Student Union
Homecoming Queen at Center of Alleged Voter Fraud in Florida
After a long political season in the United States, where “voter fraud” was often the cry above a noisy campaign, a case has emerged in Florida involving the alleged illegal election of a high school homecoming queen.
Homecoming queens are the stars of the show at the end of football season in October or November, elected by their high school peers in a popularity contest that can linger a lifetime. Teenage queens and kings arrive dressed in gowns and tiaras and tuxedos, and with a large bouquet of flowers and sashes in one hand declaring their status, wave from their perch on the back of a convertible that slowly circles a hometown football field, usually under tall bright lights.
But the homecoming queen at Tate High School in Florida, along with her mother, are accused of rigging the election and stealing dozens of votes in the girl’s favor.
An investigation into Laura Rose Carroll, 50, and her daughter, 17, is looking into whether Carroll — who has been suspended from her job as an assistant principal in the Escambia County school system — hacked into electronic school records in October 2020 and voted nearly 250 times from two IP addresses for her daughter’s candidacy, according to state law enforcement officials.
The homecoming votes weren’t the only files accessed. Court documents show the accounts concerning student grades, attendance, medical history and other personal and proprietary information had been hacked.
The mother and daughter were arrested Monday. They face one count each of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks, and electronic devices (a third-degree felony), unlawful use of a two-way communications device (a third-degree felony), criminal use of personally identifiable information (a third-degree felony) and conspiracy to commit these offenses (a first-degree misdemeanor), according to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) statement published on its website Monday.
“Multiple students reported that the daughter described using her mother’s FOCUS account to cast votes,” according to the FDLE statement. The investigation also found that Carroll had accessed 372 high school records, of which 339 were of Tate High School students. FOCUS is the school’s online student portal.
“I have known that [Carroll's daughter] logs into her mom’s school account in order to access grades and test scores since freshman year when we became friends,” said one witness in court documents. “She looks up our group of friends’ grades and makes comments about how she can find out our test scores all the time.”
A second witness said they recalled “times when [Carroll's daughter] logged onto her mom’s FOCUS account and openly shared information, grades, schedules, etc. with others. She did not seem like logging in was a big deal and was very comfortable doing so.”
Carroll was booked into the Escambia County Jail on Monday, according to the FDLE and Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. She was later released on $8,500 bond, according to the FDLE. Her daughter was being held in the Escambia Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley
The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.
It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.
In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.
Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.
"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.
An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."
House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."
Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.
Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.
The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.
"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."
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STEM, business top subjects for international students
The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.
STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)
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Safety and visa difficulties among misconceptions about US colleges
U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.
Read the full story here. (January 2025)
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Work opportunities help draw international students to US schools
US News & World Report details the three top factors in foreign students' decision to study in the U.S. They include research opportunities and the reputation of U.S. degrees. Read the full story here. (December 2024)
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British student talks about her culture shock in Ohio
A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.
Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.
Read the full story here. (December 2024)
