Welcome back to a new semester on Harbor Point, full of possibilities and opportunities  after what was hopefully a relaxing and prouctive break for all of you.  Unfortunately, the excitement of returning to campus comes on the heels of the tragedy suffered by our brothers and sisters in Haiti.  Keep them in your thoughts and prayers as you kick off your classes and check out Caleb Nelson’s story in News for some ideas on what you can do to help. Stephanie Fail’s Opinion section is also devoted to providing some more insight on a story that effects us all.      Another momentous event whose consequences are yet to be seen is the rise and election of ultra-conservative state senator elect Scott Brown, who if not a typical candidate from the Commonwealth at least holds up the recent republican trend started by Sarah Palin of candidates who look good in a birthday suit.  In fact, like Sarah, it may be his most defining quality.  To provide some perspective, a  post-e;ection “Text from Last Night” asked the question “Is it wrong that I voted for Brown because I want to fuck him?” and the response to it was “No. I did too.” I think that pretty much sums this situation up.  Combined with Dem losses in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races, consider the Obama empire of hope hamstrung.    In Arts, the phenomenon that shook the nation to the core over the break was the release of James Cameron’s epic techno-fantasy Avatar.  In addition to the groundbreaking graphics, CNN reports that the film also broke ground in terms of creating disaffected fans.  As their website reports “On the fan forum site ‘Avatar Forums,’ a topic thread entitled ‘Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible,’ has received more than 1,000 posts from people experiencing depression and fans trying to help them cope.”  Check out Shira Kaminsky’s story in news to see what all the fuss is about…but watch at your own risk.    We are once again thrilled to be a part of your lives on a weekly basis, and we would love to hear from you about whatever is kicking around in your school-addled brains.  Keep a look out for the new website, coming soon, but please visit our current site (www.umassmedia.com) to sound off.  Have a great semester!-Ben WhelanEditor-In-Chief