Interviews Bill Kibler, former Bonfire Advisor at Texas A and M, about the bonfire's special place in the college's culture. Describes how the community is coping after the accident, and what has been the response to the recent independent report on the accident, which cited numerous physical and organizational failures as a cause of the disaster.…

Describes five top-notch secondary school newspapers, four led by National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year award winners or finalists and one (a middle school paper) which regularly beats high school entries in state and national competitions. For each paper, the article discusses the school, the advisor, the paper's format, breaking…

Provides an evaluation template for student activities professionals charged with evaluating competitive event scheduling software. Guides staff in making an informed decision on whether to retain event management technology provided through an existing vendor or choose "best-of-breed" scheduling software. (EV)

Discusses how to encourage students to participate effectively in groups, both in the classroom and in extra-curricular activities, and relates it to information literacy. Topics include learning communities; collaborative learning; task-oriented versus process-oriented support; and running effective meetings. (LRW)

Compares patterns of interest among male and female undergraduate students using two instruments based on Holland's theory of occupational choice. Males scored higher on the realistic scale of the instrument, while females scored higher on the social and enterprising scales. On the cocurricular inventory, males obtained higher realistic and…

In an Oklahoma case, absence of a documented drug problem among students in nonathletic extracurricular activities led the10th Circuit Court to strike down the district's policy as unreasonable and unconstitutional. Imposing random, suspicionless drug-testing policies for all students attending school might violate the Fourth Amendment. (MLH)

This article describes competitions across a range of curricular areas that develop students' problem solving skills by setting authentic, real-world tasks. As individuals or members of a team, students in these competitions are challenged with finding solutions to problems faced not only in today's scientific and technological world, but also in…

Sarah Lowe's favorite movies are "Crash" and "Motorcycle Diaries." During the 2004 presidential election, she got every player on the women's basketball squad to register to vote. Last year, she was a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship. And not only is she not the "typical jock," she's not even the typical college…

The role of homework needs to be considered within the context of the broader developmental needs of children. This article focuses on how children spend their time after school and how homework, as well as other activities, can contribute to school success. Children differ in their after-school experiences, from "latchkey" children who lack…

This article presents the results of a qualitative study which examined the experiences of students with learning disabilities who had managed to reach university. The purpose was to identify factors in the lives of these students that, from their own accounts, had promoted academic success despite the high failure rates that are typical for this…

This paper presents analysis of qualitative data from a research project looking at staff perceptions of plagiarism at a post-1992 university. Twenty-six members of staff from departments and academic schools from across the university took part in open and semi-structured interviews. Analysis shows that variable definitions of plagiarism exist;…

In 2002, the United States Supreme Court confirmed that in the school's role of in loco parentis, drug testing of students who were involved in athletics and extracurricular activities was constitutional. In a state of the union address, George W. Bush stated that drug testing in schools had been effective and was part of "our aggressive…

The excesses of the modern prom often require principals to play the roles of police, fashion arbiters, and even parents. In the midst of the 2007 junior and senior prom season, school leaders attest to a mounting list of policies, regulations, and security measures they are enforcing for the year's big social event. Indeed, the prom, a…

Campus involvement affecting satisfaction and academic achievement (overall grade point average) of hospitality undergraduate students at a state university in the Midwest (University X) was investigated through a survey research. A four-part survey instrument was developed to facilitate this study. There were a number of academic, professional,…

This study surveyed 239 community college students from Southern California to determine if the role of faculty and staff advisors of student clubs and organizations of intercultural, multicultural, and ethnic origin affected student outcomes in multicultural competence and career goals. These students participated in 42 different culturally and…