St. Paul declares snow emergency

The City of St. Paul has issued a snow emergency effective 9 p.m. tonight. Included are all streets posted with signs that say “NIGHT PLOW ROUTE” and one side of all north-south residential streets posted with signs that say “NIGHT PLOW ROUTE-THIS SIDE OF STREET.”

Police close investigation of Zamlen death

The criminal investigation of the death of former St. Thomas student Dan Zamlen was formally closed last week, St. Paul Police Department spokesman Sgt. Paul Schnell said.

The case has officially been ruled an accidental death. Schnell said there was “never any foul play discovered relative to this case at all. The medical examiner did not find any indication that death was caused by foul play.”

Construction pushes students to off-campus gyms

With the relocation of the weight room to the concession area of O’Shaughnessy Stadium, some St. Thomas students are choosing alternative places to work out.

Strength coach Tyrone Stenzel said the new weight room is “really undersized.”

“It’s just that we have a space crunch, and there’s really no place we can go,” Stenzel said.

Ticket sales kick off Sunday performance of “Footloose”

St. Thomas students waited outside the Box Office in Murray-Herrick Campus Center today to purchase tickets to “Footloose” at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. Students who purchase the tickets will attend the musical on Sunday, Feb. 14.

“The tickets are only five dollars, so it’s a really good deal because it includes dinner and the show,” said Amber Marti, a graduate assistant with Campus and Residence Life.

Faculty members seek explanations for study abroad cuts

About 30 faculty members gathered Friday afternoon to learn more about the recent reduction in J-Term study abroad courses for 2011 and express their concerns.

“There are a lot of issues to discuss,” business professor Dawn Swink said. “I’m concerned because it seems like we are cutting out international study abroad opportunities.”

Joseph Kreitzer and Angeline Barretta-Herman, associate vice presidents for Academic Affairs, discussed the factors that led to the administrative decision to allow fewer J-Term study abroad courses this coming year.

Poster sale helps students brighten up dorm rooms

St. Thomas’s annual poster sale drew a crowd of students interested in spicing up the walls of their dorm rooms, apartments and houses.

Students perusing the sale, located in the lower level of Murray-Herrick in the campus square, were asked which posters they considered to be the best or most interesting.

Many students, like freshman Cynthia Burton, can’t pick a specific favorite.