Free Republic

In their latest bid to tame student behavior and polish the campus image, administrators at California State University, Chico, are ordering all incoming freshmen to complete an online alcohol abuse prevention course and promising to crack down on students caught with booze in the dorms. More than 2,000 freshmen will be required to complete and pass a three-hour-long alcohol awareness course before they register for spring courses, campus officials said Thursday. And, for the first time, campus officials will notify parents when their children are busted for alcohol in the dorms. A second bust - it had been three -...

LAT investigating Slater's story The Times has sent editor and former reporter Jim Newton to Chico to try to corroborate reporting by the paper's Eric Slater that has come under fire. Slater's story in March about hazing troubles at Chico State has already been the subject of a Times correction and official dismay in the Northern California town. A story today in the Chico State student newspaper, the Orion, says that Newton has interviewed students, faculty and city officials. "I'm just trying to report the facts," said Newton. "I'm here to gather information." Student leader Michelle Dobin said Newton told...