>> Could an Evangelical group be forcing your kids to swap spit in school? We were just as shocked as some parents to learn that the answer may be “yes.” Apparently, just such a program, aimed at teaching kids about STDs and peer pressure, has been in place at many Montgomery County schools for nine years. In the lesson one student is given a piece of gum to chew and then other kids are asked if they would chew the same piece. Some kids actually go for it and now parents and health organizations are up in arms. So here’s our question, on a scale of eating paste to having your head dunked in the toilet, how un-hygienic is playing pass the Bubble Yum? [WTOP]

>> Even more news about America’s priciest college! George Washington University has thrown down the gauntlet and raised mandatory fees for incoming freshmen to over $50,000. This makes GW the country’s first university to break the monumental threshold, and that’s not even counting weekly McFadden’s bar tabs. [New York Times]

>> It was the brainchild of then-Mayor Martin O’Malley and had a simple message: Believe. Now, with O’Malley relocated to Annapolis, his successor as Baltimore City Mayor is re-examining the novel campaign to reduce crime. Anyone who’s journeyed up I-95 in the last five years couldn’t miss the ubiquitous stickers and signs encouraging citizens to believe their city could have a better future. This “click your heels three times” approach always struck us as odd, though some claim the motto helped make Charm City a more charming place to live. [Baltimore Sun]

Photo by Flickr user billadler.