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Student endures 171 piercings OMAHA, Neb. — On Friday, 21-year-old Matt Brown received a few sharp sticks – 171 to be exact, to try to achieve a new world record for the most piercings in a single sitting, according to the University of Nebraska, Omaha’s The Gateway. This was not his first piercing experience; previously, he has had as many as 31. By the time of the event, he was down to a mere five piercings. For the world record, he had 10 placed along his collarbone and the rest in both arms. His collarbone and arms were red, puffy and swollen with what looked like welt marks. Guinness has yet to assess Brown’s bid for the book.

Smart sperm a hot item in demand STANFORD, Calif. — “Stanford student wanted for sperm donor. $15k offered. Intelligent, good looking, over 6ft. tall. No history of self or family addictions.” This is not the sort of advertisement readers usually expect to find in the Palo Alto Daily News classified section, according to the Stanford Daily. But the ad has appeared there for the past two weeks, placed by a Burlingame woman who hopes to find a sperm donor. The 33-year-old woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she specifically wants a Stanford University student because she assumes the donor will have a high level of intelligence. As for her other requirements, she said she will decide when she meets the donor. “Intellect is a given if they go to Stanford,” she said. “And if I meet them and I like them, I’ll choose them.” Her unconventional approach to having a child stems from her frustration with the dating scene, she said.

Stanford professor sells strip clubs STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford University Medical School professor Simon Stertzer, a pioneer in balloon angioplasty, recently sold three strip clubs he originally purchased to help fund his research, according to the Stanford Daily. The decision to sell them was based on negative publicity Stertzer has received from both the university and private sector since acquiring the clubs in September. According to Stertzer, the strip clubs were purchased because they had high potential for generating profits.

Searching for an answer to cloning STILLWATER, Okla. — U.S. scientists’ recent cloning of a six-cell human embryo has left Oklahoma State University professors and students searching for a balance between medical breakthroughs and preservation of life, according to the Daily O’Collegian. The Associated Press reported the company that cloned the cells, Advanced Cell Technology, is not trying to create people but to make cells for research and possible medical treatments. Two OSU professors saw the merits of researching cures for diseases but advocated regulations on cloning.

“Shop ‘til you drop” act not okay UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As officials urge Americans back to the malls to revive an ailing economy this holiday season, one social activist organization has not relaxed its annual call to drop the incessant shopping the Friday after Thanksgiving, according to the Daily Collegian at Pennsylvania State University. For nearly a decade, Adbusters Media Foundation has relied on a network of local organizers and its own bimonthly magazine to spread the word about Buy Nothing Day, which falls each year on the first day of the holiday shopping season. On the surface, activists invite people to refrain from commercial consumption by keeping their wallets shut and credit cards idle for a day. Activists said the alternative holiday also speaks to larger dilemmas about excess in America.

Reports from Daily Bruin wire services.