UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake visited the New University to kick off the new year in style.

The UC Irvine women's volleyball team swept UC Riverside in its Big West Conference opener (25-21, 25-18, 25-17) behind 15 kills from senior Lauren Kellerman. Fellow senior Shannon Homan (pictured above) registered eight kills and only committed one error. UCI will play two games at Crawford Court this week. They will take on Cal State Northridge on Friday at 7 p.m. and Cal State Fullerton Saturday at 7 p.m.

INFORMATICS: Graduate student's research inspires site to examine language in political blogs.

Sexual Assault in Mesa Court Parking Lot; Murdered Professor Barrett's Toxicology Reports Released; Patterns of Brain Aging Defy Scientific Expectations

ORIENTATION: Students attend welcome events; small lectures introduce students to clubs and majors.

RESEARCH: ICS Professor to study differing habits of American and Chinese online game players.

COMPLAINT: PETA claims an anonymous student was forced to dissect or fail course; professors reject claim.

FINANCE: The California state budget is passed after a record delay but restricts UCI budget to previous year's mark.

INTERVIEW: President of the University of California Mark Yudof discusses unique challenges for the year. (Abbreviated Version)

Sarah Palin may be vying for the Oval Office, but UCI is already thriving under a woman's leadership.

When choosing a script for the next production he was to direct, Robert Cohen looked no further than to the man who gave him the initial spark of inspiration that began his professional career as a director and scholar: Samuel Beckett.

When initially listening to the Cold War Kids, it's difficult to describe the band without name-dropping those who came before them. Their debut "Robbers & Cowards" brought natural comparisons with indie heavyweights such as The French Kicks and The Walkmen.

Ne-Yo's third album, "Year of the Gentleman" is a bit less gentlemanly than hoped for, but it still has many redeeming qualities.

Chuck Palahniuk is back, getting under your skin and playing tetherball with your nerves via anal beads, childhood trauma, total dysfunction, hilarious ironies, sex addiction, sex, sex and more sex. Director Clark Gregg has done a magnificent job adapting Palahniuk's novel, "Choke," for the silver screen.