By Matt Sabongi 

One of my favorite aspects about the Twin Cities is the amazing music scene here. No matter what genre of music you enjoy, the Twin Cities hosts artists from all over the world to play intimate venues like the Cedar Cultural Center near the University's West Bank or soldout stadiums like the Target Center. Minneapolis and St. Paul are great locations for any kind of music lover.

I am a huge music fan. On a weekly basis I try to go see at least one artist that I have not seen before. Being one of the major metropolitan areas in the Midwest and a enclave for artists of all kinds, the Twin Cities attracts both upcoming and mainstream musicians throughout the year. For those of you who are new to the area, here are a few of my favorite venues around campus that I recommend:

First and foremost is First Avenue and the 7th Street Entry. This is a must-see venue! This club/danceria/concert hall an amazing spot to see any kind of concert. No matter if you're into hip hop, jazz, latin, dance, indie, or folk, First Avenue has a diverse giglist that will interest every music buff. From campus, getting to First Ave. (as we locals like to call it) is an easy 15-minute bus ride into downtown.

Another one of my favorite venues in the area is the Varsity Theater. Conveniently located in the heart of Dinkytown, the Varsity Theater is within walking distance for students anywhere on campus. According to the theater's webpage, this historical venue has been hosting gatherings since 1915. With an amazing sound system and intimate, ballroom setting inside, the Varsity is a phenomanal spot to see any show.

One of my most memorable experiences as a music fanatic actually occurred while seeing a show the University of Minnesota's own venue, The Whole. During my sophomore year, I was able to meet Minneapolis's own Brother Ali during a private Q&A hosted by our student radio station, Radio K. Located on the basement floor of Coffman Memorial Union, The Whole is a quaint, coffeehouse-like venue that hosts local artists from the Twin Cities and small groups traveling around the area. Most weekends throughout the school year, Student Unions and Activities invites artists from all over to perform.

I hope this small list of venues sparks your interest for the vibrant music culture here in the Twin Cities. In addition to these 3 venues, I encourage you to visit some of the many great music establishments while living on or near campus.

By Zack Haas

The new Science Teaching and Student Services Building (STSS) opened just in time for classes to start. I had the opportunity to tour the building and take a look at the newest classroom spaces on our campus.

The STSS building combines artistic design with sustainable features. Built on the original foundation of the previous Science Classroom Building, it also reused portions of the orginal foundation walls, which reduced the amount of waste produced by the destruction of the old building. It also uses a storm water management system that filters water before it flows into the Mississippi River.

The building also utilizes natural sunlight and features ceramic window dots and a state of the art natural convection system to heat the building during the winter months. Inside the building you will find stylish modern architecture and art work. This piece of public art was created by Alexander Tylevich, a Minnesota-based artist.

The new STSS building is not only eye-catching for its beauty, but for the services and classrooms inside. The new building features interactive classrooms that provide a learning experience that facilitates discussion and exploration around the classroom. These interactive classrooms utilize state-of-the-art technology that allows students to share their findings on monitors all around the room.

The building now houses our OneStop Student Services, which handles registration and financial aid, among many other things. Their office is located on the third floor, so if you have questions about financial aid, your student account, tuition or registration you can stop in and speak with a Onestop Student Services representative.

You can also find the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) Career Services Office in the new STSS building. Located on the fifth floor, CLA's Career Services office provides support for students interested in finding internships or jobs. You can stop by and speak with one of our career services professionals and employee partners. This is an excellent resource for students to start their career planning.

To learn about the Science Teaching and Student Services building, click here. 

Photo courtesy Midwest Dairy Association                         

Princess Katie's first task was to have a likeness of her head carved out of a block of butter. The evening of the first day of the fair, I happened to wander into the dairy center and caught a first-hand look at the newly carved head of butter. It is rotating on a large stand that is protected by large panes of glass. It was surely a sight to behold. If I had known that I was going to see this pasteurized piece of art, I would have definitely brought a camera. 

If you're local, I encourage to to go to the Minnesota State Fair and see it for yourself! For those of you who can't attend, check out this interesting article on butter sculpture making.

Click here to read more about Katie and the Princess Kay of the Milky Way competition.

By Hilary Baril

It's that time of year: Campus is bustling with new students moving into the residence halls. Seeing the first-year students moving in this week brought back such fond memories of when I lived in Territorial Hall my very first semester at the U of M. It was such an exciting time!

Have you ever wondered what a residence hall room is actually like? Check out the video below of U of M student reporter "Minnesota Miles" touring Middlebrook Hall....MTV Cribs-style!

One of the new facilities on campus this year is the Science Teaching and Student Services (STSS) Building. This is an amazing new facility which houses lecture rooms, active learning classrooms, and many student services, including the U of M's One Stop Student Services office. I recently attended the grand opening of the STSS building and took some pictures to share with you!

Upon entering the building, students are greeted by staff at an information desk. 

One Stop Student Services is located behind this desk. One Stop brings all student services together in one place. If you have questions about finances, class registration, or your student record, One Stop counselors can help you.

The windows facing the Mississippi River provide beautiful natural lighting and use a natural convection system to heat the building in the winter. Ceramic window dots cover every window to acheive maximum convection effect.

There are amazing views of the river from both inside and outside this building!

Of course, there are also classrooms in the STSS building. There are lecture halls as well as a new type of classroom called an "active learning classroom."

The lecture halls are comfortable, functional, and look pretty snazzy with multi-colored seats!

My favorite feature of this building is the active learning classrooms. These rooms have really neat technology that facilitates group problem-solving. Rooms are filled with circular tables which can seat about eight students.  Students can work on projects on their computers, then connect their group's computer to a monitor and display their work to the rest of the class.

The professor is able to take one table's monitor, and send the image to every monitor in the classroom. This enables peer review on the fly! Some assistant admissions counselors were eager to try out the new technology:

I am excited to sit in on some of these classes this fall. Check out this video to see what a class will be like in this type of classroom!