A few days before Thanksgiving, the University received the best news it could have gotten from the Commission of Presidential Debates. Not only was the University chosen to host a presidential debate, but the final presidential debate of 2008, the debate that will push undecided voters over the edge.

Complaining about Long Island traffic is about as productive as disparaging the weather forecast: a fruitless exercise. Sure, it seems as though no one has a job in the area when you're on the road. Being stuck in a backed-up, monster traffic jam on the Southern State at 2 p.

Reflecting back on the semester, as finals loom, upperclassmen may ponder how this fall at the University has stacked up against previous semesters. A few factors are pushing Hofstra toward the "lose" column. As veteran University students entered the Student Center in the fall, they found summer renovations to the cafeteria were disastrous.

The popular Web series "We Need Girlfriends," (WNG) created by three University alumni, is being developed as a new comedy for CBS with "Sex and the City" creator Darren Star helping to lead the way. Steven Tsapelas, class of '03, and Angel Acevedo and Brian Aymot, '04, all film studies and production majors, created the series when they were dumped by their girlfriends after graduation.

This winter, the University is giving back to the community as part of its holiday celebrations. University social and religious groups have organized events this week to commemorate the holiday season. The Student Government Association (SGA), with the assistance of the Office of Student Leadership and Activities (OSLA), organized the 24th Annual Sinterklaas festival, in which members of the Greek community along with various clubs built a life-size "Winter Wonderland Village.

Despite the nonstop barrage of one-sided reporting on the Iraq War by our national, mainstream media, it is a sad fact that too few Americans know of the progress that our American forces have made in trying to stabilize Iraq, especially in the past 10 months since President Bush's surge plan went into effect.

After Saturday's frustrating 87-83, conference-opening overtime loss to UNC-Wilmington, this much remains certain for the Hofstra men's basketball team: nothing is certain. In what is already shaping out to a nothing-is-as-it-seems type of season, Saturday was the indicator.

Hand scanners are necessary safety measure The hand scanners that were installed at the Netherlands complex during my freshman year were installed for a reason: to make sure that it is you, and only you, entering the complex. Everyone can agree that your hand is unique and is only used to grant you access.

Hofstra Television Interactive (HTVi) invites students to showcase their talent online and bring a diverse appreciation for all forms of media-art, film, literature, television, music, dance and even photography. "HTVi is for you," says Enza Cacace, the lead programmer and one of the creators of HTVi.

When we flash back to 1972, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, reporters of The Washington Post, had begun their investigations on the break-in of the National Democratic Party headquarters. The articles the two Post reporters would print following the break-in would lead to one of the biggest scandals in American politics, Watergate.

In addition to the weekend success in Philadelphia, Coach Clugston had more exciting news when addressing the team before Monday's practice. He named two more captains, seniors Rob Yawman and Ryan Drudy, to join existing captains, Kevin Sheerin, Tyler Kevorkian and Alex Nucera.

Jay Nussbaum's second novel, "A Monk Jumped Over A Wall," was just released Nov. 8. The premiere was a unique one, for it was a combination book-and-film premiere. Nussbaum promoted his novel with short teaser trailers that can be found on YouTube.com as well as short films that have been submitted to different film festivals.