February 2, 2022

In early 2020, after COVID-19 moved classes online, the University of Cincinnati implemented a pass/fail option. This allowed students who were worried about the effect of a low grade on their GPA to choose to have their instructor either pass or fail them, thus ensuring that remote learning wouldn’t reflect on their record. (Separated the ideas up a bit) The College of Arts & Sciences was one of the first colleges to adopt the pass/fail option, and eventually, each college on UC’s campus would adopt the policy. The A&S Tribunal, the College of Arts & Sciences’ student-led governing body, was instrumental in the implementation of this policy.    Isabel Slonneger, Vice President of the A&S Tribunal, recalls the purpose of the pass/fail initiative: “Tribunal is for advocating on behalf of students,” she says. Pass/fail has been vital for students, especially those who do not thrive in an online learning environment.     The pass/fail initiative is only one of many initiatives that the A&S Tribunal spearheads. As the student government for the College of Arts & Sciences, the Tribunal works to represent students and their needs and make changes that will benefit both. Any A&S student can join the Tribunal, and it’s one step closer to making connections, new friends and changes that matter on UC’s campus. (nut graf) 

July 15, 2022

Danielle Bessett, UC associate professor of sociology, co-authors Ohio abortion study after overturn of Roe v Wade.

August 1, 2022

Discover Magazine highlights discoveries by the University of Cincinnati that the ancient Maya demonstrated sustainable agriculture.

April 27, 2022

Sociologist Danielle Bessett writes guest column on potential abortion ban in Ohio.

May 11, 2022

Each spring, in hundreds of nondescript rooms across the country, around 700 collegiate mock trial teams compete. Team members collaborate to create compelling arguments, for both the mock defense and prosecution, to win their respective cases. Tensions run high and each team member must be fully prepared and in character to advance to the national competition. Only seven percent of all collegiate teams qualify, and UC’s team joined the elite competition this year for the first time since 2019, appearing in the American Mock Trial Association’s national championship in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in April. UC’s team is comprised mainly of students from the College of Arts and Science, with more than two-thirds of the nationals team enrolled in an A&S major. The UC Mock Trial Team had the unique opportunity of competing with all-female team with co-captains Divya Kumar and Zophia Pittman-Jones leading. Kumar, who has been on the team since her first year at UC, is a third-year history major. She was awarded an All-American Attorney Award at Nationals.

May 13, 2022

UC’s Institute for Research in Sensing (IRiS) hosts its first annual Expo & Festival of Sensing next month to convene an interdisciplinary conference exploring the topic of sensing in all its forms, from the sciences to the humanities.   The event will be held on May 25 and 26 in Tangeman University Center, 2600 Clifton Ave., and is open to faculty, staff, students and the public.   The conference brings together representatives from across disciplines—from engineering, biology, ethics, the humanities, performing arts and more—to explore sensing through a variety of lenses, says IRiS director and associate professor of biology Nathan Morehouse.   “We hope the IRiS event raises awareness of the amazing breadth of work happing on sensing at UC, while at the same time stimulating new conversations between the sciences, engineering, the arts and humanities,” he said.  

May 27, 2022

Social media expert Jeffrey Blevins featured guest on live radio show, KNX InDepth. The topic is Twitter and information regulation.

January 26, 2023

The University of Cincinnati’s Creative Writing Program is continuing its Visiting Writers Series this week, which brings students together with several distinguished authors and poets.

February 24, 2023

Psychedelics might help people change unwanted behaviors by helping them reinvent their perceptions of themselves, according to new research by the University of Cincinnati.

February 17, 2023

At a formal-dress celebration in early February, fourth-year UC sociology student Karrington Rainey passed the title of Miss Kuamka to her successor, Jaela Kennedy at the 24th Annual Kuamka Ball. Kennedy, a second-year law and society major in the College of Arts and Sciences, was selected from a field of candidates for her platform centered around The Crown Act. Since 1999, the African American Cultural and Resource Center (AACRC) has sponsored this staple event that marks the celebration of Black students at UC. Each year, the AACRC receives entries from candidates who participate in five rounds of competition: essay, interview, platform, question-and-answer and talent. This is the second consecutive year that A&S students have been recognized with the Miss Kuamka title. “Interested students fill out an application answering why they want to become a candidate. Through the process, you get to decide what the university needs to see more of and create a platform around it,” said Kennedy of her candidacy experience. Kennedy chose The Crown Act, created in 2019 in California to advance protections against discrimination based on natural hairstyles such as braids, locs, twists and knots in housing, the workplace and public schools. The initiative was co-founded by the Crown Coalition and Dove, a company that has been active in campaigns celebrating natural beauty and self-acceptance. “The Crown Act is a set of initiatives and laws that prevent race-based hair discrimination,” Kennedy says. Though Cincinnati City Council passed the legislation in 2019, the topic is important to Kennedy because the laws are not yet recognized state-wide.