Obama Nods to Immigrant Students in Inaugural Speech; Student Organization Promotes Sexual Equality

President Obama Addresses Foreign-Born Students and Their Education. In his inaugural address, President Obama touched on the potential that foreign-born students have but rarely get to exercise.  He said efforts need to focus on educating students instead of throwing them out of the country: “Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity, until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our work force rather than expelled from our country.”  This portion of his speech left many supporters hopeful that in his second term, President Obama will assist the lives of many immigrants. [The Chronicle of Higher Education] 

Marshall University’s Students for Choice Promotes Sexual Health.  Student for Choice's mission is to provide a safe place for students to gather and discuss topics where they would normally not feel comfortable doing so. The campus organization covers topics like birth control, women’s rights, and sex in general.  The organization uses different techniques to urge discussion, including story telling workshops where people share who they are sexually and "what makes them comfortable in their own skin.”  In addition to more formal techniques for encouraging conversation, the organization allows for open discussion where students can ask questions and receive reliable and nonjudgmental answers. [The Parthenon]

‘Academic Averageness’ is Now Scholarship Worthy.  CollegeHumor.com created a new kind of scholarship, one that will grant $5,000 to one female and one male student for simply “being themselves.”  Christian Smith, a third-year at Ohio State University explained the qualifications: “Like (the scholarship) said, you’re sort of the average student who falls in the middle, and a lot of times I feel like those students don’t get enough attention. You either have to be poor or not financially stable or you have to be getting really good grades to be recognized and get money.”
 Feb. 1 is the deadline to apply. [The Lantern]

CNN Editor Arguably Goes Too Far. During the most recent school shooting at Lone Star College–North Harris, a desperate student without phone service tweeted to a friend to tell her mother that she was okay. Moments after, the young woman received a tweet reply from CNN National News Editor Justin Lear, who asked her to send him pictures of the incident.  His tweet sparked criticism over his seeming lack of sensitivity. [USA Today College]

Julie Thompson is a communications intern for Campus Progress. Follow her on Twitter @thomp_julie.

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