Around the Ivies: unions, marijuana, and Britney Spears - The Daily Princetonian (blog)

Harvard

A Harvard instructor, Mey Akashah, pleaded guilty on Monday to transporting marijuana in her underwear into Bermuda on vacation. She is an instructor at the Harvard School of Public Health. Akashah testified in court that the marijuana she carried was for a medical prescription, though she was unable to provide evidence of this prescription. She did not receive any penalty.

Brown

Brown’s president, Ruth Simmons, will be delivering the Commencement address for the class of 2012. In the past, the University has brought well-known public figures, from Supreme Court justices to big names in foreign policy and journalism. Simmons is the first black president of any Ivy League school and will also be delivering addresses at several other universities.

Yale

Activists at Yale hit the streets late last week in a march for increased youth employment and union jobs. The march, called “Let’s Get to Work,” was organized by student advocates, as well as union representatives of University employees.

Cornell

Some students at Cornell are forced to sit through classes and examinations on “Slope Day” this Friday, their version of Lawnparties. According to The Cornell Daily Sun, students speculate that some may show up to their last of classes tipsy. The committee that plans Slope Day has not considered moving it to a non-school day, because it has been part of university tradition to hold Slope Day on a Friday.

Columbia

At Columbia, the student production “SPEARS: The Gospel According to Britney” was a big hit last weekend. This show, which sold out in under a minute, sought to portray the story of Jesus through Britney Spears lyrics.

Dartmouth

An art exhibit at Dartmouth features portraits created by Chilean prison inmates, in a collaborative program created by Dartmouth women and gender studies professor Pati Hernandez. The program, “Telling My Story,” seeks to bring to female inmates a form of expression. The exhibit will be on display until May 5.

University of Pennsylvania

Doug Lynch, Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Education at U Penn, resigned last week after the administration discovered that he had made false claims about receiving a doctoral degree from Columbia University. Lynch claimed that he received his doctoral degree from Columbia in 2007, but the Registrar at Columbia maintains that Lynch is still enrolled and has yet to complete his degree.