Beyond Edinburgh

-People across the world are engaging with the ongoing Egyptian protests by joining protest marches, signing petitions on Facebook, or expressing their support of the Egyptian public on Twitter.

The Harvard Crimson reports that the co-director of Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society has called on the two social media-giants to live up to their special role as tools in organising the protests by establishing a code of conduct or joining the Global Network Initiative (GNI).

Members of the GNI should “respect, protect and advance user rights to freedom of expression and privacy, including when faced with government demands for censorship and disclosure of users’ personal information", according to their website.

-Closer to home, a senior lecturer at the University of Sunderland has resigned in protest of the increased tuition fees.

Dr Tristan Learoyd, a 29-year-old pharmacy lecturer, is the youngest person to have been elected to the English National Pharmacy Board, and was said to have a promising academic career ahead of him.

In his resignation letter, he said: "I refuse to teach where it will be the content of somebody's wallet, not the content of their character, that will determine their academic success.”

In a comment to the BBC he added: "The tragedy of this is that there are plenty of people who have the ability to go to university, the ability to excel and be real stars of the future for this country who now have been put off going to university."

Dr Learoyd plans to work as a pharmacist and continue teaching – but not in universities.

-Back across the pond there is proof that universities beyond Edinburgh are easily affected by heavy snowfall.

Yale Daily News reports that 12 inches fell during one night at the end of January, and emails were sent out to all students urging them to use care when travelling to campuses.

They were also asked to check the student portal in case classes had to be cancelled due to the unexpected weather conditions.

Those taking part in an organised snowball fight at midnight on 28 January seemed to care little about logistics as freshmen and sophomores on one side fought juniors and seniors on the other for eternal glory.