A painting at UNH is missing, and the artist believes it to be a theft.

According to senior Lindsay Hyde, her 42-by-48-inch painting depicting a male model vanished (from a third floor wall of the Paul Creative Arts Center) sometime over the winter break. Hyde offered a $100 reward for the safe return of the painting and promised that no questions would be asked. The painting features the model in two positions: the first dressed in black and the second in red, surrounded by several objects, including a black hatbox and a windowpane.

Hyde believes that the disappearance of her painting can only be a theft. "I noticed that the painting was gone on the first day of classes back from the break," Hyde said. "My teacher and I made some phone calls, and nothing came up."

As for Hyde's fellow art students, the reaction seems to be one of puzzlement and dismay. "It surprised me, because things are pretty lax around here; people leave things in the classroom all the time," graduate student Andrea Higgy said. "Whatever the case, it's a shame."

Higgy's friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, offered one possible motive: "Sometimes people steal paintings just to use the stretcher, and I've seen it before." The student was referring to the wooden frame that the holds the painting. The student went on to say that, "the painting was probably stolen for the stretcher, but I think there's a good chance that the painting might be thrown away."

The investigation is ongoing.

-Alex Plummer

Members of the UNH community have recently been sipping what appears to be pastel-colored milk with layers of dark, marble-like pearls at the bottom. Bubble Tea is the latest culinary craze to take the country by storm, and the frothy wonder can be experienced without having to travel farther than your local dining hall. The exotic new beverage arrived just this semester at with Panache.

Bubble Tea originated in Taiwan in the early '80s when vendors would set up roadside stands for schoolchildren to grab a refreshing drink after a long day at school. Since then it has spread all across Asia and surfaced in Chinatowns throughout the United States. It is a drink that goes by many names: pearl milk tea, tapioca ball drink, QQ ("chewy" in Chinese) and boba milk tea, among many others.

From Hong Kong to Chinatown to right here in New Hampshire, the beverage is made with four essential components: liquid, creamer, sweetener and flavoring. The raisin-sized tapioca pearls are always optional. With Panache uses chilled brewed tea, liquid sugar and powdered sweeteners in ten different flavors: strawberry, mango, black tea, taro, peach, blueberry, papaya, coconut, watermelon and honeydew.

"They're all good," with Panache supervisor Britt Pollansky said. "Taro tastes like the milk left over from your Lucky Charms."

With Panache Shift Supervisor Marsha Hale estimates that they sell an average of 40 Bubble Teas on any given day at $3.99 a piece.

Despite its overwhelming promotion by Bubble Tea suppliers on www.bubbletea.com (they call it "addictive", "a trend", "unique"), UNH students have reacted with suspicion to the mysterious new drink on campus. The general sentiment is overwhelmingly negative.

"I don't know how fond I am of sucking up solid chunks out of my tea,"freshman Rob Holt said.

One student enjoys the tea, but said the bubbles were too filling. "So, my advice would be to limit yourself on the bubbles," sophomore Nikki Nichols said.

Sophomore Meryl MacCormack doesn't quite know what to make of it. "I like tapioca," she said. "But in my drinks?"

A with Panache employee says that the gelatinous rounds smell bad when they are being made. "They come vacuum-packed, condensed in this little blob," said Emily Fekete. "You have to boil them, and they reek."

Sophomore Kate Saunders thinks that the public might benefit if with Panache were to provide small sample-sized cups, so students could taste the product before they buy it. "Let people know what they're getting into before they waste four bucks, like I did," Saunders said.

Not every student is skeptical about Bubble Tea. Junior George Wu buys Bubble Tea almost five times a week.

"I love Bubble Tea," Wu said. "It's a nice refreshing drink to have in the morning." Wu said the tapioca pearls are the best part. "(Chewing them) makes class go by faster," he said. He does believe the drinks are overpriced, however, and said they are sold for less than $3 in Chinatown.

Bubble Tea provides between 120 to 160 calories per serving. Tapioca balls add about 50 calories and zero fat. For those watching their waistline, the beverage is a relatively guilt-free indulgence, equal to a hot chocolate or 12-ounce can of soda.

Hale predicts that since Bubble Tea is an iced drink, sales will increase with the warmer weather.

-Laura Louise Plummer

Andrea Field, a Randall resident, awoke early in the morning on Jan. 18 when she thought she heard knocking on her door. Field opened the door (without being able to look through a peephole) to find a man holding a fire extinguisher and waving it at her.

Two years ago, the dorms began to be locked 24 hours a day, but in the light of the Randall incident, many, including Field, feel that isn't enough.

Feeling the recent intrusion in her dorm jeopardized her safety Field wrote a letter to housing requesting that they install peepholes in all the dorms. Currently, the only residence halls that have peepholes are Christensen, Williamson, Congreve, Mills and Gables and Woodsides apartments.

-Shelly Jaruse

UNH students who ventured into the MUB Monday afternoon learned a very important life lesson: Even the best food court meal can be made even better by an unexpected visit from Satan.

In an apparent vacation from eternally torturing the souls of sinners, Satan stopped by the MUB to talk to any students that would listen about spirituality, religion and philosophy. He also took time to hand out about 100 copies of C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters," a novel about-yep, you guessed it-demons from Hell and the temptation of sinners.

Unfortunately for any practicing Satanists, "Satan" wasn't exactly the real Prince of Darkness as much as it was Chi Alpha member Bryan Bessette in a red cape and horns with matching red make-up. Bessette and Chi Alpha, a local student Christian organization, arranged the appearance.

"It was a planned event," Chi Alpha spokeswoman Jen Schultheis explained. "We just really wanted to give students a different perspective on things."

-Ken Gagnon

The full text of these stories and all the news from The New Hampshire, the student-run newspaper of the University of New Hampshire, can be found at www.tnhonline.com.