Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2019

A man walks past Low Library on the Columbia University campus in New York City on March 9.; Credit: Mark Lennihan/AP

On Thursday, Columbia University and Pace University joined a growing number of colleges — including University of Miami, Drexel University and the University of Arizona — facing legal complaints aimed at their response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Thursday's suits were filed in federal court on behalf of Xaviera Marbury, a student at Pace, and an unnamed student at Columbia. Both complaints say students are owed reimbursement as well as damages for services that are no longer available now that campuses are closed. In both cases, those services include:

I. Face-to-face interaction with professors, mentors, and peers;
ii. Access to facilities such as computer labs, study rooms, laboratories, libraries, etc.;
iii. Student governance and student unions;
iv. Extra-curricular activities, groups, intramurals, etc.;
v. Student art, cultures, and other activities;
vi. Social development and independence;
vii. Hands-on learning and experimentation; and
viii. Networking and mentorship opportunities.

Marbury's complaint says her dorm rent costs $9,380 for the semester; she lost access to her dorm for approximately half the semester, the complaint says, but Pace is only offering to reimburse $2,000. Similarly, the Columbia complaint says that the student was refunded just 11% of their mandatory fees for the semester. The complaints also claim that though classes continue, their degree will eventually be worth less on the job market.

Marie Boster, a spokeswoman for Pace University, pointed out that the college is still offering services like tutoring and counseling along with classes remotely. "The faculty, staff and leaders of Pace continue to work tirelessly to support our students during this challenging time," she says. Columbia University had no comment on the suit.

The complaints, filed by a personal injury law firm in South Carolina, seek class action status on behalf of Columbia and Pace students. That same firm, Anastopoulo Law Firm, is also behind the suits against the University of Miami and Drexel.

"Universities are not delivering those services that students and their families have paid for," Anastopoulo attorney Roy T. Willey IV tells NPR. "It's not fair for the universities with multi-million dollar endowments to keep all of the money that students and their families have paid."

If the suits gain traction, the resulting damages would be a further blow to colleges already reeling from the financial impacts of the coronavirus. As NPR's Elissa Nadworny has reported, college endowments have taken a hit, some schools have begun to announce hiring freezes and others are looking at merging or closing their doors.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

While wildfires burn Oregon's Columbia River Gorge, volunteers are eager to help rebuild it.

The Columbia space shuttle disaster in 2003 killed all 7 of its crew members, but a box of roundworms managed to survive the shuttle's disintegration.

Located a stone's throw from a light rail station and a host of ethnic restaurants and public amenities, Dwell Development's Columbia Station is a green micro-c

Columbia attorney Mark Evans encourages drivers and lawmakers alike to improve Missouri's poor record on road safety.

The talk will be sometime the morning of Wed 6 May in this seminar. Title: Some statistical issues in the fight against coronavirus. Abstract: To be a good citizen, you sometimes have to be a bit of a scientist. To be a good scientist, you sometimes have to be a bit of a statistician. And […]

The distribution of a forest decline of yellow-cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis (D. Don) Orsted) has been documented in southeast Alaska, but its occurrence in British Columbia was previously unknown. We conducted an aerial survey in the Prince Rupert area in September 2004 to determine if yellow-cedar forests in the North Coast Forest District of British Columbia were experiencing a similar fate as in nearby Alaska. Numerous large areas of concentrated yellow-cedar mortality were found, extending the known distribution of the decline problem 150 km south of the Alaska-British Columbia border. The forests with the most concentrated tree death occurred at 300 to 400 m elevation, frequently on south aspects. The appearance of these forests including proximity to bogs; mixtures of dying, recently killed, and long-dead trees; and crown and bole symptoms of dying trees were all consistent with the phenomenon in southeast Alaska.

None of several types of chemotherapeutants applied before inoculation (antibiotics, metallic salts, systemic fungicides) prevented infection of sugar pine seedlings by white pine blister rust. DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) did not enhance the action of any material with which it was applied.

Seattle police released portions of a frantic 911 call and a clip from an officer's body camera showing officers chasing and shooting the suspect at a Columbia City construction site. The 1-year-old infant the man had purportedly kidnapped at gunpoint was recovered unharmed from the scene.

(United States DC Circuit) - Vacated and remanded. The district court dismissed claims by a group of chartered schools complaining about school funding practices but the case was vacated and remanded for dismissal because they lacked jurisdiction to hear the claims in the first instance.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Affirmed. Claims of breach of contract, emotional distress, negligence, and promissory estoppel arising from disciplinary action taken by a school against a student accused of sexual assault after extensive proceedings were defective and the case was properly dismissed.

Environmental News  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Seattle, WA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has settled two federal Clean Water Act cases with Coleman Oil Company, LLC, located in Lewiston, Idaho, owner and operator of a former oil bulk terminal in Wenatchee, Washington, adjacent to the Columbia River.

Puerto Lindo the tiniest sailing village was our home for 3 days whilst we waiting for our boat. Here we mingled with the sailors learning lots about boats lighthouses and round the world ship voyages Sunbathed on the beautiful surrounding islands. Ha