The U.S. Rhodes Scholars for 2021 were elected virtually this year for the first time as the coronavirus pandemic swept across the globe, though that didn’t extinguish enthusiasm among the 32 students who won scholarships to Oxford University.The Rhodes Trust announced the winners early Sunday, which include 22 students of color. Ten are Black, which…

Last week, students at Brandeis University hosted an online discussion about China’s controversial Xinjiang policies, hearing experts discuss the detention, abuse and political indoctrination of more than 1 million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities.But as Uighur attorney and advocate Rayhan Asat appeared before the student group last Friday, her screen was taken over as hackers…

Would you give up nearly a decade of your life looking at your cellphone?Calculated by today’s usage, the average person spends a little over 76,500 hours – or 8.74 years – on a smartphone over a lifetime, according to a FILE – Marilu Rodriguez checks a news website on her smartphone before boarding a train…

A wealthy California couple was sentenced to prison time on Tuesday after admitting they paid $250,000 to fraudulently help their daughter gain admission to the University of Southern California as a volleyball recruit.Diane Blake, the co-founder of a retail merchandising company, and Todd Blake, an entrepreneur and investor, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nathaniel…

As COVID-19 cases surge around the U.S., more universities and colleges plan to move all classes online after Thanksgiving break in late November, while others say they will allow students to return to campus. FILE – Students wait in line at a testing site for the COVID-19 set up for returning students, faculty and staff on…

A former Harvard University fencing coach and a Maryland businessman have been arrested and charged with conspiring to circumvent the school’s admissions process, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston.Peter Brand, 67, a former Harvard fencing coach who was fired in 2019, is alleged to have taken more than $1.5 million in bribes to…

COVID-19 has drastically cut international student participation in U.S. colleges and universities, punctuating three years of declining enrollment tied to costs, immigration barriers and perceived chaos in American society.Fewer Foreign Students Enrolling in US College and UniversitiesAnnual Open Doors report of international students in US shows increase in total international enrollment from previous year, but a decrease…

The Ivy League became the first Division I conference this year to cancel all winter sports, including men’s and women’s basketball.   The decision Thursday came 13 days before the scheduled start of the college basketball season. The league had decided this past summer, when it canceled fall sports, not to allow any of its…

Harvard does not discriminate against Asian American applicants, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday in a decision that offers relief to other colleges that consider race in admissions but also sets the stage for a potential review by an increasingly conservative U.S. Supreme Court.The decision came from two judges on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court…

Immigration rules for international students at U.S. colleges and universities have undergone multiple changes during the Trump administration. In his transition plan, President-elect Joe Biden proposes changing some of them to loosen visa restrictions.Biden, projected as winner of the November 3 presidential election, does not specifically refer to undergraduate foreign students in his “Plan for…

Traditional thinking about college sports does not usually conjure images of Asian athletes, which Asian students say is hindering diversity on the playing field.   “I know when I was younger, looking at some of the really successful Ivy League runners, none of them were Asian American,” said Kieran Tuntivate, a Thai American runner and recent…

Chinese Communist Party officials appear to be increasing their harassment and punishment of Chinese internet users who publish on foreign social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.  China’s government firewall blocks access to those sites, but users can use VPNs and other technology to circumvent it.  A growing number of these Chinese “netizens”…

Catherine Wilson is a senior at the University of Maryland College Park majoring in journalism and minoring in history. She also gets distracted easily. Loud noises, a cough or even tapping can break her concentration. Consequently, Wilson has help to ensure her success in college: extended time for exams and an alternative testing environment, called “reasonable…

International students in the U.S. whose studies and immigration status have undergone changes during President Donald Trump’s administration say they hope their stays will stabilize with President-elect Joe Biden.“I do believe that … international students would feel more secure here in the U.S. while pursuing their degrees,” said Ukrainian Roman Ivasiy, a student at Georgia…

Young voters, including many of color, turned out in record numbers this election and overwhelmingly supported the Democratic ticket, helping to push projected election winners Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to secure the highest offices in the U.S.“This victory belongs to young people,” said Rachel Fleischer, executive director of the Washington-based youth advocacy group Young Invincibles, in a statement released Saturday. “Young voters … came…

A public vote to reinstate affirmative action in admissions at public universities in California failed in this week’s elections.Supporters of Proposition 16 hoped the state would return to allowing race and gender to be a factor in admissions at public universities, but the measure was defeated 56% to 44%.Ten U.S. states have banned such a…

While the 2020 U.S. presidential election remains undecided, data show that the youth vote— specifically youth of color — in most states widely supported Democratic candidate Joe Biden.Citing data compiled by the National Election Poll exit polls and AP VoteCast data from the Associated Press, the youth vote in key states the morning after Election…

The United States contributes much more to ocean plastic pollution than previously estimated, according to a In this April 23, 2019, aerial photo, plastic bottles and other garbage float in river Drina near Visegrad, eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina.In 2016, the U.S. recycled just 9% of its total plastic waste. About half of this was recycled domestically and…

Millennial and Generation Z voters are expected to turn out in record numbers for the Nov. 3 presidential election, experts say, continuing a trend of increased participation since the midterm elections in 2018.  “A lot of students are back in their hometowns, so they are more likely to be able to vote easily,” said Josh…

Health care and racism dominate the issues important to young people in the presidential election, according to poll trackers.Climate change is also among the top three issues to young voters, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (FILE – Ashley Nealy waits in line to cast her ballot during early voting…

Millennials comprise a large, diverse and important part of the U.S. electorate this year. But they are also an increasing portion of candidates for local and state elections.According to the Millennial Action Project (MAP), an organization tracking young people running for office across the country, record numbers of people under 45 are running for office…

Since the 2016 presidential election, more than 15 million people have turned 18, making young people a critical voter bloc for the 2020 presidential elections this November. Like their elders, the youth vote is not a monolith or a unified voting bloc that aligns on all issues and demographics. Gender, like race, will impact youth voting in its own way.  Among millennial…

While student debt and the affordability of a college education as a youth voter issue has been overshadowed by COVID and race events, it remains a top concern for many.“I’ve been paying whatever the minimum is for well over a decade,” said Victor Varadi, senior program manager at Disney/ABC, to VOA. Now 47, he has…

A possible challenge to Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States in 1973, has young people considering how it might impact their lives.Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative judge from Indiana who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court Monday evening, has previously disagreed with the decision, as…

A possible challenge to Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States in 1973, has young people considering how it might impact their lives.Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative judge from Indiana who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court Monday evening, has previously disagreed with the decision, as…

A possible challenge to Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States in 1973, has young people considering how it might impact their lives.Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative judge from Indiana who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court Monday evening, has previously disagreed with the decision, as…

On Monday, the Thai parliament will open a special session called after protests swelling since August moved Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to declare a weeklong state of emergency in the Bangkok area.Police say they are prepared to handle flare-ups during the session from protesters demanding Prayuth’s resignation and reform of the monarchy. Prayuth has described…

Harvard University lost $10 million in operating expenses at the end of the fiscal year in September, compared with a $308 million surplus last year.Revenue declined $138 million, mostly in the final quarter of the fiscal year that ended the last day of June 2020, according to the University’s Annual Financial Report. Refunds costlyThe biggest toll…