Erin Hayes has witnessed some impressive concerts in her day, but for her, nothing can compare to Andrew Bird’s Pygmalion Music Festival appearance last Friday. Read on as she explains how the multi-instrumentalist blew her mind: "Andrew Bird put on a show unlike anything I had ever seen before. It seemed that his reason for being on stage was not to perform for an audience, but rather to create art for his own fulfillment, which the audience was lucky to see."

English teacher Adele Suslick, who won the 2007 Colin E. Thorn Award for her many voluntary activities on behalf of Uni High, will be out for five to six weeks as she recovers from a burst appendix. While she is gone, former Uni English teacher Rosemary Laughlin will come out of retirement for a second time and teach Suslick's class on Asian-American literature. Jeremiah Roberts-Stanley, who teaches part time at Champaign Central, will take over for Suslick's freshman English classes.

This year, after some lighter fare in 2006-07, Uni High's theater program will try its hand at a more serious play when students perform "The Diary of Anne Frank." The play is directed by Barbara Ridenour and will run Nov. 1, 2, and 3 in the North Attic Playhouse. Rehearsals are in full swing, and Sarah Pfander brings us up to date with what's going on behind the scenes.

In one of Uni's most exciting matches of the year, the Illineks pulled off a comeback win during the third game to edge visiting Atwood-Hammond in nonconference action Thursday night. Senior Karen Woodley scored the deciding point of the game and match on a controversial ace. The girls are now 10-9 overall. They will host conference opponent Buckley Christ Lutheran tonight at 6 in Kenney Gym.