Come on, Brigham Young University. Give Chad Hardy back his diploma.

It seems that BYU has rescinded Hardy’s diploma due to his recent excommunication from the Church of Latter Day Saints. Why? Because Hardy published a calendar that features shirtless male Mormon missionaries.

Gotta love a hot man on a mission! The men are modestly photographed, but there are strict rules in the Mormon faith about baring skin—remember Marie Osmond’s costumes on Dancing with the Stars?

The Church of Latter Day Saints has already noted that the 12 men featured are former, not current missionaries, as well as the fact that Hardy’s excommunication was not a direct result of the calendar, but of other, undisclosed reasons.

The results of this fight between Hardy and his faith? Over 11,000 calendars have been sold and Google searches for “hot Mormons” have skyrocketed. Can’t the LDS look at this as great, free publicity for their church?

Is this what they teach you in the Ivy League?

Jocelyn Kirsch, formerly of Drexel University, pled guilty and was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison for aggravated identity theft. Her partner in crime was then boyfriend, UPenn grad Edward Anderton, who also pled guilty and will be sentenced next month. 

The former couple, often called the “Bonnie and Clyde of identity theft,” stole the identities of many of their friends and neighbors in Philadelphia in order to fund their extravagant shopping sprees and vacations.

Were Kirsch and Anderton afraid that their Ivy League education wouldn’t get them good enough jobs after graduation? I guess they don’t have to worry about the economy where they’re going . . .

In case you are wondering why Hofstra University got the plum job of hosting the final debate between presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain, here’s your answer:

Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY (Long Island) is home to the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency. While many colleges and universities offer American history and political science among their academic majors, Hofstra is one of the only schools that allows for such a concentrated study on the office of the American President.

There is a lengthy application process for colleges to complete in order to be chosen as a debate site, but Hofstra had lots of backing from various supporters on the local, state, and federal levels of government, thanks to its excellent academic program focusing on the presidency.

Hey Hofstra students—any of you snag a ticket to the event? Tell the CampusCompare universe all about it!