The house party, a longtime staple of weekend activity at St. Thomas and social facilitator for 20-year-olds throughout the area, has died.

Known for its red Solo cups, dance music and raucous behavior, the house party was a liberator for many students who spent far too long in the library or at work during the week.

That bottle of Aquafina you saw on the ground this morning was near the end of an incredibly long journey. Starting out as perfectly benign tap water, it went through a redundant and energy-intensive purification process before being shipped hundreds, perhaps thousands, of miles to get to that cooler in the Grill.

I’m looking forward to playing a game of tennis indoors, swimming a couple of laps in the pool and working out on the new equipment, which we’ve heard described as a “purple and gray” version of Lifetime Fitness, once the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex opens.

But I’m one of the lucky ones because I graduate next year, not this year.

Students may no longer be able to experience live music on campus for free, but that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.

STAR is considering charging students a small ticket price for the formerly free fall and spring concerts so St. Thomas can afford to host bigger-name bands.

As a broadcast journalism major here at St. Thomas, I believe in the power of images. Pictures can capture the emotion of a story that oftentimes text alone cannot. Images stay with you, in sometimes the best and in sometimes the worst ways possible.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis recently published new guidelines that address the question of who can speak at Catholic institutions in the archdiocese.

Tiger Woods will be making his first public appearance Friday after he took a leave of absence from golf in December and St. Thomas students are not without opinion on the billion-dollar athlete.

Electronic books are here to stay. Reading an e-book on an electronic reader isn’t a passing fad that will lose its appeal after the novelty wears off.

Daryl Fleck was drunk and asleep in his car in the parking lot of his apartment building when someone called the police.

Fleck’s car was parked in his assigned spot, his keys in the center console.

Having spent J-Term at the University of Hawaii-Manoa for philosophy class over break, I was able to witness what life at a tropical university is like.

I remember in the spring of 2005, when I was a high school senior walking around on the St. Thomas campus. One of the first things that caught my eye was the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas. I remember being in awe of the great beauty I found when I stepped into the narthex, and thinking to myself “This must be a school that takes its Catholic identity seriously. What else could have inspired such a beautiful chapel?”

Normally when people think of Hawaii they think of grass skirts, hula and relaxing on the beach.

But this January I was fortunate enough to study in Hawaii with the Multicultural Communication in Diverse Organizations course. It was a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience that I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else. But even after 12 successful years as a class, it is one of the study abroad courses being cut next year.

More than 24,000 undergraduate students nationwide were ambivalent when asked if instructors should be able to ban cell phone use during class. The EduCAUSE annual survey, which included St. Thomas students, was released this week.

Ever since the earthquake hit Haiti, I’ve been proud of America’s reaction. From the very first day, astonishing amounts of food, money and aid have poured into Haiti from all parts of the nation.

Text message campaigns have raised millions of dollars for the relief fund. Many doctors, including one from St. Thomas, have gone to Haiti to perform surgeries and treat diseases such as dysentery.

Today I’d like to tell you all a story. It’s a classic tale really. There are cops and robbers, a jail break and a drawn out manhunt.

Basically, it’s everything you could ask for in a mediocre PG-13 movie.