Nolan Burch, Morgantown Riots, and the Troubling Relationship Between Alcohol and College Campuses

 

WVU officials are continuing to look for a way to handle what they're calling the "800-pound gorilla in the room." That's the phrase they used after the post-Baylor riots to describe alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption is what also led to the arrest of three Sigma Chi pledges and 16 citations in the days before the Nolan Burch incident. Burch's death, which was alcohol related, is just the latest in a series of appearances by the gorilla. For young people it's all about camaraderie and about being part of a social group," said Dr. Sullivan. "And so if they see one or two other people drinking heavy, especially if there are some dares and some goading going on, then folks who may not have that much interest in drinking a lot will drink way more than they intended to."

Here are the key events in world news for the month of November 2014.

China and U.S. Reach Landmark Agreement on Climate Change (Nov. 11): After weeks of discussion, China and the U.S. reach a landmark agreement on climate change. The plan is announced in Beijing by both President Xi Jinping and President Obama. The agreement includes a commitment for the first time by China to stop its emissions from increasing by 2030. One way China plans to achieve that goal is to use clean energy sources, such as windmills and solar power, as 20% of the country's total energy by 2030. Also in the plan, the U.S. sets new goals for carbon emissions reductions, pledging to reduce emissions 26-28% by 2025. The number one and two carbon polluters in the world, China and the U.S. hope to set the stage for other countries to follow their example, with the end result being a new global accord. To avoid future conflicts, the two leaders also agree on a military plan for navigating U.S. and Chinese planes and ships off China's coast as well as cutting tariffs on technology items.

Rosetta: Battery will limit life of Philae comet lander Pt2

People just want to learn more about space and the solar system.
"We have estimations right now that go between Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon," explained Paolo Ferri, the head of Esa's operations here in Darmstadt, Germany.

"It depends on the activities, of course. The more activities we do with the lander, the more power we will consume, and the less time we will have." this is what the author says.Engineers are examining how they might re-orientate the robot to maximize the light reaching its solar panels. More extreme options being considered even include using some of the moving parts on the lander to try to make a hopping motion that would carry it clear of the shadows.

This influenced me because I didn't even know they launched a "lander" that's the name they call it. How is it even possible to keep something like that type of machine running for so many years. It's also kind of cool to. The author of this article gave me enough information to understand it fully.

Rosetta: Battery will limit life of Philae comet lander Pt1

The lander bounced twice, initially about 1km back out into space, before settling in the shadow of a cliff, 1km from its intended target site.

It may now be problematic to get enough sunlight to charge its battery systems.

Launched in 2004, the European Space Agency (Esa) mission hopes to learn about the origins of our Solar System.

It has already sent back the first images ever taken from the crumbling, fractured terrain of a comet.

 

Pictures taken by Philae of its surroundings show it pressed up against what appears to be a hard wall of some kind.

Telemetry indicates it is on a slope or perhaps even on its side.

Certainly, one of its three feet is not in contact with the surface.

The key issue vexing controllers right now is the lighting condition

Shaheen holds on to New Hampshire Senate seat

Shaheen said late Tuesday night that Brown had called her to concede, and praised him for a "vigorous race."The race represented Republicans' best chances at picking up a Senate seat in the Northeast -- one that was vital for Democrats to protect as they faced majority-threatening challenges elsewhere. Over the summer, Brown used a series of crises to nationalize the race -- arguing that President Barack Obama and, by extension, Senate Democrats like Shaheen, are unable to govern effectively. He was among the first Republican candidates to call for a travel ban from Ebola-stricken countries in West Africa. He ran ads focused on ISIS and the border security, and focused much of his campaign on hitting Democrats over illegal immigration.

Shaheen, meanwhile, turned to core Democratic economic issues and issues affecting working class voters and women. She hit Brown over what she argued were impossible-to-peg stances on lifting the minimum wage and mandating equal pay. She accused him of supporting GOP tax measures that promoted outsourcing while representing Massachusetts in the Senate.

Polls give GOP momentum going into midterms

Washington (CNN) -- Republicans woke up Sunday to a wave of new polls that showed their Senate candidates surging ahead in key states -- including one in Iowa that looked particularly grim for Democrats -- giving the GOP a jolt of enthusiasm going into the 2014 campaign cycle's final hours.Two days from the midterm election, Washington's political class was buzzing around news that Iowa GOP Senate hopeful Joni Ernst was 7 percent points up in a Des Moines Register poll and Republican candidates and surrogates popped up on the Sunday news shows, gleeful about their prospects