*Each week Fiat Lux takes a look at the happenings on the campuses of other universities and brings them to readers free of charge. This week’s edition focuses on completely serious issues. No jokes. Seriously.*
University of Oregon- This week, the Oregon Humanities Center hosted a discussion with Terry Tempest Williams titled “The Sustaining Grace Witness.” The Oregon Daily Emerald reports that Williams found a way to connect “genocide in Rwanda, to…the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico…to diminishing prairie dog populations in Utah.” I’m not really sure how one accomplishes such a feat but the article does explain that “the audience actively listened.” It’s nice to know Oregon students can focus on something other than football.
[](http://blog.stanfordreview.org/content/images/2010/11/Daily-Oregonian.jpg)Terry Tempest Williams, Courtesy of the Oregon Daily Emerald
- **University of California, Berkeley**- [The Daily Californian](http://www.dailycal.org/article/111020/berkeley_voting_numbers_still_likely_to_exceed_sta) reports that Berkeley’s voting numbers will probably dwarf California’s state averages. With Proposition 19 on yesterday’s ballot, this comes as no surprise. What are surprising, however, are Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates’ claim that “people in Berkeley educate themselves and vote very intelligently.” Or they just like weed.
- **Yale University**- The last six years have seen an eight percent drop in the percentage of Yale alumni who donate to their alma mater. Despite this, the Yale Alumni Fund raised an institutional record $23.4 million last year. How could this be? [The Yale Daily Herald](http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/nov/03/alumni-participation-down-figures-up/) explains that some alumni “gave more when they realized others would not be able to contribute while the economy is down.” Yale clearly fosters a caring educational community, committed to helping each other in times of trouble. Or, Goldman Sach’s Yale boys decided to keep one American institution financed through the recession.
- **Brown University**- The [Brown Daily Herald](http://www.browndailyherald.com/university-third-in-producing-fulbright-scholars-1.2391598) reported today that Brown placed third among research institutions in the number of student receiving Fulbright Awards. There’s nothing really humorous about this news item, except that it causes me some concern that Stanford doesn’t even place in the top five on a list headed by Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. Brown Fulbright winner Linda Zang’s ’10 comments that Brown students value “intellectual and creative freedom” explained this phenomenon.
- **Harvard University**- Apparently your vote does matter. The [Harvard Crimson](http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/11/3/dont-dream-act-tell/) reported that “Changes in Congress Affect Harvard Issues.” In reality, the two major Congressional issues cited in the article, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the DREAM Act, are national ones, affecting students on every college campus.
[](http://blog.stanfordreview.org/content/images/2010/11/164453_1240796_630x352.jpg)Cambridge's New Drink of Choice, Courtesy of the Harvard Crimson- **Update: Harvard has joined Ramapo College in the fight against Four Loko. Following a University Health Services (UHS) administrator’s eloquent description of Four Loko as badness in a can, UHS Director David Rosenthal and Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Services Director Ryn M. Travia [called for students to boycott the drink](http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/11/1/four-loko-alcohol-college/). We here at Fiat Lux will keep you updated as the campaign against Four Loko marches westward. My prediction? It’s only a matter of time until the Stanford Daily runs an article on the drinking habits of Stanford students. This article will also bemoan the Stanford party and dating scene. We’ve read it all before.