The University of Iowa has been working hard to establish a progressive attitude on its campus towards gays and it seems only logical that one step in the process would be to create a gay fraternity. So, that’s exactly what the school is considering doing.

“Current Greeks have talked about it and supportive,” said Kelly Jo Karnes, associate director of the university’s Center for Student Involvement & Leadership. “We have been feeling out other students who might be interested, and they have been really excited about the idea.”

Although the fraternity will not have a house on campus, it will serve as a way for gays on campus to get to know each other and form friendships in a niche community.

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It’s no secret that college admissions officers are allowing more creativity in the  applications that they will accept. Last year, YouTube application videos were all the rage. This year, some schools, like the University of Iowa, are incorporating Twitter into the decision-making process.

The University of Iowa is offering a full scholarship to their business school. This means that around $37,000 is hanging on a 140 character tweet. This tweet is being used by the school to replace the second essay that is normally required in their application.

Some critics think that incorporating Twitter in the college application process is a bad idea.

“They’re devaluing their future,” said Jaron Lanier, author of You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto. “They’re identifying themselves with a fad rather than something more long term. It comes off as a school trying so hard to be cool.”

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UPDATE [1/31/11]: USA Today reports that a total of 13 Iowa players were hospitalized, and that the cause is rhabdomyolysis, a muscle disorder that appears to be caused by the players’ grueling workouts. Five of the 13 football players have now been discharged from the hospital, and the university will be investigating the events leading to their condition.

Twelve Iowa Hawkeyes football players were taken to University of Iowa Hospitals Monday night, but the school has not released the reason why. The University of Iowa says it will not release the identities of the athletes nor the their conditions, but a statement did say that they are all recovering.

“All of the individuals are responding well to treatment as of Tuesday morning,” said a staff physician at UIHC. “All are in safe and stable condition. At this time we are not sure when any of the individuals will be discharged. Hospital discharge will be on a case by case basis.”

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More and more traditional colleges are offering classes online, challenging the traditional divisions between online schools and brick-and-mortar colleges. Some students are even allowed to take classroom-based courses, but are assigned to online classes.

“When I look back, I think it took away from my freshman year,” Kaitlyn Hartsock told the New York Times, of the online classes she had to take as a freshman at University of Florida, Gainesville. “My mom was really upset about it. She felt like she’s paying for me to go to college and not sit at home and watch through a computer.”

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We’re down to five unbeaten teams in college football following a pair of shellackings in Week 9. Three of those five are from non-automatic qualifier BCS schools, so those hoping for a BCS-buster cleared two roadblocks away (albeit small ones).

1. Sparty Stomped— Well, now we know why Michigan State was considered the underdog against Iowa despite a higher ranking. The Hawkeyes avenged last week’s loss to Wisconsin with a 37-6 whipping of MSU that wasn’t even that close. Mark Dantonio’s team was down 30-0 at halftime, victims of the most dominating half of football I’ve seen all year, considering the competition. The Iowa win opens up the Big-10 for all kinds of fun scenarios, as the Michigan State, Iowa, Ohio State and Wisconsin quartet all have one loss in conference to one of those four. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re getting down to the nitty gritty of the college football season, and this week could provide a massive shakeup, as three unbeaten teams all face exceptionally tough road games. Let’s jump on in.

1) #2 Oregon at USC— There’s been a lot of talk that this is USC’s “National Championship” game, what with those pesky bowl bans in effect. Ok, I’ll buy that, but USC’s ability to score makes this interesting. The Trojans have an elite offense that averages 37 points a game, which makes them well-suited to keep up with Oregon’s blur offense. Let’s face it: No team is likely to shut down the Ducks with less than a week’s prep time, so you’ve gotta outscore them. Oregon’s defensive numbers look good, but they allowed 600 yards to Arizona State and 520 to Stanford, so teams can move the ball on them. The Trojans should be OK for a half; Oregon tends to let teams hang around, but the Ducks usually turn on the jets in the second half. Read the rest of this entry »

Now that the first BCS standings have been released, we can get going on all the heated debate sure to accompany them. This week’s college football preview has a number of games that could impact the title picture, and several more great games.

*Please note that, unlike previous columns, subsequent articles will use the BCS standings for team rankings

1. #1 Oklahoma at #11 Missouri— This is probably the week where Mizzou gets exposed. Despite a 6-0 record, Missouri’s best win is either Illinois or San Diego State, and the Tigers were hardly dominant in either victory. Oklahoma’s lived on the edge this season, but has two wins over BCS-ranked teams. The game is under the Missouri lights, which may keep the Tigers in it early, but the Sooners should pull away and stay at #1. Read the rest of this entry »

Each year, colleges extend offers of acceptance to more students than they can accommodate, anticipating that a certain percentage will not attend. But this year, the University of Iowa underestimated the number of students who accepted. The incoming class will have 400 more students than they counted on, an increase of 10 percent over the last year’s freshman class.

The bigger class will mean a larger income from tuition for the college, in part due to an increase in foreign and out-of-state students who pay considerably more than in-state students. However, they are also facing a housing crisis and pressure to expand the most popular courses. The school has been reserving local apartment spaces and is temporarily transforming dorm lounges into rooms that will accommodate as many as eight beds.
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Society tells us that in order to do big things, we must attend school, make good grades and be confident in ourselves to venture out into the real world.

But there is no age to creativity.

Here is a list of inventions created before these kids even received their college diplomas.

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