Colleges Adding Meow to Mix

More campuses allow pets in hopes of de-stressing students

(NEWSER) - College students have long been expert at sneaking everything from gerbils to puppies into their dorm rooms, but a number of schools have made furry residents official, reports USA Today. The pet-friendly movement's spread to more than a dozen campuses, where officials hope reducing the stress of college life and stemming the tide of students to off-campus housing where they're allowed to have dogs and cats. More»

Want a job? Avoid fine art, according to 'Daily Beast' list

(NEWSER) - Hey, college students: If your life plans include getting an actual job, you may want to avoid the stars of the Daily Beast 's "most useless" majors list. Majors are ranked in terms of employment, taking into account unemployment rates among recent and experienced grads, earnings, and likely job growth this decade. The list contains a few surprises—sure, fine arts won't get you far, but neither will hospitality management:

1. Fine arts (12.6% unemployment among recent grads; recent grads earn an average $30,000)
2. Drama and theater arts (7.8%, $26,000)

Daniel's odd feet has brought in $50,000 and counting

(NEWSER) - Daniel, an orange-and-white tabby cat, is doing everything he can to save the Milwaukee Animal Rescue Center, and he's doing it by showing off his bizarre feet. He has 26 toes. Donations of $26—one for each digit—are flooding into the nonprofit animal shelter , which was recently hit with a double rent increase and needs to relocate to a cheaper building or go under, reports the AP . More»

Students, staff encourage grads to expand horizons

(NEWSER) - For many seniors at elite US universities, Wall Street provides a straightforward path to a job—particularly since big banks often dominate campus recruiting. But recently, fellow students and staff alike have urged graduating classes to consider a wider array of options, the Los Angeles Times reports. A nationwide campaign called “Stop the Brain Drain” is collecting student signatures to support altering campus recruiting, while professors and administrators are setting up programs to encourage seniors to expand their focus. More»

Stray was picked up on ski trip, flown to NYC

(NEWSER) - The mystery cat who took the media by storm this week isn’t such a mystery anymore: An alert reader of Gothamist wrote in to reveal the secret biography of Willow, who turned up in New York years after going missing in Colorado. Turns out the New York Times ’ guess was right on the money: After the cat escaped her home in Boulder, a skier visiting Colorado “fell in love with her” and took her home on a plane to New York. More»