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News & Notes: U. of Pennsylvania approves framework for mental health reforms

The Hamlett-Reed Mental Health Initiative and University of Pennsylvania administrators met and agreed upon a framework for reform Friday, the Daily Pennsylvanian reported. Administrators agreed to look into a new program for incoming freshmen that would involve wellness counselors and evaluating counseling appointment scheduling so that visits can be scheduled online and over the phone. They did not agree to make the scheduling of visits to counseling services anonymous, nor did they agree for counseling services to send out emails once a month containing mental health updates. The Initiative had sent a letter to Penn president Amy Gutmann the week before asking her and the administration to reform student mental health policies at Penn.

Schorske, professor emeritus of history, dies at 100

Updated: Second fondling incident reported on campus

The second fondling incident in four days was reported Sunday at around 4:20 p.m. between Whig Hall and Murray-Dodge Hall. The case follows afondling incident reported on Thursday night outside the Friend Center. "The incidents are still under investigation but at this time there is no indication that they are related," University spokesperson Martin Mbugua said. In the more recent scenario, according to an email from the Department of Public Safety, a female student reported that an unidentified man struck her buttocks as she was walking north.

U. professor develops new technique to study infant brains

Psychology professorLauren Emberson has developed a new technique to study how the portions of babies’ brains that respond to visual stimuli are the same portions of babies’ brains that respond to the expectation of a visual stimulus. The research in “Top-down modulation in the infant brain: Learning-induced expectations rapidly affect the sensory cortex at 6 months,” published June 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted by Emberson, Richard Aslin and John Richards. Aslin is a professor at Rochester University for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Center for Visual Science, and Richards is a professor at the University of South Carolina department of psychology. Emberson, who joined the University psychology department on September 1 as an assistant professor of psychology, was previously a postdoctoral associate at Rochester University for the department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences. Emberson explained that in the study, parents go into a room where there is a screen that will display a video to the baby.

Graduate students move into Lakeside Graduate Housing after delays

The Lakeside Graduate Housing complex opened on June 1 after a yearlong delay. The delays were due to the complexity of the project and contractual relationships, The Daily Princetonian reported in October 2014. The complex was originally scheduled to be completed in July 2014, but delays pushed the scheduled completion to September, then to December and finally to June. Lakeside is the University’s newest on-campus housing option, and features 329 units, including 74 townhouses and 255 apartments, and is now home to over 700 graduate students. With its proximity to campus and to other graduate student housing, the Lakeside Graduate Housing seeks to cater to graduate students’ housing needs and to strengthen the graduate student community. Andrew Kane, assistant vice president in the Office of the Vice President for University Services, said that Lakeside has now consolidated the student populations of the Butler and Stanworth apartments into one location on campus. Kane explained that when planning for Lakeside began in 2005, the administration sought input from the graduate student body.

Department of Education releases new alumni earnings data

In a newly revamped “College Scorecard” website, the Department of Education has published an unprecedented set of federal data that reveals how much students who receive financial loans and grants end up earning after graduation. While median earnings among the nation’s elite universities vary, the typical Ivy League graduate who entered college in 2001 or 2002 makes at least twice as much as the typical graduate from other colleges. White House officials claim this new information will help prospective students and their families make better evaluations of the return on investment for a college education, according to a policy paper on the College Scorecard Data webpage.

U. to install Eruv boundaries across campus

The university will be installing Eruvin boundaries across campus and the local municipality and should be completed in the next three weeks,Dean of Religious Life Alison Boden said. The boundaries will extend as far as Elm Road to North Harrison Street, according to the official map released by the Center for Jewish Life website in late August. Eruvin boundaries, composed of poles or telephone wires, enable Jewish individuals that observe the Sabbath to perform normally prohibited activities, such as carrying personal items froma private space, such as a dorm room, into the public domain. Boden noted there are 50 students with this level of observance at the University, but that its impact will also extend to faculty and local residents.

Fondling incident reported outside Friend Center

A fondling incident was reported at about 8:27 p.m. on Thursday outside Friend Center, according to an email announcement by the Department of Public Safety. According to the email, a female student reported being grabbed by her buttocks by an unidentified man while walking on Charlton Street.

News & Notes: U. ranks no. 18 on New York Times College Access Index

The University ranked 18th out of 179 collegeson The New York Times College Access Index, which wasreleased on Sept.

U. initiative, ExxonMobil to enter 5-year agreement to develop energy innovations

Princeton E-ffiliates Partnership, an initiative that forges collaborations between industry and University experts, and ExxonMobil entered into a five-year agreement to pursue transformational innovations in the fields of energy and environment, the University’s Office of Engineering Communications announced this summer.ExxonMobil’s commitment to invest $5 million during the next five years is the largest financial commitment in the E-ffiliates Partnership.Princeton E-ffiliates Partnership, founded in 2011, offers its corporate members an opportunity to explore research frontiers and engage faculty and students outside the company's core expertise.

YikYak, Tiger Admirers attract attention as medium for expressing mental health issues

YikYak, a mobile app that lets users anonymously write and view posts called “Yaks” within a five-mile radius, has attracted some notice from the University and other schools as a medium for students struggling with mental health issues.Students battling mental health-related issues were among those at the University who posted Yaks since it became popular on campus last year.

State arts council grants $11M to art organizations in Princeton area

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts awarded approximately $11 million total in grants to arts organizations in the Princeton community on July 21.The McCarter Theatre Center, the University Art Museum and the Arts Council of Princeton were among local organizations to receive the NJSCA grant.The NJSCA is financed in part by the National Endowment for Arts.

Cruz ’92, Christie face off in CNN Republican debate

The Iran nuclear deal is the biggest issue of 2016, Republican presidential candidate and U.S.

News & Notes: U. ranked 26th most innovative university in the world

The University was ranked 26th onReuters’ list of the world’s top 100 most innovative universities. Stanford, whose alumni have founded Hewlett-Packard, Yahoo and Google, was ranked first, Harvard was ranked third, and Yale was ranked 44th. The most innovative university in Europe, Imperial College London, was ranked 11th in the world, with Cambridge ranked 25th and Oxford ranked 40th. Reuters ranked the University using 10 different metrics, focusing on both academic papers and patent filings.

News & Notes: Harvard final club becomes first to extend invitations to women

The Spee Club, a previously all-male final club at Harvard, decided to send its first invitations to female members Friday, the New York Times reported.Matthew Lee, president of the Spee Club, told the Times in an email that the club had voted to admit all genders as it began recruiting members for the 2015-16 academic year.

U. announces changes to freshman orientation program, beginning 2016

The University will implement a more integrative orientation program for incoming freshmen starting with the Class of 2020, according to the Offices of the Dean of the College and Campus Life. While Outdoor Action and Community Action were previously considered “pre-Orientation” and optional for incoming freshmen, all new students will now participate in either activity in 2016. To ensure full participation in OA and CA, the University will no longer charge program fees for students to attend.

Career Services partners with Handshake to revamp HireTigers

The University’s Office of Career Services has transitioned to a new version of the HireTigers online career management system. The new site, which ispowered by a different vendor and offers high-tech and high-touch resources for undergraduate and graduate students,went live on Sept.

News and Notes: Tourism spending increases in the Princeton region

Tourism spending in the Princeton region in 2014 increased 5.2 percent from 2013 to a record-breaking $2 billion, the Princeton Packet reported.

Students hospitalized after Community Action van accident

Five members of the Class of 2019 and their Community Action leader Divya Seshadri ’16 were involved in a car accidenton Sept.

Class of 2019 predominantly from three states, includes 177 international students

The Class of 2019 consists of 1,319 students from 46 states and Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam, with a plurality coming from California, New Jersey and New York.Nearly 37.6 percent of students came from these three states, a slight decrease from last year’s 38.7 percent.