Half of Recent Grads Are Underemployed; Rice U. Student Fights Law Allowing Teaching of Creationism

Princeton University Receives Environmental Excellence Award from State. New Jersey's annual Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards recognized Princeton University for its sustainability efforts, specifically for the institution's work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve energy across campus. The ceremony, which was held last week, highlighted environmental, academic, business, science, and civic leaders from across New Jersey for protecting the state’s environment. The University said they hopeto reduce campus emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. [Planet Princeton]

Student at Rice U. Battles a Law That Allows the Teaching of Creationism. History major and sophomore Zack Kopplin at Rice University in Louisiana is fighting to repeal a law that opens the door to teach creationism in schools. Kopplin authored a letter addressed to the Louisiana legislature calling for the repeal. Thus far, it's been signed by 78 Nobel laureates. In an interview with The Chronicle, Kopplin said, “I thought that just being right and being on the side of a good cause would be enough to convince our elected officials to do the right thing. I've learned a lot more about the process since then. But eventually I think the legislature will pass this bill to repeal the law.” [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Report Says Half Of Recent College Grads Work Jobs That Don't Require A Degree. A recent report from the Center for College Affordability and Productivity found that nearly half of the nation’s recent college graduates have jobs that do not require a degree.  The report concluded that while college-educated Americans are less likely to collect unemployment, many of the jobs they have are not worth the price of their diplomas. "Maybe we should incentivize colleges to more accurately counsel students, if you get a degree in business administration, you may not necessarily walk into a middle-class life. There's a good chance you may end up being a bartender," Richard Vedder, author of the report, told The Chronicle of Higher Education.  [Huffington Post]

Ford Presidential Library Hires a 'Wikipedian in Residence.' Michael Barera, a master's student at the University of Michigan School of Information, has become the first ‘Wikipedian in Residence’ at the Ford Presidential Library. A few institutions in Europe adopted this position, with intentions to edit Wikipedia in-house at an archive, library, or museum. Barera voluntarily found Wikipedia articles about President Ford for the library and museum staff to fact-check, among other tasks at the library before he was offered an internship position. His job is to foster and maintain a relationship between the library and the Wikipedia community. [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Charlie is a communications intern for Campus Progress.

Related Stories

• Campus Informer: Sexual Assault Edition
• How College Students Are Responding To Boston Bombing; Another Campus Victimized By Gun Violence
• Kerry: Foreign Students Shun U.S. Because Of Gun Violence; Legislature Halts Gender-Neutral Housing
• Lawmaker Says ‘It’s Not Our Job To See That Anyone Gets An Education’; Hate Speech Hits Campus
• Students Protest Ahead Of Tyga Performance; Liberty University Allows Concealed Carry In Classrooms