Last night, the final issue of The Chronicle for the Fall 2008 semester was, as we call it, "put to bed." The paper was closed and sent to the printer. For me, it wasn't just the last issue of the semester, but the last issue of my college career. I have been a part of the Chronicle staff since 2005 when I first arrived at the University.

Newsday, Long Island's only daily newspaper, may no longer be available on campus for free. The paper, delivered for years every morning at close to a dozen campus locations as part of its college readership program, is negotiating with the University this week over how to keep the Long Island daily on its blue newsstands, despite tremendous financial obstacles facing the media industry as a whole.

In Bits: Girl 1: Ok, name one place you really want to have sex. Girl 2: The back of a pick-up truck. Girl 3 (later): A chapel. Girl 2: In a house of God?! Girl 3: What, it has really great acoustics in there! In Library: Girl: S**t! I got Diana a Christmas present, and she's Jewish.

Rivalry games are known by sports not just for their tradition, but their unpredictability and usually their closer-than-expected results. Our men's basketball team's game against rival Stony Brook was no different. Despite finding themselves up by as many as sixteen points, they were only able to fell the Suffolk-based Sea Wolves by only five points.

Barbed-wire fences still surround Weeb Ewbank Hall, which once was a bustling center of activity as the Jets headquarters before the NFL franchise moved out in August. Vacant parking lots and padlocks on the doors have turned the north campus-based building into a dormant facility.

As junior finance major Jon Knorr sat in his calculus class on a rainy Wednesday night, his 2004 Nissan Maxima caught fire in the Breslin commuter parking lot. Witnesses and firefighters responding to the scene said smoke billowed out from the hood before they saw fire.

Well, kids, it's that time of the year again! No, I'm not talking about Christmahanukwanzastice (that's Christmas, Hannukkah, Kwanzaa and the Winter Solstice all rolled into one big holiday); I'm talking about my end-of-the-semester observations. Last year, a reader had the audacity to comment on my hatred of University squirrels.

You probably don't spend much time pondering your death or imagining yourself as an elderly individual analyzing the actions of past years. Each of us knows that a personal physical end awaits at some point, yet death is still largely considered a taboo subject, one to be tacitly acknowledged, but not discussed.

The three biggest U.S. automakers-GM, Ford and Chrysler, also known as the "Big 3"-are in serious economic trouble. They have asked Congress for over $34 billion in aid to prevent them from going bankrupt. Some media pundits have blamed the collapse of the U.

PHILADELPHIA- Claude Giroux skated down the ice and was in perfect position near the right circle to slam linemate Boyd Kane's feed past the glove of the opposing goalie. The goal capped a three-point night for Giroux, who could be the Flyers' best prospect.

Newsday, Long Island's only daily newspaper, may no longer be freely available on campus, a perfect example of everything ailing the newspaper industry. News of this change shocked many since it was not unusual to see the Newsday stack empty much quicker than that of the New York Times, given that Newsday delivers more papers than the Times does.

The Hofstra women's basketball team continued to keep the ball rolling win two more wins this past week at putting themselves above .500.  Joelle Connelly and Jess Fuller are those continuing to lead the charge as they have been garnering CAA Rookie of the Week awards and putting up career numbers, respectively.

Do you have any sisters? If so, consider yourself very, very lucky. Mine is awesome. In the words of soon-to-be-"First Daughter" Malia Obama, "Arguing is the worst thing because then [our parents] sit us down and say, 'You know you guys are the best thing that you have in your life.

After a men's basketball game in the Mack Sports Complex on Jan. 23, Public Safety accosted and banned Matthew Kelly, 46, of Islip, a member of the YES Network TV lighting crew, from campus because he was smoking marijuana underneath the bleachers. A University student received a summons on Feb.

UNIONDALE, NY- Five losses in the past six games put the Islanders in the Eastern Conference cellar just two weeks after the club was one period away from beating the talented Pittsburgh Penguins to climb back to. 500. But on that night on the eve of Thanksgiving, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby showed why they are two of the best players in the NHL, completing the comeback that ignited the Islanders freefall.

Well, it wasn't pretty, and it seemed somewhat strange, but the Giants got beaten badly by the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday afternoon and still found a way to clinch the NFC East title. The Giants looked sluggish on both sides of the ball. Antonio Pierce, the guy who has been in the news a lot for his involvement in the Plaxico Burress scandal, made several big mistakes including a misread on a long Brian Westbrook touchdown.

During the months preceding the presidential election, calls were made to voters' homes trying to tie President-elect Barack Obama and terrorism together. The connections were obvious: Obama rhymes with Osama and his middle name is Hussein. As comical as this may be, Americans practice this type of stereotyping every day, most commonly at the airport.

When the Army Corps of Engineers started work on a $5.7 million project in January to dredge Jones Inlet in Point Lookout, civic and government leaders said the undertaking was just the opening salvo in a long-term effort to combat coastal erosion and protect property.

AFC East Breakdown: Just Win, Baby 1) Jets (8-5) Fire Mangini? That seems to be the $64,000 question. The reality is that the Jets head coach is loved by team owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum, and they've already guaranteed Mangini a job through next year.

Unless there's some way I'm allowed to keep writing after I graduate, this will likely be my last column for the Hofstra Chronicle. To those of you that have followed my articles since I began writing in March, I appreciate your support. I'm not really sure how many of you do in fact read my stories and analyses, but I'm fairly certain of one thing - Eric Mangini is probably not one of my readers.