Latinos Break Application Record at UC Schools; Duke’s Open Online Course Massively Popular

Latinos Break Record at University of California. For the first time, the University of California received more freshmen applications from Latinos than from any other racial or ethnic group in the state. The University of California has nine institutions. The Chicano/Latino demographic is the majority of California’s high school graduates, and the UC system has received nearly 175,000 applications this year, a record in and of itself. [New York Times]

Bus Driver Strike Continues in New York. The city’s largest bus driver union is still on strike and no new negotiations have been scheduled. The union striked to prevent Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to save money by re-bidding contracts, however, they don’t guarantee jobs for veteran drivers. Only about 2,400 out of the 7,700 bus routes are currently running. [New York Daily News]

MOOC has 180,000 Students Registered. A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) offered by a Duke University Professor has 180,000 students registered. The course, titled “Think Again: How to Reason and Argue” is being taught by Professor Walter Sinnot-Armstrong. About 26,000 are classified as active, exceeding Sinnot-Armstrong’s expectations. “I’ve got almost a million downloads of my videos already!” he said. [Huffington Post]

Obama Mentioned Gay Rights in Inauguration Speech. President Barack Obama became the first president to mention gay rights in an inaugural speech Monday. “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law -- for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well," Obama said. The president also paralleled the gay rights struggle to that of the women’s and civil rights movement by invoking Seneca Falls and Selma March alongside the 1969 Stonewall riots. [Huffington Post]

James King is an Online Communications Intern with Campus Progress. You can follow him on Twitter at @jamesmuratking

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