George Zimmerman declared “not guilty” in court

#Crime

After Saturday’s late-night ruling that released George Zimmerman from a year-long legal battle that started after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old African American boy walking in Zimmerman’s neighborhood. Zimmerman’s attorneys claimed that the fatal shots were fired in self-defense and the jury agreed, but many college students believe they were wrong:

“This is a time of national mourning – specifically for black people in this country. I do not wish to expend energy trying to explain why this is to anyone.” – Kristian Davis Bailey, Stanford University

Protests were planned after the verdict at a number of schools, including UT Arlington:

“We feel that this peaceful protest will let our voices be heard regarding whether racial profiling or injustice was involved…” – Micah Okoro, University of Texas at Arlington

While the isolated case of Trayvon Martin’s death will be debated long into the future, many have taken it to represent a broader issue of racial inequality in the justice system and throughout America:

“[The ruling] reinforces the idea that African-Americans will always be one of the most feared and misunderstood races in our Divided States of America.” – Junius Randolph, Northwestern University

Despite the outcry against the jury’s verdict, the overall feeling was hopeful:

“One of the takeaways from the Trayvon Martin case…is to take up the challenges of ensuring peace by fighting unequivocally for social justice in all of its forms. This goes beyond symbolic acts of protest and gestures. What we must embrace is real community engagement. We must work to undermine those forces that continue to divide us, to understand and promote human solidarity.” – Dr. Yohuru Williams, Fairfield University

“We’re the ones living in an unjust world, and if we don’t stand up to it, nothing’s going to happen.” – Jesse Smith, University of Florida

Zimmerman’s acquital may not be the end of this issue though. It’s possible that the Martin family could bring a civil suit against Zimmerman, and the Department of Justice is now investigating the killing as a possible hate crime.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Appointed Head of California College System

#Education

While the news was largely dominated by the Zimmerman verdict, there was also big news for University of California students. Former US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano was selected as the university system’s new president. President Obama wished her luck as she left the White House:

“Since day one, Janet has led my administration’s effort to secure our borders, deploying a historic number of resources, while also taking steps to make our immigration system fairer and more consistent with our values… And as she begins a new chapter in a remarkable career of public service, I wish her the best of luck.” – Barack Obama

UC’s Student Regent also liked the selection:

“I think the University is developing a much more concrete understanding of its potential influence in the state legislature … and building of relationships with the capitol. So in that sense, I think (Napolitano) is going to be very effective.” – Cinthia Flores

But student groups weren’t quite as satisfied with Napolitano. Students say that her record on immigration does not reflect the values that students in the UC system share:

“This is our school’s leadership and they’re not even considering the experiences of undocumented students…Just consider if there’s an undocumented student in the UC whose family member has been deported because of Napolitano’s policy.” – Seth Ronquillo, UCLA

A petition has been started by students to remove the new president, but with so much political weight behind her, an upheaval seems unlikely.

With more students getting their news on social media than ever before, it’s no surprise that they’ve learned to be skeptical. In the news media’s desperate attempt to cry out, “First!” when it comes to breaking news, publications are more likely to push content out before it’s been properly checked. 66% of millennials report mistrust in the accuracy of the news they receive, and that matters:

Almost 70 percent of millennials would rather be the last to know the news than receive inaccurate information. – PR Daily

Full infographic at http://www.ypulse.com/post/view/millennials-and-news-fact-checked

Fortunately, there are ways to build trust with readers from the millennial generation. Here are a few ways you can foster trust with young readers:

1. Get Familiar with Their Technology

It seems that every few weeks there’s a new app or social network that kids are suddenly using and spreading like wildfire. While you don’t have to figure out how to use every network out there, you should definitely be familiar with the big ones like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Also, keep your ears and eyes open for new players. Recently, Instagram, Vine, and Snapchat have all found a place into youth culture in a big way.

2. Make Users Your Advocates

Young users are more likely to trust their peers than to trust your marketing materials. They’re used to hearing how great your product is from your commercials or press releases, but they rarely hear it from their friends. It should be easier than ever to give your current users incentives to talk about you on social media, so don’t be shy. You might get really good results if you just try.

3. Know the Culture

In order to be trusted, you’ve got to keep your brand relevant. This means knowing a little bit about the institutions and brands your readers will and won’t trust, and hopefully keeping your company in the former group.

4. Be Honest

Finally, young customers and readers will value honesty over undeserved hype. When you screw up, let people know you screwed up. When you add a new feature or product, don’t make it out to be more revolutionary than it really is. Honesty in news delivery is the same as honesty in press release delivery; it’s always the best policy.

How do you get young, skeptical readers to believe your stories? Leave your ideas in the comments below.

The past week brought tragedy and remembrance to one college campus in California and hope for a student coming to Vermont. Read on for this week’s top college headlines.

Five Dead After Horrific College Shooting in Los Angeles

#Crime

A young man who lived near Santa Monica College in L.A. murdered three bystanders, his father, and his brother before being killed by police in the college library. As the victims were remembered during this week’s graduation ceremony, more information has come to light about the shooter’s weapon and past:

“The assault-style rifle used by a Santa Monica gunman to kill five people last week appears to have been put together using component parts… the semi-automatic weapon appears to have been built with parts that are legal to obtain, but put together make the rifle illegal in California.

“[The gunman]’s last reported contact with law enforcement was seven years ago when bomb-making materials were found at his house during a search prompted by threats to students, teachers and campus police officers at Olympic High…” – CBS News

The deadly incident brings the total number of school-related shootings in America to at least 12.

Afghani Civil Rights Activist Gets Help From US Students

#World

Ali Shahidy has been actively involved in furthering civil rights in his home country of Afghanistan, and with only $8500 remaining for his tuition, students at Norwich University in Vermont are helping him reach his goal.

“While his family struggled to get by, Shahidy found a way to excel at school. He fashioned notebooks out of posters and flyers from political campaigns. When electricity to their home was shut down every night at 10 p.m., he literally burned the midnight oil – doing homework by the light of a lamp. When he became the first member of his family to graduate high school, he was near the top of his class.” – Fox News

Ali’s inspiring story is the kind of thing that Afghanistan needs. After decades of war, the country is on the verge of independence as American troops prepare to withdraw in 2014.

100 Pounds of Marijuana Found Near Nothwestern’s Chicago Campus

#Crime

Photo by “it was 3 a.m.” on Flickr.com

More than 100 lbs. of Marijuana (valued at over $100,000) was found in an Evanston, IL resident’s recycling bin this week:

“On Saturday afternoon, a resident called police after discovering “suspicious items” in a recycling container in the 1000 block of Brown Avenue, police said. When officers looked inside the 50-gallon container, they found nine packaged blocks of marijuana having a total weight of approximately 100 pounds and a street value of more than $100,000.” – The Chicago Tribune

The investigation into who left the pot there and why is still ongoing, but police are certain that this find will put a strain on the marijuana trade near Northwestern’s campus.

7 Things High School Seniors Should Know About College

#Tips

The New York Times’ college blog has released their list of the most important things high school seniors should know about college. As expected, much of the emphasis of this advice is on handling the new-found independence that college brings:

“You need to be your own boss. Figure out when things need to be done and do them, week by week. The professor or teaching assistant might remind the class when the exam is or when the paper is due, but no one will contact you when you have missed the test or have not handed in the paper.” – The New York Times Choice Blog

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Young men at Brown University in Rhode Island are getting some pretty exciting news this week, and the education department admits that they might have given away a few hundred million dollars more than they had to this year. Read on for this week’s biggest college news headlines.

Harry Potter Starlet to Return to Classes at Brown

#Entertainment

It looks like Emma Watson will be back in school this fall. According to BroBible:

“Watson originally enrolled in the school back in 2009, then took time off in 2011 for Hermoine-related responsibilities. She’s currently taking a class at NYU, and now needs a few more credits to get a degree.”

So what is the former Harry Potter turned sex-symbol studying? History according to FanPop.

Ohio State’s Charismatic and Quirky President to Retire

#Local

After making some jokes about rival sports teams that didn’t sit well with critics, President Gee will be leaving the university that he has done so much for over the past several years. According to CollegeSpun:

“Gee’s seemingly-forced retirement comes down to the spotlight that Ohio State football draws in the national media. Gee’s retirement won’t really have an effect on that football team, but it will have a huge effect on the institution. The media seems to forget that Ohio State is actually a school, not just an athletic program.”

With a long and proud career behind him, we’ll just hope this minor gaffe at the end doesn’t change the way he’s remembered.

Another Side to the Student Loan Debacle

#Politics

As student loan debt continues to gain front-page attention, there’s another number that’s steadily increasing and worth watching: student loan fraud. According to the Huffington Post:

“The Education Department’s watchdog says the number of college students who are suspected of engaging in loan fraud has increased 82 percent … [and] estimates the government issued $874 million in suspected fraudulent student loans since 2009.”

Almost a billion dollars in fake student loans seems like quite an oversight, but with more than $1 trillion in student debt outstanding, it’s really just a drop in the bucket.

Boston, Seattle, and Denver Top the List for Best Cities for Recent College Graduates

#Lifestyle

The class of 2013 faces a tough, but slowly improving economy. This week, NerdWallet put together a comprehensive list of the best post-college towns for the class of 2013. Their criteria included the following questions:

1. Will you have peers and others your age?  Fresh grads want to live in young cities with plenty of twenty-somethings to meet.  We included the percentage of the population between the ages of 18 and 24 in our analysis.

2. Will you have an active social life?  We proxied social life by the number of bars per 1,000 residents

3. Is the city walkable?  Can you live there without a car? Most recent grads don’t have cars or savings to buy a car, so we included the city’s Walk Score, which measures how easily you can get around without having a car.

4. Can you afford to live there?  Recent grads often have low salaries and no savings, so we included the median cost of rent.

5. Can you get a job?  To assess the availability of jobs and local economy, our calculations include each city’s unemployment rate.

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