April 9 in history: La Salle claims Louisiana for France, 1682; Bob Hope makes first TV appearance, 1950; first baseball game in Astrodome, 1965. Today, America marks the birthdays of bandleader Barry Benedict (1911), Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner (1926) and Keshia Knight Pulliam, The Cosby Show's Rudy (1979). Be sure to celebrate in an appropriate fashion.

Today

Blaffer sale: A book and bake sale will be held at the Blaffer Gallery from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Thursday. Books, posters, catalogs and baked goods will be featured. For information, call the Blaffer at 743-9530.

Diseased: Campus Ministries will sponsor a Religious Awareness Week program, "Racism: A Disease of the Human Spirit," today and Thursday from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the upstairs lounge, A.D. Bruce Religion Center. Today's topic: "Contemporary Film Clips and Racism: Movie Clips and Student Response." Lunch will be provided. For information, call 743-5397.

FSA: The Filipino Students' Association will hold a general meeting to discuss Filipino Awareness Week and 1997-98 officer nominations at noon in Campus Activities, UC Underground. For information, call 886-6020.

Amnesty International: will hold a meeting at 1 p.m. in the Baltic Room, UC Underground. Anyone interested in officer positions may volunteer at this meeting. For information, call Anita Wadhwa at 743-7312.

GLOBAL: Join the Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Alliance as it meets at 4 p.m. in the UC Spindletop Room.

Blah, blah, blah: The UH Division of Continuing Education will hold a free foreign language demonstration class from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Continuing Education Center, Entrance 1 off Calhoun. For information, call 743-1060.

Professionals: The Allied Health Professions Society will hold its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the UC Bayou City Room, featuring guest speakers from four health professions. For information, call Cathy Koval at 784-1945.

Big business: Golden Key National Honor Society, The Entrepreneur Group and Pi Sigma Epsilon will sponsor a graduate business school symposium at 7 p.m. in Room 170, Melcher Hall. For information, call Brad Castelo at 743-7547.

Keep it legal: The Frontier Fiesta Association will hold a meeting at 7 p.m. in the UC Saltgrass Room to discuss site rules and regulations and the schedule of Fiesta events. For information, call 743-5181.

Well-researched: Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society, will present Vice President for Research Art Vailas to discuss "The Impact of a Research University" at 7:30 p.m. in the UC Bluebonnet Room. For information, call Dr. Irving Rothman at 743-2962.

Thursday

A struggle: The Society of History Students will sponsor "From Charles Rhinehart to Marguerite Barnett: The Struggle for Access and Equality at the University of Houston,"a lecture by Amilcar Shabazz, at noon in the Caspian Room, UC Underground. For information, call 415-4311.

POPS: The Pre-Optometry Professional Society will meet at 4:15 p.m. in the Caribbean Room, UC Underground. For information, stop by the POPS office on the first floor, Old Science Building.

Announcements

SVN: Highlights of the Student Video Network's programming schedule, today through Thursday evening: Bulletproof (4:06 p.m. Thursday); Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (6:06 a.m. and 12:06 p.m. today); Moonstruck (8 a.m. today); To Kill a Mockingbird (10 a.m. today); Cold Comfort Farm (2 and 8 p.m. today, 2 and 6 a.m. and noon Thursday); Lord of Illusions (4 and 10 p.m. today, 8 a.m. Thursday); The Hunchback of Notre Dame (6:06 p.m. today, 12:06, 4:06 and 10:06 a.m. Thursday); The Bodyguard, starring the lovely, vocal Whitney Houston (2 p.m. Thursday); Mean Streets (6 p.m. Thursday); Macross Plus (8 and 11 p.m. Thursday); SVN-News (9 p.m. Thursday); Pirate TV Live! (10 p.m. Thursday). This schedule is subject to change; check on-campus Channel 6 for details.