This was a year of turmoil and soul-searching for college students and the institutions they attend. Issues of identity and inclusion took center stage, with students fighting (and winning) battles for more rights for students of color and transgender students. But bigotry was very much still alive, as racist incidents outraged students and fueled their protests. Colleges are also still trying to figure out how best to deal with sexual assault and harassment, in a year when 25 percent of college women said they had experienced nonconsensual sexual contact. And then, of course, there was the plain old weird stuff, like that drunk mac n’ cheese kid from UConn.
Let’s take a look back at the year’s biggest college news stories.
1. Stanford students got access to their admissions files
Stanford students won a major victory for transparency when they discovered a loophole allowing any student to request their admissions file from the university. It’s a lot harder for colleges to make their admissions process seem secretive and special when they’re accountable to the students themselves.
2. UVA brought Greek life back to campus, with restrictions
After a disastrous (and debunked) Rolling Stone story made UVA Greek life seem like some of the worst of the worst, the university kicked all Greek life off campus for a few months. In January, they allowed Greek life to resume, but with serious restrictions on the serving of alcohol at fraternity parties.
3. Dartmouth banned hard liquor
Dartmouth took a hard stance on hard liquor, attempting to limit dangerous drinking at the infamously fratty university. But as many pointed out, banning something usually just makes people more eager to do it.
4. UVM recognized students that don’t fit into the gender binary
In a majorly inclusive move that most colleges have yet to catch up with, UVM accepted that some students don’t identify as “he” or “she,” and decided to recognize a third gender: Neutral.
5. Harvard banned sexual relationships between students and professors
While this may have seemed like a fairly innocuous policy, it set off a firestorm of debate after Northwestern professor Laura Kipnis referred to the policy in an article about the infantilization and “sexual paranoia” of college students.
6. Sweet Briar College shut down
When the all-women Sweet Briar College had to shut its doors due to financial difficulties, it was a nightmare for the staff losing their jobs and the 700 students who would have to transfer elsewhere. It was also a wakeup call about how much students value same-sex colleges.
7. SAE’s racist chant at University of Oklahoma got them kicked off campus
In the latest installment of “frats being really racist,” the University of Oklahoma meted out swift punishment to the school’s chapter of SAE, who were caught on video chanting racial slurs. The school’s discipline was unusually severe—the SAE house was closed immediately, and the school refused to help the students find new housing.
8. Smith College started accepting transgender women
Another incredible step for trans student rights happened at the all-women Smith College, which changed its policy to accept transgender women. Women’s colleges and where transgender students fit in within them has been the subject of intense debate.
9. UVA grads filed a lawsuit against ‘Rolling Stone’
The now-retracted Rolling Stone story came back to haunt UVA yet again when three graduates sued the magazine for emotional distress caused by the article. The three men were members of a fraternity named in the story, and had been harrassed by other students who believed they were rapists.
10. Wheaton College decided to stop providing student health insurance over birth control
A Christian college in Illinois decided to discontinue all student health insurance, just because they wanted to avoid having to give women birth control. Extreme much? This story showed just how much women’s health is still in danger, even at institutions where they should feel safe.
11. Alabama’s Alpha Phi video showed the disturbing lack of diversity in Greek life
Many were horrified when they watched a recruitment video from the University of Alabama’s chapter of Alpha Phi—which seemed to include zero women of color. It was one particularly egregious example highlighting the serious diversity problem in Greek life.
12. One college decided to get rid of expensive textbooks once and for all
A Maryland college decided to save students millions by not requiring any textbooks, and providing all course materials online free of charge. Textbooks are a massive financial burden on students, so we can only hope more schools follow suit.
13. A survey found that 1 in 4 college women have experienced sexual assault
The results from a survey of dozens of colleges exploded across national news when it found that huge numbers of college women had experienced nonconsensual sexual contact, and that very few women reported their encounters.
14. A drunk UConn student went to ridiculous (and illegal) lengths to get mac n’ cheese
In a video lasting more than six minutes, a drunk freshman at the University of Connecticut berated a cafeteria employee for refusing him mac n’ cheese—because he was carrying an open bottle of alcohol in the building. He ended up in handcuffs. After a huge response to the video, the student ended up making a public apology on YouTube.
15. Brown students apologized to Malia Obama for freaking out during her visit
When Malia Obama visited Brown University as part of her college tour, Brown students responded by having no chill at all. Students tweeted about Malia and even snapchatted a picture of her at a party, which made its way to multiple news outlets. The students later realized this was pretty uncool behavior and apologized publicly to Malia.
16. We asked college women what they’re really looking for in the 2016 election
In October, we asked college women for their thoughts on the 2016 presidential election, and got some surprising results. For example, college women cared a lot about reproductive health but not so much about climate change, and they overwhelmingly supported Bernie Sanders as their candidate of choice. How will these results change as the election draws closer?
17. Student protests at the University of Missouri caused their president to resign
Students at the University of Missouri forced their president to step down over mishandling of racist incidents, sparking a series of protests at colleges across the country. Mizzou’s (very valuable) football players joined in, raising the protests’ public profile and likely leading to the president’s resignation.
18. Chipotle made over 100 BC students sick
Fall semester ended with a bang when more than 140 Boston College students got sick with norovirus after eating at the local Chipotle, making national headlines. It was the latest in a series of people getting sick from Chipotle, and caused the CEO of the chain to apologize.