Seems some professors at UMass-Boston are requiring students to buy these wireless clicker devices that let them answer multiple-choice questions. Or as the Mass Media headline puts it: Read more
As of 2:20 pm, the Virginia Tech shooting death toll stands at 32, according to MSNBC TV.
I typically don’t jump into the second guessing fray until I have immersed myself in facts and commentary from opinion makers whom I respect. But I am too damned bothered by one thing about this shooting: the first shooting occurred just after 7:00 am – the second shooting occurred after 9:00 am in a building where classes were being held. Why the hell was the campus conducting business as usual two hours after the initial shooting? Read more
OK, maybe just the greenhouse. What? Of course UMass-Boston has a greenhouse.
Via invasive-species doyenne Jennifer Forman Orth, who writes:
Yes, my school has a coqui infestation in the greenhouse. Yes, it annoys me, even though we're in Boston, MA. Yep, I'm worried about climate change too.
What does UMass do with its $524 M in annual state funding? Why, it generates $3.5 billion in additional economic activity, of course:
"The University of Massachusetts is one of the state’s largest economic engines, generating $4 billion in economic activity each year, with every $1 of state support helping the university generate more than $8 in positive economic activity….If UMass were a private or commercial company, it would not only be a globally competitive firm but one of the state’s largest drivers of economic growth. UMass is a $2 billion enterprise, with 15,000 employees – making it one of the top 10 employers in Massachusetts – $377 million in research and development investments and the site of three recently awarded, highly competitive national research centers." Read more
Kerry Healey, WTF? It is outrageous that our Lt. Governor makes a mere 400 students a campaign issue while refusing to acknowledge the existence of the commonwealth’s 30,000 students currently attending state higher education institutions. That’s 400 students that would pay $40,000 for a degree at the University of Massachusetts Boston - anything but a free ride.
Hey, K. Heal! Talk about people like me! I attend state university. And in state tuition is no gift, take Ryan’s word for it . How does punishing these 400 students help me? 91 classes at UMB were canceled this fall because not enough students were enrolled; clearly, there is plenty of room. Read more
The Concerned Members of the UMass Boston College of Public and Community Service is seeking Globe coverage of some issue. You can read all about it, along with some statistics they covered on how the Globe covers a large college within walking distance of its newsroom as compared to private colleges in the area:
... Between 1/1/06 and 9/10/06 according to a full text Lexis-Nexis search on the names of each of the 4 private colleges for articles of all types appearing in the Boston Globe, we determined the following number of references: Northeastern=384, MIT=558, Harvard=589, and BU was the big winner at a whopping 1010 references.
UMass Boston by contrast was referenced a mere 99 times. ...
On Thursday, UMass Boston Chancellor Michael Collins updated the university community via email on the state of UMB's crumbling garage:
"I am writing to share a development regarding the original parking garage. Last night, several sections of pipe fell from the ceiling of the Lower Level. Thankfully, no one was injured, and since we had closed the garages on July 19, no vehicles were struck by the debris."
It is frightening that this happened less than a month after the garage's Big Dig inspired closing. Almost equally discomforting is the statement's ambiguity. Is Chancellor Collins bragging that no vehicle has been damaged since July 19? Or did he mean, 'because the garage has been clossed since July 19, the debris struck no vehicles'?
In all seriousness, I have serious doubts that UMass Boston will exist in ten years. Yesterday, my target graduation date was 4 semesters from now; today, I just want to graduate before my school is condemned!
As Tim Lavallee pointed out, those familiar with UMass Boston knew the garage was a tragedy in waiting. Today’s Globe quotes UMass Boston machinist Tom Goodkind: "We always joked that it would take someone's death to get them to do something about the garage, and now they finally have."
Even scarier is this May 1, 2005 Globe entry concerning a "large piece" of the garage that fell on a car: Read more
UMass-Boston has shut down its parking garage, the one where people ran the risk of being crushed by falling concrete (hmm, sound familiar?). It was this concrete mistake that led in part to the Ward Commission.
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