Despite a valiant effort by Student Trustee Alex Kulenovic and the hundreds opf students from all of the UMass campuses that tried to fight it, the $1500 tuition hike for Fall ’09 was approved by the board. With spring break right around the corner, it still isn’t too late to cancel flights and change plans to save money so you can, you know, keep attending school. Despite all assurances that when the magic wand that is the states incoming stimulus package is waved at thge problem much of theextra fees will be rebated (or, to put it another way, “the check is in the mail”) this is a mighty blow to higher education. That and the fact that there is nothing in the language about repealing the fee hike any time soon.

However, this is not the fee hike issue, it is the International Women’s Month issue, and as such, we have some blockbuster content in the spread from the content special forces unit-section known as Culture and Diversity. You’ll learn about the state of gender equality, some illuminating facts about the hijab and Managing Editor Felicia Whatley’s touching tale of two Iraqi women and their struggle to survive.

In News, despite reading News Editor Caleb Nelson’s fantastic piece giving in-depth analysis of the fee hike fiasco, also check out the glorious returns of two old freinds: News Briefs and the always entertaining Police Log.

In Arts, Bonnie Godas introduces (to some of us) the work of Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde and how this rock legend has changed her stripes by adding some country blues twang to her repetoire. Hip-Hop maven Eric Mendes also explains why 2008 was the year of the concert.

Meanwhile, in Sports, we won! Well, the men’s hockey team did at any rate, upsetting the top seed in the post-season tourney for the second straight year; Sports Editor Ryan Thomas also explains why you shouldn’t be surprised. And make sure you don’t miss the latest addition to the section, Sports Shorts, sure to be a new favorite.

Sincerely,Ben WhelanEditor-In-Chief