More than 20 tired Uni students managed to get themselves to school by 7 a.m. on a Saturday — but why? The annual IMEA District III Music Festival, of course. This past Saturday, hundreds of student musicians gathered at Illinois State University to perform. Katy Metcalf, a violist in the district orchestra, tells her story of the event.

On Thursday, Nov. 20, at 10:32 p.m., Lauren and Lor ventured into the depths of the Savoy 16 to learn firsthand about the curious rituals of those commonly known as "Twi-hards." Dressed in Edward Cullen T-shirts, the two were out late on a school night to experience the phenomenon of "Twilight"'s opening night.

Can a state park suddenly vanish? Can political magicians suddenly make it reappear? Kickapoo State Park, along with 10 other state parks, is slated to close at the end of November. Kickapoo has long been a favorite recreation site for Uni families. Read Hadley Hauser's article about the impact of Kickapoo's impending closure.

Author Marc Aronson has made a career out of writing for young audiences, and earlier this fall Uni students had a chance to meet him. The subfreshmen, in fact, spent two hours talking with him about his book "Race." Later on, Gargoyle reporter Hadley Hauser chatted with Aronson about his work and what it takes to be a writer.

Last weekend, the cast of the Uni fall play put on three successful performances of "Shakespeare in Hollywood," a comedy-fantasy about a 1930s Hollywood filming of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Read on to see what cast members Lauren Piester, Joy Shapley, and Lor Sligar had to say about their experiences.