"The grant will be used to study the rules that govern how animals grow up, or their so-called life history," Schwartz said. "This is a fundamental aspect of an animal's biology and a very difficult thing to examine in long-dead fossils, but new tools are allowing us to accurately reconstruct the important biological parameter with unparalleled precision."

Schwartz attended New York's Stony Brook University with initial intentions of studying physics and astronomy, but he said anthropology found him.

"I have always been fascinated with natural history, at one level or another," Schwartz said.

"My earliest memories are begging my parents to drive me into the American Museum of Natural History on a Saturday, so that I could go see all the wonderful dinosaur and mammal fossils. I always knew I would end up studying the history of our planet, whether it was from the perspective of an astronomer, or that of a paleontologist."

Although Schwartz has been teaching at NIU since the beginning of August, a variety of other schools has given him experience in his field.

Schwartz was accepted to do his master's and then his Ph.D. at Washington University in St. Louis. Before finishing, however, he went to South Africa where he taught anatomy at Witwatersrand Medical School in Johannesburg, South Africa.

He then was granted a post-doctoral research position at University College London. After that, he took up a second post-doc position at the Smithsonian Institution's Natural History Museum in D.C.

"NIU has generously supported my research since my first arriving here last autumn," Schwartz said. "It has taken a year, but my lab is finally up and running enabling me to begin my research in earnest."

Schwartz feels fortunate to work at the anthropology department at NIU because of the recognized master's program.

"It is important for these students to learn the ropes insofar as getting one's hands dirty in the lab," Schwartz said. "Students learn the most by actually doing it, and this is just the kind of research that will introduce the uninitiated to the process of scientific discovery."

Schwartz believes that anthropology gives students a more physical appeal to learning.

"More than any other subject, biological anthropology is a touchy-feely science; students have to hold, fondle, palpate, examine, etc.," Schwartz said. "The direct evidence on which human evolutionary scenarios are based. It is astounding to see the light bulb turn on in students when they are able to hold in their hands the entire cast of characters in the story of human evolution."

Members of the Student Association Senate marched from an aborted senate meeting to SA President Kevin Miller's office Sunday night.

Senators angry at Miller's lack of availability for scheduling meetings walked from the Holmes Student Center's Clara Sperling Skyroom after quorum for a "special session" meeting called by Miller was not met.

Miller had called a special session of the senate to give them an opportunity to reconsider vetoes made by Miller to the Campus Activity Board's budget recommendations.

The senate had approved a recommended allocation of $508,924 at last week's senate meeting.

Miller had reduced the budget by $83,943 to a total recommended allocation of $424,981.

Meyer, Gravel and members of CAB will file a complaint to the SA Supreme Court today alleging, among other things, Miller had exceeded his constitutional powers and had injured the CAB members named on the complaint.

The complaint then asks for the court to restore the CAB allocation to the $508,924 originally recommended.

Laisha Fox, SA senator and Campus Activities Board president said she tried to meet with Miller in September.

"We got one in January, a semester later," Fox said.

Doug Reisinger, acting president pro tempore, said the executives of the SA cannot do anything at this point.

"Yelling at each other will not change a thing," Reisinger said in the Skyroom. He suggested for them to go to Miller's office.

After quorum was not met, Bertrand Simpson, associate director of University Programming and Activities stayed and discussed the veto with the senators and members of CAB.

Simpson alluded to the reason for Miller's budget veto being because of the Big Time Entertainment committee and the Convocation Center.

After the pack had arrived in the Campus Life Building, they were informed by some members of CAB that Miller had just left. Sen. R.J. Gravel and Speaker Andrew Nelms then called and left messages on Miller's voice mail.

"We'll be here for a while," said Sen. Jeff Meyer.

While the group waited outside of the SA office, Brooke Robinson, SA director of public affairs, returned briefly to the SA office.

"How about you stand up for something you believe in when you don't have a microphone in your face?" Robinson said to Meyer. "You are such a media whore."

Eleven senators showed up for the meeting, which required 17 in order to be held.

"We stood at ease for four minutes," Reisinger said.

Nelms said that to his knowledge he had never heard of a meeting not meeting quorum. He said the finals schedules probably contributed to the lack of senators present.

Despite the meeting problem, the veto's budgets will go ahead as changed, Nelms said.

"The senate did not reconsider the bill because we did not meet quorum," Nelms said.

Many of the senators and members of CAB still present after the meeting complained that Miller had left quickly from the meeting, before answering questions.

Shortly after the meeting, Meyer said the changes to CAB's budget went beyond the normal line item veto power the president has. He said Miller gave amended numbers instead of vetoing specific lines in the budget.

"How was what he did a veto?" Meyer asked shortly after the meeting. "It was an amendment."

Robinson refuted Meyer's claim. She said Miller had gone through the bill and vetoed the increases only and not the proposed budgets lines.

"I think your propagating lies," Robinson said to Meyer at the Skyroom.

Members of the NIU Students Against Sweatshops marched into the Campus Life Building on Wednesday afternoon to protest Career Planning and Placement's contract with Cintas, a large public uniform company.

Students dressed in black business suits and masks with printed bar codes stomped through the King Memorial Commons into the Campus Life Building lobby. The "corporate zombies," as they called themselves, proceeded to robotically stomp around in a circle while pretending to answer cell phones and look at their watches from time to time.

"We're doing this protest at Mr. Short because it's absolutely his responsibility to end their [CPP] relationship with Cintas," said Zach Lutz, secretary of SAS.

Rosemary Feurer, faculty adviser of SAS, wore a box over her head with a picture of Jean Callary, assistant director of campus recruiting, which included Callary's phone number and job title.

Anthony Sigismondi, a history graduate student, wore a box over his head with a picture of Ron Short, director of CPP, which also included Short's job title and phone number. Feurer and Sigismondi, as well as other members of SAS, wore the boxes and read statements like "Don't be a leader, be a sheep like me. NIU must remain a neutral party. Ethics is not our responsibility." Some of the statements were claimed to be from Callary and Short.

The corporate zombies, Feurer and other members of SAS, walked to the second floor of the Campus Life Building and proceeded to protest in front of the Career Planning and Placement Office. There, the zombies and members of SAS stomped around in continuation of their protest as workers in the building stood outside their offices to look at what was going on.

"Don't be exploited ... exploit others," they chanted.

Members of SAS said they presented Short with a non-renewal letter that called for CPP to sever its contract with Cintas. In the letter, Lutz said SAS provided Short with evidence of the company's unethical practices.

Ron Short stayed in his office for the most part while the protesters marched in front of his office.

"They have a right to do it," Short said of the protesters.

Short has said in a previous interview that Cintas has not been in violation of its agreement and therefore he wouldn't sign the letters from SAS calling for CPP to end its contract with Cintas.

SAS presented evidence of sweatshops and prejudice at Cintas. Despite these claims, the company was named one of the best big companies in the world by Forbes Magazine.

"I've essentially told them that I wasn't gonna [sign]," Short said. "I understand what they [the protesters] are trying to do."

Larry Bolles, director of the NIU Judicial Office, whose office is located on the second floor of the Campus Life Building, came out of his office after he said he received complaints about the protesters from workers in the building. Bolles asked the protesters to step outside to continue their protest.

It's legal if they stand outside of the building; there they wouldn't be disrupting the workplace, Bolles said.

"I hate to see them get arrested but there are rules of time, place and manner," Bolles said. "What they're doing is inappropriate."

University Police were called in, but the protesters didn't leave until Bolles said he would suspend them if they didn't step outside. The protesters then went to the NIU Students' Legal Assistance and Ombudsman offices to get clarification as to what their rights were.

"The free speech area is in the King Commons," Bolles said. "But, I was very lenient. I said they could go outside the building [Campus Life Building] and protest."

University Police Lt. Matt Kiederlen, who was one of the officers at Campus Life Building, said the law states that "when individuals are asked by a university authority to leave an area because they are disrupting or impeding the good function of the university, they do violate the criminal trespass to state supported property."

Bolles and UP wanted arrests to be a last resort.

"Could they be arrested? Yes," Kiederlen said. "Our philosophy is that we would much rather allow them their say in a manner that's both conducive to both the university and the students in lieu of any arrest or enforcement type action."

Bolles said he himself, as well as the university, encourages protesting, but protesters can't walk into a math class or the president's office because there are time, place and manner restrictions.

Earlier this semester, the same protesters stood outside the CPP job fair to protest Cintas' presence at the fair.

Members of SAS said they plan to continue the campaign against Cintas until the end of the semester and if they have to, into next semester.

Cheaters, fighters, abusers and drunks parade in and out of this office every year, and we are not talking about Jerry Springer's booking agency.

Larry Bolles, director of the University Judicial Office, released his department's yearly statistics this week, showing an increase of 127 cases this school year, from 1,043 in the 2001-2002 year to 1,170 as of April 29. Bolles said it was the normal mix of offenses this year, mainly alcohol violations, fighting, excessive noise and academic misconduct.

Alcohol violations traditionally are high in number, and this year was a typical year. After 179 different alcohol-related offenses this fall alone, as compared to 144 in fall 2001, the number dropped to 134 this semester. Of that 179, 105 of the cases were for underage possession. This number dropped dramatically in the second semester to 55, which was far less than the 71 cases in spring 2002.

There typically are more judicial cases in the fall semester than in spring, most likely because students are adjusting, or, in the case of returning students, readjusting to the rules, Bolles said.

Reports of academic misconduct decreased 41 percent from 152 to 90 this school year. Academic misconduct are mainly cases of students being caught cheating in their classes, Bolles said.

"Please read your course syllabus," Bolles said, stressing that this is especially important for students whose course requires a lot of group work or a for a student who is repeating a course.

Many instructors require unique and original work for each course they teach, and consequences are more than just a bad grade on a paper or project, he said.

Fighting is something that has become a problem more recently for Bolles' office. Fights are classified into two categories in the judicial office: physical abuse, which involves two people, and brawling, which involves more than two people. Although the number of cases involving fighting has decreased since last school year, the people involved in the altercations is what worries Bolles.

An increasing number of females are the ones involved in the majority of physical disputes here on campus, Bolles said.

"Moreso or not, it's two or more women involved in a physical brawl," he said, adding there are not a lot of fights involving two males. When it is men involved, Bolles said, it has typically been athletes fighting with non-athletes.

This is a problem that needs to be addressed, Bolles said. We need to makes sure the fighting does not continue.

What happens when you put 16 hot and horny people in a house with as much alcohol as they can get down their throats? "The Real Cancun" happens.

The creators behind the hit show "The Real World" have taken their love for reality television to the next level. Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray sent 16 college students to stay in an awesome beach house for a whole week, with only one catch: they will be filmed for the whole 168 hours.

"The Real Cancun" is exactly what could be expected from Bunim and Murray. Should it be surprising that they crunched down those 168 hours and gave the audience the best 90 minutes of drinking and sex and talk about drinking and sex?

Now, if all you are expecting from this movie is a whole bunch of naked college girls, think again before running out to see this. There is nudity, but not very much. There is a wet T-shirt contest that cast members "The Twins" enter that gets pretty racy, but that is the most skin you'll see.

There is of course a sex scene in the movie - the movie wouldn't be complete without one. But don't get too excited, there are sheets covering the couple; that doesn't mean you can't hear all that comes out of the couple's mouths.

The cast breaks down exactly the way a cast on "The Real World" would. There are a few pretty boys and girls without that much intelligence. There's the normal boy and girl who can put a few sentences together and make the show believable. Then there are the eccentric members who are guaranteed to cause as much drama as possible. This movie has a perfect blend of diversity. The entire cast comes together for the common goal of getting as drunk as possible and doing crazy things.

All 16 cast members prove to be established partiers. All except the good boy named Alan, who wears his "Drew Carey" eyeglasses. He tells everyone he's never had a drink in his life. Of course that does not last long when he learns what a body shot is. After one drink, the pure-and-innocent country boy yells, "I wanna see some boobies!"

Now we all know the main consequence of partying is known as the all-dreaded hangover. Hangovers don't happen to this cast. These kids would down bottles of vodka and party all night and the next day they were ready to do it all over again. Where are all the terrible pounding headaches, the horrible day after cotton mouth and the endless puking? Guess stuff like that doesn't happen in "The Real World."

If you go expecting a real movie, something of substance and meaning then you will be disappointed. There is no mentally challenging plot twists, nothing that will make you jump out of your seat. Just a whole lot of boozing and hook ups.

The movie is nothing more than an extra-long episode of "The Real World," only with lots of cussing and naked people. You cannot help but laugh at the cast and their drunken antics. One thing is for sure though, after walking out of the theater you will have an undying temptation to get a drink.KRT direct photo

"The Real Cancun"is just what you would expect: lots of drunken college students, just without as much nudity.

While NIU's Student Financial Aid Office is busy keeping up with technology, students receiving financial aid need to keep up with checking their e-mail.

Now, all continuing students will receive financial aid award notifications via e-mail rather than through the mail. All new freshmen and transfer students still will receive a paper award notification.

The notification will be sent to the e-mail address supplied on the student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid. If no e-mail address was on the FAFSA, students will still receive paper award notifications.

"We are moving with technology," said Director of Financial Aid Kathleen Brunson. "It's a way to get information out quicker."

NIU will use Sallie Mae to send an e-mail titled "NIU Financial Aid Award." A secure link will be in the e-mail, which will take students directly to their financial aid package information. At the same time the e-mail is sent out, a postcard will be sent to the student's home address reminding them of their online award notification. Brunson encourages students to reply promptly to their award notification to ensure a timely process. One week after the award notification, a reminder will be e-mailed to the student if they have not yet replied.

Students are expected to start receiving their online notifications in about two weeks, but there are no exact dates due to the state budget crisis. NIU joins the majority of other state schools in making adjustments in their financial aid processes. Brunson said that she has been working hard to get numbers out to the students.

"[The award notification] is going to be the best possible estimation of an award," Brunson said.