March 3, 2011 - 4:44pm
In Other Ivory Towers
BY CLAIRE GOSCICKI
Questions remain after student suicide at Rutgers
Two Rutgers freshmen are facing charges of invasion of privacy after secretly videotaping a fellow student’s involvement in sexual acts in a dorm room, according to a Sept. 29 article in the Daily Targum, Rutgers University’s student newspaper.
On Sept. 22, shortly after learning that he had been videotaped, first-year Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, of Ridgewood, N.J., committed suicide, the paper reported.
The students facing charges, Molly Wei and Dharun Ravi, allegedly watched and transmitted the video feed of Clementi engaging in intimate activity with another male. Under New Jersey law, Wei and Ravi’s alleged acts are fourth-degree and third-degree crimes, Middlesex County, N.J. Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan told the Targum in an interview.
The two students were released from custody two weeks ago and the case remains under investigation.
Duke University alum's powerpoint on sexual conquests leaked online
A detailed account of a recent Duke University graduate’s sexual encounters with 13 Duke students, intended to be seen by only a few friends, has begun spreading across cyberspace, according to Jezebel.com, a feminist blog.
Jezebel.com reported that author Karen Owens used a collection of PowerPoint slides — titled "An education beyond the classroom: excelling in the realm of horizontal academics" — to share her comedic “wisdom” with a few friends.
Reportedly, one of the three recipients that Owens sent the slideshow to forwarded it via e-mail, and since then the slides were received by multiple listservs before making their way into the blogosphere.
Since the website’s report of the incident on Sept. 30, Jessica Coen, editor-in-chief of Jezebel.com, said that two publishing companies have indicated interest in representing Owens for a book deal.
Dean at St. john's university forces students to serve
A former dean at St. John’s University has been charged with forcing students to act as personal servants, according to a Sept. 30 article in The New York Times.
Cecilia Chang, dean of the Institute of Asian Studies, was charged with forced labor and bribery for making students cook and clean in order to maintain their scholarships.
If the students did not perform Chang’s tasks, they were told they would lose their scholarships, the article reported.
According to the article, Chang is also accused of stealing roughly $1 million from the university, which she used to buy lingerie and pay for casino trips.
