Advocate Online

They're Talking On Campus. . .

. . . About a report from the California Student Public Interest Research Group, Rip-Off 101, that describes devices used by textbook publishers to drive the cost of textbooks ever higher.

Three-quarters of the 156 faculty surveyed in the study reported that at least half of the time new editions of textbooks were not academically required. Sixty-five percent reported rarely or never using fancy supplemental materials, such as CDs and workbooks that are bundled with textbooks and used to jack up prices.

. . . About projections that the number of U.S. high school graduates will continue to rise steadily in the coming years. The report released by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and the College Board also projects a major shift in the racial profile of graduates. The report predicts 73 percent more Hispanic graduates from public high schools in 2014 than in 2002, while the number of Caucasian graduates will decline by 11 percent and African-American graduates will rise 6 percent.

. . . About an international conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education and 40 years of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, September 24–27, 2004.

The conference, “Still Not Equal: Expanding Opportunity in Global Societies,” sponsored by the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute of the United Negro College Fund, will be held in Washington, D.C. More information is available at www.patterson-uncf.org.