CAMPUS WATCH - What's happening at schools across the nation

[HTML_REMOVED]Offensive partying in the Midwest[HTML_REMOVED]

In hindsight, the "fiesta" theme probably wasn't a good idea.

It's gotten the Delta Delta Delta sorority and Zeta Beta Tau fraternity chapters at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign a lot more than either bargained for: suspension of new member recruitment during spring 2007, social probation through fall 2007, conduct probation until the end of 2008 and two embarrassing articles in The Daily Illini.

The fraternity and sorority hosted an exchange early in October that apparently carried some Latino stereotypes a bit too far. According to one article, which reported on the events of disciplinary hearings after the party, "the organizations were found in violation of the University's Student Code, fraternity and sorority rules regarding alcohol and other University standards."

Members of the Tri Delt sorority issued a public apology after the initial event, but one member of the UIUC's United Greek Counsel said the incident reflected a "campuswide problem."

"People automatically think the Greeks have to deal with the problem and fix it," said Patty Garcia, a UIUC senior majoring in Latin American Studies. "By throwing all the responsibility on the Greeks, it's minimizing the problem."

It makes a person long for the days when students went to parties, got drunk and attacked each other with broken bottles or set things on fire. Kids today. Sheesh.

[HTML_REMOVED]UCLA students vent about TAs[HTML_REMOVED]

OK, the headline's not entirely fair. The purpose of the Daily Bruin article was to explore the effectiveness of teaching assistants' techniques in the classroom. What it became was a laundry list of student tips about what makes and breaks a teaching assistant (TA).

TAs on the good list make themselves available, holding extra review sessions and adapting to the needs of the class, students said.

TAs on the bad list don't respond to student e-mails within 48 hours and don't go out of their way to find answers to questions they don't know.

The biggest concern voiced by students was that not enough TAs had a good grasp of the material they were teaching. "The good TAs I've had know the subject well enough to teach it in different ways, and the poorer TAs can just teach the material the way they perceive it," one UCLA student commented.

Good TAs, students said, don't focus as much on participation as they do on making sure every student is engaged in learning the material. (Agreed. Some TAs seem to think participation and engagement go hand in hand.)

At the end, it comes down to the reason we attend section in the first place. Expanding our breadth of knowledge? Nah. More like Earning a 3.5 or above.

"I wouldn't expect a TA who doesn't know the subject as well to grade me as harshly as someone who did," another student commented.

Hopefully, next week there'll be an article where TAs talk about how hard it is to teach a roomful of hungover undergrads during a Friday morning section. The knife cuts both ways.

[HTML_REMOVED]Israeli Vice Premier visits Cornell[HTML_REMOVED]

And you think your parents are having difficulty living in the 21st century.

"The present struggle between and Israel and the Palestinians is not a clash between cultures or religions, but a clash among generations. There exists a generation in the Arab world that is afraid of modernity, and they refuse to [live in the future]," Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres said in a speech to Cornell University students earlier this week. The reason for Peres' visit, according to the The Cornell Daily Sun, was to talk about Israel's place in the Arab world and steps the nation has taken to curb the suicide bombers who have wreaked havoc on the country for the past decade.

Peres also touched on what he feels is the sincerity of Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party to negotiate with Israel about the country's presence on the West Bank, saying that Hamas, the ruling party in the Palestinian state, is anti-negotiation and pro-violence.

"Abbas is a serious, honorable person who tries to make peace, but Hamas is against recognizing Israel and for the continuance of terror," Peres told The Sun.

Peres' appearance at Cornell did not happen without a protest. A small group of students gathered in front of the hall where Peres spoke to students Monday evening, voicing their displeasure with Israel's nuclear program and the actions the country took when pitted against Lebanon last summer.

Blythe Lawrence: blythelawrence@thedaily.washington.edu.