The beginning of May can be a beautiful, yet brutal, time on college campuses. On one hand it’s all almost over, the sun is starting to come out more frequently and there is a buffet of year-end parties. Then again, there’s a round of finals, the painful book buy-back and a date with the financial aid office.

So it it's not strange with the college year winding down there’s so much going on in and around campuses.

• Less expensive does not mean cheap: Community college does not cost as much as a private college or public university. This is not a big shocker to high school students and anyone who remotely falls under the definition of being “college age.” Still, it looks like a lot of people just picked up on that idea and Maine’s community colleges are trying to keep up with the interest. The story’s also interesting because of this tidbit on the success of graduates from the state’s public colleges:

  "Ninety-five percent are placed in jobs after graduation, with 96 percent of those finding jobs in Maine."

• Three part essay - Define collusion: Student loans have been in the news a lot lately, and sadly not because they’re going to become easier to repay. New York’s Attorney General has been investigating whether student loan lenders have been a little too close with colleges and their financial aid offices. Now, it appears some colleges are going to swear off any questionable dealings with lenders. At the end of the day, isn’t it bad enough it takes so long to repay loans, let alone having to worry whether your college is buddied-up with a loan company?

• As long as they have a microwave it’s OK: If you remember, a few months back I wrote a story about the University of Southern Maine’s gender neutral housing program, where men and women can live in the same dorm room. As it turns out, the kids say it's not so scandalous. USM’s getting a little love from colleges around the country which are trying to create their own gender neutral programs.

• It wasn’t my laptop, I swear: The plot continues to thicken, as the Recording Industry Association of America hunts down illegal downloaders. If you remember, they’ve already sent out notices to college campuses around the country, including several here in Maine. Each student had a 30 day window to get in touch with the RIAA and reach a settlement. Well, if you go to Bates College, it looks like your time may already be up. Things could get very interesting soon, as the University of Maine System, USM, Bowdoin and other colleges got their letters last month. Clock’s ticking...

• If you can’t make the buy-back work for you: Speaking of that magical time of year, it turns out at UMaine it may not be all that magical. Students are on the lookout for people getting a little too friendly with other people’s stuff – and someone is trying to fight back. No doubt money can be a little tight for everyone, but taking off with other people’s books or laptops is usually a good way to establish a close relationship with the campus police.

• Is this a pass/fail? So remember last week’s frank talk about the sex? Ah yes, a good time was had by all. In my column on the student abstinence group from Harvard, they mentioned that the campus can feel like an over-sexed place at times, particularly with seminars on topics such as the female orgasm. That line was like a fat fastball down the middle of the plate for the commenters. But it also made for a little discussion here – did we know for certain Harvard had such a thing. The answer is yes. But Harvard’s not alone in holding workshops on the mystery of the “O.”

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