Spring Break is by definition a time of rest, recuperation, and a respite from school.

Or a great deal of partying in Cancun. Whichever suits your fancy.

Either way, students finally have that theoretical time they’ve needed since Winter Break to accomplish anything or nothing.

But while NKU’s concrete jungle lazily soaked in the sun (yes, the sun!), the rest of the country was a buzz with events.

Lawmakers in Washington, annoyed at France’s opposition to the war, decided to get back at the French by changing the name of french fries to “freedom fries” in all of their cafeterias.

You want french toast for breakfast? You better order the “freedom toast” instead.

This seems like something that the writers at the Onion (www.theonion.com) would have placed next to the article “Ted Turner Sends Self Back in Time to Prevent AOL Time-Warner Merger” because “freedom toast” sounds so ridiculous– yet it’s really true.

If not even more unbelievable, Elizabeth Smart, the 15-year-old girl who was kidnapped from her home last summer, was discovered alive and well and was promptly reunited with her family.

The man accused of the abduction, Brian Mitchell, 49, aka “Emmanuel,” was a hired hand by the Smart family in August 2001. Little did they know that “Emmanuel” happened to be a self-proclaimed prophet who allegedly had a taste for illegal substances.

Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, are currently being held by Salt Lake City police until they can determine what to charge the couple with.

Meanwhile, Smart is readjusting to her family and social life as well as can be expected for a young high school girl who has been kidnapped and possibly brainwashed for the last nine months.

In entertainment news, actor Russel Crowe has set a wedding date with his model fianc