IvyGate
Encyclopedia
IvyGate is a blog
and online news source covering news and gossip
at Ivy League
universities. The site is written and edited by students and recent graduates.
alumni Chris Beam
and Nick Summers. The blog covers the "follies" of Ivy League schools, such as a Princeton University
class president accused of setting a squirrel on fire, a University of Pennsylvania
graduate student who turned out to be in prison, and a Yale
Skull and Bones
member arrested for burning an American Flag.
]
IvyGate rose to prominence through its investigative reporting of the details of the "Impossible is Nothing
" Internet meme
, concerning an impossibly boastful video résumé
produced by then Yale
student Aleksey Vayner. It was a nominee for the 2006 Weblog Award for "Best Educational Blog".
A small controversy arose in December 2006 involving Beam's father, prominent Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam
. The younger Beam had covered a Brown University
professor who wrote prolific letters to the editor in the New York Times. Five days later the elder Beam covered the same story in his column, without attribution, leading to humorous but well-publicized complaints of plagiarism.
Beam is currently a reporter for online magazine Slate
, and fellow Columbia graduate Nick Summers, a reporter for Newsweek
magazine.
The blog was the first to publish results of the US News and World Report 2007 college rankings. It also recently broke the scoop
on the disbanding of a Yale
fraternity., and broke the Pi Phi Rush Guidelines controversy at Cornell. Adam Clark Estes, a former editor at Ivygate, was criticized for making fun of the death of a Cornell student who had died due to swine flu in 2009. It employs reporters and commentators throughout the Ivy League, though reporting is sometimes viewed as somewhat favoritist.
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
and online news source covering news and gossip
Gossip
Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others, It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and variations into the information transmitted...
at Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
universities. The site is written and edited by students and recent graduates.
History
IvyGate was founded in 2006 by Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
alumni Chris Beam
Chris Beam
Christopher Beam is an American journalist and a reporter for Slate. He currently writes the online magazine's "Crime" column. In his prior capacity as a political writer he was a frequent Air America guest and has appeared on the Colbert Report.Beam graduated from The Roxbury Latin School in...
and Nick Summers. The blog covers the "follies" of Ivy League schools, such as a Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
class president accused of setting a squirrel on fire, a University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
graduate student who turned out to be in prison, and a Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
member arrested for burning an American Flag.
IvyGate rose to prominence through its investigative reporting of the details of the "Impossible is Nothing
Impossible Is Nothing (video résumé)
Impossible is Nothing is a 2006 video résumé by Aleksey Vayner which became an Internet meme.- History of job application :...
" Internet meme
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
, concerning an impossibly boastful video résumé
Video résumé
A video resume is a way for job seekers to showcase their abilities beyond the capabilities of a traditional paper resume. The video resume allows prospective employers to see, hear and get a feel for how the applicant presents themselves.-History:...
produced by then Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
student Aleksey Vayner. It was a nominee for the 2006 Weblog Award for "Best Educational Blog".
A small controversy arose in December 2006 involving Beam's father, prominent Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam
Alex Beam
Alex Beam is an American writer and journalist, who is currently a columnist for The Boston Globe.-Biography:Beam grew up in Washington, D.C., as his father Jacob D. Beam was a diplomat. Beam attended Phillips Exeter Academy, where he was Foreign Correspondent for the twice-weekly school...
. The younger Beam had covered a Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
professor who wrote prolific letters to the editor in the New York Times. Five days later the elder Beam covered the same story in his column, without attribution, leading to humorous but well-publicized complaints of plagiarism.
Beam is currently a reporter for online magazine Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
, and fellow Columbia graduate Nick Summers, a reporter for Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine.
IvyGate today
IvyGate continues to receive nationwide attention and logs more than 40,000 visitors per day. The site is currently run by Peter Finocchiaro, Cornell '10.The blog was the first to publish results of the US News and World Report 2007 college rankings. It also recently broke the scoop
Scoop (term)
Scoop is an informal term used in journalism. The word connotes originality, importance, surprise or excitement, secrecy and exclusivity.Stories likely considered to be scoops are important news, likely to interest or concern many people. A scoop is typically a new story, or a new aspect to an...
on the disbanding of a Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
fraternity., and broke the Pi Phi Rush Guidelines controversy at Cornell. Adam Clark Estes, a former editor at Ivygate, was criticized for making fun of the death of a Cornell student who had died due to swine flu in 2009. It employs reporters and commentators throughout the Ivy League, though reporting is sometimes viewed as somewhat favoritist.