Bullying came to the forefront of American discourse in 2011, as an unprecedented number of high school suicides gained national news coverage. In turn, a number of high profile campaigns where started to address the problem. On the national level, the White House held and Anti-Bullying conference, while on a deeply personal level Dan Savage inspired hundreds of individuals from all kinds of backgrounds to create “It Gets Better” videos. Many celebrities joined the effort to speak out against bullies.

Understanding the prevalence of the problem is part of finding the solution. Below is a info graphic created at the University of Southern California‘s Master of Arts in Teaching. It uses data from the Center for Disease Control, DoSomeThing.org, and a number of other sources to show not only the extent of bullying in school, but also some of the negative effects it has on students.

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Over 100 college teams will gather on Randall’s Island in New York City this coming weekend to compete in the fifth International Quidditch Association World Cup. Sometimes referred to as “Muggle Quidditch,” the sport inspired by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has continued to grow since the first non-fiction game of Quidditch was played at Middlebury College in 2005. This year, the International Quidditch Association will host 100 colleges and over 2,000 players at the two-day event, with teams representing colleges from the U.S., Canada and Finland, along with high school teams.

Currently, the top ranking teams, according to the International Quidditch Association, are Middlebury College, University of Kansas, Louisiana State University, Texas A&M and Emerson College.

In addition to ten fields of match-ups, the World Cup is accompanied by a festival and live music. The headliner of the half-time show has yet to be announced, but a public relations representative from the Quidditch Association indicated that that there will be a major musical act performing on Sunday.

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This afternoon, President Obama addressed a crowd in downtown Denver at the University of Colorado. Central to the President’s speech was the new “Pay As You Earn” proposal that the White House announced yesterday. The proposal aims to reduce monthly payments for student loans, by consolidating loans and capping payments. Starting next year, students will be able to cap their loan payments at ten percent of discretionary income, and after 20 years the debt will be forgiven. Current laws cap student loan payments at 15 percent of discretionary income with loan forgiveness after 25 years. According to a White House press statement, the proposal will benefit 1.6 million students at no cost to taxpayers.

“It can put more money in your pocket once you graduate,” Obama said in today’s speech, emphasizing that’s important for all Americans to have an equal opportunity to have access to higher education. “It’s important for our country’s future.”

In conjunction with the “Pay As You Earn” proposal, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will release a Financial Aid Shopping Sheet that will help students better understand the types of loans and finical aid that’s available to them before they go into debt.  “College graduates are entering one of the toughest job markets in recent memory, and we have a way to help them save money by consolidating their debt and capping their loan payments. And we can do it at no cost to the taxpayer,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in the White House statement.

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College admissions is a shifting landscape: from the tests you need to take to the ways you apply. That’s why we’re delighted that an updated edition of our favorite college guide, College Is Yours, is now available.

College Is Yours 2.0 is written by Ph.D. Patrick O’Connor, a college counselor and past president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. He lays out a plan to help students stress less over the application process, while still reaching for their highest aspirations. The book also offers advice on how to highlight high school achievements, fund your education and tips for parents.

The new edition is not only updated to reflect recent changes in the process of applying to college, but also includes nearly twice as many chapters. Don’t worry, College Is Yours 2.0 won’t add to your workload. It’s written like a good admissions essay: easy to read, on topic and in 600 words or less.

“Some information about testing was out of date, since nearly every college now accepts the SAT and the ACT, and I went into much more detail about what to keep in mind when applying online,” explains O’Connor. “There’s also significantly more coverage on writing essays, applying for financial aid, and how to make sure you make it through senior year in a healthy state of mind, ready to make the most out of high school.”

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At a time when high unemployment coincides with an all-time high in student debt, it’s unsurprising that students are an important demographic at the Occupy Wall Street (#OWS) protests. According to the New York Times, over 20 percent of recent college graduates are unemployed, and of those who do have jobs nearly a third have positions that do not require a college degree. These conditions are symptoms of an ailing economy, which the protesters argue has been exacerbated–if not caused–by Wall Street institutions. Some have remarked that #OWS has galvanized young people more effectively than existing labor unions, perhaps due to the inclusive nature of the protests and its anti-leadership mentality.

On Wednesday October 5th, a major walk-out joined students with other protesters at Foley Square, followed by a march to Zuccotti park, often referred to by its former name, Liberty Square. The demonstration attracted students of all ages from a diverse range of institutions. High school students from around the city marched side-by-side with college students from the CUNY and SUNY systems, Columbia University, The New School, New York University, Cooper Union and many others.

The coordination of campuses across the city with major labor unions was not only an important moment for students expressing solidarity with each other, but also for the #OWS movement as a whole. Students at all levels have found institutional support from teachers unions and university professors. The United Federation of Teachers is supporting the movement, along with other major union groups. According to The Occupied Wall Street Journal, a crowd-funded newspaper, 137 faculty members marched from The New School alone.

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The President may be facing a lot of tough criticism at the moment, but he was received with an enthusiastic welcome at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School this afternoon, where he delivered his third annual Back-to-School speech.

Banneker, located in Washington, DC, is one of the top public high schools in the nation, and has a perfect matriculation rate. Barack Obama‘s message today was focused on what students can do to not only prepare themselves for the workplace, but also contribute to their communities now.

Obama began the speech by stressing that studying hard is a young person’s first responsibility. He encouraged students to be determined in their school work, rather than worry about grades, and to take challenging courses even if they may not earn a perfect grade. He explained that high school is a time to discover new passions and learn new skills, telling the students to “keep on expanding your horizons.”

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In a speech this morning, President Obama announced large-scale changes to the federal No Child Left Behind education law, alongside Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. States will now be allowed to receive waivers from certain parts of No Child Left Behind, as long as they agree to take steps towards improving schools and increasing accountability.

“The goals behind No Child Left Behind were admirable … but experience has taught us that in its implementation, [it] had some serious flaws that are hurting our children,” said Obama. Some states have relaxed their standards in order to meet the requirements dictated by No Child Left Behind and many educators feel that learning suffers when teachers are pushed to “teach to the test, two problems the new policy hopes to amend.

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Each year, U.S. News releases rankings of the top universities around the country. Although many education experts question the value of college rankings, most schools use these rankings a marketing tool. The list of best colleges is almost unvaryingly topped with Ivy League institutions, followed by highly competitive technical universities, such as MIT and CalTech. The rankings are determined by a number of criteria, including student matriculation rate, class size and the average ACT/SAT score of the student body.

This year, California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology both rose from the 2011 rankings, in an odd tie between five universities for the fifth position.

Here are the top 10 Colleges, according to U.S. News:

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The rioting that started in London a few days ago has made a serious impact on the way the city is perceived abroad. Those living outside of the United Kingdom have had mixed responses to the unrest, but any parent of students studying in London or the other cites affected by the violence are bound to feel concerned for the safety of their children.

Thus far, it appears that the day-to-day lives of students studying abroad in the UK have not been much affected. In Oxford, just north of London, students from American universities were asked to stay inside housing at Trinity College, according to Red and Black, a student newspaper from the University of Georgia. The students were participants in study abroad programs run by the University of Georgia, Georgetown, University of Massachusetts and St. Bonaventure University.

Many summer programs are currently ending, and US students will be returning as scheduled. Syracuse University has 31 students participating in a short-term program who were scheduled to return on August 11th. “The areas currently affected are ones where students are unlikely to go, and bystanders do not at present seem to be at great risk,” states the University’s website. Similarly, 17 Indiana University students are scheduled to return to the states this week.

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The devastating EF5 tornado that ripped through Joplin, Missouri may not be making front-page headlines, but for those living in the aftermath of the storm, the story is far from over. According to Reuters, roughly 2,000 buildings were destroyed, including homes, businesses, hospitals and schools. There’s still much rebuilding to be done, and that’s why DonorsCoose.org has launched the Rebuild Joplin Schools project.

For Joplin students, the school year begins August 17th. Area teachers are working to replaced the basic items they lost in the storm, such as books, calculators, pencils, paper, computers and other teaching tools.

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