Quick Takes: Gallaudet Won't Punish Protesters, Union Sues Over Ethics Test Dispute, Anger Over Plans for Background Checks, More Support for Open Access Research, Carter Visit Continues to Vex Brandeis, Call for Clear Standards

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Gallaudet University's new president, Robert R. Davila, announced on his blog that the institution would not seek additional punishments against students who were arrested for protesting the selection of Jane Fernandes -- who never took office when trustees rescinded their job offer as the protests grew. "No student who was arrested will receive additional punishment in any way or form," Davila wrote. "We feel that they have already had an experience that they will always remember and that's enough. We don't think anything else is necessary."
The Illinois Education Association has filed suit to challenge the penalties some Southern Illinois University professors are facing for completing a required ethics test for state employees too quickly. State officials have suggested that those who completed the test too quickly must have cheated, but the professors say that the test was so easy it just didn't take them very long to complete it.
Faculty leaders in Georgia are protesting a plan by the University System of Georgia to require all newly hired faculty and staff members to undergo background checks, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The American Society for Cell Biology has released a statement indicating that its experience illustrates that journal publishers can thrive -- even with proposed requirements that federally supported research be made available online free within six months of publication. Many publishers have argued that such a requirement would take away the incentive for institutions to subscribe and could thus endanger the financial viability of the journals. But the analysis released by the cell biology group found that six years after it started making its monthly journal available free online two months after publication, the journal was profitable.
Jimmy Carter's visit to Brandeis University was controversial when it wasn't going to take place and when it finally did take place, so it should be no surprise that the controversy continues after he spoke and left last month. The Boston Globe reported that Jehuda Reinharz, the university's president, is complaining about the $95,000 the institution is spending on security and other arrangements for the visit. The Globe also reported that students are complaining: They see the president's complaints as an attempt to distance himself from the Carter visit.
The Southern Regional Education Board has issued a new report calling on states to do a better job of defining college-readiness standards students need to achieve in high school, and of communicating those standards.