Students on spring break – an annual spring vacation for university students after midterm exams – posted photos this week of the usual alcohol abuse and wild partying.

But this year, photos that caused viral outrage included a young college man using a shark to pierce a can before slurping up the beer. (Later, an apologetic post from a Brazilian international student alleged that the shark was humanely caught and returned to the ocean after the photo was snapped.)



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Animal rights advocates were not impressed. Neither was the general public.

"This is disgusting!! There is clearly a hook and line in its mouth, did you kill this shark just so you could open a [expletive] beer in its mouth? What the hell is wrong with you?" asked hannahs427 on the Instagram post.

"Have some respect for life, you stupid 'people.'" said beatlechick1, echoing many comments responding to the video.

Many comments from young college men suggested that critics were overreacting.

"I can admit that it’s in relative poor taste, but it’s not so bad that it deserves all this attention, or even close to it," wrote Dillon Cheverere on totalfratmove.com. The website features bros, babes and beer and includes a story headlined, "Quit Picking Up Trash On Spring Break, Nerds," after the Miami Beach Police tweeted a thank you students who cleaned up the beach.







Another spring break post that went viral showed a young man pouring alcohol into a starfish before drinking from it.







Alcohol reduces inhibition and alcohol abuse is not uncommon during spring break, according to Project Know, an organization that provides addiction and alcohol abuse treatment. Close to 40 percent of college students travel each year to spring break venues like Florida beach cities, South Padre Island in Texas, and a number of tropical sites in Mexico and the Caribbean, spending more than $1 billion each season, it says.

Most return to their U.S. colleges and universities refreshed and ready to resume their studies, but alcohol-related incidents ruin the experience for many.

A study by the American College of Health found that during spring break the average male reported consuming 18 drinks a day and the average woman drank 10. Such consumption can lead to alcohol poisoning as well as fatal or injurious accidents, assaults, sexual abuses and other problems.



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Dr. Eric Collins, a psychiatrist in Connecticut who specializes in substance abuse says binge drinking has become “extremely dangerous.” Binge drinking is defined for males as five drinks within a two-hour period; it’s four drinks for women.

Spring break can be traced back a couple of hundred years to European schools that allowed time off during the Christian celebration of Easter. In the mid-1930s it became associated with a break from winter when students from some colleges and universities began traveling to beaches in Florida to escape from studying.

It was a best-selling book and popular movie in 1960, “Where the Boys Are,” that led to a massive flow of spring breakers southward to Fort Lauderdale. Before the book and movie, the beach resort north of Miami had drawn only a few thousand students for spring break. Afterward, the city was overwhelmed with more than 50,000 visitors for that week.



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But certainly not all students participate in beach-and-beer fiestas. Many students spend their break with family or work on community service projects. Samantha Giacobozzi is executive director of Break Away, a non-profit organization that promotes alternative spring break programs to the beach resort parties.

She says 22,000 students from 158 schools took part in Break Away alternative ventures last year.

Career advisors say that such charitable projects can boost a student’s resume and make them more attractive to potential employers. But Giacobozzi says most participants do not approach the experience with that in mind.

“For the most part, the students we work with are not doing it to enhance their resumes,” she says. “It is about understanding community in a deeper way and understanding the world in a different way and being connected to something bigger than themselves."

Giacobozzi says social justice is a component of the programs. She says financial aid is available to students who cannot afford to pay.

“We believe alternative breaks can be a catalyst experience for individuals to move along the path of active citizenship, where community becomes an active priority in your life choices,” Giacobozzi said.

Although she concedes that the party venues still attract far larger numbers of students for spring break, she says the alternative programs are growing steadily in numbers each year.

This year’s most popular destination for college students may have been Orlando, Florida, based on four million travel plans handled by Allianz Global Assistance. The second most popular domestic destination was Las Vegas, Nevada. The two top foreign destinations were Cancun and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

What do you think of Spring Break? Please leave a comment here, and visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, thanks!

It’s tough to gain admission to Yale University, and it’s getting even tougher for international students as standout students from around the world set their sights on Yale.

The Yale Dale News, the campus newspaper, takes a look at the situation here.

Read the full story here.

Ruth Chane, a computer science major from Ethiopia, writes about her experiences settling into student life at Whitman College in the U.S. state of Washington.

"The community at Whitman College made sure I felt welcomed even before I stepped foot on campus," she says.

Read her essay here.

In The Student Life, the student newspaper for the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five liberal art colleges and two graduate schools in Claremont, California, student Rochelle Lu writes about readjusting to her Shanghai home after spending a semester in the United States.

Read the full story here.

Cedarville University in the U.S. state of Ohio says it’s got more than 140 international students representing 44 countries.

Here, the school interviews Jonathan Sutton, director of international student services. He talks about his job and the opportunities for international students on campus.

Read the full article here.

Morehouse College, a private, historically Black liberal arts college in the U.S. state of Georgia, offers a guide for international students interested in attending the school.

Among the tips to apply and thrive at Morehouse:

• Take advantage of the school’s orientation program
• Turn to the school’s Center for Academic Success for tutoring, support and more
• Immerse yourself in campus life via clubs and societies

Read the full article here.

WASHINGTON — 

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)

U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.

Read the full story here. (January 2025)

US News & World Report details the three top factors in foreign students' decision to study in the U.S. They include research opportunities and the reputation of U.S. degrees. Read the full story here. (December 2024)

A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.

Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.

Read the full story here. (December 2024)

Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health reaches out to international students by detailing the international student experience at the school.

Learn more about housing, life in Boston and more here.

BEIJING — 

China issued its first national action plan to build a "strong education nation" by 2035, which it said would help coordinate its education development, improve efficiencies in innovation and build a "strong country."

The plan, issued Sunday by the Communist Party's central committee and the State Council, aims to establish a "high quality education system" with accessibility and quality "among the best in the world."

The announcement was made after data on Friday showed China's population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, with the number of deaths outpacing a slight increase in births, and experts cautioning that the downturn will worsen in the coming years.

High childcare and education costs have been a key factor for many young Chinese opting out of having children, at a time when many face uncertainty over their job prospects amid sluggish economic growth.

"By 2035, an education power will be built," the official Xinhua news agency said, adding that China would explore gradually expanding the scope of free education, increase "high-quality" undergraduate enrolment, expand postgraduate education, and raise the proportion of doctoral students.

The plan aims to promote "healthy growth and all-round development of students," making sure primary and secondary school students have at least two hours of physical activity daily, to effectively control the myopia, or nearsightedness, and obesity rates.

"Popularizing" mental health education and establishing a national student mental health monitoring and early warning system would also be implemented, it said.

It also aims to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas to improve the operating conditions of small-scale rural schools and improve the care system for children with disabilities and those belonging to agricultural migrant populations.

The plan also aims to steadily increase the supply of kindergarten places and the accessibility of preschool education.

The Open Notebook, a site focusing on educating journalists who cover science, has complied a list of U.S. graduate program financial aid information for international students.

Read it here.