Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Friday, December 01, 2006
Insurers Must Cover Flooding Damage Caused by Canal Breaches After Katrina, Federal Judge Rules
Insurers Must Cover Flooding Damage Caused by Canal Breaches After Katrina, Federal Judge Rules
By KATHERINE MANGAN
Xavier University of Louisiana is among the beneficiaries of a sweeping decision this week by a federal judge in Louisiana who ruled that insurance companies must pay for damages caused by canal breaches in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
A handful of insurance companies had denied coverage, saying their policies excluded flood damage. But Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr., of the U.S. District Court in New Orleans, said that most of the insurers had failed to clearly distinguish in their policies between flooding that is caused by heavy rains and high winds, and damage caused by human error.
"The exclusion does not clearly address flooding caused by man-induced causes, and as such, the court must find coverage," he wrote in his 85-page ruling.
Xavier suffered an estimated $50-million in property damages after breaches at the 17th Street and London Avenue Canals in New Orleans sent several feet of water cascading into campus buildings, where it remained for weeks.
The university had argued that the canal breaches were caused by human error and were not a natural disaster, and that therefore the insurer, Travelers Property Casualty Company of America, did not have the right to deny coverage based on its flood-exclusion policy.
Xavier was one of several Gulf Coast universities that sued after its insurers refused to pay for the damages.
"This was a great ruling for Xavier and for all institutions in Louisiana," said James M. Garner, who argued the case for Xavier. "The policies cover all risks, and the risk here was badly built levees."
He said that because of the insurer's refusal to cover damages, Xavier's president, Norman C. Francis, was forced to borrow tens of millions of dollars to reopen the university.
"Dr. Francis had to spend millions of dollars out of pocket to put the university back together, and this ruling will allow Xavier to come close to getting its money back," Mr. Garner said.
The ruling came in an umbrella case that consolidated numerous claims for damages that resulted from post-Katrina canal breaches. It was the first by a court in Louisiana on insurance claims from Hurricane Katrina, and it followed a ruling by a federal judge in Mississippi that had favored insurance companies that had denied coverage.
"Judge Duval did the right thing, and we're going to look to the other judges to do the same," Mr. Garner said.
Other universities that have sued their insurers include Dillard University, Loyola University New Orleans, and Tulane University. The Dillard and Loyola lawsuits did not specifically involve flood damage, so they were not directly affected by this week's ruling.
Officials at Tulane, which suffered around $400-million in damages, released a written statement saying that they were proceeding with their own suit. Their case is not directly related to the Xavier case but may benefit from it, since Tulane also suffered massive water damage.
"Tulane University is pleased for those policy holders, who the court found were entitled to insurance proceeds for damages arising from Hurricane Katrina," it read. "Judge Duval's recent ruling will go a long way to rebuild the City of New Orleans."
Although he ruled in favor of the homeowners and Xavier, Judge Duval cleared the way for an immediate appeal by the insurance companies. Officials from Allstate and St. Paul Travelers, the corporate office for Travelers Insurance, said on Thursday that they planned to appeal, so the case could drag on for up to a year or more.
"We respectfully disagree with Judge Duval's ruling," Jennifer Wislocki, a spokeswoman for St. Paul Travelers, said. "It is inconsistent with many other court rulings that held that a flood is a flood, whether or not manmade factors are involved. The language in our policies specifically and clearly exclude damage from floodwater."
Lawyers have said they expect this week's ruling, if upheld, will cost the insurance industry more than $1-billion.
By KATHERINE MANGAN
Xavier University of Louisiana is among the beneficiaries of a sweeping decision this week by a federal judge in Louisiana who ruled that insurance companies must pay for damages caused by canal breaches in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
A handful of insurance companies had denied coverage, saying their policies excluded flood damage. But Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr., of the U.S. District Court in New Orleans, said that most of the insurers had failed to clearly distinguish in their policies between flooding that is caused by heavy rains and high winds, and damage caused by human error.
"The exclusion does not clearly address flooding caused by man-induced causes, and as such, the court must find coverage," he wrote in his 85-page ruling.
Xavier suffered an estimated $50-million in property damages after breaches at the 17th Street and London Avenue Canals in New Orleans sent several feet of water cascading into campus buildings, where it remained for weeks.
The university had argued that the canal breaches were caused by human error and were not a natural disaster, and that therefore the insurer, Travelers Property Casualty Company of America, did not have the right to deny coverage based on its flood-exclusion policy.
Xavier was one of several Gulf Coast universities that sued after its insurers refused to pay for the damages.
"This was a great ruling for Xavier and for all institutions in Louisiana," said James M. Garner, who argued the case for Xavier. "The policies cover all risks, and the risk here was badly built levees."
He said that because of the insurer's refusal to cover damages, Xavier's president, Norman C. Francis, was forced to borrow tens of millions of dollars to reopen the university.
"Dr. Francis had to spend millions of dollars out of pocket to put the university back together, and this ruling will allow Xavier to come close to getting its money back," Mr. Garner said.
The ruling came in an umbrella case that consolidated numerous claims for damages that resulted from post-Katrina canal breaches. It was the first by a court in Louisiana on insurance claims from Hurricane Katrina, and it followed a ruling by a federal judge in Mississippi that had favored insurance companies that had denied coverage.
"Judge Duval did the right thing, and we're going to look to the other judges to do the same," Mr. Garner said.
Other universities that have sued their insurers include Dillard University, Loyola University New Orleans, and Tulane University. The Dillard and Loyola lawsuits did not specifically involve flood damage, so they were not directly affected by this week's ruling.
Officials at Tulane, which suffered around $400-million in damages, released a written statement saying that they were proceeding with their own suit. Their case is not directly related to the Xavier case but may benefit from it, since Tulane also suffered massive water damage.
"Tulane University is pleased for those policy holders, who the court found were entitled to insurance proceeds for damages arising from Hurricane Katrina," it read. "Judge Duval's recent ruling will go a long way to rebuild the City of New Orleans."
Although he ruled in favor of the homeowners and Xavier, Judge Duval cleared the way for an immediate appeal by the insurance companies. Officials from Allstate and St. Paul Travelers, the corporate office for Travelers Insurance, said on Thursday that they planned to appeal, so the case could drag on for up to a year or more.
"We respectfully disagree with Judge Duval's ruling," Jennifer Wislocki, a spokeswoman for St. Paul Travelers, said. "It is inconsistent with many other court rulings that held that a flood is a flood, whether or not manmade factors are involved. The language in our policies specifically and clearly exclude damage from floodwater."
Lawyers have said they expect this week's ruling, if upheld, will cost the insurance industry more than $1-billion.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
FEMA to the Rescue! Now Saves RTA
Streetcars getting back on track....Feds will pay for repairs, new buses
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
By Leslie Williams
Staff writer
The candy-apple red streetcars -- trashed by Hurricane Katrina -- likely will begin reappearing on the Canal Street tracks in the summer. And hybrid buses could be added to the Regional Transit Authority's fleet.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Tuesday that it has obligated $43 million to repair the Canal line's 24 water-damaged streetcars as well as replace some of the more than 200 buses ruined by floodwaters, RTA spokeswoman Rosalind Blanco Cook said.
'We're just so excited about having the money,' Cook said. 'Now we can get to work, repairing the streetcars and ordering the buses. We plan to soon start calling back some of the craftspeople we laid off.'
The return of the red streetcars will follow the restoration of a portion of the historic St. Charles Avenue streetcar line, which has been shut down since Katrina's high winds toppled trees, shredding the overhead electrical systems that powered the streetcars.
By Christmas, Cook said, the St. Charles line's Central Business District Loop -- the curling stretch of tracks along Lee Circle, Carondelet Street, Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue -- should be up and running.
FEMA said $21.6 million of the $43 million is for streetcar repair.
The remaining $21.4 million will be spent to buy new buses to replace some of the 205 RTA buses ruined by Katrina, Cook said.
'It's a good start,' but not enough money to replace all of the buses, she said. On average, a new diesel bus sells for about $325,000 and a hybrid bus"
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
By Leslie Williams
Staff writer
The candy-apple red streetcars -- trashed by Hurricane Katrina -- likely will begin reappearing on the Canal Street tracks in the summer. And hybrid buses could be added to the Regional Transit Authority's fleet.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Tuesday that it has obligated $43 million to repair the Canal line's 24 water-damaged streetcars as well as replace some of the more than 200 buses ruined by floodwaters, RTA spokeswoman Rosalind Blanco Cook said.
'We're just so excited about having the money,' Cook said. 'Now we can get to work, repairing the streetcars and ordering the buses. We plan to soon start calling back some of the craftspeople we laid off.'
The return of the red streetcars will follow the restoration of a portion of the historic St. Charles Avenue streetcar line, which has been shut down since Katrina's high winds toppled trees, shredding the overhead electrical systems that powered the streetcars.
By Christmas, Cook said, the St. Charles line's Central Business District Loop -- the curling stretch of tracks along Lee Circle, Carondelet Street, Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue -- should be up and running.
FEMA said $21.6 million of the $43 million is for streetcar repair.
The remaining $21.4 million will be spent to buy new buses to replace some of the 205 RTA buses ruined by Katrina, Cook said.
'It's a good start,' but not enough money to replace all of the buses, she said. On average, a new diesel bus sells for about $325,000 and a hybrid bus"
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
The Chronicle: Daily 10/30/2006 :Minority Enrollment Grew by More Than 50% From 1993 to 2003
Monday, October 30, 2006
Minority Enrollment Grew by More Than 50% From 1993 to 2003, Report Says
By JANE R. PORTER
Washington
Minority-student enrollment at colleges and universities increased by 51 percent in the decade ending in 2003, an improvement driven by growth in the number of Hispanic and minority-female students, according to a report scheduled for release today by the American Council on Education.
The report, "Minorities in Higher Education: Twenty-Second Annual Status Report," includes data on rates of high-school completion, college enrollment, college graduation, attainment of professional and doctoral degrees, and employment in higher education. It uses data collected by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Over all, the number of minority students on American campuses grew by 50.7 percent during the decade, totaling 4.7 million undergraduate and graduate students by 2003. During the same period, the number of white students increased by 3.4 percent, reaching a total of 10.5 million white students in higher education.
Although the report notes rising enrollment and degree-attainment numbers for minority students, it says the proportion of African-American and Hispanic students enrolled in college was still not as high as that of white students. While 47.3 percent of white high-school graduates ages 18 to 24 attended college, 41.1 percent of African-American graduates and 35.2 percent of Hispanic graduates continued their education, according to data from 2002 to 2004.
Hispanic students accounted for the largest increase in undergraduate enrollment among minority groups, rising nearly 70 percent from 1993 to 2003. By contrast, African-American enrollment increased by 42.7 percent, Asian-American enrollment went up by 43.5 percent, and the number of American Indian students rose by 38.7 percent.
The increase in the number of Hispanic students in higher education can be credited mainly to overall population growth among Hispanics; the proportion of Hispanic high-school graduates ages 18 to 24 attending college increased only slightly from 1993 to 2003.
Hispanic students had the greatest increase in the rate of high-school completion over the 10-year period, with growth of 7.8 percent. White and African-American students' graduation rates went up by 2 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.
According to the report, Hispanic students made up 41 percent of the decade's new minority students, compared with 37 percent who were African-American. The enrollment of students whose race and ethnicity were unknown increased by 114 percent, accounting for more than one million students.
The report attributed two-thirds of minority enrollment growth to women, with improvements in male enrollment trailing behind for all minority groups. Women earned 61 percent of new associate degrees, 58 percent of new bachelor's degrees, and 59 percent of new master's degrees.
At the doctoral level, the greatest increase in the number of degrees earned by minority students occurred in the health professions, up by 223.6 percent; in the physical sciences, up by 95.3 percent; and in education and the biological and life sciences, each up by more than 80 percent.
Minority faculty numbers increased by 50 percent from 1993 to 2003, rising from 65,000 to more than 97,000. That increase was led by Asian-American and Hispanic faculty members, with the number from each group rising by more than 60 percent in the 10-year period.
Copyright © 2006 by The Chronicle of Higher EducationSubscribe About The Chronicle Contact us Terms of use Privacy policy Help
Minority Enrollment Grew by More Than 50% From 1993 to 2003, Report Says
By JANE R. PORTER
Washington
Minority-student enrollment at colleges and universities increased by 51 percent in the decade ending in 2003, an improvement driven by growth in the number of Hispanic and minority-female students, according to a report scheduled for release today by the American Council on Education.
The report, "Minorities in Higher Education: Twenty-Second Annual Status Report," includes data on rates of high-school completion, college enrollment, college graduation, attainment of professional and doctoral degrees, and employment in higher education. It uses data collected by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Over all, the number of minority students on American campuses grew by 50.7 percent during the decade, totaling 4.7 million undergraduate and graduate students by 2003. During the same period, the number of white students increased by 3.4 percent, reaching a total of 10.5 million white students in higher education.
Although the report notes rising enrollment and degree-attainment numbers for minority students, it says the proportion of African-American and Hispanic students enrolled in college was still not as high as that of white students. While 47.3 percent of white high-school graduates ages 18 to 24 attended college, 41.1 percent of African-American graduates and 35.2 percent of Hispanic graduates continued their education, according to data from 2002 to 2004.
Hispanic students accounted for the largest increase in undergraduate enrollment among minority groups, rising nearly 70 percent from 1993 to 2003. By contrast, African-American enrollment increased by 42.7 percent, Asian-American enrollment went up by 43.5 percent, and the number of American Indian students rose by 38.7 percent.
The increase in the number of Hispanic students in higher education can be credited mainly to overall population growth among Hispanics; the proportion of Hispanic high-school graduates ages 18 to 24 attending college increased only slightly from 1993 to 2003.
Hispanic students had the greatest increase in the rate of high-school completion over the 10-year period, with growth of 7.8 percent. White and African-American students' graduation rates went up by 2 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.
According to the report, Hispanic students made up 41 percent of the decade's new minority students, compared with 37 percent who were African-American. The enrollment of students whose race and ethnicity were unknown increased by 114 percent, accounting for more than one million students.
The report attributed two-thirds of minority enrollment growth to women, with improvements in male enrollment trailing behind for all minority groups. Women earned 61 percent of new associate degrees, 58 percent of new bachelor's degrees, and 59 percent of new master's degrees.
At the doctoral level, the greatest increase in the number of degrees earned by minority students occurred in the health professions, up by 223.6 percent; in the physical sciences, up by 95.3 percent; and in education and the biological and life sciences, each up by more than 80 percent.
Minority faculty numbers increased by 50 percent from 1993 to 2003, rising from 65,000 to more than 97,000. That increase was led by Asian-American and Hispanic faculty members, with the number from each group rising by more than 60 percent in the 10-year period.
Copyright © 2006 by The Chronicle of Higher EducationSubscribe About The Chronicle Contact us Terms of use Privacy policy Help
Friday, September 29, 2006
State Flagship Universities Do Poorly in Enrolling and Graduating Black Men, Report Says
By JANE R. PORTER
Black men are underrepresented at institutions of higher learning over all, and even more so at flagship universities in the 50 states, says a report released on Wednesday by a national research center.
The report, "Black Male Students at Public Flagship Universities in the U.S.: Status, Trends, and Implications for Policy and Practice," was written for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies' Dellums Commission.
Led by former U.S. Rep. Ronald V. Dellums, Democrat of California, the commission focuses on public policies affecting the health of young African-American men.
The paper analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and other sources to review the status of black men in higher education, with an emphasis on public flagship universities in each of the 50 states.
In 2000 black men represented 7.9 percent of the 18- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. population, but in 2004, they constituted just 2.8 percent of undergraduate enrollments across the 50 flagship universities.
Thirty of the universities enrolled fewer than 500 black male undergraduates that year. And at 21 of the institutions, more than one of every five black men on campus was an athlete, the report says.
The findings "confirm that higher education is a public good that benefits far too few black men in America," writes the report's author, Shaun R. Harper, an assistant professor and research associate at Pennsylvania State University's Center for the Study of Higher Education.
"Given all of the institutional rhetoric regarding access to equity, multiculturalism, and social justice," Mr. Harper said in an interview on Thursday, "I just see next to no evidence of those espoused values being enacted on behalf of black male undergraduates."
Statistics cited in the report include the following:
In 2002 the proportion of all students enrolled in colleges and universities who were African-American men was the same -- 4.3 percent -- as it was in 1976.
Gender gaps in enrollment numbers within racial groups are widest among African-American students, with women outnumbering men by 27.2 percentage points.
Over a 26-year period beginning in 1977, the proportion of degree recipients who were African-American men increased by an average of 0.2 percentage points. The greatest improvement was seen on the associate-degree level.
Of those who received associate degrees in 1977, 3.8 percent were African-American men. By 2003 the proportion had grown to 4 percent.
But the proportion of doctoral-degree recipients who were African-American men fell from 2.3 percent to 2 percent over that same time period.
More than two-thirds of African-American male students who enroll in college do not graduate within six years, the lowest college completion rate across all racial groups and for both sexes.
In 2004, 30.5 percent of all male athletes in Division I college sports were African-American.
They made up 54.6 percent of football teams and 60.8 percent of basketball teams, while only 10.4 percent of all male undergraduates were black.
In a section of the report focused on implications for policy and practice, Mr. Harper recommends using affirmative action in admissions to help increase the number of African-American men at public flagship universities.
He also advocates an increase in institutional, state, and federal financial support for college-readiness programs geared toward black male students.
Legislators should also hold universities accountable for their progress in enrolling black males, he wrote in the report.
Mr. Harper also says in the report that university admissions officials should more aggressively recruit black male students for reasons other than sports -- a goal that could be achieved, he suggests, by creating a policy that links the number of black male athletes in a particular ratio with the number of African-American male students at the institution over all.
The report urges that the National Collegiate Athletic Association share in the responsibility for racial disparities in graduation rates by, for instance, financing support programs for black male athletes and barring institutions with low graduation rates for any racial group from competing in NCAA championship tournaments.
Placing an emphasis on increasing the number of black male faculty at these flagship institutions would also help raise the number of graduating black male students, Mr. Harper suggests in the report. "That's another area of tremendous institutional negligence," he said.
Universities should furthermore set a goal for the percentage of black male students expected to graduate each year, he suggests. Institutions that fail to meet these goals should be held accountable for "creating, implementing, and documenting improvement plans," according to the report.
Black men are underrepresented at institutions of higher learning over all, and even more so at flagship universities in the 50 states, says a report released on Wednesday by a national research center.
The report, "Black Male Students at Public Flagship Universities in the U.S.: Status, Trends, and Implications for Policy and Practice," was written for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies' Dellums Commission.
Led by former U.S. Rep. Ronald V. Dellums, Democrat of California, the commission focuses on public policies affecting the health of young African-American men.
The paper analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and other sources to review the status of black men in higher education, with an emphasis on public flagship universities in each of the 50 states.
In 2000 black men represented 7.9 percent of the 18- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. population, but in 2004, they constituted just 2.8 percent of undergraduate enrollments across the 50 flagship universities.
Thirty of the universities enrolled fewer than 500 black male undergraduates that year. And at 21 of the institutions, more than one of every five black men on campus was an athlete, the report says.
The findings "confirm that higher education is a public good that benefits far too few black men in America," writes the report's author, Shaun R. Harper, an assistant professor and research associate at Pennsylvania State University's Center for the Study of Higher Education.
"Given all of the institutional rhetoric regarding access to equity, multiculturalism, and social justice," Mr. Harper said in an interview on Thursday, "I just see next to no evidence of those espoused values being enacted on behalf of black male undergraduates."
Statistics cited in the report include the following:
In 2002 the proportion of all students enrolled in colleges and universities who were African-American men was the same -- 4.3 percent -- as it was in 1976.
Gender gaps in enrollment numbers within racial groups are widest among African-American students, with women outnumbering men by 27.2 percentage points.
Over a 26-year period beginning in 1977, the proportion of degree recipients who were African-American men increased by an average of 0.2 percentage points. The greatest improvement was seen on the associate-degree level.
Of those who received associate degrees in 1977, 3.8 percent were African-American men. By 2003 the proportion had grown to 4 percent.
But the proportion of doctoral-degree recipients who were African-American men fell from 2.3 percent to 2 percent over that same time period.
More than two-thirds of African-American male students who enroll in college do not graduate within six years, the lowest college completion rate across all racial groups and for both sexes.
In 2004, 30.5 percent of all male athletes in Division I college sports were African-American.
They made up 54.6 percent of football teams and 60.8 percent of basketball teams, while only 10.4 percent of all male undergraduates were black.
In a section of the report focused on implications for policy and practice, Mr. Harper recommends using affirmative action in admissions to help increase the number of African-American men at public flagship universities.
He also advocates an increase in institutional, state, and federal financial support for college-readiness programs geared toward black male students.
Legislators should also hold universities accountable for their progress in enrolling black males, he wrote in the report.
Mr. Harper also says in the report that university admissions officials should more aggressively recruit black male students for reasons other than sports -- a goal that could be achieved, he suggests, by creating a policy that links the number of black male athletes in a particular ratio with the number of African-American male students at the institution over all.
The report urges that the National Collegiate Athletic Association share in the responsibility for racial disparities in graduation rates by, for instance, financing support programs for black male athletes and barring institutions with low graduation rates for any racial group from competing in NCAA championship tournaments.
Placing an emphasis on increasing the number of black male faculty at these flagship institutions would also help raise the number of graduating black male students, Mr. Harper suggests in the report. "That's another area of tremendous institutional negligence," he said.
Universities should furthermore set a goal for the percentage of black male students expected to graduate each year, he suggests. Institutions that fail to meet these goals should be held accountable for "creating, implementing, and documenting improvement plans," according to the report.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
U. of Phoenix Buys Naming Rights to a Pro-Football Stadium
By GOLDIE BLUMENSTYK
Following in the path of Gillette, FedEx, and Reliant, the University of Phoenix has bought the naming rights to a National Football League stadium, it announced on Tuesday.
Phoenix's $154-million, 20-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals makes it the first university to strike a stadium deal in which the university is paying out the millions rather than receiving them.
The deal is the second-most-lucrative in the NFL, after the Houston Texans' 30-year, $300-million deal with Reliant Energy. Still, even with Phoenix making average annual payments of $7.7-million a year, the expense will amount to only about 3 percent of the $250-million the university's parent company spends annually for advertising and promotion. It spends about the same on recruiting students. Its overall revenues exceed $2-billion.
Following in the path of Gillette, FedEx, and Reliant, the University of Phoenix has bought the naming rights to a National Football League stadium, it announced on Tuesday.
Phoenix's $154-million, 20-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals makes it the first university to strike a stadium deal in which the university is paying out the millions rather than receiving them.
The deal is the second-most-lucrative in the NFL, after the Houston Texans' 30-year, $300-million deal with Reliant Energy. Still, even with Phoenix making average annual payments of $7.7-million a year, the expense will amount to only about 3 percent of the $250-million the university's parent company spends annually for advertising and promotion. It spends about the same on recruiting students. Its overall revenues exceed $2-billion.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Reggie Bush donates turf
Built in the 1930s...Tad Gormely Stadium is an icon for high school football...and is often referred to simply as "Tad" or "the Cathedral" by local New Orleanians....
Saints Running Back...Reggie Bush...donated funds to replace the turf destroyed by the floodwaters a year ago...
Thank You...Reggie !!
cgw
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
YALE ONLINE
Yale U. Plans to Offer Some Course Materials, Including Lecture Videos, Free Online
By JEFFREY R. YOUNG
Cameras are rolling in Yale University classrooms this fall, as part of a project to make video recordings of several courses available free for anyone to view online.
Yale is the latest institution to pledge to create 'open courseware,' in which detailed material from courses is placed online in the hopes that it will be used by educators and students elsewhere. Open courseware was pioneered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which in 2001 announced plans to put material for nearly all of its courses online.
Yale plans to start out slowly, publishing materials from seven courses by the fall of 2007. After that, the project might expand if it is deemed a success. The effort is supported by a $755,000 grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Ramamurti Shankar, a professor of physics who is teaching one of the courses, said knowing that his lecture might be watched online by a wide audience keeps him on his toes. 'I have to be a little more careful than I usually am,' he said.
Even so, he was 'caught on candid camera' last week when he made a mistake writing an equation on the board, and a student had to correct him. He said he hoped that if 'some kid is watching this in another part of the world where you're not supposed to question your professors,' the student would see the value of questioning authority.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Yale officials said that the university would be the first to offer complete"
By JEFFREY R. YOUNG
Cameras are rolling in Yale University classrooms this fall, as part of a project to make video recordings of several courses available free for anyone to view online.
Yale is the latest institution to pledge to create 'open courseware,' in which detailed material from courses is placed online in the hopes that it will be used by educators and students elsewhere. Open courseware was pioneered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which in 2001 announced plans to put material for nearly all of its courses online.
Yale plans to start out slowly, publishing materials from seven courses by the fall of 2007. After that, the project might expand if it is deemed a success. The effort is supported by a $755,000 grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Ramamurti Shankar, a professor of physics who is teaching one of the courses, said knowing that his lecture might be watched online by a wide audience keeps him on his toes. 'I have to be a little more careful than I usually am,' he said.
Even so, he was 'caught on candid camera' last week when he made a mistake writing an equation on the board, and a student had to correct him. He said he hoped that if 'some kid is watching this in another part of the world where you're not supposed to question your professors,' the student would see the value of questioning authority.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Yale officials said that the university would be the first to offer complete"
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Tuesday, September 28, 2006
Progress Report
As we see the Saints come marching in on Monday Night Football next week, one wonders what will be the reaction of the media onslaught which grows by the day....al Jazeria TV has signed up to cover the game...giving the terrorists a full view of a target for their next suicide mission...just great...like anyone in Asia or the Middle East cares about football in New Orleans...knowing that the Dome will be sold out and full of "targets."
But enough of the grim, dark side of things...onto brighter stuff...like the beautiful weather we will enjoy for the next couple of days...and the weather patterns which will make another week of hurricane season bearable...it is like the Great Spirit which controls things decided to give us this year off to recover.
I pray for those folks still in exile...who are not part of the problems in other cities...particularly Houston...where ambitious drug dealers have moved up to the next level of killing and selling...but demand drives supply...as we all well know.
So let's chant aloud for a week...while await the Falcons of Atlanta!
As we see the Saints come marching in on Monday Night Football next week, one wonders what will be the reaction of the media onslaught which grows by the day....al Jazeria TV has signed up to cover the game...giving the terrorists a full view of a target for their next suicide mission...just great...like anyone in Asia or the Middle East cares about football in New Orleans...knowing that the Dome will be sold out and full of "targets."
But enough of the grim, dark side of things...onto brighter stuff...like the beautiful weather we will enjoy for the next couple of days...and the weather patterns which will make another week of hurricane season bearable...it is like the Great Spirit which controls things decided to give us this year off to recover.
I pray for those folks still in exile...who are not part of the problems in other cities...particularly Houston...where ambitious drug dealers have moved up to the next level of killing and selling...but demand drives supply...as we all well know.
So let's chant aloud for a week...while await the Falcons of Atlanta!
Monday, September 18, 2006
The Chronicle: Daily news: 09/18/2006 -- 04
Monday, September 18, 2006
Colleges Hit by Hurricanes in 2005 to Receive $50-Million in New Federal Grants
By KELLY FIELD
Forty-two colleges that were forced to close, relocate, or scale back operations as a result of last year's hurricanes will receive grants of up to $7.5-million each, the colleges learned on Friday.
The bulk of the total of $50-million in grants will go to institutions in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi that were hit during Hurricane Katrina, though some of the money will go to colleges in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas that were damaged in other Gulf Coast cyclones, including Hurricane Rita.
Some lobbyists had hoped that the money would be restricted to institutions damaged by Hurricane Katrina, but Congress decided to open the competition to other colleges as well. The largest grants, however, went to institutions that were devastated by Katrina, including Dillard University, Tulane University, and the University of Southern Mississippi, each of which will receive the maximum grant of $7.5-million. Xavier University of Louisiana will get $5.3-million.
Cynthia A. Littlefield, director of federal relations for the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, said that while she was "disappointed" that Congress did not limit the grants to Katrina-affected institutions, the Department of Education "did a pretty good job of figuring out who had the most extensive damage."
Over the last year, colleges have received more than $250-million in federal aid to help cover the costs of hurricane reconstruction and repair. The latest infusion came in an emergency supplemental spending bill signed by President Bush last June. Forty-eight institutions applied for the money, but six were rejected because they were not recognized under federal law or because they had failed to provide all the required information.
The Department of Education notified the remaining colleges of their tentative award amounts Friday; the colleges must submit formal applications detailing how they will spend the grants before the money is disbursed.
Colleges Hit by Hurricanes in 2005 to Receive $50-Million in New Federal Grants
By KELLY FIELD
Forty-two colleges that were forced to close, relocate, or scale back operations as a result of last year's hurricanes will receive grants of up to $7.5-million each, the colleges learned on Friday.
The bulk of the total of $50-million in grants will go to institutions in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi that were hit during Hurricane Katrina, though some of the money will go to colleges in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas that were damaged in other Gulf Coast cyclones, including Hurricane Rita.
Some lobbyists had hoped that the money would be restricted to institutions damaged by Hurricane Katrina, but Congress decided to open the competition to other colleges as well. The largest grants, however, went to institutions that were devastated by Katrina, including Dillard University, Tulane University, and the University of Southern Mississippi, each of which will receive the maximum grant of $7.5-million. Xavier University of Louisiana will get $5.3-million.
Cynthia A. Littlefield, director of federal relations for the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, said that while she was "disappointed" that Congress did not limit the grants to Katrina-affected institutions, the Department of Education "did a pretty good job of figuring out who had the most extensive damage."
Over the last year, colleges have received more than $250-million in federal aid to help cover the costs of hurricane reconstruction and repair. The latest infusion came in an emergency supplemental spending bill signed by President Bush last June. Forty-eight institutions applied for the money, but six were rejected because they were not recognized under federal law or because they had failed to provide all the required information.
The Department of Education notified the remaining colleges of their tentative award amounts Friday; the colleges must submit formal applications detailing how they will spend the grants before the money is disbursed.
Friday, September 15, 2006
The Chronicle: Daily News Blog
The Chronicle: Daily News Blog: "Stanford U. Cracks Down on Delinquent Band
Stanford University has put its marching band on “indefinite provisional status” and placed it under the direct supervision of an associate dean, in response to band members’ role in trashing a practice center over the summer. According to a statement released by the university, band members did as much as $50,000 worth of damage to the Band Shak, a temporary structure used while a permanent practice facility was built.
The band, which has a tradition of shunning marching formations and preferring off-beat presentations, made an unparalleled performance in July at the Band Shak. As the university statement put it, “The vandalism included using a sledgehammer to create extensive damage to the walls. Windows were broken, equipment was destroyed, much of the ceiling was torn down, and the walls were spray-painted and covered with food.” Not what you’d expect in a half-time show.
A criminal inquiry is in progress, and the university cited the band’s “history of misconduct” in imposing the penalties. Among other things, the band will be barred from performing for at least a month, and will be forbidden to travel for a year.Stanford U. Cracks Down on Delinquent Band
Stanford University has put its marching band on “indefinite provisional status” and placed it under the direct supervision of an associate dean, in response to band members’ role in trashing a practice center over the summer. According to a statement released by the university, band members did as much as $50,000 worth of damage to the Band Shak, a temporary structure used while a permanent practice facility was built.
The band, which has a tradition of shunning marching formations and preferring off-beat presentations, made an unpara"
Stanford University has put its marching band on “indefinite provisional status” and placed it under the direct supervision of an associate dean, in response to band members’ role in trashing a practice center over the summer. According to a statement released by the university, band members did as much as $50,000 worth of damage to the Band Shak, a temporary structure used while a permanent practice facility was built.
The band, which has a tradition of shunning marching formations and preferring off-beat presentations, made an unparalleled performance in July at the Band Shak. As the university statement put it, “The vandalism included using a sledgehammer to create extensive damage to the walls. Windows were broken, equipment was destroyed, much of the ceiling was torn down, and the walls were spray-painted and covered with food.” Not what you’d expect in a half-time show.
A criminal inquiry is in progress, and the university cited the band’s “history of misconduct” in imposing the penalties. Among other things, the band will be barred from performing for at least a month, and will be forbidden to travel for a year.Stanford U. Cracks Down on Delinquent Band
Stanford University has put its marching band on “indefinite provisional status” and placed it under the direct supervision of an associate dean, in response to band members’ role in trashing a practice center over the summer. According to a statement released by the university, band members did as much as $50,000 worth of damage to the Band Shak, a temporary structure used while a permanent practice facility was built.
The band, which has a tradition of shunning marching formations and preferring off-beat presentations, made an unpara"
The Chronicle: Daily News Blog
The Chronicle: Daily News Blog: "Stanford U. Cracks Down on Delinquent Band
Stanford University has put its marching band on “indefinite provisional status” and placed it under the direct supervision of an associate dean, in response to band members’ role in trashing a practice center over the summer. According to a statement released by the university, band members did as much as $50,000 worth of damage to the Band Shak, a temporary structure used while a permanent practice facility was built.
The band, which has a tradition of shunning marching formations and preferring off-beat presentations, made an unparalleled performance in July at the Band Shak. As the university statement put it, “The vandalism included using a sledgehammer to create extensive damage to the walls. Windows were broken, equipment was destroyed, much of the ceiling was torn down, and the walls were spray-painted and covered with food.” Not what you’d expect in a half-time show.
A criminal inquiry is in progress, and the university cited the band’s “history of misconduct” in imposing the penalties. Among other things, the band will be barred from performing for at least a month, and will be forbidden to travel for a year.Stanford U. Cracks Down on Delinquent Band
Stanford University has put its marching band on “indefinite provisional status” and placed it under the direct supervision of an associate dean, in response to band members’ role in trashing a practice center over the summer. According to a statement released by the university, band members did as much as $50,000 worth of damage to the Band Shak, a temporary structure used while a permanent practice facility was built.
The band, which has a tradition of shunning marching formations and preferring off-beat presentations, made an unpara"
Stanford University has put its marching band on “indefinite provisional status” and placed it under the direct supervision of an associate dean, in response to band members’ role in trashing a practice center over the summer. According to a statement released by the university, band members did as much as $50,000 worth of damage to the Band Shak, a temporary structure used while a permanent practice facility was built.
The band, which has a tradition of shunning marching formations and preferring off-beat presentations, made an unparalleled performance in July at the Band Shak. As the university statement put it, “The vandalism included using a sledgehammer to create extensive damage to the walls. Windows were broken, equipment was destroyed, much of the ceiling was torn down, and the walls were spray-painted and covered with food.” Not what you’d expect in a half-time show.
A criminal inquiry is in progress, and the university cited the band’s “history of misconduct” in imposing the penalties. Among other things, the band will be barred from performing for at least a month, and will be forbidden to travel for a year.Stanford U. Cracks Down on Delinquent Band
Stanford University has put its marching band on “indefinite provisional status” and placed it under the direct supervision of an associate dean, in response to band members’ role in trashing a practice center over the summer. According to a statement released by the university, band members did as much as $50,000 worth of damage to the Band Shak, a temporary structure used while a permanent practice facility was built.
The band, which has a tradition of shunning marching formations and preferring off-beat presentations, made an unpara"
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
ACT Score Trends
http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/08/2006081601n.htm
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Average ACT Scores Rise, But Many Students Still Lack Preparation for College
By ELIZABETH F. FARRELL
The average score of high-school seniors who took the ACT exam in 2005-6 rose two-tenths of a point, to 21.1, the biggest one-year increase in scores over the past two decades, ACT officials said Tuesday.
But even though scores have reached their highest level since 1991, and a record number of members of the Class of 2006 took the test, ACT officials said many students were still not adequately prepared for college-level course work. The results were released Tuesday in the test service's annual "ACT High School Profile" report.
Scores for both men and women rose one-tenth of a point, with the average score for men at 21.2, slightly higher than the average of 21 for women. All racial and ethnic groups except Hispanics also raised their average scores.
Asian-American students scored 22.3, up .2; white students scored 22, up .1; and scores for African-American and Native American students both rose .1, to 17.1 and 18.8 respectively. Average scores for Hispanic students remained unchanged at 18.6.
The ACT exam consists of four sections: English, mathematics, reading, and science, and each section is scored on a scale of 1 to 36. Those four scores are averaged for the total score. Beginning in February 2005, the test added an optional 30-minute writing section, graded on a scale of 2 to 12. Only 36 percent of students took this portion of the test, and the average score was 7.7.
Students with scores above a certain level on each section are considered likely to earn at least a C in related college course work. Only 21 percent of test takers in the Class of 2006 reached the recommended threshold in every section, the same proportion as last year.
Over all, students did best on the English test, with 69 percent reaching the minimum threshold score of 18. While 53 percent of students met a similar benchmark on the reading test, only 42 percent scored high enough to reach the threshold on the math portion. The science test had the lowest rate of students reaching the threshold, with 27 percent of students meeting the minimum score of 24.
"This doesn't mean those students won't succeed in college," said Richard L. Ferguson, ACT's chief executive, in a news conference. "But it does mean there's a higher likelihood that they'll struggle or need help along the way."
Mr. Ferguson also said high schools needed to encourage more students to take challenging courses. The ACT endorses a curriculum that includes four years of English and three years each of math, science, and social studies.
But the ACT's own data suggest that following such a curriculum does not help all students equally. According to the 2006 data, white students who took fewer courses than recommended by the ACT scored an average of 20.6, while African-American students who took a more challenging curriculum had a 17.8 average score. Hispanic and Native American students with the recommend classes also scored lower than the white students, at 19.5 and 20.2, respectively.
"One part of the problem does lie in the rigor of the courses at our schools," said Mr. Ferguson. "Many of the courses students are taking are not up to the standards they need to learn the skills they need. ... We have an enormous task in shoring up our school systems."
Other data released by ACT suggest that the test is becoming more popular as an alternative to the SAT. In the past, the ACT was primarily taken by students in the Midwest, but this year the number of test takers rose by double-digit percentages in several states outside that region, including New Jersey (33 percent), Connecticut (26 percent), and Vermont (16 percent). In Florida the percentage rose by 14 percent, and 45 percent of all graduating seniors in that state took the ACT.
According to Ed Colby, a spokesman for ACT, the number of students taking the test in those states -- as well as in California, Ohio, and Georgia -- has been steadily increasing over the past 10 years as his company has more heavily promoted the use of the test in new markets.
Other factors may also be driving the surge in ACT test takers, however. Recent changes in the SAT, including a mandatory essay section and fill-in-the-blanks math questions, could also add to the appeal of the ACT, which has only multiple-choice questions and does not require students to write an essay.
"Part of it might be that the SAT has a pretty extended fight on its hands in terms of public perception," said David Hawkins, director of public policy for the National Association for College Admission Counseling. "There are other trends as well, though, including that more students are taking these tests in general and more colleges now accept the ACT as well as the SAT."
Copyright © 2006 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Average ACT Scores Rise, But Many Students Still Lack Preparation for College
By ELIZABETH F. FARRELL
The average score of high-school seniors who took the ACT exam in 2005-6 rose two-tenths of a point, to 21.1, the biggest one-year increase in scores over the past two decades, ACT officials said Tuesday.
But even though scores have reached their highest level since 1991, and a record number of members of the Class of 2006 took the test, ACT officials said many students were still not adequately prepared for college-level course work. The results were released Tuesday in the test service's annual "ACT High School Profile" report.
Scores for both men and women rose one-tenth of a point, with the average score for men at 21.2, slightly higher than the average of 21 for women. All racial and ethnic groups except Hispanics also raised their average scores.
Asian-American students scored 22.3, up .2; white students scored 22, up .1; and scores for African-American and Native American students both rose .1, to 17.1 and 18.8 respectively. Average scores for Hispanic students remained unchanged at 18.6.
The ACT exam consists of four sections: English, mathematics, reading, and science, and each section is scored on a scale of 1 to 36. Those four scores are averaged for the total score. Beginning in February 2005, the test added an optional 30-minute writing section, graded on a scale of 2 to 12. Only 36 percent of students took this portion of the test, and the average score was 7.7.
Students with scores above a certain level on each section are considered likely to earn at least a C in related college course work. Only 21 percent of test takers in the Class of 2006 reached the recommended threshold in every section, the same proportion as last year.
Over all, students did best on the English test, with 69 percent reaching the minimum threshold score of 18. While 53 percent of students met a similar benchmark on the reading test, only 42 percent scored high enough to reach the threshold on the math portion. The science test had the lowest rate of students reaching the threshold, with 27 percent of students meeting the minimum score of 24.
"This doesn't mean those students won't succeed in college," said Richard L. Ferguson, ACT's chief executive, in a news conference. "But it does mean there's a higher likelihood that they'll struggle or need help along the way."
Mr. Ferguson also said high schools needed to encourage more students to take challenging courses. The ACT endorses a curriculum that includes four years of English and three years each of math, science, and social studies.
But the ACT's own data suggest that following such a curriculum does not help all students equally. According to the 2006 data, white students who took fewer courses than recommended by the ACT scored an average of 20.6, while African-American students who took a more challenging curriculum had a 17.8 average score. Hispanic and Native American students with the recommend classes also scored lower than the white students, at 19.5 and 20.2, respectively.
"One part of the problem does lie in the rigor of the courses at our schools," said Mr. Ferguson. "Many of the courses students are taking are not up to the standards they need to learn the skills they need. ... We have an enormous task in shoring up our school systems."
Other data released by ACT suggest that the test is becoming more popular as an alternative to the SAT. In the past, the ACT was primarily taken by students in the Midwest, but this year the number of test takers rose by double-digit percentages in several states outside that region, including New Jersey (33 percent), Connecticut (26 percent), and Vermont (16 percent). In Florida the percentage rose by 14 percent, and 45 percent of all graduating seniors in that state took the ACT.
According to Ed Colby, a spokesman for ACT, the number of students taking the test in those states -- as well as in California, Ohio, and Georgia -- has been steadily increasing over the past 10 years as his company has more heavily promoted the use of the test in new markets.
Other factors may also be driving the surge in ACT test takers, however. Recent changes in the SAT, including a mandatory essay section and fill-in-the-blanks math questions, could also add to the appeal of the ACT, which has only multiple-choice questions and does not require students to write an essay.
"Part of it might be that the SAT has a pretty extended fight on its hands in terms of public perception," said David Hawkins, director of public policy for the National Association for College Admission Counseling. "There are other trends as well, though, including that more students are taking these tests in general and more colleges now accept the ACT as well as the SAT."
Copyright © 2006 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Back to School
Today is the first day for official registration at Southern U at New Orleans !!
Now let's see who comes back...how many...not as many as first thought...for things are moving slowly...and the Gulf is always on our minds these days...Contra-Flow...is just a Govenor's call away...let's hope we can get our folks back in school.
/wag
Now let's see who comes back...how many...not as many as first thought...for things are moving slowly...and the Gulf is always on our minds these days...Contra-Flow...is just a Govenor's call away...let's hope we can get our folks back in school.
/wag
Unsettled in America
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i49/49a03201.htm
From the issue dated August 11, 2006
Many refugees in the United States struggle to find their way to college
By SARA LIPKA
Washington
Five years ago, Simon Malith left Kenya for the United States hoping to earn a bachelor's degree. Today he lives in the nation's capital, within 10 miles of a dozen colleges, but those campuses seem half a world away.
As a child, Mr. Malith fled civil war in southern Sudan. He spent nine years in Kakuma, a refugee camp in northwestern Kenya. He finished high school at the camp, where 80,000 people lived and the desert dust clung to everything.
In 2000 the U.S. State Department began to select more Sudanese refugees for resettlement. Officials interviewed them individually at Kakuma, and each week residents would gather to see a newly posted list of those who had been chosen. In February 2001, Mr. Malith saw his name, and 48 hours later, he boarded a plane bound for Washington. He carried little more than a backpack and a journal.
Mr. Malith enrolled at the University of the District of Columbia in 2002, but dropped out after two semesters because his loans were piling up and his unpredictable work schedule often interfered with his classes. Since arriving in Washington, he has held four jobs and lived in three apartments, always trying to save more money. He now works as a security guard at the Washington Convention Center, earning $14 an hour, although his hours vary each week.
There are many things Mr. Malith does not know, such as whether he is really 26 years old, as the State Department estimates. He is certain, however, that he would do well in college if he could only afford the tuition. "There is nothing that I like more," he says, "than education."
Refugees who succeed in American colleges often capture headlines. This spring a handful of Sudanese refugees earned degrees, including three from the University of New Hampshire and one from Stanford University.
But those stories, while stirring, are exceptional. In resettlement destinations as varied as Pittsburgh and Phoenix, refugees who seek higher education struggle to stay on the path to a degree. Financial difficulties, language barriers, and a lack of support from colleges keep many from succeeding.
Mr. Malith is one of the "lost boys," the name given to young Sudanese refugees, many of whom were orphaned as children. (There are relatively few "lost girls" because many of the boys, out herding cattle when their villages were attacked by militias, were able to flee.) Some 4,000 of the lost boys have settled in the United States during the past five years. About 150 of them have been placed in Boston and 150 in Chicago, where local volunteers estimate that, in each city, half have taken college classes and 15 have completed degrees.
Last year 53,813 refugees from around the world resettled in the United States. There are no reliable estimates of how many refugees go to college, however, primarily because the local agencies that coordinate the resettlement process track individual cases for only six to eight months.
Mr. Malith shares a rundown two-bedroom apartment here with five other young men from Sudan, all of whom had hoped to attend college. None are now enrolled. Unlike most students in Africa, Mr. Malith and his friends, as refugees, did not have to pay for their high-school education; they had expected to receive a free college education in the United States, too. Mr. Malith recalls that during an orientation session in Kakuma, an American aid worker described the many educational opportunities that awaited them.
"When we came to this country," Mr. Malith says, "we thought they brought us here to go to college."
Luck of the Draw
That misimpression may have set Mr. Malith's expectations, but chance has played a large role in shaping his experience in the United States.
When the State Department grants refugee status to a person, it sends his or her name and biographical information to a group of 10 agencies that coordinate the resettlement process. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service are the largest of those groups, followed by other religiously affiliated and secular organizations.
Representatives of those agencies meet weekly, in Rosslyn, Va., to decide where to settle each new group of refugees. Arrivals with relatives in the United States are permitted to join them. Many others are placed in existing ethnic communities — Iraqis in Detroit, for example, and Burmese in Indianapolis.
For most refugees, however, the luck of the draw determines where they will live. "It's basically like a draft," says Terry Abeles, director of program development at the Lutheran group.
Regional branches of those organizations lead refugees through a "reception and placement" process, which includes a whirl of applications for jobs, Social Security, and apartment leases. For their first four to eight months, refugees are eligible for modest stipends from the states where they are placed. Mr. Malith and his fellow refugees in Washington, for example, say they each received $140 per month for four months.
The problem for prospective students is that the resettlement process was designed to make refugees economically self-sufficient — not to help them get an education. In many states, refugees who enroll as full-time students automatically lose their eligibility for the monthly stipends, even if they are also employed.
Some coordinators of state refugee programs say they typically discourage newcomers from going to college. One reason: The programs' federal funds are designated for employment services only. The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, in the Department of Health and Human Services, checks up regularly on how many refugees the state programs place in jobs within the first six months of their arrival.
"There is a lot of pressure on the system to get that person to go to work," says Bill Sperling, dean of learning services at Everett Community College, in Washington State. "If we can pry a year of ESL and a couple of quarters of job training, that's usually the maximum the system will support."
Most refugees cannot afford to pay for college on their own. Those who are dependents may qualify for student aid, but single heads of household — like most of the lost boys — are often ineligible for federal and state grants. In the 2007-8 academic year, a single head of household with no dependents and no savings would qualify for a Pell Grant only if he made less than $17,000 annually.
Where a refugee happens to settle may also affect how accessible college is to him or her. Those who live in cities or towns with a strong refugee-support network or a community-college outreach program have a better shot at an education than those who move to places without such resources.
In suburban Boston and Chicago, for instance, volunteer groups have incorporated as nonprofit organizations to raise scholarship money for local refugee students.
Two years ago the writer David Chanoff, who lives in Marlboro, Mass., founded the Sudanese Education Fund. It raises money through private donations, family foundations, and public events, like a musical revue performed by refugees last fall. The budget is now large enough to support one $1,000 grant per year for each local Sudanese refugee enrolled in college. With community-college tuition at $300 per course in Massachusetts, "sometimes it's really enabling," says Mr. Chanoff. "It makes the difference between being able to do it and not do it."
The Chicago Association of the Lost Boys of Sudan spends more than $100,000 per year on college scholarships. Mike Dubiel, president of the group, says it can pay full tuition for most of the 35 to 40 refugee students now enrolled in the area. (Full support is more likely for students at two-year colleges than for those at four-year institutions, where tuition is higher.)
Mr. Dubiel says the group's volunteers stay in touch with community-college administrators, to make sure they "know who the guys are and help them out, keep them from spinning their wheels taking classes that ... don't move them along toward an associate degree."
The Massachusetts group does the same. If a student is struggling, says Mr. Chanoff, he will talk to someone from the college on that student's behalf: "We're doing absolutely everything we can to encourage them and help them get through the different and often arcane ways that we get ourselves educated in this country."
Institutional Support
Some colleges have reached out to refugee students. In 2001 Mr. Chanoff's group took several dozen Sudanese refugees on a field trip to a dairy farm at the University of New Hampshire. Much to Mr. Chanoff's surprise, administrators there encouraged some of the young men to apply for admission.
New Hampshire officials say they wanted to diversify their student body but did not wish to admit students who were unprepared. "We wanted to make sure this wasn't being done to satisfy our objectives, our agenda, at the expense of them as individuals," says Mark Rubenstein, vice president for student and academic services. "We wanted to be comfortable that the students had the potential to be successful here."
Administrators gave the prospective students an English-language exam, allowing them to take what is normally a computerized test on paper because the refugees had little computer experience. Out of about 20 applicants, a handful scored high enough to be admitted. Five enrolled, and student-aid officers at the university gave them partial scholarships and helped them apply for loans.
Three professors became the students' closest advisers. Andrew B. Conroy, a professor of animal science, recalls spending hours tutoring Peter Guguei, one of the refugees. "I sort of kept Peter under my wing," says Mr. Conroy. "He'd pop in between classes. ... He really struggled that first year to try to overcome the language difficulty."
Mr. Guguei, who earned an associate degree in dairy management this spring, plans to pursue a bachelor's degree in political science. Three of the other students graduated this spring, and the fifth plans to finish his degree this fall.
Administrators who work closely with refugees say the students need a strong, close-knit support system to succeed. Don Beech coordinates the registration of about 500 refugees per year as cross-cultural counselor at Monroe Community College, in Rochester, N.Y. He advises new students one on one, teaching them the basics of higher education. He explains the importance of attendance and class participation and warns them not to ignore deadlines for withdrawing from a class or changing a major.
Some of the students, in a rush to finish their degrees, become overwhelmed. "They see so much they want to do here and think they can handle it," says Mr. Beech. Sometimes they skip recommended courses or underestimate how many hours they must study. Mr. Beech often refers the students to workshops on time management and test taking, or to tutors, to help them stay on track.
Pima Community College, in Tucson, is home to a program called the Refugee Education Project, which provides free English instruction. Successful participants move on to take the college's regular English-language classes. Some of those students go on to take other courses at Pima.
Raisa Bograd, an English instructor at the college, helps refugees make that transition. On Tuesday afternoons, when she is available for advising, a line forms outside her door. Refugee students bombard her with questions: Am I ready for college? How do I fill out this form? How do I apply for financial aid? "I'm just trying to prevent failures ... ," Ms. Bograd says, "to make sure they are making progress."
Some refugee students at Pima, who come from Africa, Iraq, and a variety of other places, take just one course per semester. Others drop out, although some return a year or so later, when they have more money or have hit an employment ceiling.
Others juggle full-time jobs with full-time course loads. Faridoon Abdul-Wahid, who is from Afghanistan, enrolled at Pima in 2004. He works 30 to 40 hours a week as a server at a nearby Hilton and takes as many credits per semester as he can. Mr. Abdul-Wahid, who lives with his mother and five siblings, often leaves home at 7 a.m. for classes, then works from 3 to 11 p.m. He hopes to transfer to the University of Arizona next spring, to take pre-med courses, earn his bachelor's degree, and apply to medical school.
"It is hard," he says. "But it is still possible."
Friday-Night Study Group
Mr. Malith, the refugee who settled in Washington, is much less optimistic about the prospect of balancing work and college while paying tuition. He has heard about the special scholarships for refugees in other cities, and he wishes he, too, could get one. "Luck," he says, "is not for everyone."
While large groups of the Sudanese lost boys have settled elsewhere, only a handful live in the nation's capital, where the refugees tend to blend in with a considerable population of African immigrants. Unlike Boston and Chicago, however, Washington has no advocacy group for the lost boys. Without that support network, the young men have little means of learning about scholarships at local community colleges for which they may be eligible.
When Mr. Malith started taking classes at the University of the District of Columbia, in 2002, he qualified for a Pell Grant because he had postponed working in order to have eye surgery, to correct advanced glaucoma.
By the next semester, however, he was earning $7.50 per hour stocking shelves at a Rite Aid pharmacy, and he qualified for just a loan.
One of his roommates, John A. Dut, is in a similar position. Mr. Dut, who collates newspapers at The Washington Post, met last year with an admissions counselor at Prince George's Community College, in Maryland. He keeps his placement-test scores and course-selection sheets close at hand, but he cannot come up with the $1,179 to enter a program in computer engineering. "I have the interest to do it," he says, "but not the money."
Mr. Dut regrets that he does not have more to show for the five years he has been in the United States. Each long day of work exhausts him.
Popular among the lost boys is a saying: "Education is my mother and my father." The saying, Mr. Malith explains, is based on the belief that knowledge can support and protect committed students. Mr. Dut, Mr. Malith, and their roommates occasionally chat in Dinka, their first language, but they are serious about improving their English, which is sometimes hesitant but generally very good.
They started to learn English in Kakuma, the refugee camp, where as many as 15 students shared one book. Mr. Malith looked forward to his day in the rotation. "It was very exciting when you got the book," he says. "You are happy when you are reading."
He reads often, swinging by the local branch of the public library once a week and frequenting a nearby used bookstore. Still hoping to study political science one day, he looks for political histories. Recently he has read biographies of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin, and Rudolph W. Giuliani.
At his apartment on a Friday night, Mr. Malith starts a discussion on constitutional rights with his roommates. He reflects on how the First Amendment applied in a Vietnam War-era case that reached the Supreme Court, in which students wearing protest armbands were suspended from their public school in Iowa.
None of the young men here have plans to go out tonight, because all but one of them have to work the next day. So they gather for what amounts to a Friday-night study group. A copy of The Washington Post and a red pocket dictionary lie open on their coffee table. A plastic clock is all that hangs on the bare white walls.
As CNN drones in the background, Mr. Dut concentrates on a copy of The Chronicle, underlining unfamiliar words and asking what they mean. David L. Deng, a friend and fellow refugee who has dropped by to visit and make use of a shared hand-me-down computer, looks up from the keyboard, where he is typing an e-mail message, and asks how to spell "hectic."
Two years ago, for four months, Mr. Dut and another of his roommates, Mac Deng, met for 12 hours of weekly language lessons with instructors from the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages program at American University. "I am pleased with what we were able to give them, but it wasn't enough," says Brock Brady, the program's coordinator. "I've read the success stories, and I certainly don't see anything about the abilities or characters of these young men here that indicate that they shouldn't have the same success."
Mac Deng contacted Mr. Brady recently to discuss his education options. The instructor hopes to meet with Mr. Deng soon, but he is not sure what advice to offer. Mr. Brady figures he could scrape together enough of his own money to pay for Mr. Deng's first class at a local community college.
"But I'm not sure," he says, "what happens after that.
"http://chronicle.comSection: StudentsVolume 52, Issue 49, Page A32
Copyright © 2006 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
Monday, July 31, 2006
How High?...from the Washington Post
For Those Rebuilding in New Orleans, How High?
By Peter WhoriskeyWashington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 31, 2006; A03
NEW ORLEANS -- Be careful walking out the front door of Al Petrie's new home. It's a long way down.
Fourteen steps above the sidewalk, about 10 feet over the street, the front stoop is perched high like a lookout post within a fortress of brick.
The home is built far enough up, Petrie says proudly, that "when the next Katrina comes, I'll be dry."
What if a more powerful hurricane strikes?
Petrie squints and frowns. "I just can't imagine it getting much worse than Katrina," he says.
As residents struggle to rebuild some of the tens of thousands of ravaged properties here, few questions unnerve people more than how safe their homes will be in the next catastrophic flood. And the key to that is how high above the ground their homes will stand.
Some, like Petrie, are lifting their dwellings far above surroundings. Others are betting that Katrina was so rare that nothing that bad will come their way again, and they're building just as they were before the storm. But in a city daunted by profound uncertainties about the future, the issue of home elevations arouses these often-unspoken fears like no other.
For flood insurance purposes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has recommended that people rebuild to the elevation requirements in effect before the storm, or three feet above ground level, whichever is higher. But officials acknowledge those levels won't ensure safety -- they certainly didn't in Katrina, when many homes took on 10 feet or more of water.
Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers, which is repairing the city's levees and flood walls, isn't guaranteeing protection when a hurricane of Category 3 strength or higher strikes.
"It's a risk each individual must decide whether or not to live with," according to a Corps statement. "History has proven time and again that Mother Nature will throw something bigger at these protection systems than what was built so people should recognize that that threat always exists."
The financial viability of the federal flood insurance program, which took a staggering $22 billion hit in Katrina, may one day depend on whether homeowners take steps now to reduce the risks.
Many people are simply rebuilding their homes without elevating. It costs too much money, they say, and they're willing to bet that another disaster won't come along for another 40 years, the length of time between Katrina and New Orleans's previous devastating storm.
Others are putting their faith in the new dictates of the federal flood program, or relying on their own estimations of the risk.
"The last big storm was Betsy in 1965," said Cynthia Horne, 47, who is rebuilding her home in New Orleans East but not elevating it because of the cost. "I guess it's a gamble we're taking. If it takes another 40 or 50 years for the next one, I don't think we'll be here. I trust in God."
But to a handful of people at least, neither the existing requirements nor the new federal recommendations make sense because they ignore Katrina's punishing lessons.
The most meaningful safety benchmark, in their view, is the waterlines left on houses when Katrina's floodwaters receded.
Both Petrie and Jim Pate, the executive director of the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, have decided to go beyond the elevation recommendations from FEMA and raise their homes high enough that the first floors will be above Katrina's floodwaters.
"You'd have to have almost a tsunami-type wave for the flooding to be worse than Katrina," Pate said.
The federal rules required Pate to elevate Habitat homes in the Upper Ninth Ward a little over three feet above the ground, he said. He's raising them more than five feet.
Likewise, the federal rules require Petrie to raise his home only about 3 1/2 feet over the ground, he said. But he's raising it about six feet beyond that.
"This should be our model," he says, waving at his new home.
He invites a visitor to compare the waterline on the house next door -- reaching nearly to the top of the front door -- with the height of his stoop. His stoop is about a foot higher.
A home built to the current federal recommendations in his Lakeview neighborhood "would have been under six feet of water in Katrina," he said.
Although lax in comparison, however, the FEMA guidelines are not without their logic.
The guidelines are meant to prevent the flooding of a property in the event of a "100-year storm," or a storm so severe it has only a 1 percent annual chance of happening.
Exactly what the "100-year storm" amounts to for any given location is a scientific question that is complicated enough because accurate storm records can be difficult to come by. But then scientists are asked to estimate what kind of river-level rises and storm surge the imagined storm will generate, and ultimately, how high floodwaters will rise in city streets.
FEMA believes that the required building elevations in place in New Orleans before the storm do not require drastic revisions. But the agency's faith assumes that the levees will hold in a 100-year storm.
The Corps of Engineers is engaged in a $5.7 billion project that they say will bring area levees up to that strength by 2010.
"Katrina was larger than a 100-year storm," said Dan Hitchings, who is leading the Corps repair efforts. And "Katrina was not the largest storm this area could experience."
Of residents' efforts to elevate homes higher than FEMA requirements, Hitchings said, "They are preparing for a storm larger than Katrina, which would be an extremely rare event."
Many in New Orleans are no longer willing to trust in official assurances. They say it's time to heed the example of historic New Orleans, when people built on the higher ground and elevated their homes -- sometimes many feet.
"Our grandparents knew better than to live flat on the ground, but the levees gave people a false sense of security," Petrie, 53, said. "We trusted them before, and look where that got us."
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
'
By Peter WhoriskeyWashington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 31, 2006; A03
NEW ORLEANS -- Be careful walking out the front door of Al Petrie's new home. It's a long way down.
Fourteen steps above the sidewalk, about 10 feet over the street, the front stoop is perched high like a lookout post within a fortress of brick.
The home is built far enough up, Petrie says proudly, that "when the next Katrina comes, I'll be dry."
What if a more powerful hurricane strikes?
Petrie squints and frowns. "I just can't imagine it getting much worse than Katrina," he says.
As residents struggle to rebuild some of the tens of thousands of ravaged properties here, few questions unnerve people more than how safe their homes will be in the next catastrophic flood. And the key to that is how high above the ground their homes will stand.
Some, like Petrie, are lifting their dwellings far above surroundings. Others are betting that Katrina was so rare that nothing that bad will come their way again, and they're building just as they were before the storm. But in a city daunted by profound uncertainties about the future, the issue of home elevations arouses these often-unspoken fears like no other.
For flood insurance purposes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has recommended that people rebuild to the elevation requirements in effect before the storm, or three feet above ground level, whichever is higher. But officials acknowledge those levels won't ensure safety -- they certainly didn't in Katrina, when many homes took on 10 feet or more of water.
Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers, which is repairing the city's levees and flood walls, isn't guaranteeing protection when a hurricane of Category 3 strength or higher strikes.
"It's a risk each individual must decide whether or not to live with," according to a Corps statement. "History has proven time and again that Mother Nature will throw something bigger at these protection systems than what was built so people should recognize that that threat always exists."
The financial viability of the federal flood insurance program, which took a staggering $22 billion hit in Katrina, may one day depend on whether homeowners take steps now to reduce the risks.
Many people are simply rebuilding their homes without elevating. It costs too much money, they say, and they're willing to bet that another disaster won't come along for another 40 years, the length of time between Katrina and New Orleans's previous devastating storm.
Others are putting their faith in the new dictates of the federal flood program, or relying on their own estimations of the risk.
"The last big storm was Betsy in 1965," said Cynthia Horne, 47, who is rebuilding her home in New Orleans East but not elevating it because of the cost. "I guess it's a gamble we're taking. If it takes another 40 or 50 years for the next one, I don't think we'll be here. I trust in God."
But to a handful of people at least, neither the existing requirements nor the new federal recommendations make sense because they ignore Katrina's punishing lessons.
The most meaningful safety benchmark, in their view, is the waterlines left on houses when Katrina's floodwaters receded.
Both Petrie and Jim Pate, the executive director of the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, have decided to go beyond the elevation recommendations from FEMA and raise their homes high enough that the first floors will be above Katrina's floodwaters.
"You'd have to have almost a tsunami-type wave for the flooding to be worse than Katrina," Pate said.
The federal rules required Pate to elevate Habitat homes in the Upper Ninth Ward a little over three feet above the ground, he said. He's raising them more than five feet.
Likewise, the federal rules require Petrie to raise his home only about 3 1/2 feet over the ground, he said. But he's raising it about six feet beyond that.
"This should be our model," he says, waving at his new home.
He invites a visitor to compare the waterline on the house next door -- reaching nearly to the top of the front door -- with the height of his stoop. His stoop is about a foot higher.
A home built to the current federal recommendations in his Lakeview neighborhood "would have been under six feet of water in Katrina," he said.
Although lax in comparison, however, the FEMA guidelines are not without their logic.
The guidelines are meant to prevent the flooding of a property in the event of a "100-year storm," or a storm so severe it has only a 1 percent annual chance of happening.
Exactly what the "100-year storm" amounts to for any given location is a scientific question that is complicated enough because accurate storm records can be difficult to come by. But then scientists are asked to estimate what kind of river-level rises and storm surge the imagined storm will generate, and ultimately, how high floodwaters will rise in city streets.
FEMA believes that the required building elevations in place in New Orleans before the storm do not require drastic revisions. But the agency's faith assumes that the levees will hold in a 100-year storm.
The Corps of Engineers is engaged in a $5.7 billion project that they say will bring area levees up to that strength by 2010.
"Katrina was larger than a 100-year storm," said Dan Hitchings, who is leading the Corps repair efforts. And "Katrina was not the largest storm this area could experience."
Of residents' efforts to elevate homes higher than FEMA requirements, Hitchings said, "They are preparing for a storm larger than Katrina, which would be an extremely rare event."
Many in New Orleans are no longer willing to trust in official assurances. They say it's time to heed the example of historic New Orleans, when people built on the higher ground and elevated their homes -- sometimes many feet.
"Our grandparents knew better than to live flat on the ground, but the levees gave people a false sense of security," Petrie, 53, said. "We trusted them before, and look where that got us."
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
'
Friday, July 21, 2006
Monday, July 17, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Blogger Succeeds in Bartering a Paper Clip for a House
Blogger Succeeds in Bartering a Paper Clip for a House
After one year of bartering everything from a snow globe to free rent for a year, Kyle MacDonald has acquired a home in Canada.
By Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- Taking a paper clip and turning it into a house sounds like a cheesy magic trick.
Kyle MacDonald, however, has pulled it off.
One year ago, the 26-year-old blogger from Montreal set out to barter one red paper clip for something and that thing for something else, over and over again until he had a house.
On Wednesday the quest is ending as envisioned: MacDonald is due to become the proud owner of a three-bedroom, 1,100-square-foot (99-square-meter) home provided by the town of Kipling, Saskatchewan. MacDonald and his girlfriend, Dominique Dupuis, expect to move there in early September.
''This is such a cool community project. It feels right,'' MacDonald said. ''And now that I think about it, I can't believe that another small town didn't think of it. It will literally put them on the map.''
What's in it for the town? The answer requires a quick MacDonald recap, featuring a menagerie of friendly folks, radio talk show hosts and aging celebrities, all bound together by the Internet.
It began when MacDonald, an aspiring writer, doer of odd jobs and apartment dweller, advertised in the barter section of the Craigslist Web site that he wanted something bigger or better for one red paper clip. He traded it for a fish-shaped pen, and posted on Craigslist again and again.
Roaming Canada and the United States, he exchanged the pen for a ceramic knob, and in turn: a camping stove, a generator, a beer keg and Budweiser sign, a snowmobile, a trip to the Canadian Rockies, a supply truck and a recording contract. Next, in April, he got himself really close, obtaining a year's rent in Phoenix.
His adventure became an Internet blockbuster. He did Canadian and Japanese TV and ''Good Morning America.'' He made dozens of local radio appearances -- one of which, in Los Angeles, was heard by a man who ended up as a pivotal figure.
That man is Corbin Bernsen. You may remember him from his roles in ''L.A. Law'' and ''Major League.''
Hip to the publicity-generating machine that is Kyle MacDonald, Bernsen contacted him to say he was writing and directing a movie and would offer a paid speaking role as an item available for trade.
MacDonald was thrilled. But he feared the integrity of his journey would be compromised if he accepted the role without trading Bernsen something he really could use. Say what you want about ''Major League 3,'' but Bernsen has done well enough that he doesn't need a free apartment in Phoenix.
So MacDonald kept Bernsen's offer off his blog, but plowed ahead with an eye to finding something Bernsen would legitimately want.
Seemingly disregarding good economic sense, MacDonald traded the year's rent for an afternoon with rocker Alice Cooper. (MacDonald's response: ''Alice Cooper is a gold mine of awesomeness and fun.'') Then in a move that really confused his blog readers, MacDonald bartered time with Cooper for a snow globe depicting the band Kiss.
Re-enter Corbin Bernsen.
You see, since the days when he'd get free stuff on promotional tours for ''L.A. Law,'' Bernsen has amassed a collection of 6,500 snow globes. ''One off, they look sort of goofy,'' Bernsen said. ''Put them all together and they sort of look like pop art.''
So MacDonald gave Bernsen the Kiss model and encouraged his blog readers to send the actor even more globes in exchange for autographed pictures.
All this delighted the elders in Kipling, a town of 1,140 believed to have been named in honor of author Rudyard Kipling.
Like many rural towns, Kipling is eager to stave off the perils of dwindling population by attracting new businesses, tourism and above all, attention. When the local development coordinator, Bert Roach, heard about MacDonald's odyssey, he suggested at the next council meeting that Kipling lure him.
Quickly the town purchased an unoccupied rental house on Main Street and offered it to MacDonald. Roach won't disclose the price because MacDonald says he doesn't want to know. But Roach says it was well under the going rate in Kipling, which is about $50,000 Canadian (US$45,000).
The town also pledged to put a giant red paper clip at a highway rest stop and hold an ''American Idol''-style competition for the movie role. Participants will have to make a donation to the town's parks department and a charity.
When MacDonald agreed last week, ''I was holding back tears, I was so bloody happy,'' Roach said. ''It's going to be such a great project for our community.''
Bernsen says that if the right person emerges in the talent show, he'd be willing to cast him or her as a lead. ''Maybe a career is going to get started. Maybe it's going to be huge. Maybe that's the magic of Kyle.''
MacDonald doesn't expect to live in Kipling forever. But he says he'll make it home at least while he settles down to write a book.
Of course, even if the house came free, he'll have the usual homeowner headaches: taxes, utilities, upkeep. It should come as no surprise that MacDonald isn't worried.
''I'll figure something out,'' he said. ''I can get a job. There's three grocery stores in town.''
On the Net:
MacDonald's blog: http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com
Copyright Technology Review 2006.
After one year of bartering everything from a snow globe to free rent for a year, Kyle MacDonald has acquired a home in Canada.
By Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- Taking a paper clip and turning it into a house sounds like a cheesy magic trick.
Kyle MacDonald, however, has pulled it off.
One year ago, the 26-year-old blogger from Montreal set out to barter one red paper clip for something and that thing for something else, over and over again until he had a house.
On Wednesday the quest is ending as envisioned: MacDonald is due to become the proud owner of a three-bedroom, 1,100-square-foot (99-square-meter) home provided by the town of Kipling, Saskatchewan. MacDonald and his girlfriend, Dominique Dupuis, expect to move there in early September.
''This is such a cool community project. It feels right,'' MacDonald said. ''And now that I think about it, I can't believe that another small town didn't think of it. It will literally put them on the map.''
What's in it for the town? The answer requires a quick MacDonald recap, featuring a menagerie of friendly folks, radio talk show hosts and aging celebrities, all bound together by the Internet.
It began when MacDonald, an aspiring writer, doer of odd jobs and apartment dweller, advertised in the barter section of the Craigslist Web site that he wanted something bigger or better for one red paper clip. He traded it for a fish-shaped pen, and posted on Craigslist again and again.
Roaming Canada and the United States, he exchanged the pen for a ceramic knob, and in turn: a camping stove, a generator, a beer keg and Budweiser sign, a snowmobile, a trip to the Canadian Rockies, a supply truck and a recording contract. Next, in April, he got himself really close, obtaining a year's rent in Phoenix.
His adventure became an Internet blockbuster. He did Canadian and Japanese TV and ''Good Morning America.'' He made dozens of local radio appearances -- one of which, in Los Angeles, was heard by a man who ended up as a pivotal figure.
That man is Corbin Bernsen. You may remember him from his roles in ''L.A. Law'' and ''Major League.''
Hip to the publicity-generating machine that is Kyle MacDonald, Bernsen contacted him to say he was writing and directing a movie and would offer a paid speaking role as an item available for trade.
MacDonald was thrilled. But he feared the integrity of his journey would be compromised if he accepted the role without trading Bernsen something he really could use. Say what you want about ''Major League 3,'' but Bernsen has done well enough that he doesn't need a free apartment in Phoenix.
So MacDonald kept Bernsen's offer off his blog, but plowed ahead with an eye to finding something Bernsen would legitimately want.
Seemingly disregarding good economic sense, MacDonald traded the year's rent for an afternoon with rocker Alice Cooper. (MacDonald's response: ''Alice Cooper is a gold mine of awesomeness and fun.'') Then in a move that really confused his blog readers, MacDonald bartered time with Cooper for a snow globe depicting the band Kiss.
Re-enter Corbin Bernsen.
You see, since the days when he'd get free stuff on promotional tours for ''L.A. Law,'' Bernsen has amassed a collection of 6,500 snow globes. ''One off, they look sort of goofy,'' Bernsen said. ''Put them all together and they sort of look like pop art.''
So MacDonald gave Bernsen the Kiss model and encouraged his blog readers to send the actor even more globes in exchange for autographed pictures.
All this delighted the elders in Kipling, a town of 1,140 believed to have been named in honor of author Rudyard Kipling.
Like many rural towns, Kipling is eager to stave off the perils of dwindling population by attracting new businesses, tourism and above all, attention. When the local development coordinator, Bert Roach, heard about MacDonald's odyssey, he suggested at the next council meeting that Kipling lure him.
Quickly the town purchased an unoccupied rental house on Main Street and offered it to MacDonald. Roach won't disclose the price because MacDonald says he doesn't want to know. But Roach says it was well under the going rate in Kipling, which is about $50,000 Canadian (US$45,000).
The town also pledged to put a giant red paper clip at a highway rest stop and hold an ''American Idol''-style competition for the movie role. Participants will have to make a donation to the town's parks department and a charity.
When MacDonald agreed last week, ''I was holding back tears, I was so bloody happy,'' Roach said. ''It's going to be such a great project for our community.''
Bernsen says that if the right person emerges in the talent show, he'd be willing to cast him or her as a lead. ''Maybe a career is going to get started. Maybe it's going to be huge. Maybe that's the magic of Kyle.''
MacDonald doesn't expect to live in Kipling forever. But he says he'll make it home at least while he settles down to write a book.
Of course, even if the house came free, he'll have the usual homeowner headaches: taxes, utilities, upkeep. It should come as no surprise that MacDonald isn't worried.
''I'll figure something out,'' he said. ''I can get a job. There's three grocery stores in town.''
On the Net:
MacDonald's blog: http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com
Copyright Technology Review 2006.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Education and Entertainment Merge in One Whimsical View of Colleges' Future
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
By JEFF SELINGO
Honolulu
Predicting the future is an inexact science, of course. Just ask the creators of The Jetsons. After all, our workdays still don't consist of pushing a single computer button as they did for George Jetson.
Even so, Richard N. Katz, vice president of Educause, took a crack at forecasting the future of higher education with a whimsical video he showed here at the "Campus of the Future" conference. Among other things, the video, titled edu@2020, made the following tongue-in-cheek predictions for the coming years:
2008
The Apollo Group sells the University of Phoenix Online to Google, which creates GooglePhoenix.
Microsoft takes over Pearson Education and Blackboard.
Michael S. Ovitz, the former Hollywood talent agent, starts FacultyOne, a talent agency for star professors, and immediately signs up 13 Nobel laureates.
2009
Disney, Sony, and Apple merge.
Disney acquires struggling colleges, promising to invigorate them with "Disney magic -- entertaining while they educate."
2012
MIT leads a partnership with other universities to "open source" their curricula to the masses.
In response, Harvard, Princeton, and other Ivy League universities start a competitor -- VirtualIvy.
2017
Disney and Britain's Open University form a partnership that delivers the university's curriculum on Sony PlayStation.
Google introduces software that allows students to generate artificial instructors based on their preferences.
It is soon followed by Sim Student, which allows students to create peers to go along with their artificial instructors.
2020
Google, Disney, and Microsoft compete for a worldwide learning market.
All the colleges that existed in 2006 have standardized their curricula under regulatory and competitive pressures, while struggling colleges have been turned into "educational theme parks."
Access to higher education is nearly universal and less expensive than it was in 2006.
Course credits transfer easily because they all come from one of a dozen common curricula.
After the presentation, the moderator, James Dator, director of the Hawaii Research Center for Future Studies and a professor of political science at the University Hawaii-Manoa, quipped to the audience: "There you have it. I'd suggest you just head to the beach now."
Later on, Mr. Katz did admit to the limitations of his predictions, noting that forecasting is generally wrong in two ways. For one, it is usually too enthusiastic. In other words, predicted events, if they occur, probably will be further into the future than imagined. Also, predictions tend to "undershoot the mark in terms of change."
Copyright © 2006 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
By JEFF SELINGO
Honolulu
Predicting the future is an inexact science, of course. Just ask the creators of The Jetsons. After all, our workdays still don't consist of pushing a single computer button as they did for George Jetson.
Even so, Richard N. Katz, vice president of Educause, took a crack at forecasting the future of higher education with a whimsical video he showed here at the "Campus of the Future" conference. Among other things, the video, titled edu@2020, made the following tongue-in-cheek predictions for the coming years:
2008
The Apollo Group sells the University of Phoenix Online to Google, which creates GooglePhoenix.
Microsoft takes over Pearson Education and Blackboard.
Michael S. Ovitz, the former Hollywood talent agent, starts FacultyOne, a talent agency for star professors, and immediately signs up 13 Nobel laureates.
2009
Disney, Sony, and Apple merge.
Disney acquires struggling colleges, promising to invigorate them with "Disney magic -- entertaining while they educate."
2012
MIT leads a partnership with other universities to "open source" their curricula to the masses.
In response, Harvard, Princeton, and other Ivy League universities start a competitor -- VirtualIvy.
2017
Disney and Britain's Open University form a partnership that delivers the university's curriculum on Sony PlayStation.
Google introduces software that allows students to generate artificial instructors based on their preferences.
It is soon followed by Sim Student, which allows students to create peers to go along with their artificial instructors.
2020
Google, Disney, and Microsoft compete for a worldwide learning market.
All the colleges that existed in 2006 have standardized their curricula under regulatory and competitive pressures, while struggling colleges have been turned into "educational theme parks."
Access to higher education is nearly universal and less expensive than it was in 2006.
Course credits transfer easily because they all come from one of a dozen common curricula.
After the presentation, the moderator, James Dator, director of the Hawaii Research Center for Future Studies and a professor of political science at the University Hawaii-Manoa, quipped to the audience: "There you have it. I'd suggest you just head to the beach now."
Later on, Mr. Katz did admit to the limitations of his predictions, noting that forecasting is generally wrong in two ways. For one, it is usually too enthusiastic. In other words, predicted events, if they occur, probably will be further into the future than imagined. Also, predictions tend to "undershoot the mark in terms of change."
Copyright © 2006 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
Friday, July 07, 2006
Friday, June 30, 2006
Louisiana One Step Closer to Sharing Oil/Gas Revenues
Sad to say...that after all these years...and Katrina/Rita...we need to justify getting more revenue from the natural resources taken from our region...typical...Florida (Zeb Bush)...where there is no offshore drilling...California...and the White House oppose...well it is time to stop being cordial...get this done...now !!
Times Picayune Story
Times Picayune Story
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Hornets Dream Scenario
The debate continued for weeks. Hilton Armstrong or Cedric Simmons?
The Hornets needed a big man like beignets need powdered sugar, and the team's brass couldn't decide which college player to select 12th in Wednesday's NBA draft.
Moreover, they didn't know if they would get either.
But in a stunning turn of events, as far as the Hornets were concerned, the team had the opportunity to draft both players -- Armstrong, a Connecticut senior, at No. 12, and Simmons, a North Carolina State sophomore, at No. 15.
"It's a dream come true," said Armstrong, who averaged just 3.8 points per game two years ago.
And with the 43rd pick in the second round, the Hornets drafted Brazilian Marcus Vinicius, a 6-foot-8 forward.
The Hornets needed a big man like beignets need powdered sugar, and the team's brass couldn't decide which college player to select 12th in Wednesday's NBA draft.
Moreover, they didn't know if they would get either.
But in a stunning turn of events, as far as the Hornets were concerned, the team had the opportunity to draft both players -- Armstrong, a Connecticut senior, at No. 12, and Simmons, a North Carolina State sophomore, at No. 15.
"It's a dream come true," said Armstrong, who averaged just 3.8 points per game two years ago.
And with the 43rd pick in the second round, the Hornets drafted Brazilian Marcus Vinicius, a 6-foot-8 forward.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Monday, June 26, 2006
From One Extreme to Another: Drought in NOLA
Southeast Louisiana is officially suffering an extreme drought, with precipitation totals since the middle of last June more than 20 inches below normal, according to the National Climate Data Center.
"I know the idea concerns the public, but these kinds of cracks are a common occurrence when you have this kind of drought condition. A real good rain would take care of them -- they'll just close up. But they are being watched," said Jerry Colletti, an Army Corps of Engineers division chief in New Orleans.
"I know the idea concerns the public, but these kinds of cracks are a common occurrence when you have this kind of drought condition. A real good rain would take care of them -- they'll just close up. But they are being watched," said Jerry Colletti, an Army Corps of Engineers division chief in New Orleans.
General Honore honors St. Aug Grads
Monday, June 26, 2006
By Leslie Williams
The charismatic Army lieutenant general who helped guide Louisianians out of the chaos of Hurricane Katrina returned Sunday to New Orleans to point the way for St. Augustine High School's graduates.
"It doesn't matter where you start," Lt. Gen. Russel Honore said to more than 170 young men in purple caps and gowns gathered in St. Louis Cathedral for the 52nd commencement of the all-boys school. "It's where you end the race."
Observing that many of the graduates who survived Hurricanes Katrina and Rita looked "sad," Honore -- a graduate of a small segregated high school in New Roads and one of 12 children reared on a 40-acre subsistence farm -- urged the boys not to dwell on the past and to look toward a future of opportunities.
"Your parents in the '50s and '60s were singing songs, 'We Shall Overcome,' " Honore said. "You have overcome."
St. Augustine's students were scattered in August when flooding after Katrina heavily damaged the campus, closing the school for the first time since its founding in 1951.
St. Aug students who were able to return to New Orleans attended classes at the combined MAX school, housed on the campus of Xavier Preparatory in New Orleans. Sunday's ceremony reunited and honored the St. Augustine senior class, whether the students attended the MAX school or high schools elsewhere.
Honore, who was picked by President Bush to lead Joint Task Force Katrina, held a command that included more than 20,000 active-duty troops from all military branches devoted to the storm-recovery operation in a three-state region. He endeared himself to frustrated storm victims with his take-charge attitude and no-nonsense style.
Honore encouraged the boys to consider careers in public service: law enforcement, firefighting, the armed forces, the priesthood or elected office.
"Community life is something greater than you. You have that choice, " he said. He took a moment to recognize others in public service: the students' teachers, who were asked to stand.
The graduates -- including valedictorian David Gray; salutatorian David Reed; class speaker Darin James; and Ernest Ancar, recognized for four years of perfect attendance -- will have another choice, Honore cautioned.
Soon, there will be a fork in the road, he said.
On one road, "it'll look very smooth. It has a lot more bright lights and the right music you want to hear. It's nothing but fun."
On the other road, "it's kinda dull. It's kinda bumpy and it's uphill."
"That's the road," he said, "that'll get you to your next degree."
By Leslie Williams
The charismatic Army lieutenant general who helped guide Louisianians out of the chaos of Hurricane Katrina returned Sunday to New Orleans to point the way for St. Augustine High School's graduates.
"It doesn't matter where you start," Lt. Gen. Russel Honore said to more than 170 young men in purple caps and gowns gathered in St. Louis Cathedral for the 52nd commencement of the all-boys school. "It's where you end the race."
Observing that many of the graduates who survived Hurricanes Katrina and Rita looked "sad," Honore -- a graduate of a small segregated high school in New Roads and one of 12 children reared on a 40-acre subsistence farm -- urged the boys not to dwell on the past and to look toward a future of opportunities.
"Your parents in the '50s and '60s were singing songs, 'We Shall Overcome,' " Honore said. "You have overcome."
St. Augustine's students were scattered in August when flooding after Katrina heavily damaged the campus, closing the school for the first time since its founding in 1951.
St. Aug students who were able to return to New Orleans attended classes at the combined MAX school, housed on the campus of Xavier Preparatory in New Orleans. Sunday's ceremony reunited and honored the St. Augustine senior class, whether the students attended the MAX school or high schools elsewhere.
Honore, who was picked by President Bush to lead Joint Task Force Katrina, held a command that included more than 20,000 active-duty troops from all military branches devoted to the storm-recovery operation in a three-state region. He endeared himself to frustrated storm victims with his take-charge attitude and no-nonsense style.
Honore encouraged the boys to consider careers in public service: law enforcement, firefighting, the armed forces, the priesthood or elected office.
"Community life is something greater than you. You have that choice, " he said. He took a moment to recognize others in public service: the students' teachers, who were asked to stand.
The graduates -- including valedictorian David Gray; salutatorian David Reed; class speaker Darin James; and Ernest Ancar, recognized for four years of perfect attendance -- will have another choice, Honore cautioned.
Soon, there will be a fork in the road, he said.
On one road, "it'll look very smooth. It has a lot more bright lights and the right music you want to hear. It's nothing but fun."
On the other road, "it's kinda dull. It's kinda bumpy and it's uphill."
"That's the road," he said, "that'll get you to your next degree."
Monday, June 05, 2006
Friday, June 02, 2006
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Post Election Thoughts
Now that we have a new mayor...it is time to get busy...Mr. Mayor...pick up the garbage...focus citizens on debris clean up...get the officials in Baton Rouge involved...and most importantly...help people heal...we are all still trying to fix our homes...let's not be led astray by Carnival and Jazz Fest...it is time to wake up and get things moving
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Monday, May 15, 2006
Keep It Real
If we didn't weep, we weren't human
Friday, May 05, 2006
Jarvis DeBerry
My moment came Sunday morning, Sept. 4. When I walked into the sanctuary at Second Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, the congregation had already begun singing an Andrae Crouch composition taken verbatim from Verse 1 of the 103rd Psalm. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
I had trouble with the second verse of the song, the one that repeats: He has done great things. First, there was a theological hurdle: How could I sing such a thing after the destruction I'd just seen? Then there was the physical hurdle: How could I sing while sobbing?
Soon after the strongest of the winds died down Aug. 29, I stood on Interstate 10 and looked down on people who had already taken extraordinary measures to keep their heads above the rising water. Three men paddling a boat yelled that they'd just left a house on North Miro Street where 13 people, including some elderly folks and a pregnant woman, were stranded. I don't know if the men realized it, but they, too, appeared to be in danger. There were power lines above their heads, and if the water kept rising, there was the potential they could be electrocuted.
After seeing those men paddling and that woman sitting on her roof and that old man with his arms thrown around an orange water cooler hanging on for life, after asking firefighters about the billows of smoke rising in the distance and hearing them say they'd have to let it burn, after seeing people wander the interstate barefoot and despondent or emerge from attic windows like so many wingless butterflies, I heard myself saying, "OK. My house is probably gone." There may have been resignation in my voice, but if so, that was the only emotion. That was neither the time nor the place to mourn. Nor was it the time to let worry about my house distract me from the important work ahead.
I held the tears at bay for six days. But on the seventh day. . .
That Sunday morning service wasn't the last time I cried. Nor was that cry the most cathartic. Such designation belongs to the weeping I did more than a month later in the parking lot of The Mall at Cortana on Florida Boulevard in Baton Rouge. I was on the phone explaining to a therapist how the loss of some family heirlooms made me a failure as a custodian and how I'd hoped that my mother would validate my guilt by yelling at me. My mother never yells, least of all at me, so there was no chance she'd bring down on me the punishment I thought my failure warranted. And yet, it was the fact that she didn't respond angrily that intensified my guilt and prompted me to reveal my anguish to a therapist.
Mayor Ray Nagin cried, too. We learn this from historian Douglas Brinkley, author of the upcoming book "The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast," excerpted in Vanity Fair magazine. That's hardly remarkable. If Nagin had not wept, one would have to question his humanity.
Had another writer chronicled Nagin's alleged moments of sorrow, frustration, anger and fear, it probably would have come off as the kind of thorough history the public has come to expect. But in a television interview last year, Brinkley heatedly accused Nagin of having blood on his hands. In his written account, Brinkley relies on some of the mayor's political enemies as sources. As a result, his focus on Nagin's private emotional moments seems intended not to flesh him out but to humiliate him.
Perhaps that will play well in Peoria. Maybe Brinkley will find readers so far removed from our situation they'll find it easy to ridicule a weeping man. But here in New Orleans, the man who hasn't wept sticks out, and the man who seeks approval for mocking the tearful would do well to search for another audience.
. . . . . . .
Jarvis DeBerry is an editorial writer. He can be reached at (504) 826-3355 or at jdeberry@timespicayune.com.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Jarvis DeBerry
My moment came Sunday morning, Sept. 4. When I walked into the sanctuary at Second Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, the congregation had already begun singing an Andrae Crouch composition taken verbatim from Verse 1 of the 103rd Psalm. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
I had trouble with the second verse of the song, the one that repeats: He has done great things. First, there was a theological hurdle: How could I sing such a thing after the destruction I'd just seen? Then there was the physical hurdle: How could I sing while sobbing?
Soon after the strongest of the winds died down Aug. 29, I stood on Interstate 10 and looked down on people who had already taken extraordinary measures to keep their heads above the rising water. Three men paddling a boat yelled that they'd just left a house on North Miro Street where 13 people, including some elderly folks and a pregnant woman, were stranded. I don't know if the men realized it, but they, too, appeared to be in danger. There were power lines above their heads, and if the water kept rising, there was the potential they could be electrocuted.
After seeing those men paddling and that woman sitting on her roof and that old man with his arms thrown around an orange water cooler hanging on for life, after asking firefighters about the billows of smoke rising in the distance and hearing them say they'd have to let it burn, after seeing people wander the interstate barefoot and despondent or emerge from attic windows like so many wingless butterflies, I heard myself saying, "OK. My house is probably gone." There may have been resignation in my voice, but if so, that was the only emotion. That was neither the time nor the place to mourn. Nor was it the time to let worry about my house distract me from the important work ahead.
I held the tears at bay for six days. But on the seventh day. . .
That Sunday morning service wasn't the last time I cried. Nor was that cry the most cathartic. Such designation belongs to the weeping I did more than a month later in the parking lot of The Mall at Cortana on Florida Boulevard in Baton Rouge. I was on the phone explaining to a therapist how the loss of some family heirlooms made me a failure as a custodian and how I'd hoped that my mother would validate my guilt by yelling at me. My mother never yells, least of all at me, so there was no chance she'd bring down on me the punishment I thought my failure warranted. And yet, it was the fact that she didn't respond angrily that intensified my guilt and prompted me to reveal my anguish to a therapist.
Mayor Ray Nagin cried, too. We learn this from historian Douglas Brinkley, author of the upcoming book "The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast," excerpted in Vanity Fair magazine. That's hardly remarkable. If Nagin had not wept, one would have to question his humanity.
Had another writer chronicled Nagin's alleged moments of sorrow, frustration, anger and fear, it probably would have come off as the kind of thorough history the public has come to expect. But in a television interview last year, Brinkley heatedly accused Nagin of having blood on his hands. In his written account, Brinkley relies on some of the mayor's political enemies as sources. As a result, his focus on Nagin's private emotional moments seems intended not to flesh him out but to humiliate him.
Perhaps that will play well in Peoria. Maybe Brinkley will find readers so far removed from our situation they'll find it easy to ridicule a weeping man. But here in New Orleans, the man who hasn't wept sticks out, and the man who seeks approval for mocking the tearful would do well to search for another audience.
. . . . . . .
Jarvis DeBerry is an editorial writer. He can be reached at (504) 826-3355 or at jdeberry@timespicayune.com.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Red Sox over the Yanks
In the Bronx...by 12 runs...enough said...problem is...we are only up by one game...and it is still May.
Computer System Slowed SBA storm loan response
This is one conclusion of a report that evaluates the performance of 22 federal agencies in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Computer Glitch
Yeah...Right...
Computer Glitch
Yeah...Right...
12 Men On the Field....
The Texas A&M Aggies dealt a blow to the the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL...a tradition dating back to 1922, when E. King Gill came in a game from the stands...when the pro league agreed to "terms" for use of the phrase under license from A&M...a school which can be noted just by that label..."A&M"...even though their are hundreds of Agricultural and Mechanical schools around the country...whether or not the 12th Man is a trademark...i do not know...but this allows the NCAA to rebound from losing the rights to schools using Native Americans as mascots.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
On the Barry Bonds Watch..Swing and Miss !!
Barry Bonds was standing behind the cage during batting practice when Giants infielder Kevin Frandsen fouled a ball back into the net -- and into Bonds's forehead. Bonds yelped, then let out an expletive. Appearing stunned, he laid down while the Giants' medical staff tended to him. He played in the game, going 0 for 4.
Notables from NOLA
The Justice Department is tightening the screws on Rep. Bill Jefferson...but he still proclaims innocence...a Kentucky bizz guy testified to he paid the Rep. over 400 large for favors in establishing a tech company.
BRIBES
RTA is in deep trouble as it approaches the FEMA deadline on June 30...ridership has fallen from more than 800,000...down to less than 200,000...and revenue has plummeted from $110 million to 25 million...now RTA is defauting on debt payments...as Blanco's admin stumbles and bumbles around getting funds released to help.
RTA
BRIBES
RTA is in deep trouble as it approaches the FEMA deadline on June 30...ridership has fallen from more than 800,000...down to less than 200,000...and revenue has plummeted from $110 million to 25 million...now RTA is defauting on debt payments...as Blanco's admin stumbles and bumbles around getting funds released to help.
RTA
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Xavier and Tulane hit the Jackpot
Qatar Pledges $30.8-Million to Louisiana Universities Damaged by Hurricane Katrina
By PAULA WASLEY
The oil-rich emirate of Qatar announced on Tuesday the allocation of $60-million to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. More than half of the money will go to three universities in Louisiana.
Xavier University of Louisiana, the country's only historically black Roman Catholic university, will receive $12.5-million to expand its College of Pharmacy in order to increase enrollment and to staff clinics in low-income neighborhoods of New Orleans. An additional $5-million will set up a Qatar Scholarship Fund, to provide full scholarships to Xavier students affected by the hurricane.
Tulane University was promised $10-million for scholarships for both new and returning students from Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi who were affected by Katrina. Qatar also pledged $3.3-million to Louisiana State University for a fund to provide help with tuition, room, and board for 1,249 students.
The announcement detailed the distribution of a portion of $100-million in hurricane-relief funds pledged in September by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the emir of Qatar. The embassy plans to allocate the remaining $40-million in pledged contributions in the next several weeks.
"This is an incredibly generous gift," said Scott S. Cowen, Tulane's president, in a written statement. "We are deeply grateful to Qatar and the emir for their friendship and support."
The beneficiaries were chosen by Qatar's ambassador to the United States, Nasser bin Hamad al-Khalifa, with assistance from an advisory committee consisting of James A. Baker III, the former secretary of state; Laura D'Andrea Tyson, dean of the business school at the University of California at Berkeley; John J. DeGioia, president of Georgetown University; and Lee R. Raymond, the recently retired chief executive of the Exxon Mobil Corporation.
"Hurricane Katrina was very devastating," said Ambassador Khalifa, "and the world is becoming a village. In today's world, we are one world. ... People wanted to help."
The three universities were chosen, he said, because they each had a large population of students coming from the areas most affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Qatar chose to donate money directly to the institutions rather than to intermediary organizations, such as the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund or the Red Cross, so as to ensure transparency and accountability, he said.
By PAULA WASLEY
The oil-rich emirate of Qatar announced on Tuesday the allocation of $60-million to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. More than half of the money will go to three universities in Louisiana.
Xavier University of Louisiana, the country's only historically black Roman Catholic university, will receive $12.5-million to expand its College of Pharmacy in order to increase enrollment and to staff clinics in low-income neighborhoods of New Orleans. An additional $5-million will set up a Qatar Scholarship Fund, to provide full scholarships to Xavier students affected by the hurricane.
Tulane University was promised $10-million for scholarships for both new and returning students from Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi who were affected by Katrina. Qatar also pledged $3.3-million to Louisiana State University for a fund to provide help with tuition, room, and board for 1,249 students.
The announcement detailed the distribution of a portion of $100-million in hurricane-relief funds pledged in September by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the emir of Qatar. The embassy plans to allocate the remaining $40-million in pledged contributions in the next several weeks.
"This is an incredibly generous gift," said Scott S. Cowen, Tulane's president, in a written statement. "We are deeply grateful to Qatar and the emir for their friendship and support."
The beneficiaries were chosen by Qatar's ambassador to the United States, Nasser bin Hamad al-Khalifa, with assistance from an advisory committee consisting of James A. Baker III, the former secretary of state; Laura D'Andrea Tyson, dean of the business school at the University of California at Berkeley; John J. DeGioia, president of Georgetown University; and Lee R. Raymond, the recently retired chief executive of the Exxon Mobil Corporation.
"Hurricane Katrina was very devastating," said Ambassador Khalifa, "and the world is becoming a village. In today's world, we are one world. ... People wanted to help."
The three universities were chosen, he said, because they each had a large population of students coming from the areas most affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Qatar chose to donate money directly to the institutions rather than to intermediary organizations, such as the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund or the Red Cross, so as to ensure transparency and accountability, he said.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
And New Orleans Selects...Reggie Bush
Normally...a draft pick of this magnitude would dominate the talk of the town...but rebuilding still takes the front seat...regardless...it made Monday's Red Beans and Rice much more fun to eat...while folks debate the mayor's race and then can switch over to the Saints...and talk about the joys and pains of facing another season...at least this kid from San Diego can come in and take our minds off the owner, Tom Benson, who could steal your shadow on a bright sunny day...and all the other team issues...along with new coach Sean Peyton...and new quarterback Drew Brees...we don't want a trip to the Super Bowl...right now...we can't afford it...but we do want to smile a little...on Sundays...for a change...it is really that simple
Monday, May 01, 2006
Mayoral Runoff: City of NOLA
Returns for the primary were low as you can see...for a city of nearly one half million residents...less than 50% of the registered voters participated...this sends a terrible message to the rest of the country...and undermines the State's efforts to get the cost of the election reimbursed...like the government federal did for New York after 9/11...
But enough analysis...get in the game...May 20 is the runoff...no excuses !!
But enough analysis...get in the game...May 20 is the runoff...no excuses !!
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Election Results
MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS 443 of 443 precincts reporting
Candidate Number of votes Percentage of votes
Ray Nagin - Runoff 41,489 38%
Mitch Landrieu - Runoff 31,499 29%
Ron Forman 18,734 17%
Candidate Number of votes Percentage of votes
Ray Nagin - Runoff 41,489 38%
Mitch Landrieu - Runoff 31,499 29%
Ron Forman 18,734 17%
Ray Nagin versus Mitch Landrieu: Not Black versus White
Now that the two candidates have emerged...let the political jousting begin...first...the losers endorse...then...sides are taken...just like ancient times...when allies prepared for battle...on the surface it seems to breakdown along racial boundaries...but those familiar with politics in the Crescent City know goes way beyond that...for today i will address one key matchup...
Two prominent politicians...former Mayor Marc Morial...and Louisiana State Rep Cleo Fields have made inroads...as their political organizations have made contributions to Mr. Landrieu's campaign...add to that...the Democratic National Committee's committment to Mitch...and you have a strange recipe for Nagin's transition to Republicans for support...where he loses black votes...to a white candidate !!
So don't let the race card fool you...
Two prominent politicians...former Mayor Marc Morial...and Louisiana State Rep Cleo Fields have made inroads...as their political organizations have made contributions to Mr. Landrieu's campaign...add to that...the Democratic National Committee's committment to Mitch...and you have a strange recipe for Nagin's transition to Republicans for support...where he loses black votes...to a white candidate !!
So don't let the race card fool you...
Monday, April 24, 2006
Post Katrina Visit
This weekend, a brother from Alpha Mu Chapter, paid New Orleans a visit on personal business and was able to take in the sights and sounds...and more importantly the smells in the Crescent City. He was taken by the status of the city...not recovered as media and the President would have you believe...but we are just struggling to make the deadline for levee construction...June 1...the beginning of hurricane season!!...37 days...and counting...
Friday, April 21, 2006
The Biggest Election in U.S. History ?
It is fitting that the biggest election in recent memory in New Orleans, follows on the heels of one of the biggest hurricanes to hit U.S. shores.
Displaced voters are getting it done...well over 300,000 voters from Orleans Parish are expected to cast their ballots...advanced returns indicate that black females are the leading cohort among displaced voters.
With more than 25 candidates running, this will be a very interesting election.
Displaced voters are getting it done...well over 300,000 voters from Orleans Parish are expected to cast their ballots...advanced returns indicate that black females are the leading cohort among displaced voters.
With more than 25 candidates running, this will be a very interesting election.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Back on the Block
I have made the Full Circle !! Finally...now that I have received my FEMA trailer, just behind the South Campus of SUNO
Monday, January 23, 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006
The Return of SUNO
A week of registration...and a week of school...has come and gone. Miraculously, we have managed to get this school up and running...with classes at Sophie B. Wright, near Napoleon and St. Charles avenues...students, faculty and staff living in the Marriott New Orleans...and myself...working out of the Bacchus Room in the hotel.
Just got back from Baton Rouge getting my office equipment...work for us has ended in Baton Rouge...and as we await our trailers on the New Orleans lakefront...my anticipation is at a heightened level. The downside of this situation is the reality that many students, faculty and staff are no longer with us. I will be able to run down the numbers after registration closes and figures are set. The fourtenth day of school is the official day for declaring enrollment.
Our curriculum has been amended and several major courses of study have been eliminated. The most notable were our science majors...so all you alumni of SUNO with science degrees are special! Other majors simply lacked completers...the term bean counters use to indicate graduates who started at the institution they finish.
That's All For Now
Just got back from Baton Rouge getting my office equipment...work for us has ended in Baton Rouge...and as we await our trailers on the New Orleans lakefront...my anticipation is at a heightened level. The downside of this situation is the reality that many students, faculty and staff are no longer with us. I will be able to run down the numbers after registration closes and figures are set. The fourtenth day of school is the official day for declaring enrollment.
Our curriculum has been amended and several major courses of study have been eliminated. The most notable were our science majors...so all you alumni of SUNO with science degrees are special! Other majors simply lacked completers...the term bean counters use to indicate graduates who started at the institution they finish.
That's All For Now
Friday, January 06, 2006
Program helps Dillard U. professors rebuild course materials, raises spirits
By KATHERINE S. MANGAN
Georgetown, Tex.
When Hurricane Katrina's storm surge overwhelmed New Orleans's levees, the murky waters of Lake Pontchartrain swallowed up Gloria C. Love's ground-floor office at Dillard University, ruining her computers, books, research notes, and syllabi.
Three months later, with no home, no electricity in her recently installed government-issued trailer, and a shuttered campus, the professor was hard pressed to begin planning for spring-semester classes, which are scheduled to resume at a downtown hotel and various campuses around New Orleans on January 9.
But for two weeks in December, she and a dozen colleagues were invited here to Southwestern University to begin resurrecting their course materials and creating new ones so they would have something to teach with when classes start. The program was established by the Texas university and its regional technology laboratory, with the help of a $160,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
As visiting scholars at Southwestern, a small undergraduate university of 1,200 students, they lived and worked in a quiet bedroom community outside Austin. The Mellon grant covered their transportation and lodging, while Southwestern picked up the tab for meals on the campus, along with a $1,500 stipend.
Ms. Love, an assistant professor of mathematics and computer science, used her central Texas respite to work on her department's Web site and prepare syllabi for courses she expects to teach. Many of Dillard's professors lost everything when their campus of gleaming white buildings and towering oaks sat submerged in up to eight feet of water for three weeks (The Chronicle, November 11). She said her time at Southwestern was "a breathing moment — a chance to recapture our spirit."
"They brought us from a ghost town and helped us regain our sanity," said Ms. Love.
By KATHERINE S. MANGAN
Georgetown, Tex.
When Hurricane Katrina's storm surge overwhelmed New Orleans's levees, the murky waters of Lake Pontchartrain swallowed up Gloria C. Love's ground-floor office at Dillard University, ruining her computers, books, research notes, and syllabi.
Three months later, with no home, no electricity in her recently installed government-issued trailer, and a shuttered campus, the professor was hard pressed to begin planning for spring-semester classes, which are scheduled to resume at a downtown hotel and various campuses around New Orleans on January 9.
But for two weeks in December, she and a dozen colleagues were invited here to Southwestern University to begin resurrecting their course materials and creating new ones so they would have something to teach with when classes start. The program was established by the Texas university and its regional technology laboratory, with the help of a $160,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
As visiting scholars at Southwestern, a small undergraduate university of 1,200 students, they lived and worked in a quiet bedroom community outside Austin. The Mellon grant covered their transportation and lodging, while Southwestern picked up the tab for meals on the campus, along with a $1,500 stipend.
Ms. Love, an assistant professor of mathematics and computer science, used her central Texas respite to work on her department's Web site and prepare syllabi for courses she expects to teach. Many of Dillard's professors lost everything when their campus of gleaming white buildings and towering oaks sat submerged in up to eight feet of water for three weeks (The Chronicle, November 11). She said her time at Southwestern was "a breathing moment — a chance to recapture our spirit."
"They brought us from a ghost town and helped us regain our sanity," said Ms. Love.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
First Day Back to Work
The long anticipated return to work at Southern U of New Orleans came and went today without much to report...after an initial meeting to assess the situation and update returning employees on the future...folks got right back into the routine of work. Seeing a few people who were furloughed was disconcerting...but these days are so busy...you don't have time to stop and measure another person's pain as adequately as one should. I liken it to a football game...where a player goes down...and he is replaced and play resumes...it seems cold and heartless...but it is the way the game is played.
Three students approached me about being advised...one it turns out needed to speak with an employee who was released over the break...quite a sobering moment in my day. We are all so close to being furloughed and cannot spend time worrying about it with the demand of work and the number of things that need to get done each day.
The game plan for SUNO is to hold Registraton at Sophie B Wright Middle School in New Orleans next week. To say that the trailers are 50% ready would probably be generous. So my assessment for now is that classes will probably begin in New Orleans, with some necessarily having to be offered here in Baton Rouge as well.
My greatest concern is for students seeking other options. SUNO has not addressed their responsibilty to provide students with transcripts. What is more worrisome is students seeking to register with SUNO are not able to get transcripts for advisement.
I fear the majority of returning students are graduating seniors and that once this cohort passes thru a semester or two...our enrollment will steeply fall. Moreover, I see no prospect for holding a summer session...that means i may have to face the summer without a job.
Let's hope and pray for the best
Penn State wins the Orange Bowl in 3OT
UConn falls to Marquette in the Golden Warriors Big East debut
Three students approached me about being advised...one it turns out needed to speak with an employee who was released over the break...quite a sobering moment in my day. We are all so close to being furloughed and cannot spend time worrying about it with the demand of work and the number of things that need to get done each day.
The game plan for SUNO is to hold Registraton at Sophie B Wright Middle School in New Orleans next week. To say that the trailers are 50% ready would probably be generous. So my assessment for now is that classes will probably begin in New Orleans, with some necessarily having to be offered here in Baton Rouge as well.
My greatest concern is for students seeking other options. SUNO has not addressed their responsibilty to provide students with transcripts. What is more worrisome is students seeking to register with SUNO are not able to get transcripts for advisement.
I fear the majority of returning students are graduating seniors and that once this cohort passes thru a semester or two...our enrollment will steeply fall. Moreover, I see no prospect for holding a summer session...that means i may have to face the summer without a job.
Let's hope and pray for the best
Penn State wins the Orange Bowl in 3OT
UConn falls to Marquette in the Golden Warriors Big East debut
Monday, January 02, 2006
PROPERTY VALUES PLUMMET...AND SO DOES THE TAX BASE
The taxable value of New Orleans property has fallen by 54 percent because of Hurricane Katrina damage, according to preliminary figures compiled by the city's seven assessors, who for the past few months have been hurriedly reappraising homes and businesses to reflect their post-storm worth.
Whereas last year the city billed property owners for $452 million in taxes, this year's bills will total just $208 million, said 5th District Assessor Tom Arnold, who spoke for the group.
Comment: it is apparent that we no longer need seven assessors, would you say ?
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS NEWS
Jim Haslett, the beleaguered coach of the displaced Saints, was fired Monday after completing his sixth and worst season.
Comment: It is always business...never personal, but the franchise history of the Saints has to be taken personally.
FEMA AND THE HOTEL DEADLINE FOR EVACUEES
Hurricane Katrina evacuees around the nation who faced a Jan. 7 deadline for checking out of their government-funded hotel rooms have received a reprieve: Federal officials will keep paying for the rooms beyond that date as they iron out issues arising from a class-action lawsuit.
Comment: Scare tactics by fed agencies are not going to be effective...just put the trailers in place.
HOUSTON CRIME RATES SURGE
Evacuee- packed Houston sees jump in crime
9 of 122 killings tied to people from N.O.
On the heels of Hurricane Katrina, more than 100,000 evacuees landed in Houston. Now officials there say the city has found itself under the gun, with an escalating murder rate and population bursting at the seams.
The murder rate is up 25 percent since last year and up 70 percent in December alone, with 14 more murders this month compared with the same time period last year. Although the connection between evacuees and the surge in violence is statistically tenuous, with only nine of the city's 122 post-Katrina homicides involving someone, either as suspect or victim, who evacuated there, city officials continue to link the increase in bloodshed to the dramatic population boom.
Spike in homicides
There have been 121 homicides in Houston since September, compared to 92 during the same period last year. There were 26 homicides in September both years, but the homicide rate climbed in October to 29 from 24 a year ago.
The increase spiked in November, to 32 from 22 a year ago, and again in December, with 34 as of Tuesday, compared to 20 last year.
Abad said it is nearly impossible to pinpoint exactly which factors have contributed to the higher violent crime rates, and it's even more difficult to track the ways hurricane evacuees have or have not contributed to it.
"We are concerned about fighting crime no matter who is committing it," Abad said. "We don't stop and ask everyone we arrest if they're from Louisiana or not. Many people who evacuated to this city are becoming residents now. They're signing leases and paying rent. At what point do we stop calling them evacuees? A week, six months, a year?
"We want to ensure that longtime Houston residents and those who have made Houston a home in the last few months don't have to fear for their lives."
COMMENT: The mix of cultures forced on Houston was just too much too soon...not enough space for people to co-exist
RADIO ONE
Kickin' Science...the Exit Fest was founded originally by students protesting Slobodan Milosoviec...i suppose the idea was to get him to leave...ergo "Exit"...quite meaningful...i always wondered what the theme for this massive event was based upon.
Eight hours of dance music from the 2005 archive chosen by YOU and our Radio 1 DJs.
Pete Tong
DJ Yoda
Eddie Halliwell
Sasha
Dave Clarke
Underworld (live performance)
The taxable value of New Orleans property has fallen by 54 percent because of Hurricane Katrina damage, according to preliminary figures compiled by the city's seven assessors, who for the past few months have been hurriedly reappraising homes and businesses to reflect their post-storm worth.
Whereas last year the city billed property owners for $452 million in taxes, this year's bills will total just $208 million, said 5th District Assessor Tom Arnold, who spoke for the group.
Comment: it is apparent that we no longer need seven assessors, would you say ?
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS NEWS
Jim Haslett, the beleaguered coach of the displaced Saints, was fired Monday after completing his sixth and worst season.
Comment: It is always business...never personal, but the franchise history of the Saints has to be taken personally.
FEMA AND THE HOTEL DEADLINE FOR EVACUEES
Hurricane Katrina evacuees around the nation who faced a Jan. 7 deadline for checking out of their government-funded hotel rooms have received a reprieve: Federal officials will keep paying for the rooms beyond that date as they iron out issues arising from a class-action lawsuit.
Comment: Scare tactics by fed agencies are not going to be effective...just put the trailers in place.
HOUSTON CRIME RATES SURGE
Evacuee- packed Houston sees jump in crime
9 of 122 killings tied to people from N.O.
On the heels of Hurricane Katrina, more than 100,000 evacuees landed in Houston. Now officials there say the city has found itself under the gun, with an escalating murder rate and population bursting at the seams.
The murder rate is up 25 percent since last year and up 70 percent in December alone, with 14 more murders this month compared with the same time period last year. Although the connection between evacuees and the surge in violence is statistically tenuous, with only nine of the city's 122 post-Katrina homicides involving someone, either as suspect or victim, who evacuated there, city officials continue to link the increase in bloodshed to the dramatic population boom.
Spike in homicides
There have been 121 homicides in Houston since September, compared to 92 during the same period last year. There were 26 homicides in September both years, but the homicide rate climbed in October to 29 from 24 a year ago.
The increase spiked in November, to 32 from 22 a year ago, and again in December, with 34 as of Tuesday, compared to 20 last year.
Abad said it is nearly impossible to pinpoint exactly which factors have contributed to the higher violent crime rates, and it's even more difficult to track the ways hurricane evacuees have or have not contributed to it.
"We are concerned about fighting crime no matter who is committing it," Abad said. "We don't stop and ask everyone we arrest if they're from Louisiana or not. Many people who evacuated to this city are becoming residents now. They're signing leases and paying rent. At what point do we stop calling them evacuees? A week, six months, a year?
"We want to ensure that longtime Houston residents and those who have made Houston a home in the last few months don't have to fear for their lives."
COMMENT: The mix of cultures forced on Houston was just too much too soon...not enough space for people to co-exist
RADIO ONE
Kickin' Science...the Exit Fest was founded originally by students protesting Slobodan Milosoviec...i suppose the idea was to get him to leave...ergo "Exit"...quite meaningful...i always wondered what the theme for this massive event was based upon.
Eight hours of dance music from the 2005 archive chosen by YOU and our Radio 1 DJs.
Pete Tong
DJ Yoda
Eddie Halliwell
Sasha
Dave Clarke
Underworld (live performance)
A New Edition
Congrats to Brother Guy Mason on the birth of his child...more details to follow...stayed tuned
Brother Guillory
The Out of Control Four
1982
Brother Guillory
The Out of Control Four
1982
Greetings
With January 3 being the "Go" Date for the return of Southern U to New Orleans, I am quite naturally anxious and uneasy. A well-timed phone call from a relative has provided the first smile of my day.
But these types of tough questions will set the tone for the year for everyone returning to NOLA to rebuild. I have tough questions to answer of my own:
Where will I live...on campus...in a trailer zone...or in the home of someone there?
How many students will return to SUNO?
As I watch the Saints battle the Bucs in their last game of the year, I know that the team will return to NOLA as ordered by the NFL. Whether that is good or bad will be up to the team's owner for he will set the table.
Will Benson continue to demand a move to San Antonio?
Will the Superdome be ready at all this year for football?
Will Aaron Brooks be traded?
How will Deuce respond to his knee injury?
Can Deuce be expected to be a Pro Bowl Running Back ?
Should i purchase season tickets and support the team?
Will Benson step and be a part of the recovery effort ?
After watching the Saints play and fight for a win..and watching the NFL makes outrageous calls to preserve a Tampa Bay win...I come to the conclusion that the Saints are part of our community...a vital....and I will support them despite what I know to be an obvious attempt...to reduce the team...and the fans...to a critical mass of disconcert...for the sake of fun...I will get my season tickets just to spite the NFL...and have fun watching the last season of pro football in New Orleans....my son says the Saints are his team...and that is good enough for me...
All these things are matters of concern for bringing our city back...but...we must take pause to say thanks for our blessings over the past year...many did not live to see the New Year...and for them we take a moment to pause...especially those young men and women who gave their lives in combat...their sacrifice is what keeps us safe and sound here at home...we wish only the best to their family and friends...and pray that their loss is something we remember each and every day...
From this day forward...making a significant entry to this journal will be what i will do to give those following the re-building of New Orleans a place to visit and see if we do a good job....
Comments are, as always, welcome.
To all reading my Blog...Happy New Year...and Best Wishes for the Future!!
Roll Tide...Beat Texas Tech
Lord Darkmeat
With January 3 being the "Go" Date for the return of Southern U to New Orleans, I am quite naturally anxious and uneasy. A well-timed phone call from a relative has provided the first smile of my day.
But these types of tough questions will set the tone for the year for everyone returning to NOLA to rebuild. I have tough questions to answer of my own:
Where will I live...on campus...in a trailer zone...or in the home of someone there?
How many students will return to SUNO?
As I watch the Saints battle the Bucs in their last game of the year, I know that the team will return to NOLA as ordered by the NFL. Whether that is good or bad will be up to the team's owner for he will set the table.
Will Benson continue to demand a move to San Antonio?
Will the Superdome be ready at all this year for football?
Will Aaron Brooks be traded?
How will Deuce respond to his knee injury?
Can Deuce be expected to be a Pro Bowl Running Back ?
Should i purchase season tickets and support the team?
Will Benson step and be a part of the recovery effort ?
After watching the Saints play and fight for a win..and watching the NFL makes outrageous calls to preserve a Tampa Bay win...I come to the conclusion that the Saints are part of our community...a vital....and I will support them despite what I know to be an obvious attempt...to reduce the team...and the fans...to a critical mass of disconcert...for the sake of fun...I will get my season tickets just to spite the NFL...and have fun watching the last season of pro football in New Orleans....my son says the Saints are his team...and that is good enough for me...
All these things are matters of concern for bringing our city back...but...we must take pause to say thanks for our blessings over the past year...many did not live to see the New Year...and for them we take a moment to pause...especially those young men and women who gave their lives in combat...their sacrifice is what keeps us safe and sound here at home...we wish only the best to their family and friends...and pray that their loss is something we remember each and every day...
From this day forward...making a significant entry to this journal will be what i will do to give those following the re-building of New Orleans a place to visit and see if we do a good job....
Comments are, as always, welcome.
To all reading my Blog...Happy New Year...and Best Wishes for the Future!!
Roll Tide...Beat Texas Tech
Lord Darkmeat
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