Education

Many of us think of humanitarian intervention as a recent phenomenon of United States foreign policy. Certainly, critics of Barack Obama’s intervention in Libya saw America’s humanitarian involvement there as some new-fangled excuse to go mucking around in other countries. This month historian Jeff Bloodworth traces a much longer history of humanitarian intervention that goes back to the administration of William McKinley and is connected with the Protestant ideals of some of the nation's founders. Far from being new, Bloodworth demonstrates that humanitarianism has been a central concern of American foreign policy for a very long time.

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Students coping with the stress of final exams at a university in southwest Ohio recently got help from some dogs.

The counseling service at Miami University in Oxford offered its Furry Finals program as students took exams this week. Students could spend their down time between study periods and exams with dogs licensed for therapy and trained for obedience and agility.

A Miami psychology professor says there is evidence that pets help reduce stress. Professor Allen McConnell says animals can improve people's moods and help them feel like they have greater social support.

The university says dogs bred to work with people also can benefit from the program.

The nine dogs brought to campus included a miniature poodle and a 120-pound Rottweiler.

One of Ohio's largest school districts plans to make energy-saving renovations at 28 schools using a nearly $27
million low-interest loan.

The Cincinnati school board voted in favor of taking out the loan yesterday, despite some board members' concerns about moving ahead with the projects as the district cuts jobs and faces an estimated $43 million deficit.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the district is wrapping up a billion-dollar facilities overhaul partly aimed at making its buildings energy-efficient. The newest loan would help the district centralize thermostat control, add air conditioning to some buildings, replace energy-sucking lights and install motion sensors to turn off lights in empty rooms.

There's a lot of activity at the Ohio Statehouse this week. Some of it involves students from the Ohio College Access Network and the Ohio Student Education Policy Institute (OSEPI).  They are testifying before the Senate Finance Committee - presenting their recommendations regarding Ohio education policy. Senator Chris Widener says it's the second year the group has appeared before Widener’s committee.

The latest plan to help maintain the pension system for Ohio public school teachers would have them pay more into their retirement accounts.

The Columbus Dispatch reports the plan has been approved by the board of the State Teachers Retirement System, which has 470,000 members. It's up for consideration by lawmakers who would need to sign off on it.

The plan is aimed at saving $13 billion in accrued liabilities. It's the fourth package of its kind sent to lawmakers since 2009.

It would reduce cost-of-living raises in pension checks and provide retirees with no increase in the 2013 fiscal year.

A spokesman for the retirement system says not everyone will be happy but that it's in the best interest of participants to help ensure the system remains solvent.