Who’s staying in your dorm this summer?

Kardelen Calikiran was playing volleyball outside JPII Hall with other children and teens from the Songs of Hope music camp when they stopped to watch a bride, dazzling in white, walk out of the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas.

“I love watching the weddings,” Calikiran said. “But I hope the brides don’t get annoyed with us for playing volleyball in the grass right by the church.”

Studying abroad: Learning beyond the classroom

I had a nagging feeling throughout my senior year that I had missed a vital experience as a St. Thomas student. It wasn’t until I was flying back home at the end of June after my Management 480 class in London and Ireland that I realized studying abroad was the experience I’d been lacking.

Business law students create haiku, compile book

St. Thomas business law students have written a book of haiku that is being sold in the St. Thomas bookstore.

“While it may appear at first impression that collegiate business students have little connection with poetry, the offerings in this book show a collection of creative people who write about contemplative and humorous themes through the haiku form,” said John Del Vecchio, professor of the class.

Bus times, class schedules not mixing well

Senior Jelena Tolimir remembers the day she was stranded in Minneapolis.

She had been sitting at the bus stop for an hour. As the sky turned darker, she realized the St. Thomas shuttle wasn’t coming to bring her back to St. Paul.

“I didn’t realize the shuttle ran only until 7 p.m. on Saturday nights,” Tolimir said.

Lichtfuss, Neugebauer win Fowler Challenge, pocket 10K

The winners of the Fowler Business Concept Challenge were announced Oct. 30 and seniors Matthew Lichtfuss and Zach Neugebauer took home the $10,000 first prize.

For the Fowler Business Concept Challenge, students developed a business concept and presented the concept to a panel of judges. The competition was divided between undergraduate and graduate students.

Voter turnout far below last year’s numbers

Last year on Election Day, a line wrapped around outside of McNeely Hall as voters waited for their turn. This year, election judges sat and waited for voters to file in.

At McNeely Hall, where 4th ward, 6th precinct St. Paul elections were held, 219 people voted. Of the voters, 18 people were new registered voters. Eighty-five to 90 percent of new registered voters were students, said registration judge Richard Simmer.

But in last year’s election, 2,101 people voted at McNeely Hall and 845 people were registered on Election Day.

Counseling center: depression cases rise this time of year

Lindsey Bitter spent the first few weeks of her freshman year at St. Thomas lying in bed, trying to summon the energy to get up and meet other students. She had dreamed of going to St. Thomas since she was young, but depression almost took that dream away.

“I was really excited when I first got to St. Thomas. But when my parents left me, I began to cry hysterically,” Bitter said. “I would go to my room and just lay in bed crying.”

New building could replace abandoned lot

Across from Davanni’s on Grand and Cleveland avenues, a development may be built where students can eat, shop and live.

“It sounds sweet,” junior Felisha Willaert said. “I think as students, we could use more commercial options in terms of restaurants and stores closer to St. Thomas.”

St. Thomas health insurance covering 200 more students

The health insurance that St. Thomas offers its students is covering 200 more students this year.

The St. Thomas student health insurance covered about 700 students last year. About 900 students are currently covered this year, said Madonna McDermott, director of Student Health Services and Wellness Center.

One reason the number of those insured has gone up this year is that some parents of St. Thomas students have lost jobs and need health insurance for their children, McDermott said.