Education

Former Brown University president Ruth Simmons is being honored by the French government for her contributions to the advancement of French arts and culture.

Brown has been named Chevalier in the French National Order of the Legion of Honor.  The award is the highest decoration offered by the French government.

Simmons is not only fluent in French but has written about French-speaking authors and poets.

Staring down a July 1st deadline, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are looking at ways to control the costs of federal student loans. Senator Jack Reed is behind a measure that would overhaul how student loan interest rates are calculated.

Reed and a handful of democrats in Congress are pushing legislation that offers adjustable rates and caps the maximum interest rates on federal loans. The bill also allows borrowers stuck with high interest rates to refinance.

The University of Rhode Island is moving its graduation indoors. The university said it’s for safety reasons. 

URI said the recent gun scare on campus and the bombings in Boston prompted it to move the graduation ceremony into the Ryan Center.  Graduating student Kelly Harris is unhappy with the move.  She said students are limited to bringing two guests and that will make it harder for her friends and family to see her walk across the stage.

“This is affecting the vast majority of graduating seniors,” said Harris.

The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear testimony Wednesday on a bill that would allow Rhode Island State College Police to carry guns. 

The hearing comes after a scare at the University of Rhode Island about a gunman on campus, and Rhode Island is currently the only state in the country that does not allow armed campus police at public colleges and universities. The University of Rhode Island is also expected to release its preliminary review in the coming days examining how it responded to the report of a possible shooter.