The Barometer Online

When it comes to making the grade in American history and economics, Americans and elected officials are failing. According to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's third study on American civic literacy called "Our Fading Heritage: Americans Fail a Basic Test on Their History and Institutions," more than 2,500 hundred randomly-selected Americans took ISI's basic 33-question test on civic literacy.

As Americans scour lots for the perfect Christmas tree, an increasing amount of Northwest growers are seeking environmentally-friendly authentication for their products. Groups like the Coalition of Environmentally Conscious Growers and the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association have established green standards for Christmas tree growers.

In the 1980s, Jonathan Goldberg created the concept of indoor cycling, and later introduced the idea to the world through his company known as Mad Dogg Athletics. Thanks to Goldberg, the idea of Spinning has exploded into gym-organized classes all over the country.

On Thursday evening, Milam Auditorium was filled with more than 200 OSU students, faculty and community members who gathered for the annual American Society of Mechanical Engineers Student Design Competition. The competition is the main focus of ME 382, a design course required for mechanical engineers during their junior year, and is just for OSU students enrolled in the class.

Editor's note: This is the final issue of The Daily Barometer for fall term. Print publication will resume on Tuesday, Jan. 6. In the meantime, major news and sports stories will be posted to www.dailybarometer.com. Have a great break. - Katy Weaver, edi