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During a spring 2010 criminal law class, Lawrence Connell shot and killed Linda Ammons -- hypothetically speaking.

Connell considered the pretend notion of his murdering the Widener School of Law dean an absurd example meant to help students remember a legal principle.

But at least two students filed complaints with administrators, calling it violent, racist and sexist, according to Connell's attorney, Thomas Neuberger.

Lawmakers in Texas are pushing legislation again this session that would force higher education institutions to allow the concealed carry of firearms. A key argument in the campus concealed carry debate is one of statistics: will concealed handgun licensees raise the extremely low violent crime rate on college campuses?

National rankings of colleges and universities are of great use to prospective students and parents, and to the institutions themselves. They can provide valid and impartial measures of the overall education experience schools have to offer, as well as the effectiveness of their programs and the achievements of their students and alumni. To be sure, such rankings -- especially when widely-publicized and distributed -- can also influence, for good or ill, student enrollment, funding, grant allocations and more.

"Our son is in 8th grade and he will go to Harvard, Stanford or Yale -- how can you help us reach our goal." That's how the dialogue begins with many Chinese parents I speak with day in and day out as a college consultant.

This semester, Brown University is offering a new course on political conservatism. The university said the course is unrelated to current events and reflects Brown's commitment to "broad-based academic inquiry and intellectual exploration.''
But the fact that the Leadership Institute -- a group dedicated to increasing "the number and effectiveness of conservative students, activists, and leaders in the public policy process'' -- sent out a congratulatory press release reflects another reality.

Northern Illinois University will hold a memorial this afternoon on the DeKalb campus to mark the third anniversary of shootings that left five students dead and more than a dozen others injured.

On February 14, 2008, Steven Kazmierczak, a 27-year-old former NIU student, stepped from behind a screen on the lecture hall stage, carrying four guns. He fired dozens of shots into the geology class before turning a gun on himself.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — One person pulled out a gun and shot another in the hand during an argument in a Middle Tennessee State University classroom building, then tried to hide by blending in among other students before being caught by police, authorities said Monday.

The campus of 24,660 about 30 miles southeast of Nashville was on alert for about 45 minutes.

An influx of talented young folder has solidified the MIT's reputation as a hotbed of "extreme'' origami, a branch of the ancient art form that draws upon high-level mathematical and engineering skills to create mind-blowing works of art. With a mailing list of 200 members drawn from every segment of the MIT community, the club holds weekly meetings and workshops and sponsors campus-wide competitions that challenge MIT's best and brightest to fold their way to glory.

LaFAYETTE, Ga. — Two college students have died in a Georgia cave after rappelling into a waterfall and getting stuck under the frigid water.

Authorities in the north Georgia mountains say the two men from the University of Florida apparently died of hypothermia. It took rescuers more than eight hours Saturday to retrieve their bodies from a depth of about 100 feet.
Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson named the men as 20-year-old Grant Lockenbach and 18-year-old Michael Pirie.

The bad news for Justin Bieber is he got stunned by Esperanza Spalding for best new artist at the Grammy Awards. The good news? At least he still has a very awesome ringtone -- one that honesty I didn't see coming from the Biebs.