The Paper Chase
After a hiatus that included balancing interests in lions and football, the pursuit of trivial, meaningless, and irrelevant topics in the realm of higher education is back on track. And where better to begin than with the continuing fascination with famous students, particularly our favorite one.
According to The Daily Telegraph, a new docudrama called Fathers and Sons, which focuses on Prince William, has stirred up controversy. The film apparently depicts William as a hard-drinking, womanizing fool, which has earned it condemnation from "royal circles." Poor William already has a difficult enough life, can he withstand this criticism?
To play the young prince, an actor named Jordan Frieda was chosen, who insiders say is a former Cambridge University student and a member of the Pitt, one of the snobbiest university clubs. However, critics of the film are accusing it of being tasteless, nasty, and unfair.
The Independent reports that a helpful monk at a college in Thailand gave the students a liquid purported to cleanse the body and cure drug addiction. Instead, it caused 35 of them to suffer severe stomach pains and nausea. Likewise, a teacher at Istanbul University is being investigated for fraud after disguising himself as a female student to take an exam.
Meanwhile, in Dublin, a judge awarded a woman nearly 318,000 euros after she was overcome by toxic fumes in a Trinity College toilet. And the son of Rod Stewart may be facing jail time after allegedly beating up a student in Los Angeles.
Kindly disregard the bells.
A recent report by The Times reveals an unusual happening at Jesus College, Cambridge where a celebration was held in honor of a tree’s birthday. The college defends the festivities, claiming that it’s not absurd as the tree in question is no ordinary tree. The oriental plane tree originated from a seed taken from Thermopylae, Greece in 1801 by Edward Daniel Clarke, who was a naturalist and a fellow of Jesus during the 19th century. The tree was subsequently planted in 1802, making this year the 200th anniversary of its growth. Dr. Stephen Heath, the college president, explained that the celebration included a jazz band, a children’s drawing contest, a choir performance of Handle’s Largo (dedicated to the tree), a specially composed Latin poem recitation, and even morris dancing, which he claimed wasn’t eccentric.
While we’re willing to tolerate the jazz music, and pretend to enjoy Handle’s music, and try not to doze off during Latin odes, morris dancing is a bit too much, even for Dr. Heath.
Lastly, the Mail on Sunday reported a peculiar road sign on the route between London University’s Institute of Education and Edexcel, the school examinations board. The sign read: "Pedestrians please use other footpath."
