The Student Government Association held nominations for its executive board at its last meeting of the semester on April 29 at the 1104 Center, 1104 S. Wabash Ave. For most nominees the main concern of next year is putting together a cohesive plan for the Campus Center, which was also addressed by guest speakers that evening. Alicia Berg, the vice president for Campus Environment, and Eric Winston, the vice president of Institutional Advancement, were guest speakers at the meeting and discussed the new Media Production Center.

For the first time since 1996, the Marketing Communication Department’s Advertising Practicum Team, Tempo, took first place and swept the competition at the District 6 National Student Advertising Competition in Detroit. On April 25, Tempo beat schools like Ball State University and the University of Michigan, and it will advance to the National Student Advertising Competition at the American Advertising Federation Conference on June 8 and 9 in Atlanta.

A new, permanent exhibition at Chicago’s Field Museum will give museumgoers an opportunity that can’t be found anywhere else in the country—a chance to watch DNA researchers as they conduct their own real-life work.

On April 29 the city of Chicago received a federally funded grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for more than $153 million. It is intended to help implement solutions to solve traffic congestion issues in busy areas and roads and to improve the effectiveness of public transportation by offering speedier bus routes, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced.

On its opening weekend in May 2003, antique dealers and vendors braved thunderstorms to participate in the Chicago Antique Market in the West Loop. Although Sally Schwartz, the co-founder of the event, advised most of the vendors to pack up their booths and get out of the rain, most of the vendors said they sold more in the pouring rain than they ever had.

A rogue ninja battles a swarm of zombies in Chicago’s Landmark Centre Cinema, 2828 N. Clark St. He’ll later send one of the theater employees hurtling off the building’s fourth-story railing. It is no coincidence that these cinematic scenarios seem to have been dreamt up by a bored theater employee with the imagination of a frustrated artist. Columbia grad Matt Brookens fueled these images into his first independent feature project, the HD horror comedy The Art of Pain. Writer/director/producer Brookens is screening the film at the 1104 Center, 1104 S. Wabash Ave., on May 19 before its midnight screening at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., on May 24.

This November, during the general presidential election, voters in Indiana will have to prove their identities before they vote by showing a photo ID at the polling place. That means a move toward eradication of voter fraud, and that’s a positive step for honest democracy. Indiana, which holds an all-important primary on May 6, will be joining the ranks of another 24 states that have passed voter identification laws. Illinois is not one of these states.

Drivers are facing a scary summer season this year, as gas prices have risen to record numbers. According to CNN, many economists believe that the average price for a gallon of gas (nationwide) will be more than $4 this summer. Recently, both Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) came out in support of a federal “gas tax holiday,” to last from Memorial Day to Labor Day this summer. For those few months, the federal tax placed on every gallon consumers pump could be lifted.