Circuses often bring to mind bears, lions and elephants, but Chicago’s own Acro-Cats is proving pussy performers can be justas captivating.Ringleader and trainer Samantha Martin’s unique troupe of 13 housecats has been jumping through hoops, pretending to play musical instruments and ringing bells around the country for the past seven years.The feline stars have been trained to perform tasks in exchange for treats. Wh...

Giving faculty and staff a 3 percent pay raise will require $5 million in cuts aimed at  various units of the college given the current budget situation, Louise Love, interim provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, told the first Faculty Senate meeting of the fall semester. Specifically, $2 million will be cut from the Academic Affairs fiscal 2013 budget, she said. Love and Ken Gotsch, vice president of Business Aff...

Even though some college students might enjoy the idea of “friends with benefits,” many men and women are able to maintain healthy, platonic relationships with each other. However, new studies suggest that the element of attraction and the consequences that go with it may make heterosexual friendships difficult to maintain.The studies were conducted by a team of eight researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Clai...

Station since 1984 and has a sort of landlord-tenant relationship with Metra, the largest commuter train company in Chicago.Amtrak has already relocated several of its offices to a newly renovated building attached to the station. It is working to market the available spaces surrounding the Great Hall, Union Station’s historic waiting room, and more of the unused office spaces in the adjacent eight-story building.Accord...