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Show WORLD NEWS . ;o THE VOICE OF DIXIE STATE COLLEGE OF UTAH 2 - DIXIE SUN WEDNESDAY, MARCH lip )li Spring break ti y' bring more volunteers that ashi iblica igtol invest dent partiers to Nev "StlC-- ! ,i Orleans j 'o lege ! (KRT) - New Orleans the vibrant city that u6 once a popular spring j ongr isn't stopping some col lege kids from going j anyway. As tempting as the drunken debauchery j Cancun or the Bahama may be, some students-:- ' trading in their Pinaas j Coladas for shovels j they volunteer for comr. nity service. "Opportunity Rocks 2006: Rebuilding the G. Coast," is a program is teaming up with j Habitat for Humanity Students who sign up" spend their spring brea building houses and ! removing debris. Housing and food provided; volunteers ' have to pay for transportation. The progran runs from March but you can contact the j . of th (KRT) - Jack could never quit Ennis, but Oscar voters ultimately found a way to quit "Brokeback Mountain." Ang Lee's cowboy love story was upstaged by the sprawling LA. racial drama "Crash" on Sunday night, losing Best Picture in a startling, now-iconi- c upset. Otherwise, the packed house at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood was treated to few surprises. Until the last hour, a complete "Brokeback" bust remained a remote but real possibility. By the time Capote" star Philip Seymour Hoffman trumped the rest of the Best Actor field - including "Brokeback" leading man Heath Ledger - for his commanding portrayal of flamboyant writer Truman Capote, "Brokeback" had collected just one statuette, for Best Score. Hoffman deserves every ounce of his Oscar, portraying the "In Cold Blood" author with a fearless mix of show-cappin- g despair and self-aw-e that rivals any male performance in recent memory. Likewise, it's hard to find fault with the selection of Reese Witherspoon for Best Actress in "Walk the Line." As June Carter, Witherspoon is the romantic heart and soul of the popular Johnny Cash an optimistic, anchor to Joaquin biopic, deep-feelin- g Phoenix's tormented Man in Black. Witherspoon's main rival, Transamerica" star Felicity Huffman, should not be forgotten, performing an unforgettable feat of gender contortion as an unwitting parent on the cusp of sexual and emotional transformation After "Brokeback" picked up late awards for its adapted screenplay and director Lee, the stage seemed set for a crowning Best Picture win. And that's when "Crash" pulled its fantastic - and, arguably, undeserved - upset. Writer-directo- r Paul Haggis' wordplay is outstanding: biting, merciless, unrelenting. But this is, ultimately, a somewhat narrow, contrived piece of storytelling. Geography may have something to do with it. Los Angeles, after all is an industry town, and "Crash provided Oscar voters with an opportunity for navel-gazinthey couldn't resist. "Brokeback" remains the year's most influential movie. Opinion may vary as to its true greatness - certainly, the film's same-sethemes have engendered small- but hot pockets of ill will but its g impact on conAmerica's movie-goin- g sciousness is beyond debate. Admittedly, losing Best Picture g x wide-rangin- takes away some of its iconic luster. Late fireworks notwithstanding, it was George Clooney who set the tone for the evening by snatching a Best Supporting Actor statuette for his lumpy yet riveting performance as a burnt-ou- t CIA agent in "Syriana." It was a solid vote of confidence for one of the more vocal members of Hollywood's liberal elite, but a blow to the Paul Giamatti. Period-perfec- t as a Depression-er- a fight manager in "Cinderella Man," Giamatti is building an impressive resume of Oscar He wasn't so much as nominated for his performance in last year's "Sideways." Maybe Clooney's excruciating torture scene in "Syriana" put him over the top. Nothing sends a tingle up Oscar's collective spine quite like hot coals and thumbscrews. As a Southern wife in "Junebug," Best Supporting Actress nominee Amy Adams conjured a true, touching pornon-suppor- love-starve- d trait of upbeat suffering and emerged as the category's fashionable pick in the days leading up to the awards. For naught, as it turns out. In the end, the award went to prohibitive favorite Rachel Weisz, so deliciously sly as a doomed activist in "The Constant Gardner." Weisz and Clooney make for a fit- ting Supporting Actor Actress tandem. Like Clooney, Weisz is active behind the scenes (she produced the Neil LaBute-direct-e- d "The Shape of Things" two years ago) and is admired for her creative taste. Like Clooney, she tears it up in one of the year's most overtly political films. Politics, overt or otherwise, seemed to rule this Oscar ceremony. From host Jon Stewart's early swipe at Dick Cheney to the amusing election-yea- r spoof TV ads to the political, nature of the movies themselves, it was a polarizing year for Oscar. It says something that most- populist films honored "March of the Penguins" and "Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the - were in rela" tively obscure categories. (Best Documentary Feature and Best Animated Feature, respectively.) Not that any of anti-escapi- Were-Rabbit- the honorees seemed troubled by that fact. In the words of Clooney, this was the year when Oscar was "proud to be out of touch." (c) 2006, Distributed by Knight RidderTribune Information Services. I is on - j 15 to organization to coordi nate other dates. For more information, www.opportumty- go s tc j f - rocks.org. Many universities organizing spring break trips for student5 who want to help out" Hurricane Katrina Madison Univer-i- i ; organizing a groupc to Ne" Orleans to focus on hunger and homelessn-Whilhurri volunteers to go helping cane victims is a newt' on the idea, alternativea breaks aren'tare spring There new concept. many companies online that offer students the chance to do volunteer work, many times ofwhile abroad. The cost volunteer programstinrca be as little as your thousands of dollars Regardless of what! do, make this springThe break memorable. satisfaction of helpm?at others will last long the party has ended (c) 2006, Distributed 'he se e rejei 'that lauth eillan Sei mitte re Tuesc lOcrat idinvi ram Pat F gtov limit e ed to her h tall ti and ft ocrat jblica dersi Oder I jut co mal E .ed eh ns of lrustn act wi !a mei .'ram ie Ne owlec mber viol 'gn In eillan resvi at sec nvern rated n e par eofai j J J j the- Knight RidderTribune Information Services iedui nmstr j Oscars give solid choices, few surprises citize with ictior , break destination, iss: in the process of rebun ing after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But:-- ' Academy Awards at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, Calif., on Sunday. has .awmi : j ipted terBil reek t nth St er Ha da H "truct auttee d wea id on s call tsha mittec I beli fSena J ! noth avot d be i that' by lPPy t |