WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. Congress has voted to end funding of federal grants to study the walls in college dorm rooms.
The House approved by voice vote an amendment offered by Texas Republican Randy Neugebauer to the 2005 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill to strip out the funding for "Expressions of Identity in Virtual and Physical Spaces," a study backed by the National Institute of Mental Health.
The study gave college students $100 to decorate their dorm room walls and design Web pages after which researchers attempted to discern how students express themselves through these decorations.
Three $1000 prizes were also given away in a lottery to participants in the study.
"It is imperative that Congress be more responsible with taxpayer money," Neugebauer said. "We should support research to find cures to serious mental health diseases like Alzheimer's and depression instead of wasting valuable dollars researching interior decorating for college dorm rooms."
