Workplace & pay compliance: Murdoch University agreed to back-pay more than $4.9 million to over 2,100 underpaid employees after Fair Work Ombudsman findings tied shortfalls to wrong classifications and missed step-increments, with a $125,000 contrition payment and tighter payroll controls. Campus safety & policing: UW-Whitewater canceled a “life-safety alert” after a person who entered a building yelling was found unarmed, while a separate incident at Memorial High School involved a detained student after a facsimile weapon was found. Student conduct & discipline: Louisiana’s new law makes smoking marijuana within 2,000 feet of colleges punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, with no medical-marijuana exception. Athletics & health: Arizona State hockey player Matthew Mayich remains in a coma after collapsing during an outdoor workout, as the university reviews the session. Higher-ed governance: Scranton announced a cabinet reorganization and Title IX training sessions for staff and faculty, and a Texas trustee case surfaced again after records alleged falsified teaching applications. Campus life & learning: Georgia Tech opened a Trash Lab makerspace to turn campus plastics into new products, and Georgia Southern’s professor framed Southeast Georgia’s data-center boom as part of the AI geopolitical race.