More people gathering news online, Tommies included

Twenty-six percent of American adults get news from their cell phones, according to a recent Pew Research Center study.

The statistic is part of a larger trend. More people are checking the news on their laptops or phones with Internet access, and the numbers of people watching traditional television broadcasts or reading print newspapers are dropping.

2005 engineering graduate dies of cancer in Japan

St. Thomas graduate Daniel Shinozaki died Sunday, Feb. 21, in Nagoya, Japan.

Shinozaki, who attended Rosemount High School and graduated from St. Thomas in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, was battling colorectal cancer and undergoing chemotherapy while in Japan.

Demise of December commencements surprises students

Students are surprised that St. Thomas is cutting December commencement exercises. From now on, students planning to graduate in December will not be able to participate in a commencement ceremony until May.

St. Thomas’ administration is eliminating December commencement ceremonies because of its proximity to Christmas, its typically lower number of graduates than in May and to tighten the budget.

Ticket sales kick off Sunday performance of “Footloose”

St. Thomas students waited outside the Box Office in Murray-Herrick Campus Center today to purchase tickets to “Footloose” at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. Students who purchase the tickets will attend the musical on Sunday, Feb. 14.

“The tickets are only five dollars, so it’s a really good deal because it includes dinner and the show,” said Amber Marti, a graduate assistant with Campus and Residence Life.

Poster sale helps students brighten up dorm rooms

St. Thomas’s annual poster sale drew a crowd of students interested in spicing up the walls of their dorm rooms, apartments and houses.

Students perusing the sale, located in the lower level of Murray-Herrick in the campus square, were asked which posters they considered to be the best or most interesting.

Many students, like freshman Cynthia Burton, can’t pick a specific favorite.

Book rentals soften students’ spending

With the spring semester under way, St. Thomas students are once again facing a costly task: purchasing textbooks for their classes. However, the book rental program, which is in its third semester at the bookstore, gives students a cheaper option than buying used or new books.