NH Poetry Society - Poetry Contest for College Students

The Poetry Society of New Hampshire coordinates several contests for students in elementary school, high school and college. Winners receive prizes and are published in the Society’s quarterly magazine The Poets Touchstone.

The elementary and high school contests are limited to New Hampshire students, but the college contest is open to undergraduates anywhere.

For complete guidelines visit the website www.poetrysocietyofnewhampshire.org, or send a self addressed stamped envelope to the PSNH, 31 Reservoir Road, Farmington, NH   03835. Please indicate which contest you would like guidelines for.

The deadline for the College Contest is January 30th. March 31st is the deadline for the other student contests. 

CEI Daily - Higher Education, Population Growth, and a Regulation Roundup

Higher Education

President Obama seems to believe that investing in higher education will boost the economy.

Senior Counsel Hans Bader comments.

"South Korea got a higher percentage of its young people to go to college than the U.S. But it backfired. [...] The Obama administration wants to increase the percentage of youngsters going to college in the U.S., based on the theory that this will somehow result in more skilled jobs, but Korea’s experience shows that 'the idea that supply creates its own demand with regard to education is mistaken.'"

 

 

Population Growth

The United Nations estimates that the world' seventh billion human will be born around this Halloween.

Warren Brookes Fellow Matt Patterson comments.

"It’s quite a milestone. And on the face of it, would seem to indicate homo sapiens is a stunningly successful species with a deep and healthy breeding population, portending perpetuation of our kind for a long time to come. That’s good news, right? Well, not if you are a self-loathing homo sapien, a curious creature whose natural habitat is restricted to the jungles of academia, Hollywood, and The View.  For these lefties, we are the problem — the more we, the bigger the problem."

Regulatory Roundup

Fellow in Regulatory Studies Ryan Young presents another "Regulation Roundup."

Read here.

PublicNotice.org - Video: Class Of 2011 Faces Highest Unemployment Rate In History

Class Of 2011 Faces Highest Unemployment Rate In History
Graduates Face 21.1 Applicants Per Job  

Arlington, VA – Today, BankruptingAmerica.org (an awareness campaign by Public Notice) released a new Web video titled “Is Washington Creating Our Job Crisis?”  As the 1.7 million college students of the class of 2011 graduate, they face one of the highest unemployment rates for college graduates in U.S. history.

This video (runtime 1:01) launches just days after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy produced just over 50,000 jobs in May, the lowest number of jobs created in 2011 and the fewest jobs in eight months.

With unemployment rising to 9.1 percent, college graduates aren’t the only ones worrying about their economic future. A recent poll conducted by the Daily Beast/Newsweek found that by almost four to one, Americans say our economy is not delivering the jobs we need.  Americans are even losing sleep over the economic crisis: 56 percent are so angry about their personal economic situation that they have lost sleep.

Gretchen Hamel, Executive Director of Public Notice, said the following:

“Washington has been trying to convince the American people that we are in the midst of a recovery, but the American people aren’t feeling it.  The latest unemployment numbers confirm what the public already knows: this economy remains stagnant and is not improving.

“Partisan politics in Washington haven’t created a single job; instead, it undermines meaningful solutions to the nation’s fiscal problems and fosters uncertainty during an already tumultuous economic period.”

Video Script: The class of 2011 will likely face the highest unemployment rate for college graduates… in history. 1.7 million college students will graduate this spring. Has Washington prepared the job market for this many new graduates? Unemployment is now 9.1 percent, the highest in 2011. Underemployed: 19.2 percent. This year: 21.1 applicants per job opening. High government spending makes businesses uncertain of future tax and interest rates, which leaves them unwilling and unable to invest in new jobs or growth. Uncertainty over the future of the economy is keeping American businesses from recovery. Are Washington’s policies fostering a climate of job creation? It’s time for Washington to stop overspending. It’s time for Washington to tackle the $14.3 trillion debt and promote job creation.
See fact sheet.

View video at BankruptingAmerica.org.

CEI Daily - Bullying, Career Colleges, and the CEI Podcast

Bullying

In a recent letter to school officials, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali warned about the detrimental effects of bullying---specifically, bullying that takes place outside of school.

Senior Counsel Hans Bader notes that efforts like Ali's might be broadening the scope of education officials' power.

"This meddling beyond school boundaries raises serious questions of administrative overreaching and invasion of students’ personal lives.  The Education Department has little statutory basis for this meddling, since court rulings like Lam v. University of Missouri (1997) have typically rejected harassment claims against schools based on individuals’ conduct – even serious misconduct like 'off-campus assaults'  – outside of school."

Career Colleges

The Department of Education has proposed new rules that would deny students federal loans to attend certain for-profit career colleges.

CEI released a new study by Kara Cheseby that explains why the rule change would be a mistake.

 

"The Department justifies its proposal on the grounds that, while career colleges now account for 10 percent of the nation’s post-secondary enrollment, they account for a disproportionate 23 percent of federal loan dollars and 44 percent of federal student loan defaults. However, as this paper makes clear, the Department’s case for the rule is fundamentally fl awed. Commonly drawn comparisons between career colleges and traditional schools are less meaningful than many suggest, because of the significant demographic differences in the student populations, programmatic variances, and major disparities in taxpayer subsidies between the distinct institutional sectors."

CEI Podcast

In the new CEI Podcast, CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman talks about energy efficiency standards and his recent Wall Street Journal op-ed about washing machines.

Listen to the podcast here.



CEI Daily - College Education, Sunday Sales, and Greenhouse Gasses

College Education

Obama says the best economic policy is one that produces more college graduates.

Senior Counsel Hans Bader asks whether such a policy helps anyone but the colleges themselves.

"Students have little choice but to pay inflated tuition bills to the education industrial-complex, as they vie with each other for scarce entry-level jobs by acquiring ever more degrees that show their ability to jump through hoops and master difficult (but largely useless) skills."

 

Sunday Sales Connecticut's General Law Committee killed a bill that would've allowed liquor stores to remain open on Sundays. Policy Analyst Michelle Minton points out how out of touch with the public the committee is.   "[The committee] killed the measure Tuesday despite the fact that voters support 66 percent to 31 percent allowing liquor stores to open on Sunday (according to a recent Quinnipiac poll)."

Greenhouse Gasses

The EPA claims that regulating greenhouse gasses will boost the economy in the long run.

A new study by CEI Adjunct Scholar Garrett Vaughn argues otherwise.

"The EPA is now trying to dress up the even more expensive alternative of direct regulation with the same inflated net benefit estimates prepared for true [Clean Air Act] pollutants such as particulate matter and nitrous oxides. Congress and the administration understand well that EPA regulations actually impose costs far in excess of benefits, the EPA’s official claims to the contrary notwithstanding."