“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, the national bestseller and second novel by author Jonathan Safran Foer, takes on a heavy task: describing the profound pain that comes from losing a loved one. Foer sets out to do this through the perspective of his main character, a grieving boy, coping with the recent death of his father in the attack on the World Trade Center.

I recently tried to kill two birds with one stone. This being the time of year when term papers, projects and finals heap themselves upon students with reckless abandon, I am doing a project on the bar scene in San Luis Obispo. I can’t give up my night life just because I have a couple of projects and term papers due, can I?

The best of both worlds, right? Not so much.

In an effort to find upcoming college bands and musical acts, mtvU announced the launch of its Web site www.bestmusiconcampus.com. The site gives students an opportunity to build profiles featuring blogs, videos and their original music. The most popular bands will be eligible for awards including artist of the year, month and week.

Some people view hip-hop music as nothing more than just that, music.

But a Cal Poly group still in its first year on campus is representing hip-hop culture and all of its elements: emcees, DJs, graffiti art and breakdancing.

Formed last spring, Students United by Hip-Hop Culture’s mission statement is “to provide a place for those interested in hip-hop culture to take part in or experience the culture as well as positively affect the community.