Interim President Lou Hencken's first policy speech has asserted an atmosphere of forward movement during a period at Eastern that could be threatened by the title "interim."

You're never really as safe as you think you are. That's probably one of the more eye-opening lessons I've learned in a while, and I learned it the hard way.

College students are known for being poor. With the cost of tuition, living, food and other expenses such as laundry that college students incur while they are living away from home, students do not have much money to spare.

Charleston isn't a city like Chicago by any means. We don't have tall skyscrapers, a sandy beach, shopping like along the Magnificent Mile, and the traffic isn't anywhere near as bad. However, we do have a few streets in town that see heavy traffic, both cars and pedestrians.

I think when we elect officials they should have to sign a contract in which they state, "I will not cheat on my spouse while in office." Hopefully this will help the American press and people stay focused on the issues instead of scandals and lies.

For the most part Charleston is a beautiful city. With the beautification of Eastern campus, the number of city parks and wild-life areas, Charleston does not look like a dingy city - at least on the surface.

This week thousands of college students invaded the small town of Charleston. It’s time once again to hit the books and stuff our brains with knowledge. The carefree days of summer have come to an end.

Construction has been a constant on this campus for quite some time, and while some projects are getting done, several projects still remain delayed or not even started. Improvements are needed, but often times, it seems they take longer than they should.

It's funny how much we trust complete strangers in the small things we do every day. When you walk across the street with the light, you're essentially trusting all those drivers not to gun the engine and run you over.

I love coming back to school. No matter how much I hate construction, classes and watered-down drinks, when I come back to Eastern I know every day is going to be interesting.

It has taken 20 years, but "at long last," U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan asserts, "the world is waking up to the gravity of the AIDS crisis." That crisis presently has more than 36 million people currently living with HIV/AIDS. In the year 2000 alone, 5.3 million people became infected.

Today members of the Illinois Board of Higher Education will be on Eastern's campus.