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Native American college was an ‘obvious choice’ for Menominee activist
Jasmine Neosh is a proud member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. When it was time for her to go to college, her choice was clear.
Samantha Madar, USA TODAY
Forbes just released their annual list of America’s top colleges, and five schools in Rhode Island made the list.
Forbes’ list highlights the 500 American colleges that offer the best outcomes in education, finances and careers for all students according to their calculations.
Schools are ranked using 14 different metrics, including:
While some rankings are the same as last year, such as Princeton University taking the No. 1 spot, there was some movement. Twice as many Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) made the top 500, according to Forbes, and schools with higher admission rates climbed up the rankings.
Out of the 500 schools ranked, five are Rhode Island schools, including one in the top 20. See exactly where these five Rhode Island schools placed below.
Here are the five Rhode Island colleges that made it on the Forbes 2024-2025 top colleges list, in order of lowest to highest ranking.
Providence College
Providence College ranked 318th out of 500. Just five minutes from the downtown area of Providence, this private Catholic school is known for its vibrant social environment and basketball program.
University of Rhode Island (URI)
The biggest state school in Rhode Island came in 315th place. Located in Kingston a few miles away from beautiful Rhode Island beaches, URI features a lively student community and state-of-the-art research facilities.
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Bryant University
A small private school in Smithfield, Bryant University places 261st. The college is highly regarded for its business-focused education, requiring all students to major or minor in both the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Business.
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
RISD, one of the first art and design schools in the country, ranked 208th. This selective, creative school is located alongside the Providence River in the city.
Brown University
Taking the highest rank for a Rhode Island school is Brown University in Providence at 18th out of 500. This Ivy League institution is known for its open curriculum which fosters collaborative research and social action.
WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.
Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.
According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.
The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.
State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.
Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.
McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.
“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”
“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”
The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.
The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.
The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.
At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.
The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.
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