News Update- 11/20/06 3:30 p.m.

On Campus:
Unless you've been living in a box or have been unconscious for the past several days, you know that this week is Thanksgiving "break," so just a reminder that there are no classes this Thursday the 23rd or Friday the 24th.

The new Interdisciplinary Lab is up and running in the basement of Coburn Hall. The lab is designed for all students and faculty to have a space where creativity can run wild. There are large work tables for students to work on projects, as well as craft materials, electronic devices, computer terminals and more. Stop on by sometime and check it out, it's a great place to just get some ideas for projects.

After going into overtime, the UML men's basketball team defeated Post University 75-70 this past weekend.

Kevin Wallack, a music major here at UML, is taking part in what started out as a small business and has quickly become a huge success in the Boston area. Wallack is the musical event instructor for "Backyard Jams," which is based in Stoughton. Backyard Jams was started by Matt Kaplan to allow anybody to live the life of a rock star. The group will help you create a band name, design merchandise, professionally and digitally record music videos, and you get to have a lot of fun doing it. Wallack gets to coach groups on musical performance.

Local News:
This year, the Lowell Humane Society on Broadway Street brought an early Christmas present for local pets. Pet owners could get a photo taken of Santa with their dogs, cats, goats, crocodiles or whatever animal they could bring along. For a small fee, you could get a Polaroid of your pet with the big cheese of Christmas. There was also a raffle of pet toys. All the proceeds went to the daily operation costs of the shelter, which takes in over 3,000 animals yearly.

Ayer Firefighters are hosting the second annual Thanksgiving Day 5K Road Race this Thursday. Check in begins at 7 a.m. and the race begins at 8 a.m. at the fire station on West Main Street. For more information, contact the fire department at (978) 772-8231.

Five people were taken to a hospital after being stabbed at a party in Windham early Sunday morning. Police got to the scene after receiving a 911 call. Three of the victims had fled the area, but were later found. None of the injuries were life-threatening.

Popular News:
The new James Bond movie has been pushed aside in the box office by a movie about penguins. The Bond film, "Casino Royale," took in a hefty $40.6 million in the first three days of release, but the animated comedy, "Happy Feet," made just over $42 million. A close race- who would have guessed that more folks would want to see penguins dance than Daniel Craig and nice cars?