South
Students are rejecting elite colleges like Columbia and Yale to attend southern schools like Clemson: report
Prospective students are increasingly opting for colleges like Elon in North Carolina, Clemson in South Carolina and the University of Miami in Florida over elite northeastern schools.
For Jewish students, the rise of antisemitism and anti-Israel protests on campuses like Columbia have shown students like Scott Katz that choosing Elon was the right decision. Elon received an A grade from the Anti-Defamation League for its work to protect Jewish students from hate on campus.
“It was a big deal,” Katz told The Free Press of the environment on campus.
AOC CALLS COLUMBIA PROTESTS ‘PEACEFUL’, DESPITE RABBI WARNING JEWISH STUDENTS TO STAY HOME
Prospective students are increasingly opting for colleges like Elon in North Carolina, Clemson in South Carolina and the University of Miami in Florida over elite northeastern schools, according to a new report. (Getty Images)
“Even if I could’ve gotten into Harvard, I wouldn’t have gone,” Katz said. “I wanted a school that felt right for me, not someplace that we’re told we’re supposed to want to go.”
“Never before have we seen so much interest in colleges like Clemson, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina State,” assistant vice provost and executive director of undergraduate admissions at Georgia Tech, Rick Clark, told the outlet. “That’s just unprecedented.”
Other parents and students cited COVID-era lockdown policies as the reason that they started to more seriously consider southern schools.
“Kids up north were pretty unhappy during those Covid lockdown years,” a father of a prospective college student, Larry Glazer, said. “And colleges down south were offering something different. My son and his friends would look at TikTok and see all these college kids going to football games, throwing parties, living their lives. It has an impact.”
COLUMBIA JEWISH STUDENTS ‘NO LONGER FEEL SAFE,’ SAY ANTI-ISRAEL MOB CHASED THEM OFF CAMPUS
Yale University is one of many elite campuses rocked by anti-Israel protests. (Left: Photographer: Craig Warga/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Center: (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images))
Some parents are also signaling doubt over the value of an Ivy League education.
Julie Ketover, a Yale graduate, said, “I don’t know that the value of an Ivy League education is the same as it used to be. People ask me all the time, ‘Would you do Yale again?’ I would. I loved it. But it used to mean something to go to a really, really good school. I think it means less today. I’m working with clients in organizations that are hiring, and it really doesn’t f—— matter to them where you went to college. You got your degree, and that’s enough.”
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Christopher Rim, the CEO of college consulting firm Command Education, told The Free Press that some students are giving up on going to elite schools entirely and are even interested in transferring to other institutions.
“One student we work with recently abandoned her yearslong dream of attending Columbia” due to antisemitism, Rim said. “We’ve also seen a number of Jewish students who are interested in transferring, especially from Columbia, Cornell, and Penn.”
This spring marks five years since LifeLink of Georgia and Piedmont Atlanta Hospital partnered to create a space dedicated to families of loved ones going through the organ donation process.
While thousands of Georgians are still waiting, the Donor Care Unit at Piedmont Atlanta is recognizing a milestone as they march on to save and extend more lives.
More than a thousand names are on the ‘Tree of Life’ wall of LifeLink of Georgia’s offices. Their names are marked to remember the more than 3700 life-saving organ donation gifts through the unit in 2025 alone. It’s a milestone that would not exist without families like Kruchtens.
Jed and Veronica Kruchen of Forsyth County did not need much convincing. Their son Finley, a 6-foot-4 varsity football player at Denmark High School, died in October 2024 after suffering a pulmonary embolism. He was 17.
“His favorite book was ‘The Giving Tree’ growing up,” Jed Kruchten said. “We both looked at each other… of course, that’s what he would want to do. There’s zero cost, and you help save lives. Why wouldn’t you do it?”
Finley donated a kidney and his heart to a 55-year-old man. A 15-year-old girl received his other kidney. He gave the gift of sight to another person and dozens more were helped through tissue donation.
“One life. One body. What you have can help 70 people,” Jed said.
Three months after Finley died, Jed and Veronica launched the LL74 Finley Kruchten Foundation, giving scholarships to students. Two years in, applicants are still writing about Finley by name.
“He was described this year as legendary,” Veronica said.
Finley’s final days were spent inside the Donor Care Unit – one of only a handful in the country.
It does not look like a traditional intensive care unit by design. Inside, it has six ICU beds, private family rooms, and quiet spaces built for the hardest conversations.
“Everybody shows up, whether it’s LifeLink or Piedmont Atlanta team members, with that intent, that compassion, solely based on honoring our donors and honoring the donor families,” said Hope Weed, executive director of LifeLink of Georgia.
Still, the need is great. More than 3 thousand Georgians are currently on the national transplant waiting list. Nationally, that number exceeds 109 thousand.
“There’s only 36% of Georgians that are signed up,” Weed said. “That’s why we always encourage people to learn more about organ donation. Registered donors are key.”
Georgians can register as organ donors in about 60 seconds at
mystorycontinues.com through LifeLink’s platform. Residents can also designate their donor status when renewing a driver’s license or hunting and fishing license. And to learn more about Riley’s story, visit their foundation’s website at LL74.org.
Primary Election Day was Tuesday in Georgia, and several notable races took place in the Augusta area.
Three Columbia County seats on the Board of Commissioners were challenged by Democrats. According to election records dating to at least 2010, Columbia County commission candidates have been overwhelmingly Republican, often running unopposed by Democrats. On election day, Democrats were running for the chairmanship and the seats in Districts 1 and 4.
An Augusta mayoral race was likely headed to a June 16 runoff. Incumbent Garnett L. Johnson was running against three nonpartisan challengers with their own platforms on how to move the city forward.
The only Augusta Commission race without an incumbent was in District 8, with Brandon Garrett stepping back. Three candidates from the Hephzibah were eyeing the seat.
‘In and out,’ says voter at Columbia County poll
At Abilene Baptist Church on Washington Road in Martinez, Georgia, Columbia County elections poll manager Molly Boyleston said there had been 45 voters between 7 and 9 a.m.
“It’s been steady, similar to other primaries. We know the people here,” said Boyleston, who has been a poll manager for that precinct for 12 years.
Mike Materna of Martinez voted at Abilene Baptist Church on Tuesday morning.
“I was in and out. They were there to help me out; some of the questions were confusing,” he said of the ballot without elaborating.
For this primary, three seats on the Columbia County Board of Commissioners are challenged by Democrats. According to election records dating to at least 2010, Columbia County commission candidates have been overwhelmingly Republican, often running unopposed by Democrats. For this election, Democrats are running for the chairmanship and the seats in Districts 1 and 4.
Immigrant casts first vote as an American
Carol Richards was giddy with excitement when she entered Julian Smith Casino in Augusta, Georgia, on Tuesday afternoon to vote for the first time.
“I just became an American citizen,” she told Cecilia Wright, a poll worker stationed at the front desk. About 20 minutes later, she returned, still excited about her first vote as an American.
How did it feel? “I feel good. I really feel good,” she said. “After 40 years, I got citizenship.”
Richards, 66, was born in Jamaica, grew up in London, and later moved to New York. Her mother lived in Augusta, and she moved here after she died. Her citizenship was official in September 2024.
Carter Center: Braves hats, flowers and peanuts left as tributes
Outside the Carter Center, Braves hats and boiled peanuts are left in honor of President Carter in Atlanta.
Augusta voter has ties to state Supreme Court, Carter administration
Susan Jordan, 82, stopped to talk after voting at Julian Smith Casino in Augusta, Georgia, on Tuesday.
“I could have voted absentee, but I wanted to get the vibe” of voting in person, she said. “It’s a privilege, and everyone should vote.”
Also, she had a special vote to cast: Her daughter-in-law, Jen Jordan, was on the ballot for Georgia Supreme Court. And politics has long been a part of her family. Her brother-in-law, the late Hamilton Jordan, was the chief of staff for President Jimmy Carter in 1979-1980.
Augusta voter seeks lower taxes, more help for homeless
Chad Mallard, 46, of Augusta, Georgia, was voting for just the second time on Tuesday.
He said he used to think that his one vote didn’t matter, but he realized that it was the way to make changes in the community. He said he voted for incumbent Mayor Garnett Johnson and to re-elect Ashley Wright to the Georgia Superior Court.
Mallard, who voted at the Kroc Center, identifies as a Democrat, but “I used to say neither way.” He wants to see some important changes for the community, and politics is the way to do that.
In particular, he wants to see lower property taxes and more help for the growing homeless community.
Augusta wife gets her husband to vote
Ryan and Tiffany Amerhein brought their 3-year-old son Dorian with them to vote at the Kroc Center on Broad Street. Tiffany, 33, said she has always been a regular voter, but her husband wasn’t.
“I was able to educate him,” said she.
Tiffany said she got Ryan, 35, more involved in government issues, especially the Richmond County School Board, since they have a child. They attended a forum where they got to see candidates in person and hear directly from them.
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Should lawmakers in the nation’s capital decide to push forward with legalizing real money online casinos, it could cause a ripple effect in the DMV.
The wave of potentially legalizing online casinos has reached our nation’s capital, as lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are considering a Council Bill to authorize regulated iGaming. While time will tell if the proposal makes any headway, should it cross the finish line, or even come close, it could play a role in neighboring states to follow suit – particularly Maryland and Virginia.
Recapping bill proposal to legalize D.C. online casinos
As proposed by Councilmember Wendell Felder, Council Bill 260656 – also known as the Internet Gaming and Consumer Protection Act of 2026″ – aims to legalize online casinos as a “practical” way to strengthen protections for consumers, who, according to Felder, are already gambling with unregulated platforms.
By authorizing real money online casino apps in the District, officials would be able to offer a safer avenue for online gambling while also keeping revenue from flowing outside of the area.
According to Felder, initial annual tax revenue generated by new online casinos could reach tens of millions of dollars, which the District could use to support behavioral health services, responsible gaming programs and broader community investments.
A public hearing for the proposal is scheduled for May 4. But if the bill gains traction, it could have a more widespread impact beyond Washington, D.C.
Virginia, Maryland could feel pressure to regulate iGaming
Should legislators continue to push Council Bill 260656 forward, neighboring states could feel the pressure to revamp efforts to legalize casino games online. That is especially true for Maryland and Virginia, which see a number of residents commute to D.C. on a daily basis.
Both jurisdictions are no strangers to considering online casino legalization. Earlier this year, Virginia saw a bill fall short of passage, though it’s likely lawmakers will resume conversations in 2027.
Meanwhile, in Maryland, there was much support from casino operators in the state to regulate online casinos, though no bills made it out of committee.
Should Washington, D.C., succeed in legalizing online casino gaming, or even games like online keno for real money, it would assuredly create more urgency for Virginia and Maryland to do the same. Like D.C., both states offer legal online sports betting, and all three jurisdictions have big-name brands such as BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel. Then, residents could take advantage of the latest DraftKings Casino promo code.
In the nation’s capital, the iGaming proposal would give licensed sportsbooks an expedited review and approval for an online casino license. That means if D.C. approves Council Bill 260656, those online sportsbooks would be cleared to apply for and receive online casino licenses, creating an advantage for the District over its two neighbors.
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