I’m bundled up, ready to take on the bitter Portland afternoon wind. The sun shines blindly as I step out into a winter afternoon. My date Mick Jagger* greets me with a warm smile. We mosey down to our first lunch date of the new year. The brown snow and slush mixture squishes between my black leather boots and his white Adidas tennis shoes.

USM’s Music Department gears up for a successful semester despite the budget cuts threatening to cripple the University. Utilizing its own resources to strengthen its programs, the Music Department took measures to ensure that its students don’t suffer needlessly through the financial uncertainties the University is encountering.

Director Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” is the type of successor we all hope for when we go to sequels. Moviegoers have continually been duped into films with titles that include Roman numerals and words like “return,” “revenge” and “bride of” that we almost accept the diminished experience when the trailers begin. A good sequel is rare.

Although her time allotted to her art is limited, Yankura said, “Teaching is one of the best things that ever happened to me for my work.” Yankura thrives on her role as an instructor and said she has learned a lot in her time teaching. ” I love to be with people who get really excited [about art],” Yankura said. Her current position is somewhat of a dream job. St. Luke’s is a day school for accelerated students, so Yankura’s students are enthusiastic, talented, and motivated.