Silent Night, Empty Night: American Universities Power Down

By Jon Marcus Higher education in the U.S. is going into hibernation. With budgets tight, energy prices high and demand for conservation growing, universities and colleges are shutting down for winter more tightly than ever before. Thermostats are being lowered, lights turned off and services suspended, leaving many campuses dark, cold and empty but for lonely security guards. In some places where financial problems have been particularly severe, employees will be furloughed without pay or required to use annual leave – at a time when students will not be around to notice – while in others, they will enjoy fully […]