in Navy Times. (December 2024)
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While some students and parents see the gap year as a waste of time, others see the break in academic studies as valuable for developing maturity, earning money or focusing goals.
MSN.com explains some of the reasons why Harvard – and other prestigious schools in the United States – are recommending that students take a gap year. (December 2024)
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Many students in the U.S. rely on financial aid to attend colleges and universities, but as Julia Barajas reports in LAist.com, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid could cause a dilemma for students with an undocumented parent.
If students fill out the application, they will share their parents’ financial information – and potentially raise questions about their immigration status -- with the federal government. If they don’t fill out the application, they won’t get federal financial aid. (December 2024)
