Furman University faculty threaten to boycott commencement

Faculty members at Furman University are threatening to boycott graduation ceremonies because President Bush is scheduled to deliver the commencement speech May 31. However, conservative students at the university want the protest to be blocked.

More than 200 students and faculty signed a statement earlier this month that criticized the Bush administration’s handling of the war in Iraq and environmental issues. In response to the statement, 500 members of the university community signed a letter asking administrators to block the petitioners’ request to boycott the ceremonies, according to The Associated Press.

“Some professors seem intent on turning what should be a celebration of their students’ accomplishments into a forum to air their political differences with President Bush,” wrote students in a the letter by Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow.

Faculty members were merely exercising what they see as their obligation to share their viewpoints and ideas, said Judy Grisel, a neuroscience professor who signed the petition opposing Bush’s visit.

“At a liberal arts college, we really try to train people to think critically and respect other people’s views,” Grisel said. “And we have been expressing our views in very civil ways.”

The Furman address is one of three Bush is giving this year. The president spoke May 4 at a Greensburg, Kansas high school that was destroyed last year by a strong tornado. He is also scheduled to speak at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., on May 28.

Indian students stuck in China’s earthquake zone

After an earthquake struck the Sichuan southwest province May 12, Indian medical students are distraught and hoping to go home.

“We are afraid. We are not safe here,” said a third-year Indian student, who wished to remain anonymous, in an interview with the Hindustan Times. “We want to go home.”

The students from Sichuan University said they were frightened of the 4.0 magnitude aftershocks, which struck the province until Tuesday. Thousands of students have been sleeping in their cars or in open places such as the football field of the university.

While it is not clear how many Indians reside in Sichuan, the students initially came to China for its cheap medical education.

The students said that they wanted the Indian embassy in Beijing to speak with university officials to let them go home. They additionally wanted their exams rescheduled from June to late August.

“We are not mentally prepared for the exams,” said one student. “Every time we return to the rooms, there is an aftershock and we run out.”

Student hangs herself due to university fees

When 18-year-old Sukchaya Kaewsomchart realized that she could not pay for registration fees at Silpakorn University, she hanged herself at her home in Sing Buri, Thailand.

As a result of Kaewsomchart’s death, Thailand’s education planners have decided to take providing financial aid and counseling to students from poor families more seriously, according to The Nation Multimedia, Thailand’s leading newspaper.

With many university Web sites seemingly promoting their activities more than putting the needs of students first, it is now being questioned whether these Web sites provide information that is sufficient enough for prospective students.

Only a few university officials were able to explain what students from poor families should do if their families could not pay registration fees.

Following Kaewsomchart’s suicide, Deputy Education Minister Boonlue Prasertsopha immediately instructed the Office of Higher Education Commission (OHEC) to ensure that such an event would never occur again.

Widespread news coverage of Kaewsomchart’s death prompted other students from poor families to step forward and ask for help. These students were at the point of losing their chances of education due to their families’ inability to pay for higher education.