Kevin Villanueva on graduation attire, sitting beside
his parents’ graves
Image Credit: Kevin Villanueva Facebook

“Akala nyu kayo lang ang may picture kasama parents nyu ha pero ma pa this is for the both of you i hope that you are proud of me.” Kevin Villanueva wrote, attaching a photo of himself in graduation gown and cap, sitting beside his parent’s graves, smiling in front of the camera, while holding his graduation flowers.

(So you thought you’re the only ones who have a graduation photo with your parents But mom, dad, this is for both of you. I hope that you are proud of me.)

Last Tuesday, the said photo was posted on the official Facebook page of Fhejhe Pasalgon, who wrote that background of the photo is what makes it very touching. The original photo has now nearly 6,500 Shares and 601 Likes, while the same photo on Pasalgon‘s page has now 16,325 Shares and has 237, 363 Likes.

“I just want to express my love to my parents, but I did not expect the reactions from people. They really make me very happy.” Villanueva was quoted telling to GMA News in their report today, Thursday, April 4, adding that his aunts, Maria Teresa C. Jalbuena and Jacqueline V. Calumba helped him finished college.

Kevin told the report that his mother committed suicide in 2002 when he was 10, noting that she suffers from a nervous break down every time she forgot to drink her medicine; while his father passed away when he was a college freshman. He said that his friends were also a big help.

“It’s hard to think that my parents are gone. But then, all I did was I did not think of it as a burden but as an inspiration for me to finish my studies,” Villanueva added, whose graduation photo received tons of wonderful comments on Facebook and served as inspiration to students.

“If there are problems, convert it as your inspiration to reach your goals in life. Determination, perseverance, and inspiration are things we should have to be a successful person. One person has a choice to go the bad way or good way. But my choice is to do the good way, which is why I am getting this kind of love.” Villanueva said on his message to students.

UCLA Bruins coach Ben Howland
Image Credit: UCLABruins.com

As noted at UCLABruins.com on Sunday afternoon, Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero has already informed Ben Howland on his termination as UCLA Bruins coach, and a national search for his replacement has started. Howland has a record of 233-107 and seven NCAA Tournament berths.

“I have been blessed with the opportunity to coach at UCLA for 10 years and I will always be grateful to Dan Guerrero and Chancellors Block, Abrams, and Carnesale for the opportunity to coach and teach our players and work alongside tremendous coaches,” Coach Ben Howland was quoted in the report.

“The UCLA community and fans have been unbelievable to my family and I, and it’s been an honor and privilege to represent this great institution. I look forward to what comes next.” Howland added, who also had three Final Fours from 2006-2008. The UCLA Bruins lost from Minnesota Golden Gophers last Friday, 83-63.

“I want to thank Ben for all that he has done for UCLA in his ten seasons in Westwood. He embraced our tradition and culture and produced some terrific teams and coached a number of wonderful young men. We wish Ben and his family all the best as they move onto a new chapter in their lives.” Dan Guerrero said.

“As we went into this season, there were aspirations to compete for a conference championship and to make a run in the tournament. Certainly we were successful in the former and not as successful in the latter part.” Guerrero added, with Howland‘s coaching of UCL Bruins having a losing record in 2009-10.

Fans celebrate after Harvard wins vs New Mexico
Image Credit: NCAA video

As noted in a report at TheCrimson.com, 14th-seeded Harvard Crimson beat three-seeded New Mexico Lobos on Thursday night for the so-called March Madness. Wesley Saunders scored 18 points and Laurent Rivard made five three-pointers, with Harvard taking an 8-point lead until the game was over.

“It’s unbelievable. We were talking in the back. We’re still in disbelief, can’t believe it happened. This is the No. 1 moment in my career. The thought came to mind that this could be the last game. We showed a lot of toughness, just persevering.” Christian Webster said, who scored 11 points.

“It means the world to us. To do it in this fashion, on this stage against an outstanding team, I can’t say enough about how good this team is.” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker was quoted in a news conference, with Crimson‘s last appearance in the NCAA last year ended up losing from Vanderbilt Commodores.

“I thought the composure that our kids displayed was terrific. We didn’t wilt or cave in…. I’m very, very proud of that. We mentioned to our kids coming into the tournament, we talked about how meaningful this season has been, how they adjusted and adapted and believed. This adds to that.” Amaker added.

“We just said we had to stick together and believe. They’re a great team, and we knew we couldn’t let down for a second.” Wesley Saunders said. For the 2013 NCAA third round, Harvard Crimson (20-9) will be playing against sixth-seeded Wildcats Arizona, which beat Belmont Bruins, 81-64, earlier in the West Region.

A 6th grade Michigan student reportedly brought $20k cash to school and started handing out the money to her classmates. As reported at 7 Action News, the ABC TV station in Detroit area, the incident happened at Sixth Grade Academy in the city of Taylor, Michigan.

According to the report as shown below, the 12-year-old girl brought the money in her backpack and proceeded handing out $100, $200 and as much as $500 to her classmates.

The principal notified the police after knowing of the situation. The 6th grader said that she got the $20k from a friend who brought it to her house to play with.

The money is with the police right now and they are keeping it until the person who will claim the cash can provide an explanation of where it came from and what it is for, the report said.

Below is the video report from 7 Action News:

Nutella
Image Credit: NutellaUSA.com

As noted at ColumbiaSpectator.com, Columbia University Dining Services allegedly serves tons of Nutella to students who eat at Ferris Booth Commons, a dining location on the third floor of Lerner Hall Food of the university; and that school administrators have observed a high demand for the sweet chocolate spread.

According to the report, Dining Services executive director Vicki Dunn was told to CCSC representatives that they are spending up to $5,000 per week on Nutella, or 100 pounds of Nutella a day, since it was offered to the New York City-based university early last month.

“Students have been filling cups of Nutella to-go in Ferris Booth Commons and taking the full jars out of John Jay, which means we’re going through product faster than anticipated.” Vicki Dunn was quoted in an email. CCSC representative Grayson Warrick noted that a lot of people are stealing Nutella from the Dining.

However, Columbia University released a statement this Thursday, March 7 on their official website, and denied the claim. The Dining Services said that the actual cost spent for Nutella is only around $2,500 for the first week and was immediately reduced to $450 per week, contrary with the earlier claim.

Nevertheless, the school admitted that there was a high demand for Nutella for the first three to four days, but emphasized that it never reached 100 pounds a day, and the cost did not reach to $5,000 a week, as claimed by some CCSC representatives earlier.

“The mundane fact, according to the University’s Division of Dining Services, is that the weekly cost of the Nutella supply is actually less than 10 percent of the amount originally reported on a student blog and quickly picked up by other media.” A statement reads at Columbia.edu.

Stanford University logo
Image Credit: Stanford.edu

According to a pdf file report at CAE.org this Wednesday, February 20, 2013, around 3,500 colleges and universities in the US have raised a total of $31 billion in the 2012 fiscal year. Although it is 2.3 percent higher than the previous year, it is still lower than the record set back in 2008, at $31.6 billion.

As noted in the press release, Stanford University raised $1.035 billion and has been leading against any other university for 8 consecutive years. Harvard University raised $650 million, followed by Yale University at $544 million. University of Southern California had $492 million, and Columbia University had $490 million.

For the past 30 years, Harvard University is the leading financial institution, making it to the top for 14 times. On the other hand, Stanford University made it 14 times; while the University of Southern California, Los Angeles (UCLA) made it once on the top, back in 2002.

Apparently, Stanford University broke its own record of $911 million which the school set in 2006, and had an increase of 46 percent as compared to its collection of $709 million in 2011. Nevertheless, around 52.8 percent) of the reporting institutions in 2012 had almost the same amount as they did in 2011.

“At the time of this release, the signs are positive for 2013. However, no one knows precisely how strong the economy will be in June, when universities make their fiscal year-end appeals. And, many other factors matter, including tax legislation, the incidence and value of major gifts, and the cases individual institutions advance for support.” Survey director Ann E. Kaplan was quoted in the report.

“Forecasting the level of philanthropy is only valuable if it provides reliable data that enable institutions to make better decisions. It is too soon to accurately forecast how much will be raised in 2013. Such a forecast–even one that coincidentally turns out to be accurate–could be a distraction to advancement professionals.” Kaplan added.

Lauren Marbe, the girl with an IQ of 161
Image Credit: SWNS

As noted at Telegraph on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, Lauren Marbe is a daughter of a black cab driver, but is officially smarter than Albert Einstein, Professor Stephen Hawking, and Bill Gates, who all of them having the same IQ of 160. However, Marbe is noted to be living just like any ordinary teenage girl.

“It was such an achievement and I got a bit tearful to tell you the truth.” Lauren Marbe was quoted in the paper, whose father David, 45, and Sue Marbe, 45, notably surprised with the result. But they emphasized that they are not forcing their daughter to be a stereotype-genius student, despite having an IQ of 161.

“I am blonde, I do wear make-up, and I do go out. I love my fake tan and fake nails as well so I guess I am a bit of an Essex girl in that sense. I watch Towie and I love the program, it’s addictive but now most people do seem to think that’s what everyone in Essex is like.” Ms. Marbe added.

“I love living in Essex and I’m glad that I might be able to show people that we aren’t all ditzy and blonde.” The genius teen explained further, noting that she plans to take A-Levels in Art, Physics, and Math if she pass the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), an academic qualification in England‘s secondary schools.

And although Lauren also loves to take up an Architecture degree at the University of Cambridge, she admitted that she would also like to be a professional singer and dancer someday. Her parents, despite being proud to have a genius daughter, said they will respect whatever career path she will choose.

Chris Culliver tweet with wrong grammar,
and correction made by Elmwood Franklin
Elementary School 2nd graders
Image Credit: Elmwood Franklin School Facebook

“Second graders are serious fans of football—and grammar!” A statement reads at Elmwood Franklin School‘s Facebook page on Friday, February 2, 2013, along with three photos of themselves holding a huge paper showing the tweets of three NFL players with wrong grammar.

“Elmwood Franklin School‘s second grade students applied their lessons in proper sentence structure, noun and verb usage, spelling, and punctuation to correct the tweets of professional football players. The students partnered in groups and together found several mistakes in these tweets, including the incorrect spelling of “a lot.” The statement added.

The three unlucky NFL players whom the 2nd graders have corrected for their grammatically wrong tweets are Chris Culliver of the San Francisco 49ers, Titus Young Sr. of the Detroit Lions, and Wes Welker of the New England Patriots. Apparently, the young students also provided their corrections.

“I pray to God I’m never dieing broke.” Chris Culliver (@Cullyinthehouse) tweeted.

“It’s true I could be alot better, But wit the football.” Titus D Young Sr (@TitusDYoungSr) tweeted.

“Merry Christmas to everyone. My God bless you all!” Wes Welker (@WesWelker) tweeted.

But let’s admit it, these days, we can find tons of online messages with wrong grammar (and wrong spelling too) not only on Twitter, but also on Facebook and Reddit. Some of these messages even come from famous personalities. And yet, most of us care less, as long as we understand the thought of the message.

These three NFL players have entered college and are being expected to write sentences with correct grammar. Their mistakes could have been done unintentionally, or they may really have problems in writing. After all, not all college graduates can speak and write English correctly, regardless of where they came from.

Related Post: Email from teacher with multiple spelling mistakes and grammatical errors criticized by pupil’s mother

Elmwood Franklin Elementary School 2nd graders correct NFL tweets
Image Credit: Elmwood Franklin School Facebook

Bus hits overpass
Credit: Boston Fire Department via Twitter

According to the Boston Fire Department and State Police, the bus crash resulted to multiple people being injured, who were trapped inside the vehicle.

Passengers inside the dilapidated bus were freed up through the joint efforts by firefighters, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and State Police. The rescue efforts was reportedly finished at 9 p.m..

A Boston EMS spokeswoman reported that there were 33 passengers injured in the crash.

Authorities explained that the bus came from a school tour and was already sending home its passengers to Bristol Township, Bucks County.

As of posting, the owner of the Calvary Coach bus and Harvard University officials have not issued any statement about the incident.

According to Thanh Nien News, Nguyen Thanh Vy of Ly Tu Trong Secondary School in Quang Nam Province‘s Tam Ky town has been suspended for one year after posting a parody in Facebook “insulting her school and teachers” and “distorting history.”

Reports said that Vy parodied a famous speech by Ho Chi Minh in 1946 which reads:

“All students! As we desire peace, we have made concessions. But the more concessions we make, the more the teachers press on, for they are bent on failing us once again. No, we would rather sacrifice all than be dismissed. Never shall we have to take the exam again. We have to stand up!”

Vy‘s parody on Facebook reads:

“All students, whether boy or girl, good or stupid, tall or short have to find ways to get good marks in the exam. Those who have health will use their health, those who have heads will use their heads. Those who have neither health or head have to copy or use cheat sheets.”

In her defense, Vy said that the post was just for fun. “It was just for fun and not to affect the exam, distort history, or insult teachers,” Vy was quoted as saying by the Thanh Nien News.

Apparently, the school was not amused. The school disciplinary committee approved the one-year suspension, the report said.

Vy‘s father, Nguyen Duy Van was shocked by the suspension, saying, “She is young and her thinking is immature. We are afraid it would traumatize her mind and jeopardize her future.”

Vietnam is a communist country which does not allow freedom of speech.

I think, the suspension is a little bit harsh. Do you think the student suspended for Facebook post deserved it?