Ivy Watch

Ivy Watch - News from around the Ivy League

Brown:
Ethics Violation in UFB Election
Neil Parikh, a junior at Brown University, has withdrawn his candidacy for the Undergraduate Finance Board vice-chair. He was reportedly caught tearing down his opponents flyers. Parikh has declined to reveal the reasons for his withdrawal so as “to keep it fair to all sides involved.” His opponent, Juan Vasconez, is now uncontested in the race.

Columbia:
Fire Breaks Out in Hartley Hall
A fire broke out Friday night around 11:30pm at Hartley Hall. The fire started in the laundry room and did not affect any other areas of the dormitory. The fire department dispatched three trucks and had the fire fully contained shortly after midnight.

Cornell:
40th Anniversary of Straight Takeover
In 1969, over 100 African-American students took over Willard Straight Hall and remained there for 33 hours to protest what they saw as “institutional racism.” Cornell is currently last in the Ivy League in terms of the percentage of undergraduates who are minorities. The percentage of undergraduate minorities has, however, steadily been increasing over the past few years.

Dartmouth:
Budget Criticized in Professor’s Letter
A professor in the anthropology department, Hoyt Alverson, has openly criticized the university’s budget in a letter made public to the entire university community. Alverson wrote that despite the recession spending in certain “non-academic” areas such as facilities, administration services, and institutional services has increased. He stated that the purpose of the letter was not to criticize the financial workings of the university as much as it was to create dialogue surrounding budgetary issues.

Harvard:
Students Protest Layoffs
Over 100 people assembled in front of the Holyoke Center on April 16th at Harvard to protest staff layoffs. One student, Alyssa T. Yamamoto, held a sign that read, “Harvard is rich, no layoffs.” A university spokesman stated that since “compensation costs account for nearly half” of Harvard’s budget, “[it] is increasingly likely that Harvard…will have to make changes to the size of its workforce.”

University of Pennsylvania:
Tucker Carlson Talks Obama and the Economy
The political analyst and senior fellow at the Cato Institute spoke with the St. Anthony Hall fraternity. Carlson told his audience that he was still unable to tell what type of leader Obama will be. And he also stated that unlike Bush, Obama has the ability to convey and sell his message.

Yale:
Mormons Take Two Years Off For Missionary Work
Four undergraduate Mormon students at Yale University will be spending the next two years abroad doing missionary work. For capable Mormon men, it is expected that between the ages of 19 and 25 that they will take two years to spread their church’s message. Most missionaries go through a training period of about three months where they study scripture and some also study a foreign language.