Illinois, feds threaten students' financial aid
Officials say students should take an interest in financial aid matters

Proposed changes to financial aid grant and loan consolidation programs could leave some Columbia students from higher-income families searching for new ways to finance their education.

Elected officials at both the state and federal level are debating legislation that could change how students pay for college.
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Superdorm to redefine campus services, hours
'A whole new sense of campus,' officials say

What happens when you drop more than 1,600 students on a corner of campus where there were none before?

Columbia is about to find out.
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Shelter's move, condemnation remain stalled
Mission officials say move could bring debt

More than a year after the city moved to condemn and relocate the Pacific Garden Mission, the case against the city's oldest homeless shelter at 646 S. State St. is once again in legal limbo, as it's been for nearly the past decade.

The mission sits on the same block as Columbia's Residence Center, 731 S. Plymouth Court.
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Job-hunting college students concerned by economy, unemployment statistics
Chicago's jobless rate exceeds national rate; experts say don't worry

Ryan Swanson is nervous about his future career.

"Nobody's hiring," said Swanson, a School of the Art Institute student studying fiber and materials. "I think it's going to take a long time [to find a job], and I'm going to have to work at a job I don't want."
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At a time in which Columbia is struggling to hold down the cost of tuition, the state of Illinois might be making it harder for many Columbia students to finance their college education.

Proposed changes to the Illinois Monetary Award Program, a “needs-based” financial aid program, might mean a number of students will no longer qualify for the program, thereby making it harder for them to come up with the money needed to attend school. Under a plan by Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a shift in funding away from students attending private institutions, such as Columbia toward those attending state-funded schools may place current and future Columbia students at risk of not receiving assistance. The changes in the program may affect as many as 4,000 students statewide in the upcoming school year, according to some estimates.
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Editorial: Rice carries Bush's banner with dignity

Oh, Condi, savior of the Republican Party, how we love you.

It took some prodding, a good deal of criticism and a touch of encouragement for you to step up to the podium and testify on behalf of your bosses, but you finally did.

You gave a smile to an otherwise laughable and grim experience.
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Art that 'goes with the flow'
Local filmmaker's documentary follows footsteps of legendary producer Frederick Wiseman

A real man won’t fear something that bleeds for a week and doesn’t die. A real man will take the knowledge of pain and menstruation, walk into a crowded drug store, buy the materials he needs in various sizes and styles and, armed with his box of Tampax Pearls, some sequins, glitter and paint, transform it into a work of art.

Kim Corbet, a freelance musician/writer and a professor of music history at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, the self-described “granddaddy tampon” discovered the art of tampons while he worked as an overnight DJ at a Dallas radio station.
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Noble Fool offers top secret comedy
High society snobs, secret agents join forces in Seth Greenland's 'Jungle Rot'

Very few stage productions successfully combine assassination attempts and Cold War antics as fodder for a black comedy.

Historically, mixing politics and paranoia can lead to a vast array of opinions. Some might find the satire very satisfying, while others might understand the jokes, but fail to see the humor. Seth Greenland’s play “Jungle Rot,” not only succeed’s at bringing these elements together, but also manages to create a memorable cast of characters along the way.
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