Quick Takes | Higher education round-up: Jan. 11

Cornell University

TEP fraternity disbanded

Following the alcohol-related hospitalization of two Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity pledges in October, Cornell will no longer recognize TEP as an official campus fraternity, The Cornell Daily Sun reported.

According to a University official, the hospitalizations occurred as a result of a “mentally scaring, sexually humiliating” hazing event at TEP.

Cornell’s administration has increasingly cracked down on alleged hazing incidents across campus over the past year, following the February 2011 death of Sigma Alpha Epsilon brother George Desdunes after a hazing event.

Princeton University

Petition asks admin to divest firearm holdings

Princeton President Shirley Tilghman is considering a petition calling on the school to divest any financial holdings it has in companies that manufacture or sell weapons similar to those used in last month’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The petition, co-authored by three faculty members, has been sent to Princeton’s Resources Committee for review, according to The Daily Princetonian.

Among other things, the petition asks Princeton to avoid any “current or future investments in companies involved in the manufacture and distribution of multiple, rapid-firing semiautomatic assault weapons and the bullets that equip them.”

Yale University

Department chair resigns after relationship with student

Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Chair John Darnell resigned from his position as chair Tuesday afternoon after admitting to an improper relationship with a student.

In addition to resigning as chair, Darnell has agreed to a one-year suspension from the Yale faculty.

Darnell also admitted to several other violations of Yale policy, including using his leadership position to cover up his behavior, The Yale Daily News reported. Darnell said in an email that he had “failed the University, my colleagues, and my students, and I am deeply sorry.”

Penn State University

Sandusky moves for new trial

Lawyers for Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach who was convicted on multiple counts of child sex abuse over the summer, argued Thursday for a new trial.

Sandusky’s attorneys claimed, among other things, that the conviction was based on insufficient evidence, and that they had not received enough time to prepare for a trial.

Sandusky did not play an active role during the proceedings on Thursday. It is not clear when a ruling will be delivered.

Stanford University

Dam may have violated environmental policy

The National Marine Fisheries Service is looking into the operation of a Stanford-owned dam to determine whether the school violated the Endangered Species Act, The Stanford Daily reported.

The NMFS is looking into whether the University knowingly blocked steelhead trout from migrating to their spawning streams.

Community members have recently called on Stanford to invest more resources into making the Searsville Dam more environmentally friendly. A local nonprofit organization that has advocated for the dam’s removal said the investigation “punctuates a decade of missed opportunities by Stanford.”

Emory University

Students apologize for affirmative action comment

A group of Emory students who said that those admitted through affirmative action “shouldn’t be here and are only at the school because of affirmative action” have issued an apology.

The students — who made the comments on Emory’s “Dooley Show” — also said that proven methods to find those admitted through affirmative action include lynching and cross burning.

Although the comments were intended to be humorous, they prompted anger throughout the Emory community. The student producers acknowledged in their apology that the segment had been “poorly written and in poor taste.”

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