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ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ students started a fundraising drive this week to aid victims of the March earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan. The same students are gathering messages of support from the community that will be translated into Japanese and delivered abroad to survivors whose lives have been upended by the natural disasters.

Dozens of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ students are taking part in Alternative Break service trips this month to destinations across the United States, the Caribbean and in France. The programs were organized by the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement, the Truitt Center for Religious & Spiritual Life, and the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.

ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s Mock Trial program competes this weekend in a competition where the top six teams advance to the American Mock Trial Association’s National Championship Tournament in mid April.

In his celebrated career as a music producer, Elliot Mazer has created records for some of the most influential artists of the past four decades, and he now brings his knowledge to ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ as the Visiting Distinguished Scholar in Music Technology.

Leslie Johnson needs your help to win $10,000 for ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ. The manager of the Phoenix men’s basketball team, Johnson, a junior marketing major from Raleigh, N.C., is one of four finalists in a video contest sponsored by the UPS Store in which people can vote for their favorite collegiate basketball manager.

Five ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ students from Japan were joined by about 75 fellow students on March 15 in planning the community's response to the earthquake and tsunami in that country. The brainstorming session was held in the Isabella Cannon International Centre, where students came up with many ideas to raise relief funds and send messages of encouragement to those who are suffering in the wake of the disaster.

Two ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ students have been named finalists for a 2011 Truman Scholarship, a prestigious national fellowship awarded each year to college juniors with goals of working in education, government, the nonprofit or advocacy sectors, or elsewhere in public service.

It’s a common thought in educational circles that learning to improvise with jazz is a lot like learning a foreign language. ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ senior Kaitlyn Fay wanted to find out how, and her undergraduate research is the first to be featured this year in a series of E-net profiles on Lumen Scholars in the Class of 2011.

The National Science Foundation has awarded ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ chemistry professor Joel Karty a three-year, $181,000 research grant to work with undergraduates assisting him in his ongoing study of two types of molecular phenomena that govern chemical stability.

Two ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ students had their original screenplays selected to be produced and filmed as part of the nationwide Sprite Refreshing Films™ contest, a program "that gives future moviemakers a chance to create real films with industry pros and celebrities." Eleven additional ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ students were also selected to serve as staff interns.