Columbia Boosts Aid to Middle- and Low-Income Students

Columbia University will join the other Ivy League universities offering significant financial aid to middle- and low-income students, the university announced Monday. Undergraduates from families earning $60,000 or less will no longer have to pay for tuition, room and board, and other fees, reports The New York Times. "We are both proud of that diversity and determined to maintain it by expanding aid to the extent our resources allow," Lee C. Bollinger, the university's president,said. The university also said it will increase aid offered to students from families earning $60,000 to $100,000. Harvard University was the first to offer such significant financial aid to their students, offering free tuition to students from middle- and low-income families.

Shutting Down KKK, Hate-Group Store in South Carolina

South Carolina reverend and civil-rights activist David Kennedy is trying to close the Redneck Shop, a movie theater converted into a store that sells KKK robes, T-shirts emblazoned with racial slurs and other hate-group paraphernalia, reports The Associated Press. Kennedy owns the store. "Our ownership puts an end to that history as far as violence and hatred, racism being practiced in that place and also the recruiting of the Klan," Kennedy told AP. "This is the same place that we had to go up into the balcony to go to the movies before the Klan took it. So there's a lot of history there." In 1997, Kennedy bought the store in hopes that it would be the new home for his church, New Beginnings Missionary Baptist Church, which currently holds service in a double wide trailer. However, the move has been stalled by a legal agreement, which allows John Howard, the 62-year-old who runs the store, to continue operating it until he dies. While there is no set court date, Kennedy says he's confident he will be successful in the legal battle. Read how hate groups in America are surging and job-bias charges hit a five-year-high.

New Bill Encourages Diversity in Giving

Foundations in California may be forced to be more open with demographic information about their organizations if a new bill, which was passed by the Assembly in January, clears the state Senate. The bill, proposed by Assembly member Joe Coto, will raise awareness of the under-funding of nonprofit organizations led by people from traditionally underrepresented groups by forcing foundations to release information on the diversity of their staff and the staffs of nonprofit organizations to which they provide grants, reports The Daily Californian Online. Check out 5 Reasons to Give to Diverse Groups to learn more.

'The L Word' Enters Sixth and Final Season

Showtime announced it has renewed "The L Word,"  a show dedicated to depicting the life and trials of lesbian women in America, for its sixth and final season, reports E! Online. The show--which broke ground covering sensitive topics such as coming out, same-sex relationships, artificial insemination, gay marriage and parenting and transgender issues--will be trimmed down to eight from its normal 12 to wrap up the storylines. L-Word creators insist the show will live on interactively.

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