Power Outages, Basketball Controversy, and Vegan Petitions

Ivy League campus story observations: I found out that students can play everyone’s favorite (?) winter sport—curling—in the Science Center plaza. Maybe it’s time to start going to section so I can check this out. There was a power outage at Yale—though I assume that this is probably fairly common in New Haven. And somewhere (plz add geotags to all snaps so location is obvious), a student watched House of Cards during lecture... #IvyLeagueEducation.

Condolences to the entire Cornell community and especially to the family of university President Elizabeth Garrett, who passed away last night after suffering from colon cancer.

Controversy at Yale seems to be the norm, and this week is no exception. Currently it’s the men’s basketball team in the spotlight. In late February, the team announced that senior captain Jack Montague was no longer on the team. On February 26th, before a game (against us), the Yale team wore shirts emblazoned with Montague’s name. Benign show of support for universally beloved captain? Not so much. The next week, posters and flyers popped up around campus with messages such as, “Rape culture is standing by your teammate and silencing victims of sexual assault.” The ex-player’s father confirmed that he had been expelled from the school, but there’s been no further word from the university or team.

Brown is on track to have another sweet spring concert after announcing that Fetty Wap, Tinashe, and Mac DeMarco will headline Spring Weekend 2016. Sadly, guests aren’t invited unless tickets don’t sell out (they will), but Flyby applauds anyone who attempts to sneak in by going undercover as a Brown student.

At Penn, there’s currently a petition for Penn Dining to increase vegan or vegetarian offerings, and discussion about whether it makes sense for students with dietary restrictions to be on the meal plan. Students complained it was “impossible to eat a protein-rich diet” and that “if you’re a vegetarian there’s really just pizza.” This sounds familiar. Can someone start something similar at Harvard? Or maybe a petition to offer an alternative to the mandatory unlimited meals all four years requirement?

Students and administrators at Dartmouth evaluate the university’s ban on hard alcohol. Senior associate dean of student affairs Liz Agosto remarked that after the ban’s implementation one year ago, they are seeing “positive trends in terms of health and safety for students.” We’re thrilled for them. Maybe they should focus on health and safety in the form of arson prevention as well—an undergrad was arrested for arson in connection with a fire in a dorm.

Check back for our next installment of Around the Ivies every other Monday!