In response to Tina Parsons' recent column ("Service learning would shape students' perspectives," Nov. 24), I partly agree8212;service is a vital part of responsible civic lives.

It isn't often you come across a sore winner. In the past, our nation's world of sports has been prided on fair play and good sportsmanship. Now, we seem to be seeing this dissipate at a very disappointing pace.

Although local analysts haven't tallied all the numbers for Utah yet, national reports indicate that there has been and will be more money poured into a damaged economy through the upcoming holiday shopping season compared to last year.

After claiming a win and a loss on the road during the week of Thanksgiving, the Utah women's basketball team has returned home for back-to-back matches early in the week, taking on Weber State tonight and Idaho State tomorrow.

I wanted to let all of my friends at BYU know how proud I am of Max Hall. Like Glenn Beck, who is no doubt an example for young Max, BYU's man of the hour exemplifies historic virtues of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of love, kindness, tolerance and softspokenness.

I love anomalies in sports. Whether it's Jamaicans on a bobsled, Andrei Kirilenko stumbling up and down EnergySolutions Arena or Americans playing soccer, nothing gets my juices flowing more than athletes playing a game that should be left to the real professionals.

Someone vandalized the stairwells in the plaza on the east side of the Marriott Library sometime during the weekend.

Darin Furgeson, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, in collaboration with Joe Yost, professor of neurobiology and anatomy and Ed Clark, professor and chairman of pediatrics, is studying how nanoparticles affect people and future generations.

With the Legislative session fast approaching, Kim Wirthlin, U vice president of government relations, spoke to students Monday about the vital need to keep further budget cuts to a minimum and emphasized the U's role as an engine of the state economy.

As the minutes ticked off the clock in the Utes' nail-biting 23-26 loss to BYU on Saturday, Utah's offense struggled to put the ball in the end zone.