Senator Ted Kennedy spoke about funding for student aid at a press conference on the 19th. Along with rep. George Miller (D-CA) he promoted a program he referred to a “campaign for America’s future.” Senator Kennedy said increasing student aid was especially important due to falling median income and soaring college costs. He criticized the president saying that he “doesn’t understand history” and the importance of funding higher education. Kennedy also accused Republicans of cutting $12 billion from student loan programs. Rep. Miller is currently sponsoring a bill to increase Pell Grants and aid, a program he calls “stop the raid on student aid.” Kennedy claimed that college education is especially important at the current time because of globalization and terrorism.

Segway, Inc. recalled 23,500 of their scooters due to a glitch that caused them to suddenly reverse, potentially harming the passenger. Based out of Bedford, New Hampshire, Segway’s scooters offered an easy alternative to walking, and to start it was as easy as stepping on and pushing forward to move at maximum speeds of six, eight or 12.5 MPH. According to Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman Scott Wolfson, the safety problem arose when riders began to push the scooters past their limits, setting off the scooter’s “speed limiter,” which causes the scooter and rider to be pushed back. If a rider were to get off of the scooter and back on, the wheels could reverse with enough force to throw the rider off. There have been six reports of injuries due to this malfunction. Fortunately, no UMass Student Senators were injured on their Segways.