UNC-Chapel Hill mistakenly e-mails nearly 3,000 acceptance letters
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sent acceptance letters to 2,743 applicants by mistake last Tuesday, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The e-mail, which asked students to submit their midyear grades, was meant solely for applicants accepted through UNC's early-notification program. The applicants who mistakenly received the e-mail had not had their application reviewed yet, according to the Chronicle.
Officials in the university's admissions office noticed the error an hour after the e-mail had been sent, although they originally thought only about 500 applicants had received the e-mail by mistake. The next morning, the officials realized additional applicants had received the e-mail in error and sent out apologies to them, according to the Chronicle.
"We feel terribly that we have let these students down," Stephen M. Farmer, director of undergraduate admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill, said. "We know we have disappointed and confused some applicants, and it's distressing for us to see the students go through this and know we had a hand in it. We take complete responsibility for the error."
-J.P.
Roommates get five years in Seton Hall fire case
Two roommates who caused a fatal fire in a Seton Hall University dormitory were sentenced Friday to five years in prison, according to the Associated Press.
Joseph T. LePore and Sean Ryan, both 26, pleaded guilty in November to arson charges stemming from a dormitory fire in January 2000 that killed three people and injured dozens more. Prosecutors alleged that LePore and Ryan set fire to a paper banner in one of the dorm's lounges, which then spread to a nearby couch and began filling the building with smoke. Frank Caltabilota, John Giunta and Aaron Karol, all 18, died after being overcome by smoke, according to the AP.
Philip Giunta, father of one of the victims, was one of 14 people who spoke at the sentencing hearing, according to the AP.
"I don't think it was an accident," he said. "I don't think it was a prank. I think that's bull."
-J.P.
