Happy weekend, everyone! This week saw a Harvest Moon, September 18-19 and 19-20. The Harvest Moon is the name for the full moon which appears a few days before the autumnal equinox (September 22 in 2013). It is unique not only because of its proximity to the equinox, but because the harvest moon rises a bit earlier than the typical full moon--in a nutshell, we get to enjoy it for about 30 minutes longer than usual. For more detailed information about the Harvest Moon, check out this article from earthsky.org.
Earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran a letter to the editor that memorialized Margaret Mary Vojtko, who taught French at Duquesne University for 25. At the end of her life, Vojtko was reduced to waiting tables at night and living in squalor because she had no way to pay her medical bills. The letter went viral across the social media networks of academe, and the story was picked up by our own Chronicle of Higher Education.
Last week, we featured articles about two different conversations about financial aid and tuition rates at different colleges and institutions. The issue continues to get nation attention from Inside Higher Ed (“Paper (Tuition) Cuts”) and USA Today (“Colleges Slash Tuition to Avoid Sticker Shock.”
The New Yorker featured an article on NYU President John Sexton, titled “Imperial Presidency” (pay-walled but worth finding either digitally or in paper). Sexton, who will apparently step down by 2016, has had a controversial vision for NYU, which has involved expansion to the four corners of the globe.
Also new this week, the Man Booker Prize Committee will open consideration to all novels originally written in English and published in Great Britain in 2014, meaning that authors from the United States may be eligible for the prestigious literary award (and £50,000 purse).
In a less progressive literary headline, a school board in North Carolina decided to ban Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man. Apparently, at least according to one school board member who was quoted in Salon magazine, it lacks “any literary value.” Just in time for Banned Book Week, September 22-28.
Lastly, a little Neil Young to send you into the weekend:
[Creative Commons licensed image “Harvest Moon” by Flickr user joiseyshowaa ]
