Anti-gay slander at Harvard dining hall fuels protest
A dining hall manager at Harvard University allegedly accused two chatting female dining hall workers of being lesbians, according to Janice Loux, president of Unite Here Local 26, the union representing Harvard University's dining staff.
Harvard undergraduates learned about the anti-gay slander from an e-mail sent to the Adams House open list on Tuesday by openly gay Adams House cook William D. Nicolson.
His e-mail spurred BGLT tutors in Adams and Lowell Houses to rally against the suspected dining hall slander by encouraging a demonstration of gay pride in their dining halls.
Nicolson alone is also demonstrating against the insult, seeking to collect gay pride items and passing them out to students to wear in the dining halls.
Edward B. Childs, Adams House cook and the union's chief steward, who is also involved in the ongoing investigation, said that the union will do everything it can to put a stop to the increasing discrimination based on sexual orientation.
U. Florida's Hillel suffers due to MadoffUniversity of Florida's Birthright program has been foiled by the Madoff Scandal.
Birthright Israel is a twice-yearly free trip to Israel for Jewish students and young adults that relies heavily on donors. This year, Jewish students who had planned to go on a Birthright trip are instead grounded at the University of Florida due to a lack of funds. Officials say it's a direct result of the Ponzi scheme allegedly run by investor Bernard Madoff. Many of the donors for the Birthright program had money invested with Madoff and are no longer able to make contributions.
Madoff, chairman of Madoff Investment Securities, was charged by federal authorities in December with one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history. In a Ponzi scheme, money from new investors is used to pay off early investors.
Several Jewish nonprofits that invested their endowments with Madoff no longer exist.
Fresno State loses funds for library furniture
The Henry Madden Library at California State University-Fresno needs nearly $8 million worth of tables and chairs. However, the library will not be equipped with furniture anytime soon because of the California state budget crisis.
The new facility is to open on Feb. 19. It does have online services, books and staff to help faculty and students find things. Library Dean Peter McDonald also pointed out that all the essentials are in place.
With the furniture and window treatments on hold, the library will focus on outreach to students and faculty, new programs and expanded online access.
The students at Fresno State have not had a proper library building in over three years. Despite the lack of furniture, the faculty will finally be able to browse open stacks.
