SU appoints first pagan chaplain

Hendricks Chapel's new chaplain is the first pagan to join the Chaplains Council at Syracuse University. In line with the university's goal of broad religious representation, Mary Hudson took her new position as a sponsor of community outreach on Feb. 1. Syracuse University may be the second university in the nation to appoint a pagan, according to the Daily Orange. The other school to do so is the University of Southern Maine. Hudson says she hopes to create a better awareness and understanding of the pagan community through her position. Paganism is a belief in the spirituality of nature. It encompasses many religions including Celtics, Wiccans and Native Americans. 

New schools open to offset imbalance in American medicine

Nearly two dozen medical schools have recently opened or plan to open across the United States, according to the New York Times. This surge comes as a response to a demand by American medical students that is several decades in the making. In the 1980s and '90s only one medical school opened, even thought the number of students pursuing careers in medicine has increased. The proposed schools would amount to an 18 percent increase in the 131 medical schools nationwide.

'Valentine's Day' holds box office lead after three days in theaters

The movie business continues to reach new heights despite the hurting economy. Since it hit theaters Friday, the star-laden Valentine's Day has raked in an estimated $52.4 million dollars. It is expected to reach $60 million by the end of the President's Day weekend, breaking the box office record for that holiday. The romantic comedy coupled with the two other widely released movies this past weekend – Percy Jackson & The Olympians along with Wolfman – to set a new record for 2010's holiday frame, amounting to a gross of $193 million so far.