Vanderbilt Recognizes Pagan, Wiccan Holidays; PETA Lauds Vegan Dining at University of Texas

Bookends. In response to the rising costs of college textbooks, the University of Dayton is offering free books to first-year students who complete FAFSA, visit the campus and are accepted to the university. They will provide up to $500 worth of books per semester, for four years, to the 75 percent of students who are expected to take advantage of the offer. "We want them to fully understand the rewards of a University of Dayton education and know that those rewards are not out of their reach," said Kathy McEuen Harmon, assistant vice president and dean of admission and financial aid. [WDTN2]

The Ministry of Magic. Vanderbilt University will work to accomodate religious holidays for pagan and wiccan students, including the similarly-named Samhain-Beltane and Beltane-Samhain. “This is a mechanism to let faculty be aware of these holidays, that there may be students approaching them, for example, to reschedule an exam, to make up a day of coursework or something like that because they are choosing to observe their religion on that day,” Vanderbilt spokeswoman Princine Lewis said Tuesday. “And that’s an agreement that would have to be worked out with the faculty member.” Religious accomodations will work on an honor system. [The Tennessean]

Compassionate campus. The University of North Texas is opening the nation's first strictly vegan cafeteria this fall, though they didn't set out to make a statement about animal welfare. Rather, according to university spokespersons, the vegan-only dining hall just caters to the increasingly diverse tastes of their student body. Coincidentally, a southern-dining station opening at another dining hall will be another addition this semester. The animal welfare organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals announced they will award the university a "compassionate campus award." [Inside Higher Ed]

The fall of man. Women have a more positive conception of higher education than men, according to research by the Pew Research Center. While half of women rated the American higher education system as excellent or good in terms of value, only 37 percent of men thought so. More women than men ages 25 to 29 now hold college degrees than do men of the same age, and more respondents believe that a college degree is necessary for a woman than for a man. Paradoxically, most respondents agreed that it was a good thing that more women are graduating than men - but disagreed that it was a good thing that fewer men than women are earning degrees. [The Washington Post]

Jon Christian is a reporter with Campus Progress. Follow him on Twitter @Jon_Christian.

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