Protests of Anti-Gun Laws on Georgia Campuses; College May Hurt Your Chances of Tying the Knot

Leave Your Guns. Georgia gun rights advocates have planned a statewide protest against the state Board of Regents’ decision to ban firearms on college campuses. They will protest by wearing empty gun holsters, hoping to encourage the Board to reverse its decision. The debate centers over whether guns can act as a deterrent or if they become an unnecessary risk.  [WALB News]

A Free Exercise Clause.Vanderbilt University held a “town hall” on Tuesday to discuss a policy of tossing Christian student groups off campus unless they are open to non-Christian leadership. The groups are already open to all student minorities as well as members of other faiths, but some think non-Christian leadership of Christian groups is a step too far. And the law might be on the students’ side. The Supreme Court in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOCunanimously affirmed last October that national Christian organizations and churches have the right to choose their leaders by faith-based criteria. [National Review]

Public Good or Private Commodity? Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s plans to cap in-state contributions to financial aid will deeply affect in-state students. The proposals have called into question what role the state has in higher education—if it is a public good, then funding must be maintained. If it’s a private commodity, on the other hand, then the costs would not only fall on the students’ shoulders, but the state could stop funding college and universities with taxpayer money. McDonnell’s plan increases higher education funding overall, but it caps the amount of money an in-state student could receive for financial aid. [UVA’s The Cavalier Daily]

Love—Or Love Of Learning. According to a sociologist at Cornell University, this could be the new “rock and a hard place” that many young Americans are stuck between. Professor Kelly Musick says that college men and women from lower social class background might be stuck between social worlds—they are forced to “marry down” by wedding someone with less education. Musick claims that “less privileged” students could have difficulty navigating social relationships on campus because, despite the diversification of colleges, it’s still a relatively “socioeconomic select group.” [PsychCentral]

Jeff Raines is a journalism intern with Campus Progress. You can follow him on Twitter @Jeff_Raines.

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