College Briefs

Davidson College Eliminates Loans

Davidson College announced this week that it will replace student loans with grants and work-study positions, the Houston Chronicle reported. According to officials, the change from loans to grants, which will occur in August, will cost the university an extra $3.5 million. The university plans to initially fund the change with private gifts and operating reserves. While many large private and public universities have made similar changes in recent years, Davidson College will be the first liberal arts college to eliminate loans completely. Other liberal arts colleges have instead been reducing loans. The university's current tuition is at about $30,000 and about a third of the current students receive financial aid. Higher education experts applauded Davidson's move and said they hoped that other liberal arts colleges will follow the example.

­-Chris Lim

Cuban Immigrants Jailed for Spying

A Cuban-American couple working at Florida International University was sentenced to prison terms this month for acting as spies for the Cuban government, the Associated Press reported. Carlos Alvarez, a psychology professor at FIU, was sentenced to five years in prison after he fed information about Miami's Cuban exiles to the Havana government. He admitted he had been helping Cuba's intelligence services for the past 30 years. His wife, Elsa, a counselor at the university, was sentenced to three years in prison for concealing her husband's activity. Prosecutors said Alvarez used his house to relay encrypted messages to Havana. Both are naturalized U.S. citizens and pled guilty to the charges.

­-Chris Lim

Gay Couple Gives 1 Million to UCLA

A million-dollar donation from a gay couple is expected to be used to establish what is believed to be the country's first endowed academic chair in sexual-orientation law at the University of California, Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles Times, the seat will be a part of the law school's Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Policy. The center currently studies sexual discrimination, same-sex marriage and child adoption, and the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Law school officials said that while many other universities have gay studies chairs in humanities and social studies, no other law school in the country does. They added that establishing the chair will promote further studies and understanding of the "blooming" field of scholarship. While the University of California system accepted the donation money, they have not formally established the chair yet. However, approval is expected.

­-Chris Lim