TRENDS/EVENTS/NEWS
The Age
Monday February 22, 2010
Quote € unquote€śHow did this happen in alittle, quiet, beautiful part ofthe world?€ť€” Natalie Smoothy, whose sonattends St Patrick€™s College,Brisbane, speaking afterthe stabbing death of a13-year-old studentlast week.Uni to boldly goTHE University of Sydneyhas dropped the Latinmotto from its redesignedcoat of arms and logo aspart of an imagemakeover.The university spentalmost $750,000 on theresearch and redesignthat axed the motto€śsidere mens eademmutato€ť €” a reference toSydney following thetraditions of universitiesin the northern hemisphere.The motto €” commonlytranslated as €śthe constellation ischanged, the disposition is thesame€ť€” has been part of theuniversity€™s coat of arms since1857. University external relationsexecutive director Marian Theobaldsaid market research found theuniversity relied too heavily on itssandstone heritage and something€śbolder, more energetic and moremodern€ť was needed.Simple arithmetic57Percentage of internationalstudents who said Australiawas less safe than expected,according to a surveyconducted by VictoriaUniversity.Motels for studentsTHE Australian NationalUniversity is planning tohouse nearly 300 studentsin motels across Canberrain a bid to overcomeaccommodation shortages.For at least sixmonths, the students willlive in single or twin-sharerooms, most with anen suite, for $164 a week.Room fridges will bekept, but emptied of theirusual temptations, andfree bus and mealvouchers added asinducement.The motel deal,negotiated for an undisclosed sum, is anattempt to meet theuniversity€™s uniqueguarantees to provideaccommodation for newundergraduate students fromoutside the Australian CapitalTerritory, with more than 600expected.Vice-chancellor IanChubb said the housingdilemma arose after theinstitution offered placesto more students thanlast year. On-campusresident halls fi lledquickly and turnoverwas lower thanexpected.Lending a handIN THESE individualistic times, it€™sstill possible to rely on the kindnessof strangers. Needy teenagersaround Frankston send a big thankyou to Age readers who donatedmore than $50,000 last weektowards a building program inschools that prevents at-riskstudents from dropping out. The Agehighlighted how students at severalhigh schools had to abandon theirHands on Learning building projectsbecause they couldn€™t afford to runthem from their EducationDepartment funding. HOL chiefexecutive Russell Kerr wasastonished when one private donorgave $1000, then another offered$12,500. Mornington PeninsulaShire gave $12,500, whileSt Vincent€™s Mornington and a local bus company have each stumpedup $5000. The youth charityNewsboys topped the lot with$15,000.
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