The annual survey conducted by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program at the University of California at Los Angeles, found that freshmen continue to be preoccupied by material wealth and career success. Liberal stances on policy issues, new interest in teaching careers, and heightened fears of AIDS were also noted. (MLW)

At a commemorative ceremony, the 1970 shooting death of two individuals at Jackson State College (MS) was remembered by an alumnus who was present. The role of local police and National Guardsmen in the occurrence has never been resolved, and some feel it has been ignored because of racial bias. (MSE)

A University of Pittsburgh law professor developed an elective course that looks at how society's values are both expressed in literature and interpreted in law. Course topics include property ownership, racism, child and family rights, trust laws, the use of persuasive rhetoric, and violence. (MSE)

According to this author, by now everyone in America has learned to celebrate diversity. People do so to signify that they are a good person, they are hip, trendy, and "down with the program." He claims, however, that in academe, the word "diversity" still functions as a rhetorical trump card, always uttered with the tonal…

After suspension of its football program, Southern Methodist University has established a course, required of athletes, covering such topics as National Collegiate Athletic Association standards and regulations, dealing with agents and media, athletes' rights, the ethics of drug testing, and the significance of race and gender in college sports.…

Annual Higher Education Research Institute college freshman survey (n=275,811) at 469 institutions found more eschew political extremes, preferring to call themselves "middle of the road." About half believe abortion should be legal, a decline of 14% since 1990. Freshman did not seem as interested in coursework as they did in previous…

Challenged by the rise of the New Right and the Reagan Administration, liberal theorists are reformulating liberalism. Individualism, at the heart of liberal theory, has been attacked for destroying the sense of civic obligation and community spirit. Some critics of liberalism called communitarians are described. (MLW)

An instructional technology professor has created a documentary film about the killing of four college students at an antiwar protest at Kent State University (Ohio) in 1970. The film highlights the events and their social symbolism. It will be turned into an interactive exhibit housed at the university. (MSE)

Among the activities at Colorado College in late-summer preparation for the coming academic year are organization of the freshman orientation program focusing on the topic of prejudice, residence hall adviser training, and faculty research. (MSE)

Data from an annual Higher Education Research Institute survey of college freshmen (n=275,811) at 469 institutions are summarized, including student demographic and educational characteristics, educational and career plans, majors, principal social and extracurricular activities, political and social attitudes, and personal objectives. (MSE)

Faculty members spent their time reading, thinking, and talking about American values at the Wye Faculty Seminar on the Maryland Eastern Shore. The seminar draws academics from small liberal-arts colleges and representives from business, government, and the media to exchange ideas on American social and political values. (MLW)