Finding Willpower During the Holidays

If you are wrestling with willpower - or the lack thereof - during the holidays, keep in mind what Momma told you: it's important whom you choose as your playmates. Hamilton College Professor Heidi Ravven, who studies the history of free will, offers advice for the faint-willed.

Gifts for the Aspiring College Student

What's on your holiday shopping list for your teenager who's looking for the perfect college? Scott Friedhoff, vice president for enrollment and communications at Allegheny College, offers a few suggestions for items that both entertain and help shine a little light.Post Options

The Holidays as Family Minefields

Parents: Our child is coming home from college to visit; we'll have a perfect holiday. Children: Finally, a chance to do some laundry and catch up with old friends. Sound like a Thanksgiving recipe for disaster? Gettysburg College counseling director Kathy Bradley says such "clashes in expectations" are at the root of many disagreements between college students and their families during holiday breaks.

News Sources: Ramadan, Rosh Hashana Coincide

This year, the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh ha'Shana coincide with Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of daylong fasts that mark the giving of the Qur'an to Mohammed. This rare overlap provides an opportunity to observe not only how the two religions differ in important ways, but also how much these two Abrahamic faiths also have in common. 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):

Randall Balmer - Ann Whitney Olin Professor of American Religion, Barnard College - The author of several books on religion in America, Balmer has also produced three PBS documentaries, including the award-winning Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, based on his book by the same title. He has appeared as commentator on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, CNN, Fox News, ABC News and National Public Radio.

Everett Fox - Allen M. Glick Chair of Judaic and Biblical Studies, Clark University - Fox is an expert in the Hebrew Bible, Jewish ritual, folklore and thought. He has completed a widely-heralded new translation of the Five Books of Moses, published as The Schocken Bible. The translation is considered the most significant translation since the King James version and took Fox more than 25 years to write.

Shalahudin Kafrawi - Instructor of Islamic Studies, Moravian College - A native of Indonesia, Shalahudin is a scholar of the Qur’an and Islamic thought. He is the author of Fakhr Al-Din Al-Razi’s Methodology in Interpreting the Qur’an, a reworking of his master’s thesis at McGill University.