On campus, Dec. 6

1. U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter talked internships, science and the need to make the defense department feel more like a “zippy” start-up in an exclusive interview with college journalists at Harvard University on Tuesday. The Department of Defense leader has been spreading the word about his new Force of the Future initiatives, created to boost Millennial interest in national security. “A lot of people in your generation look at us as an industrial-age organization,” he told the group. (“They think), ‘It looks great, they do great things, but they’re kind of old-school, like General Motors and Ford.’ And that’s not the kind of place (they) want to be.”

2. Rice University in Houston announced Monday that it will uphold its current weapons prohibition policy and remain gun-free — despite a Texas state law permitting concealed carry on college campuses set to go into effect August of 2016. In a statement published on the school’s website, university President David Leebron said the decision was the product of an “extensive consultation process” with students and faculty members. “Not a single constituency consulted has endorsed having guns on our campus; in fact, each overwhelmingly opposed it. Maintaining the safety of our students and employees is our highest priority,” Leebron wrote. “There is no evidence that allowing the carrying of guns on our campus will make the campus safer, and the most knowledgeable professional groups believe that guns will make campuses less safe.”

3. It’s been several weeks since protesters rocked the University of Missouri in Columbia, sparking rallies and sit-ins nationwide, but Monday more than 100 people were back on campus calling for change. The march was not to protest racism on campus, however, but to demand that MU interim Chancellor Hank Foley overturn a university decision that essentially would end the ability for women to obtain a legal abortion in Columbia starting Wednesday night. The issue at stake hinges on a September decision made by former UM chancellor R. Bowen Loftin — who resigned in the wake of student protests in November — when he revoked UM’s University Hospital “refer and follow” privileges for women’s health care doctor Colleen McNicholas. Her privileges ended Tuesday. During the protest, Mary Mosely, legislative director of the Missouri National Organization for Women, said to the crowd, “The university doesn’t have the right to make this decision for every woman in the area."

4. The president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Everett Piper, thinks students need to stop being such babies. In a recent statement on the school’s website he said, “Our culture has actually taught our kids to be … self-absorbed and narcissistic. Any time their feelings are hurt, they are the victims. Anyone who dares challenge them and, thus, makes them ‘feel bad’ about themselves, is a ‘hater,’ a ‘bigot,’ an ‘oppressor,’ and a ‘victimizer.’” Oklahoma Wesleyan is a small, evangelical Christian university in Bartlesville, Okla., and Piper’s posting came after an unnamed student reportedly said they were “offended” about a sermon on the topic of 1 Corinthians 13 – a homily of love – offered at the school. “It appears that this young scholar felt offended because a homily on love made him feel bad for not showing love,” Piper wrote. “In his mind, the speaker was wrong for making him, and his peers, feel uncomfortable.” Piper later told NBC News that his statement was not a direct attack at the student, but rather “a message to the broader community.”

5. The world’s most popular sport can lead to a great education and career. FIFA estimates that 270 million people worldwide are involved in soccer as players or officials. If you grew up loving and playing the beautiful game, there’s no reason to stop when you go to college. Based on the athletic success of the team, the overall quality of the school and the academic success of the players, the top schools in Division 1 women's soccer are:

• University of Virginia
• Stanford University
• Rice University
• Texas A&M University
• University of California-Los Angeles