Scuttlebutt Pipeline

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HOUSTON - An infestation of bats at Texas Southern University has health officials concerned.

The bats took over a dormitory, forcing more than 200 students into hotels. Now, there are worries the students may have been exposed to rabies.

Videos posted on the Internet show students swinging a broom and a tennis racket as several bats fly about in a dorm hallway. One student said he killed dozens of bats but didn’t know if anyone was bitten.

Health officials asked students who had been in the dorm to meet with them this week to determine whether any would need rabies vaccinations.

Texas Southern officials, meanwhile, say they’re trying to rid the dorm of the bats. It’s not clear how many bats were in the building.

(source)

I’m actually kind of surprised that bats would even think of making a dorm their home. Bats generally need somewhere dark and removed from intrusion for their resting grounds. Caves, trees, burrows, this is where you would expect to find bats. Not a University dorm.

I don’t think that says very much about the dormitory conditions at that school.

There are a plethora of companies and websites out there that offer scholarships to help fund a student’s college career. I imagine you could think of at least three such places off the top of your head, but can you think of one that has a scholarship election system?

CollegeNET.com utilizes a unique system, which they call “scholarship election”, that essentially allows the students to determine who should and should not be awarded the scholarship funds. The process through which the students can determine the eligibility of one another is rather interesting as it incorporates aspects that everyone can agree are essential to academic and just real-world growth.

Each month students are given topics that they can expound upon. Topics range from forever hot-button-topics like abortion and religion to current events. Each student can cast votes on these discussions. At the end of each month, on midnight, the votes are tabulated and the top students who have accumulated the most voting points are awarded the scholarship money and discussion begins anew for the next month.

The ability to formulate and express one’s thoughts and opinions into a cohesive argument is something that cannot be taught in solely in a classroom. It is a skill that is acquired and honed through practice. But if one does not receive constructive criticism along the way their development will be severely stunted. CollegeNET’s system allows for both. Students are able to get practice on how to better express themselves and the voting system allows them to track their progress and improve their skills. I find this to be highly preferable to the old system of just sending in an essay and hoping the person that is reading them isn’t too bored, tired, or upset, when they get to yours.

Textbooks are not cheap and in a time when schools just aren’t getting the funding they need, every penny counts. Free Biology Book is, you guessed it, a free biology textbook that is available online. The book strives to explain and teach all biology topics in over 1800 “question and answer” scenarios. I like the idea of having textbook available online free of charge and accessible to all students, but I can’t help but wonder if some of the answers and explanations are a bit too condensed for some students. Regardless, this remains a resource that all students should bookmark and return to for assistance in their academic careers.

Official Statement:

Authors Publish Innovative Biology Textbook Online and For Free

Biology teachers and students worldwide can now use a complete and real (ISBN assigned) Biology textbook published online by the authors. All of the 636 pages of the book is online.

The “Free Biology Book” (www.freebiologybook.com) is a full Biology textbook encompassing all Biology subjects for secondary education: Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Microbiology, Zoology, Physiology, Embryology, Botanics, Genetics, Evolution, Ecology and Diseases. Each of such Biology subjects is divided in several and well-organized chapters.

The main attraction of the online book is the way the content is exposed, each chapter made of a logical sequence of questions and answers. From the beginning to the end of the Q&A sequence, the text goes from introductory issues to deeper explanation of the chapter topic. It is then very easy to learn Biology reading the “Free Biology Book” (www.freebiologybook.com) since the knowledge is built question by question in small blocks of content.

Another innovation of the project is that it does not directly show illustrations. Instead, for each chapter the reader is suggested to click on links that open Google Images pages that show lots of pictures about what is being studied.

The intention of the authors, both are medical doctors, that published their real book online and for free is to allow students and teachers throughout the world to have access to a complete online Biology book. Students can use it at home or school and teachers can even take it as guideline to build their Biology courses.

A rule against physical contact at a Fairfax County middle school is so strict that students can be sent to the principal’s office for hugging, holding hands or even high-fiving.

Unlike some schools in the Washington area, which ban fighting or inappropriate touching, Kilmer Middle School in Vienna bans all touching — and that has some parents lobbying for a change.

Hugging was Hal Beaulieu’s crime when he sat next to his girlfriend at lunch a few months ago and put his arm around her shoulder. He was given a warning, but told that repeat missteps could lead to detention.

(Full Article)

It’s not bad enough that our society imprints upon children the idea that their bodies are something to be ashamed of unless it fits the exact and demanding specifications of what is the appropriate weight, height, skin tone, and is garbed in the latest fashions. Now we’re trying to give them a complex about touching and interacting with other people!