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I’m not a gambler. But when I read back in September 2017 that Howard University’s football team scored one of the biggest upsets in college football history against UNLV − and that a $100 bet would have won $50,000 − I decided to try my luck.
The problem, which I didn’t fully realize at the time, is that sports betting wasn’t yet legal in the U.S. Which explains why it was so hard to find an online bookmaker offering a similar payout for Howard’s next game.
Through extensive outreach, I discovered an offshore website called 5Dimes. I placed a bet, hoping Howard’s then-quarterback, Caylin Newton − NFL star quarterback Cam Newton’s younger brother − would score another upset and thereby help me win a small fortune. Unfortunately, it was not to be, and I lost the $300 or so that I wagered that day with 5Dimes, a website that is no longer permitted to operate in the U.S.
Now that sports betting is legal in the U.S., you don’t have to look hard for a place to bet on a college sports game − especially if you’re a college student. As noted by Miami University statistics professor Jason W. Osborne, sports betting is one of the most rapidly growing sectors of gaming and is also becoming more accessible at college campuses throughout the U.S., putting college students at risk for gambling addiction.
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Jamaal Abdul-Alim
Education Editor
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Around 6% of college students have a gambling problem.
John Rowley/The Image Bank via Getty Images
Jason W. Osborne, Miami University
The rise of sports betting has made gambling addiction a bigger issue on college campuses, but there are steps universities can take to address it.
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Education
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Deborah Cohn, Indiana University
A new report from the Modern Language Association shows an unprecedented drop in the study of foreign languages among college students.
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Environment + Energy
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Jaime Toro, West Virginia University
Iceland’s volcanic activity is generally tame compared with explosive eruptions along the Pacific’s Ring of Fire. This time, it’s shaking up a town.
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Science + Technology
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Sam Wineburg, Stanford University; Michael Caulfield, University of Washington
When you view photos and video through the fog of war, first ask yourself: Do I really know what I’m looking at?
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Politics + Society
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Mona Tajali, Agnes Scott College
Iranian women are still pressing for women’s rights and equality, just in quieter forms, including not wearing mandatory hair covers. Imprisoned activists are also leaking messages to others.
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Elise J. Bean, Wayne State University
The convictions of two former Trump aides who refused to comply with the House Jan. 6 committee’s information requests could revive a potent tool for holding powerful people accountable.
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Maha Nassar, University of Arizona
The slogan has been attacked as ‘antisemitic’ and defended as a ‘call for freedom.’ Behind the controversy is decades of usage.
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Health + Medicine
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Alexander Sundermann, University of Pittsburgh; Daria Van Tyne, University of Pittsburgh
A bacterial contamination of the work environment at facilities that produce eye drops can lead to severe infections and even death, as was the case earlier in 2023.
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International
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Marika Sosnowski, The University of Melbourne
Virtually as old as conflict itself, a ceasefire is a way of formalising a halt to violence between warring parties. But ceasefires can come in many different forms, leading to disagreements.
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M. Rodwan Abouharb, UCL; Bernhard Reinsberg, University of Glasgow
Sri Lanka is just one of a number of countries in which IMF loan conditions appear to be mainly burdening supporters of the opposition.
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