Advocacy group sues college over head coverings

A Muslim-American advocacy group recently sued Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences over a policy forbidding face coverings, which includes traditional Islamic headdresses.

The complaint reads, “We believe this policy has a disproportionate impact on the religious rights of Muslim employees and is in violation … of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of their religion.”

According to the Boston Herald, a college spokesperson stated that the two Muslim students whom the rule may have affected did not object to the policy. However, those at the company that filed the complaint, the Council on American Islamic Relations, believe it could affect Muslims who may want to apply to the college or work around the school, though there are currently no workers to whom the rule might apply.

The college said that the rule was created due to security concerns such as matching up a student’s face to their photo ID cards.

Alcohol substitute in development in England

Imagine being able to obtain the buzz achieved by alcohol without its negative effects like hangovers, addiction and drunk driving.

A team of researchers at Imperial College London may have found the solution to these common ailments: a synthetic alcohol that mimics the feeling of relaxation caused by alcohol but avoids affecting parts of the brain connected to addiction. It could also come with a special pill to cancel the effects of the drink should the consumer need to drive or engage in another activity.

These effects are achieved through a chemical that is also used in the drug Valium.

An article in The Daily Telegraph reported that “Professor David Nutt [the leading professor] believes that the new drug, which would need licensing, could have a dramatic effect on society and improve the nation’s health.”

Nutt is attempting to get the drug approved. However, this can often be difficult due to the expense of clinical trials.

Shooting near SUNY-Brockport prompts campus to go on lockdown

A shooting in upstate New York caused nearby State University of New York (SUNY)-Brockport to go on a brief lockdown Jan. 8.

The editor-in-chief of Brockport’s student newspaper, Amanda Seef, tweeted live updates from the event. Seef said that, after a dispute with his partner, a New York man began firing shots “randomly” from a second-story window. A neighbor and a deputy responding to the case sustained injuries from the gunshots and were sent to the hospital, but their injuries were not life-threatening.

SUNY-Brockport students were notified of the lockdown via the school’s Web site. However, the lockdown was lifted after the suspect was coaxed out of the house by a negotiator.

Reach columnist Kristen Steenbeeke at news@dailyuw.com.