News Sources: Police Use Tasers on Student

The tactics of police in Florida who Tasered a cheeky student as he tried to question former presidential candidate Senator John Kerry have been called into question after a video of the incident was posted on the internet. The officers responsible have been suspended on full pay while the debate rages over whether the student was a victim of police brutality or an attention-seeking prankster who got what he deserved. Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including the following (click on names for contact information):

Christopher Pyle - Professor of Politics, Mount Holyoke College - Pyle is a noted scholar of constitutional law and civil liberties, extradition, He is an expert on both USA Patriot Acts and issues pertaining to civil liberties in the midst of the war on terror. He is a former U.S. Army intelligence officer and author of Military Surveillance of Civilian Politics, 1967-1970.

Kimberly Shankman - Professor of Politics and Government, Ripon College - Shankman is an expert in American politics and constitutional law and has served as chairwoman for the Wisconsin State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Lane V. Sunderland - Chancie Booth Ferris Professor of Political Science, Knox College - Sunderland is a constitutional scholar and the author of Popular Government and the Supreme Court: Securing the Public Good and Private Rights.

Trinity Health Care Alums Make "Powerful" List

Trinity University has received nationally recognition for its Health Care Administration program. The program's alumni are also sharing the spotlight, as three of them have been included in a list of the “100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare magazine.

Hampshire College's History-Making Marriage

Hampshire College's faculty and staff were expecting a usual back-to-school reception at the president's house this week, but they wound up celebrating a first for American higher education. Their hosts - President Ralph J. Hexter and his partner of more than 27 years, Manfred Kollmeier - announced their marriage.

News Sources: 'Jena 6' Conviction Overturned

A state appeals court in Louisiana tossed out the conviction against one of six African-American teenagers charged in an attack on a white student. The case brought widespread criticism that blacks were being treated more harshly than whites, after racial confrontations and fights at their school. Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including (click on names for contact information):

Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum - President, Spelman College - Tatum is a nationally recognized race relations expert, and the author of Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race.

Sarah Willie - Associate Professor, Swarthmore College - Willie is the author of the 2003 book Acting Black and an expert on social inequality in the U.S. She is Associate Provost and past chair of Swarthmore’s Black Studies Program. She teaches courses on social theory, sociology through literature, and racial dynamics in the U.S.

Alan W. McEvoy - Professor of Sociology, Wittenberg University - An authority on violence and victimization, Wittenberg has authored several books, appeared on national television and lectured extensively to educators and human service workers. He is Senior Editor of the School Intervention Report and president of the Safe Schools Coalition. The National Gang Crime Research Center has presented its highest award to him.

Remembering James Baldwin

Pulitzer-prize-winning author Baldwin spent several years as a visiting scholar at Hampshire College before his death in 1987. On Oct. 13, Hampshire is holding a full day of events celebrating the life of the literary legend, including a panel discussion with writers and historians who knew Baldwin and his work.

Remote-Control Kids

Leaders in researching television's impact on kids say the media's overwhelming influence on kids should be considered a national public health issue. DePauw University communications professor Jeffrey M. McCall says legislators are gearing up to respond to such calls, but he warns that legislative initiatives can't help kids whose parents ignore their duty.