Openly Religious

THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, May 4 —Academics who are deeply religious say they are tired of apologizing for their faith or suppressing it in the classroom, according to a new book highlighted in the weekly trade newspaper.

The book, The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief (Oxford University Press) is written by George Marsden, a history professor at the University of Notre Dame.

“Why should it be taken for granted that religious perspectives should be out of bounds?” says Marsden, a Protestant. “Feminists say that one's biography is relevant to one's scholarship. I'm saying that about religion as well.”

Shuttering Colleges

THE NEW YORK TIMES, May 8—At least 27 of the nation's 1,600 private colleges have announced plans to close since January of 1997, a 33% increase from the previous five-year period, says the Times.

Experts said the private college market has shifted in favor of the large, elite institutions and away from smaller schools with only regional reputations.

“Most of the rising demographic demand generated by Baby Boom 2 is being absorbed by public universities and community colleges,” said John Nelson of Moody's Investors Service.

Irish Expel Four

CHICAGO TRIBUNE, May 13—The University of Notre Dame has expelled three football players and a former player on sexual-misconduct allegations after the four were accused of raping a female student March 28, reports the Chicago daily.

The four athletes—Lorenzo Crawford, Donald Dykes, Abram Elam and Justin Smith, a fifth-year student and former football player — have appealed the expulsions to Holy Cross Father Edward Malloy, Notre Dame's president, whose decision will be final.

Moralism of the Left

DISSENT, Spring Issue—Today's campus left is plagued by a debilitating moralism, writes Jeffrey Isaac, a professor of political science and director of the Center for the Study of Democracy and Public Life at Indiana University at Bloomington. This moralism arises in the absence of a serious discussion of political ends and means, said the author in reference to simplistic responses to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and America's military response. The left “avoids real debate about practical alternatives,” or attempts to trump it with the morality issue.

Adds Isaac: “It is often politically necessary to employ morally troubling means in the name of morally valid ends. To be politically responsible is to engage this world and to consider the choices that it presents.”

Single-Sex Sense

CNN.COM, May 9—The Bush administration is pushing rule changes to encourage more single-sex classes and schools, marking a significant change in the U.S. government's 30-year policy prohibiting gender discrimination in public schools, says the Web site of the all-news TV network.

Civil rights advocates charge that separate public schools for boys and girls raises questions about education equality.

Proponents say boys and girls often perform better when members of the opposite sex are not present and point to the records of the dozen or so single-sex public schools in the United States as proof the approach works.