briefs

(U-WIRE) EVANSTON, Ill. – In December, a bill was introduced in Congress that would… (U-WIRE) EVANSTON, Ill. – In December, a bill was introduced in Congress that would mandate institutions spend a set amount of their endowments on aid. In a recent Republican debate, presidential candidates former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney argued over whether the children of illegal immigrants deserve scholarships.

As a result, new developments are underway that may change how much students pay for their education.

Last month, Duke University capped loans for undergraduates and eliminated tuition costs families earning less than $60,000.

Two days later, Harvard University made headlines by going a step further — eliminating loans entirely. Families making less than $180,000 a year will also pay a maximum of 10 percent of their family’s income in tuition.

These new policies raised the annual amount the college spends on aid from $98 million to $120 million.

Harvard is not alone in implementing changes to its tuition requirements. In response to Harvard’s new policy, several high profile schools, such as the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College and Tufts University all canceled their loan programs and replaced them with varying levels of need-based aid. Yale officials announced Monday that the school would significantly increase the amount of its endowment that it spends on financial aid.

Michael Gsovski, Daily Northwestern

(U-WIRE) TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jill Manges was in her French history class at Eastern Illinois University, when she felt the symptoms – the waves of nausea, the tightness in the throat – that signaled an impending flashback.

Manges, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, willed herself to the door, blacking out just outside her classroom. Twelve days later, the school gave her two options: Take a medical leave or we’ll kick you out.

That same month, Michelle Pomerleau, a student at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin, faced a similar fate when she overdosed on prescription drugs.

“I am concerned for your well-being, Michelle, but your behavior is impacting other students in a negative manner,” wrote a school vice president in a letter delivered while Pomerleau was still in the hospital.

From large public institutions to small, private colleges, a growing number of schools are taking punitive action against students who display mental illness, ranging from bipolar disorder to eating disorders, experts say.

With better mental health services in younger grades, more youth with mental illness are arriving on college campuses than ever before. At the same time, courts have indicated that schools can be held legally responsible if students harm themselves or others.

Administrators, mindful of the safety of the larger community, say they need to be proactive.

But critics call it overreacting.

“The message is that we only want people here who don’t have physical or mental impairments,” Karen Bower, an attorney with the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, said. “And if you have one, you’d better have it under control at all times.”

The Washington-based organization represents students who were removed from campus. Bower used to get one call a month; now, she says, she’s getting one a week. A turning point was 2002, when a state court held that officials at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology could be sued for failing to prevent the suicide of a student. Then came the Virginia Tech shootings last April, a wake-up call that today’s counseling centers are dealing with much more than angst over failing grades or bad break-ups.

Bonnie Miller Rubin ‘ Megan Twohey, FSView ‘ Florida Flambeau (Florida State U.)

(U-WIRE) TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A new Web-based program developed by Harvard’s Institute of Politics, “No Vote, No Voice,” aims at increasing youth turnout at the polls, particularly during the 2008 presidential primaries.

The project’s homepage, www.novotenovoice.com, will offer ways for young people to register to vote and get news and information about the candidates and campaigns of the 2008 presidential primary process.

A key component of the “No Vote, No Voice” project is a Facebook application people can download to their online profiles. Using the application, youth who “pledge” to vote in an upcoming presidential primary or caucus will be sent important specified state voting deadline reminders to their Facebook page, including those for registering to vote and sending in an absentee ballot.

Navigating the logistics of where and how to vote can be confusing, especially for those who have never voted before or who choose to vote by absentee ballot. Intended to be an easy-to-navigate voter education portal, “No Vote, No Voice” will offer links to voter information and registration Web sites to help first-time voters. A visitor to the homepage can quickly learn more about presidential candidates and their positions on various issues. The website also offers a variety of video clips from inspirational speeches given by political leaders over the past several decades.

Heather Wilson, FSView ‘ Florida Flambeau (Florida State U.)

(U-WIRE) HANOVER, N.H. – Young people lead the voter increase at the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, breaking voter turnout records and launching Senator Barack Obama, D-Ill., to a first-place finish.

Overall, around 239,000 people participated in last Thursday’s Democratic caucuses, while 116,000 voted in the Republican caucuses. The totals of both show increases from previous years; the Republican total moved up from less than 90,000 in 2000, the party’s last contested primary season, while the Democratic numbers doubled from 124,000 in 2004.

The number of youth voters participating in Iowa’s Democratic caucuses tripled from 2004, making up 22 percent of total Democratic voters, an amount relatively equal to their population share.

Iowa youth came out in overwhelming support of Obama, who gained 57 percent of their vote. On the Republican side, only 11 percent of voters were under 30 years of age. Former Governor Mike Huckabee R-Ark. earned 40 percent of the Republican youth vote. Congressman Ron Paul, R-Texas., trailed far behind, earning slightly over 21 percent of the youth vote, though his overall support in the state remained around 10 percent.

Nathan Swire, The Dartmouth (Dartmouth)