UM students are encouraged to weigh in on the issue of sexual assault during a participatory forum from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13, in the University Center Ballroom.

The "U Matter" forum is designed to engage small-group conversation on sexual assault, perceptions and safety, as well as encourage student involvement in combatting issues discovered through a University investigation on alleged sexual assaults on and off campus. A report on the investigation is online.

"These forums will seek input from students about how to effectively get important information to them and what sort of training and education are effective," said Lucy France, director of UM's Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office.

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UM will host the 23rd Annual Big Sky Career Fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, in the University Center Ballroom, where participants can meet with company recruiters from local, regional, national and international employers.

The fair, sponsored by the UM Office of Career Services, is free and open to all UM students and alumni. Registration begins at 9 a.m.

The event will offer recruiting opportunities for students in all academic disciplines, including professional full-time positions, summer internships, part-time employment and summer jobs. Many recruiters will return Thursday, Feb. 23, to interview students and alumni for open positions in their organizations.

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UM will celebrate its 119th birthday on Thursday, Feb. 16, with a noon-hour party and an evening Charter Day awards ceremony and reception.

The birthday festivities are held each year to celebrate the anniversary of UM's chartering by the Montana Legislature in 1893 and to honor the University and its dedication to excellence. All events are free and open to the public.

The noon-hour birthday party, which will feature free cupcakes and entertainment, will be held in the University Center Atrium. The annual Charter Day awards ceremony, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom, will recognize exemplary campus and community members.

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The University Center at UM will host its annual Student Leadership Conference from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, on the third floor of the UC. It is free and open to all UM students and young leaders in the Missoula community, and lunch is included.

The 2012 conference is rooted in the social-change model and will focus on the many faces of leadership. Participants will leave feeling empowered to use their leadership resources to be effective, personal leaders with a global perspective.

Conference registration is due at midnight Monday, Feb. 20, and is available online. Late registration will be accepted the day of the conference but with no guarantee of conference materials or lunch.

The Residence Life Office will complete its spring health inspections in the residence halls Monday through Friday, Feb. 27-March 2. Staff will enter rooms to ensure they comply with Residence Life health and safety requirements. Students will be notified of the specific date and time of their inspection via campus mail. Students should contact their resident assistant with questions.

Residence Life encourages students planning to live on campus for the 2012-13 academic year to submit an application as soon as possible. Residence Life assigns rooms based on the date students turn in their housing application and deposit. The sooner a student completes the application, the more likely they will be assigned their top housing preference. The office already has processed a large number of applications and encourages students to apply immediately.

Students who are not sure if they will live on campus next fall should submit applications anyway. Students can cancel their housing application until June 1 and still receive a refund for the $200 deposit, as long as they have no outstanding fees on their account.

The housing application is now available for students who want to live on campus for the summer. The application is separate from the one students complete for the academic year, and full payment is due at the time of submission. Students planning to take summer session courses are encouraged to submit their summer housing applications and payment by the end of March. Housing is assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

More information is available by calling 406-243-2612 or on the Residence Life website.

Social media creates a paradox for college campuses. While Facebook, Twitter and other networks help build communities at UM, those communities have been disconnected from the University's Web pages.

Now there's a new tool at UM that facilitates a connection between the two. It's called Community Hub, and its first release includes about 40 campus social media communities.

Community Hub is a searchable directory of UM-related social media channels developed by the IT web team that can be used to find UM content on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. It also catalogs UM blogs and email listservs. Sites are searchable by keywords and categorized by subject and social media platform.

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The campus bus service provided by the Associated Students of UM gave a record number of rides on the first day of spring semester.

Six buses that were on routes gave 3,744 rides on Jan. 23, breaking the old record of 3,246 rides. The average number of rides each day hovers around 2,900. The total number of rides given during autumn semester also broke records at 224,884 rides.

The ASUM Park-N-Ride system is free and open to the public. Parking is free at the Park-N-Ride lots. Lots are located at Benton Street and Higgins Avenue, South Avenue and Higgins Avenue, and on Broadway next to MonTEC.

Buses run every five to 10 minutes. Also, a bus runs from the mountain campus to the UM College of Technology East Campus every 15 minutes.

UM music student Ben Murphy has earned first place in the young artist division of the Music Teachers National Association composition competition.

Murphy is an undergraduate student from Barrington, Ill., studying composition and music technology. He will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Music from the UM College of Visual and Performing Arts.

The purpose of the competition is to encourage creativity and self-expression in student musicians through the art of composing. The award is one of the most prestigious national music awards given to university students in the United States.

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Prospective students and their families have a unique opportunity to experience campus life during UM Days, the University's open house program. Prospective freshmen, transfer students and their families are welcome to participate in the free full-day events.

UM Days are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 17, March 16, 23 and 30, April 13 and 27. The event will be offered during autumn semester on Friday, Oct. 19, Nov. 9 and 16. The University also will host International UM Day, an opportunity for high school foreign exchange students to explore the University, on Friday, March 23.

The open house events offer campus tours, residence hall viewings, academic sessions with faculty members, student service panels and financial aid presentations.

To register for UM Days or for more information, call 406-243-6266 or 800-462-8636 or go online.

The Chi chapter of the Alpha Phi sorority will celebrate Cardiac Care Month by raising awareness of heart disease in women Tuesday through Thursday, Feb. 14-16, in the University Center UM.

Chapter members will staff a table in the UC Atrium from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to hand out antioxidant-rich dark chocolate and information on living a heart-healthy lifestyle.

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UM College of Technology Assistant Professor Bradley Layton will deliver the keynote address at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Summit held Thursday and Friday, Feb. 9-10, in Bellevue, Wash.

The two-day summit addresses best practices in K-20 education focusing on innovative teaching and learning in STEM. Layton will present "Energy Technology Education in Efficiency to Engender Energy Independence: Science & Math Lay the Foundation for the Next Generation of Energy Technology Leaders."

STEM has become a focal point in recent years as a segment of education where American students are falling behind their international peers. In his address Layton will highlight portions of a 2008 paper he published in the International Journal of Green Energy in which he presented many technological and economic reasons that led to our nation's current energy insecurity.

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For the second year in a row, UM ranks No. 14 for producing Peace Corps volunteers among colleges and universities in the medium category, which includes schools with 5,001 to 15,000 undergraduates.

Currently, 32 UM undergraduate alumni serve as Peace Corps volunteers, down from 2011 when 33 undergraduate alumni served. Historically, 780 UM alumni have served as Peace Corps volunteers.

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• Monday, Feb. 20: Presidents Day holiday
• Monday-Friday, April 2-6: Spring break
• Monday-Friday, April 9-20: Autumn semester registration
• Friday, May 4: Last day of regular classes
• Monday-Friday, May 7-11: Final exams
• Saturday, May 12: Commencement