Sisters killed in tornado at University of Maryland

Baltimore Sun

A tornado blazed a 10-mile-long path of destruction through the University of Maryland Tuesday, killing two sisters and injuring at least 50 other people. Classes were canceled Tuesday as workers, fire crews and students spent the day picking through damaged buildings and the remains of cars tossed about university parking lots. The sisters, a senior studying environmental policy and a sophomore studying sociology, died when their car was carried 200 to 300 yards by the tornado, passing over or between dorm buildings before coming to rest in trees near a parking lot.

Ten-year-old boy will be Colorado State U. freshman next spring

Rocky Mountain Collegian (Colorado State U.)

(U-WIRE) - Colorado State University will have one of the youngest high school graduates enrolled in the freshman class second semester. Brandenn Bremmer, a 10-year-old from Venango, Neb., graduated from an independent study high school program through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln this past June with a 3.7 GPA. He finished his junior and senior years in seven months by putting in 12-hour days, six days a week. Bremmer, who was home-schooled through high school, finished preschool, kindergarten and first grade by the age of three. According to his mother, Bremmer at first will take only one or two classes to get used to the classroom setting.

New policy at Penn State brands cheaters

Daily Collegian (Pennsylvania State U.)

(U-WIRE) - During the first year of Pennsylvania State University's new academic integrity policy, three students had their transcripts marked with an XF grade. The Office of Judicial Affairs is now delivering such reprimands to mark especially serious or repeated acts of cheating, plagiarizing or other forms of academic dishonesty. In March 1999, 17 percent of students surveyed said they themselves had cheated on tests at Penn State and 44 percent said they had done so on class assignments. A groundswell of concern among students and faculty in recent years led the University Faculty Senate to look into improving the climate of academic integrity

Planes banned over U. Michigan stadium during Saturday game

Michigan Daily (U. Michigan)

(U-WIRE) - At the request of the University of Michigan Athletic Department, the Federal Aviation Administration restricted airspace around Michigan Stadium during Saturday's football game against Western Michigan. The Athletic Department hopes to eliminate all aircraft, including planes towing banner advertisements, during future games. The restriction only applied to Saturday's game between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., but Athletic Department officials have been trying to restrict all aircraft over the stadium for some time.

UCLA study researches whether laughter is the best medicine

Daily Trojan (U. Southern California

(U-WIRE) - Laughter is known as an audible sound of joy, but it may also be a silent killer of pain, according to an ongoing study at University of California-Los Angeles' Jonsson Cancer Center. The Jonsson Cancer Center Rx Laughter study focuses on the effects of laughter on sick children, using subjective and objective data in responses to stress and pain. The objective information includes measurements of heart rate, blood pressure, and duration of pain tolerance. If the results show effective relief from pain, hospitals around the country may implement programs that incorporate humor and laughter in the treatment of pain from procedures and chronic, or long-term, illness.