And I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s struggled while learning a language, so just imagine learning 11 languages. Seems impossible? One British student proves it’s for real.

Alex Rawlings, a 20-year-old student at Oxford University, has won a search to identify the most multilingual student in the U.K., the BBC reports.

Publisher Harper Collins bestowed the title on Rawlings as part of a nationwide search they launched last June in promotion of their new language and learning courses, according to the company’s website.

In a video for the BBC (above), Rawlings showcased his fluency or near-fluency in 11 languages including English, Greek, German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Afrikaans, French, Hebrew, Catalan and Italian.

Rawlings’ mother is half Greek, and spoke to him in English, Greek and some French when he was growing up. He is currently studying German and Russian at Oxford and taught himself other languages in his free time.

Rawlings plans to perfect his Russian while studying abroad in the small city of Yaroslavl, and said the next language he plans to learn is Arabic. But he says no matter how many languages he learns, he’ll always have a soft spot for one.

“My favorite language is Greek because I’ve spoken it since childhood. It has sentimental value for me and I have a strong emotional connection with Greece,” he said.

The New York Times reports that when the UC Berkeley took possession of the California School for the Deaf and Blind building in the 1980s, it obtained a rare 22-foot-long wood-carved sculpture, designed for the building in the 1930s by the acclaimed Harlem Renaissance artist Sargent Johnson.

It was originally designed to cover organ pipes at the old California School for the Deaf and Blind in Berkeley, and the natural-world relief was affixed to a wall until 1980, when the school moved. 

Johnson (1888-1967) is considered one of the finest sculptors of the Harlem Renaissance, though he spent most of his life in the Bay Area. He was never able to earn a living purely from his art, but in recent years interest in him has resurged, said Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, an associate professor of American art at the University of Pennsylvania, who is writing a book on him.

But as the building deteriorated, the university removed the sculpture to storage space, where it was considered safer. Then, about 20 years later, Berkeley allegedly lost track of the artwork and eventually labeled it “surplus” property.

In 2009 the university sold the carving for $164.63. The buyer then resold the sculpture, and it now resides at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, in California.

The purchase price was not disclosed, but an expert in African-American art estimated it at more than $1-million, a far cry from the $164.63 the university sold it for.

A Berkeley official said the university regretted its “error of ignorance.” I’d say so. Might think twice before they put anything into storage again. 

As the Patriot Ledger is reporting, a man and a woman allegedly approached openly gay Destinie Mogg-Barkalow in a parking lot at Bridgewater State University last week. They appeared to be fellow students.

After the pair asked Mogg-Barkalow if she wrote the pro-marriage equality article that appeared in The Comment, the university’s student newspaper, the woman punched her in the face, leaving a bruise.

Mogg-Barkalow’s Feb. 15 opinion piece, titled “Prop 8 generates more hate,” appeared a week after a federal appeals court declared California’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. In her piece, the 20-year-old Mogg-Barkalow— who is reportedly a junior and an assistant editor for the paper’s opinion section— called out Prop 8 supporters as intolerant and bigoted.

The Boston Globe quotes Dana Mohler-Faria, the university’s president, as saying his school has “zero tolerance for any such actions that impede or curtail the right of the members of our campus community to express themselves freely.”

Mohler-Faria went on to note, “We stand together, both in strongly condemning this action and in reaffirming our shared commitment to create a campus community that values and respects all.”

Dave Copeland, the newspaper’s faculty adviser, echoed those sentiments. “In 20 years as a journalist I’ve been sued and threatened, but no one has ever gone as far as physically attacking me like that,” he said. “It sickens me that something like this would happen on a college campus, where students are supposed to be able to express their opinions, values and ideas freely.”

At present, no one has been arrested, but authorities say they are investigating the attack as a possible hate crime. Composite sketches of both suspects have been released.

A rally in support of Mogg-Barkalow is planned for Tuesday in the Moakley Center at the school.

All four victims were women and were identified as Lauren J. Peterson, Jordan N. Playle, Megan R. Sample, and Danielle R. Renninger. They were heading back to school at NDSU from Minneapolis, Minn. after visiting family over the long holiday weekend. 3 of the students, Playle, Renninger and Sample, were roommates.

Playle, Renninger and Sample lived together in a suite on campus. The fourth roommate, who was not in the car crash, has reportedly returned to her family in West Fargo.

“We had the most amazing weekend. She was so thankful for life,” Michael Renninger, Danielle’s father, told the AP Tuesday, fighting back tears. “She was making comments about how wonderful her life is. It was just so strange, thinking of it now.”

The women died when their car crossed the median and was broadsided by an SUV. The AP reports heavy snow, fog, strong winds and temperatures near freezing made travel difficult in the region.

The SUV that hit the women’s car was struck from behind by a third vehicle, the Austin Post-Bulletin reported. The driver of the SUV was hospitalized.

“I don’t believe I have ever been faced with this type of tragedy of this magnitude,” Prakash Mathew, NDSU’s vice president of student affairs, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Grief counselors are now making themselves available at the campus of NDSU.

The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) selected DU to host the first of three 2012 Presidential debates on October 3, 2012.

Along with a snazzy new logo, the freshly launched website for the DU Debate also includes a countdown timer and a calendar of 8 events leading up to the debate itself. Events include a re-enactment of the 1858 debate between Abraham Lincoln and Steven Douglas, and a series of lectures.

DU expects upwards of 3,000 journalists to attend and cover the debate, and has also made 150-200 tickets available to its students via a raffle. Unfortunately, tickets will not be available to the general public.

As a battleground state, Colorado’s growing importance in the 2012 elections likely aided in the selection process. While the national effect of winning a debate may only be a 5 percent bump in the polls (at best), Colorado political scientists expect the debate will greatly increase engagement locally.

Colorado also has a special significance for President Barack Obama’s higher education plan, a topic that has been on the minds of students and politicians alike. When the debate takes place, it’ll be nearly a year since Obama announced his plans to ease student loan debt.

For candidates to be invited to debate, the CPD mandates:

In addition to being Constitutionally eligible, candidates must appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to have a mathematical chance of winning a majority vote in the Electoral College, and have a level of support of at least 15% (fifteen percent) of the national electorate as determined by five selected national public opinion polling organizations, using the average of those organizations’ most recent publicly-reported results at the time of the determination.

The Associated Press reports subsequent debates will take place October 16 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York; October 22 at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida; and a vice presidential debate October 11 at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.

The formats of the four debates have not been announced yet, though the CPD is considering more Internet initiatives.

Star defenseman Max Nicastro was arrested early Sunday morning and has been charged with raping a female student. According to the school’s student news site BU Today, the alleged assault happened on campus.

Nicastro, a 2008 Detroit Red Wings draft pick, is the second BU hockey player in 10 weeks to be arrested on sexual assault charges. University police took Corey Trivino, the team’s leading scorer at the time, into custody in December and charged him with three counts of indecent assault and battery of a female student and one count of assault with attempt to rape.

Trivino, 21, pleaded not guilty to the charges in January and was kicked off the hockey team. Trivino is scheduled to be back in court on March 22.

Boston University Police took Nicastro into custody early on Sunday and he was then transferred to the Boston Police Department in Brighton, reports the Boston Globe.

The 21-year-old was initially held on $25,000 cash bail pending his arraignment on Tuesday. Nicastro pleaded not guilty and bail was set at $10,000. The Associated Press reports that Nicastro’s lawyer says no crime was committed.

BU athletic director Michael Lynch said that Nicastro has been suspended from the team pending the result of the investigation.

The Boston Globe reports that school officials are investigating whether the two incidents are disturbing coincidences or a much bigger problem with the hockey program.

Case in point, a 23-year-old college student from New Mexico is scheduled to go to trial for allegedly stealing a small pumpkin worth only two dollars.

KOAT-TV in Albuquerque, N.M., reports that Lauren Medina will go before a jury and Moriarity Magistrate Judge Steve Jones on Tuesday. She is accused of taking the pumpkin in October 2011 from McCall’s Pumpkin Patch in Moriarty. 

“(Medina) said, ‘Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Can I pay for them?’ (They said), ‘Nope,’ and she was handcuffed immediately— end of story, no ifs or buts,” Her sister, Annette Atencio said.

Atencio, says Medina spent $75 on food that day but forgot to pay for the pumpkin she picked up as she was leaving.

Medina was given an order to appear, and when she did, Atencio said her sister thought the charges would be dropped— but that didn’t happen.

Atencio said that Medina was given the option to plead guilty and do probation, and when she refused, the case will now head to a jury trial.

“(Medina) is a college student, and she’s never been in trouble and never been arrested,” Atencio said.

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights was investigating a discrimination complaint against Harvard University filed by an Asian-American applicant rejected for admission to the current freshman class.

Complaints on the applicant’s behalf were filed in August 2011 against both universities. The student, whose family originally came from India, was among the top performers in his California high school class.

The civil-rights office has already been investigating Princeton University since 2006 based on a similar complaint filed by an Asian-American student, Jian Li, who alleged discrimination after being denied admission there.

Li got top SAT scores but was rejected by MIT, Stanford, and three Ivy League colleges, including Princeton.

The U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights informed both universities last week that the most recent complaints had been withdrawn, spokesmen for the institutions confirmed. The withdrawal ends an investigation the office had recently opened at Harvard. The investigation at Princeton continues, but the latest allegation has been dropped from that case.

The civil-rights office similarly examined Harvard for alleged bias against Asian-Americans in the late 1980s. Although that investigation concluded that Harvard admitted Asian-Americans at a lower rate than white applicants with similar qualifications, the office attributed its finding not to illegal discrimination, but to Asian-Americans’ underrepresentation in two pools of applicants that Harvard legally gave preferential treatment: recruited athletes and the children of alumni.

Asian-Americans made up 16 percent of Harvard undergraduates in the 2010-2011 academic year, down from 18 percent in 2005-2006, according to the university’s website. The proportion of Asian-Americans among Princeton undergraduates increased to 17.7 percent this year from 14.1 percent in 2007- 2008.

The tradition of King Cake dates back to the Middle Ages when a popular devotion during Christmas was placed on the Three Wise Men (or Kings) who followed the North Star to find Jesus Christ. The twelfth night after the birth of Christ marks the end of Christmas and the celebration of Epiphany. Thus, Twelfth Night in some cultures became a time for pageants and giving special presents to children. Along with gifts came the celebratory cake, known as King Cake.

Today’s King Cake is a confection made of braided Danish pastry, laced with cinnamon. The cake is always iced in the Mardi Gras colors of purple (justice), green (faith) and gold (power). Hidden in each cake is a tiny plastic baby. The person who finds the baby must buy the next king cake or host the next party. Contemporary king cakes are often filled with cream cheese, fruit fillings, such as apple or strawberry, and other fillings. Of course, among the most popular Mardi Gras spots, New Orleanians love King Cake for its sweet delectable taste and its rich tradition.

However you are celebrating your Mardi Gras, have fun and do it in style!

Multiyear scholarship legislation, one of several measures the Division I Board of Directors adopted in the wake of an August 2011 presidential retreat, was upheld in a membership override vote that concluded Friday.

As such, Division I schools will have the option to offer scholarships guaranteed for more than one year. This bodes well for athletes and athletic programs alike, as some athletes might not be able to attend college without multiyear financial help from their schools.

Of 330 institutions voting, 62.12% percent voted to override the legislation. A 62.5% majority of those voting was required to override legislation. More than 90% of Division I institutions voted.

“I am pleased that student-athletes will continue to benefit from the ability of institutions to offer athletics aid for more than one year, but it’s clear that there are significant portions of the membership with legitimate concerns,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a press release. “As we continue to examine implementation of the rule, we want to work with the membership to address those concerns.”

The Board of Directors also is discussing, based on membership feedback, adjustments to the miscellaneous expense allowance. That legislation, also adopted last fall by the Board, would have allowed schools to award up to an additional $2,000 of athletics aid to students already receiving a full scholarship.