Campus Informer

Entire Greek System at Chico State Suspended; Campus Smoking Ban Gains Momentum at GWU

Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2012 in Campus Informer by Sydney Hofferth

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  • Entire Greek System at Chico State Suspended; Campus Smoking Ban Gains Momentum at GWU

Entire Greek System at Chico State Suspended. The day before students at Chico State University in California left for Thanksgiving Break, they were hit with big news: the Greek system at the university was suspended indefinitely. University officials shut down all 26 fraternities and sororities until further notice, citing "alcohol policy violations, physical assaults, alleged sexual assaults and allegations of hazing, including three this semester within a 30-day period," as reasons for the suspension. In a speech to 400 of the 1200 Greek students on campus, Chico State University President Paul Zingg rhetorically asked, "Have you read your charters? Have you read that stuff about brotherhood, sisterhood, civility, respect, citizenship and scholarship? About responsibility?" The President also alluded to the deaths of two fraternity students within the past 7 years at the university during the announcement. [News Review]

Campus Smoking Ban Gains Momentum at GWU. Dozens of faculty, students and staff chain-smoked for hours on George Washington University's campus in reaction to the proposed smoking ban. Organizers wrote an open letter to GWU officials, saying the smoking ban "destroys the basic freedom of everyone; from the student, to the worker, to the faculty, to the woman walking by, to the man working in a food truck." Proponents of the ban are holding strong in the face of opposition. Julien Guttman, a graduate student at GWU and member of the advocacy group Colonials for Clean Air, said, "[t]he CDC and surgeon general say there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke [...] [n]o matter how much science we have to back up what we are saying, there will always be individuals who see this as a restriction on their freedom." [Washington Post]

Kansas City Art Institute Sues Donors For Not Giving Promised Donation. A southern California couple who pledged $5 million to the Kansas City Art Institute says they can no longer honor their pledge, citing the Great Recession as the cause of their financial woes. A $7 million building was already constructed based on the couple's pledge, and was named in their honor: the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge Painting Center. The school commented on the lawsuit: “KCAI built a building based on a contract that the college had with the Dodges, and we still expect them to live up to the contract [...] [t]hat’s why we’re leaving the name on the building.” [Kansas City Star]

University of Michigan Professor Investigated for Insider Trading. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating Professor Sid Gilman of the University of Michigan medical school for insider trading. Gilman and Matthew Martoma, a former employee of CR Intrinsic Investors, are accused of using information from a confidential drug trial to make huge personal profits. The University of Michigan wrote in a press release that it "takes this situation very seriously and is carefully reviewing all of Dr. Gilman’s activities while a faculty member at our university."  [Detroit Free Press]

Sydney Hofferth is a Communications Intern for Campus Progress. You can follow her on twitter at @squidhoff10.

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