5 CAMPUS FEA TURES The secret is out: Harry Potter sequel is a must-see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets kept Hoiieman and Evans spellbound. JUI.IE HOLLEMAN AND ELIZABETII EVANS Movie Critics Ghosts, house elves, gigantic snakes and spiders and magic all intertwine to make Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets^ the much-anticipated sequel to last year's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, a huge hit at the box office. In this year's sequel, Harry {Daniel RadcJifFe) returns to Hogwarts despite warnings for him to stay away. Once he arrives, mysterious attacks begin in the halls of Hogwarts. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time makes Harry the prime suspect. Along with the help of his friends, Ron and Hermione (Rupert Grint and Emma Watson), he must battle ghosts, lai^e spiders and a gigantic poisonous serpent to save the school from closing and to prove his innocence. Harry's attempt to save the school he blames another student for opening the Chamber of Secrets. Radcliffe, Grint and Watson improve their acting abilities in this second fihn. They bring their character^ to life and allow the audi ence to fall in love with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Their eagerness to draw the audience into the storyline helps to make this movie sensational. The professors at Hogwarts are portrayed by a plethora of brilliant actors and actresses, including Maggie Smith {The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood), Alan Rickman {Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), Kenneth Branagh {Dead Again), and the late Richard Harris (The Count of Monte Cristo). Their unique acting styles work together to create a magical team. Harris, who played the part of Professor Dumbledore, died in October of Hodgkin's Disease. He was a veteran American and British fibn star. Harris only agreed to take the part of Dumbledore because his granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again if he didn't. "I'm not interested in rep utation or immortality or things like that. I don’t care what I'm remembered for," Harris once said. He may not have cared what he was remembered for, but the public will remember him as an extraordinary actor who made the big screen real to the audience. Harris, along with all the other acting talents present in this film, helps make Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets a movie that will make you laugh and even put you on the edge of your seat. The spe cial effects, the music, the acting and the screenplay work together to make this film absolutely delightful. Our recommendation is if you have a wild imagina tion, you should definitely make the time to see this film on the big screen. Our ratings: £.**** World News Brief JENNI DREW Contributing Writer North Korea: The Bush administration will stop financing oil shipments to North Korea but will not require the return of the cur rent shipment. The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization met in New York and voted unanimously to cut off future oil shipments until the nuclear weapons pro gram is completely disman tled. Western Europe; In England, the Queen announced an agenda focus ing on the fight against crime. In Italy, Former Prime Minister Andreotti was sentenced to 24 years in prison for his role in the 1979 murder of an Italian joumalist- Yugoslavia: In Kosovo, two Serbian Orthodox churches were destroyed by explo sions. No one was harmed. This marks the first attack in over a year according to UN officials. Eastern Europe: In the Czech Republic, former Communist Party leader Karel Hoffman was charged with treason for cutting off access to radio and televi sion as Soviet troops invad ed Prague in 1968. In Ukraine, President Kuchma fired his government and nominated a new prime minister. Parliament has to vote before he is officially instated. Southern Africa: AngloGold. a mining giant, started giving hs HIV posi tive employees anti-retrovi ral drugs. The Zimbabwean government has declared price freezes on certain goods in the coimtry in an effort to stop the country’s economic crisis. Middle East: Students protested for five days against the death sentence of Hashem A^ajari, an Iranian professor who men tioned separatiyi between church and state once in a speech. In Yemen, British special forces have shifted focus of the se^ch for bin Laden from Afghanistan to Yemen. A senior al-Qaeda official was arrested in Kuwait. Chechnya: A new prime minister has been appointed, illustrating Russia’s cam paign to rewm stability and peace to Chechnya. Venezuela: President Hugh Chavez sent out the National Guard to take over in several police stations in the capital after demonstra tions last week killed two people. The police, who are against Chavez, did nothing to stop the demonstrations. Thanksgiving fundraisers underway TIFFANY ADAMS Staff Writer There are many opportu nities for Meredith smdents to volunteer their time to help others in the commu nity. The Office of Volunteer Services at Meredith College can help students find opportunities for volunteering through projects implemented at the College as well as by other members of the community. The holiday season is a special time for volunteer ing, and students often find that they have more time to volimteer during their win ter breaks. Perhaps students can put their lounging time to better use by helping others, in addition to hav ing more time to volunteer, individuals may have a need to be needed by some one else, want to meet new people or desire to give back to the community by sharing with those who are less fortunate. There are several projects underway on campus, and each of the ft-eshman, soph omore, junior and senior classes are heading up their own service projects. Lyime Wheatley, director of volunteer services, said the Service Council decid ed to do a campus-wide holiday food drive. In addition to the food drive, the senior class and junior class have teamed up to organize a project with Operation Christmas Child, a service of Samaritan's Purse. According to Su-Anne Ward, senior class service co-chair, students at Meredith can fill shoeboxes with gifts for underprivi leged children worldwide and place them in drop-off locations in the first Barefoot parlor and in the Chapel office by this Friday. Brochures are avail able outside 105 Barefoot, in the Chapel, and in the Cate Center. The junior class even organized a hall social last Tuesday for the entire class to pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Freshman Service Co- Chairs Sarah Lynn Joyner, Kelly Friend and Amy Pleasant are spearheading the service project for their class. The class has decided to focus on the elderly for its holiday project. Continued on Page 7