It’s not too late to register for Family Weekend, and if seeing your student isn’t reason enough, we have two and a half days chock full of fun events that will make you want to come back to the Garden City.

And there may be tickets available for the football game after all. The Idaho State Bengals, the Grizzlies' opponents for the Oct. 28 game, are returning unsold tickets to the Adams Center Box Office early next week, and any available tickets will be held exclusively for Family Weekend attendees. If you're interested in purchasing tickets, call 1-888-MONTANA and give the Family Weekend code "ISUGRIZ."

We’ve added a billiards tournament with lots of great prizes to the Saturday evening schedule.

Speaking of great prizes, the Fam Jam is the place to be Friday night, where the giveaway list keeps growing. Besides the $1,000 scholarship grand-prize, we’ve got gift certificates galore for everything from dinners at local restaurants to free lodging at local hotels and shopping.

Diversity and tolerance aren’t the kinds of things that can be achieved in a day, but a day dedicated to conversation and education on those topics is a good place to start.

UM will host its first “Day of Dialogue” Wednesday, Oct. 18, with speakers, educational workshops and exhibits to get students and faculty talking about diversity.

“Sometimes we get stuck bringing diversity down to just race,” said organizer Emily Yaksitch. “Race is important, but diversity is a lot of things.”

The day’s events will be held symposium-style, with educational sessions at 9 and 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

These sessions will include lectures, films, panel discussions and round-table discussions led by faculty, staff and students from varied campus departments.

The keynote speaker for the event is Manning Marable of Columbia University. Marable founded the Institute for African American Studies at Columbia and his speech at 2 p.m. in the University Theatre highlights the daylong event.

Yaksitch said she hopes the event will become an annual one at UM and at the very least make people stop and think and maybe have a conversation about diversity.

UM has a long tradition of school spirit, and one important symbol of that spirit over the years has been the UM mascot -- always a bear, but not always that fur-costumed ball of energy we know today as Monte.

An exhibit tracing the evolution of UM’s mascot is on display in the lobby of the University’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library through October.

The timeline of the display of mascot memorabilia, created by Teresa Hamann of the library’s K. Ross Toole Archives, begins in 1897, when a live bear cub traveled with UM’s football team, then simply known as the “bears.” UM’s football team was renamed the Grizzlies in 1923.

The exhibit moves though the numerous live bear cubs who served as University mascots, first named Teddy, then Fessy and finally, in the 1960s, Cocoa.

UM’s costumed mascot during the 1980s, dubbed Otto, donned a variety of fun-loving outfits to entertain crowds at Grizzly football games, Hamann said.

It wasn’t until 1991 that UM’s mascot became known as Monte, short for Montana.

Even though it comes long before Thanksgiving, the Nov. 4 Grizzly football game against Cal Poly isn’t too soon to get in the holiday spirit.

The second annual Griz for Kids toy drive will be in full swing, with boxes placed at each entrance to Washington-Grizzly Stadium for fans to drop off a new, unwrapped toy for an area youth in need.

The Montana Grizzlies and UM, Max Media and Missoula Federal Credit Union, in conjunction with the 102.5 Mountain FM’s Mountain of Giving Toy Drive, are collecting toys that will be distributed to Missoula children in need during the holiday season.

“We wanted to keep it going (a second year) as a football team and as a whole athletic department,” said organizer and Grizzly football player Ryan Wells. “It’s a great way for us to give back to the community, and we have a venue in Washington-Grizzly Stadium that attracts 23,000 people.”

Last year, big-hearted Griz fans donated thousands of toys, and this year Wells wants the program to collect even more.

Those who can’t make it to the Nov. 4 game can drop off new toys at any Missoula Federal Credit Union location, including the branch located inside the University Center on campus.

If you want your student to get immersed in UM culture, Homecoming is a great place to start. UM’s Homecoming celebration Friday and Saturday, Oct. 13-14, will include several events that have been beloved for decades: Singing on the Steps of Main Hall, the lighting of the M, the Yell Night Pep Rally and the state’s most impressive parade.

Yell Night has revived a very old UM tradition of a bonfire the night before a big game. Montana Grizzlies football coaches and players will join in the rally, along with cheerleaders and Monte. Saturday’s 10 a.m. parade is a must-see. It travels from downtown Missoula to the University, boasting more bands than any other in the entire region.

Leading up to Homecoming this week are a dorm-decorating contest on Wednesday and a Homecoming Buffet at the Food Zoo Thursday evening. Receptions and open houses will be held at various locations on campus Friday, and students are welcome at all.

This year’s theme is “I Love (heart symbol) UM.”

When you can’t be there to give your student a hug, you can always send a Bear Hug.

Everyone needs a hug from time to time. That’s why University Dining Services created Bear Hugs, an easy and thoughtful way for you to send your student a personally prepared care package for any occasion. UDS offers many packages from which to choose.

Students always appreciate a “hug” from home on special occasions or any day, especially the first year away from home.

UM set another enrollment record with a total of 13,961 students on campus for fall semester 2006, an increase of 359 over last year’s headcount of 13,602.

In addition, full-time equivalents (FTE) increased slightly for a total of 11,716 this fall, compared to last fall’s 11,695. An FTE represents 15 undergraduate or 12 graduate semester credits.

Resident FTE increased from 8,606 a year ago to 8,644 this fall, while nonresident FTE were down slightly at the upper-division level because of smaller freshman classes the last two years.

Graduate student enrollment was up slightly as well. Undergraduates are carrying slightly lower credits loads, but they still remain above the 12-credit threshold for financial-aid eligibility.

UM President George Dennison said the numbers indicate that efforts over the last two years to stabilize and increase enrollments have had a positive effect.

“In addition, we can take pride in the increased diversity of the entering freshman class, with more Native American, Black, Hispanic and Asian American students,” Dennison said.

Students Travis Sehorn and Tracy Wirak began their first day as UM’s first-ever bike ambassadors late last month.

The University’s Bike Ambassador program is sponsored by Associated Students of UM Transportation, the Office of Public Safety, the City of Missoula and the Office of Student Affairs.

The goal of the program is to get the ambassadors out on campus to educate and talk to bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers about how to interact safely.

The ambassadors will be easy to spot in bright orange shirts and will initiate conversations with people all over campus, said Nancy Wilson, director of the ASUM Office of Transportation.