Jockstrip: The world as we know it.

Large gold nugget sold at auction

DALLAS, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- A gold nugget weighing more than 26 pounds has been sold for $1,553,500 in a public auction in Dallas.

The fabled "Boot of Cortez," a nearly 12-inch-long gold nugget weighing 389.4 ounces, was purchased in Sunday's auction conducted by Heritage Auction Galleries.

"It's the largest surviving gold nugget ever discovered in the Western hemisphere," said David Herskowitz, director of natural history for the auction house. "It was found in the Sonora Desert near Caborca, Mexico, in 1989 by a local man using a metal detector he'd just bought at RadioShack."

The more than 24-pound nugget was displayed last year in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The buyer is an American philanthropist who wishes to see it return to public display "in the very near future," Heritage said in a news release.

A total of 418 lots of fossils, gems and other items sold for a combined total of $4,187,227 at the auction, Heritage said.

Anderson U. has its first on-campus dance

ANDERSON, Ind., Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Anderson University in Anderson, Ind., has its first on-campus dance thanks to the relaxation of a policy restricting when and how students can boogie.

Joel Burkhead led the party from behind a set of turn tables in a corner of school's basketball gym, Anderson's Herald Bulletin reported Monday.

"It's pretty neat to have the experience and set the mood for future dances," the senior from Monroe, Ind., said. "It's neat to see everyone come together on campus and see the community built here instead of somewhere else."

The board of trustees allowed the change after representatives of the student government pointed out that the school has been allowing off-campus formal dances for more than a decade and that dances on campus would be safer and more convenient.

Pageant winner's dress vandalized

PALM BEACH, Fla., Jan. 21 (UPI) -- A $3,400 dress belonging to Miss South Florida was vandalized during the pageant, sparking a Palm Beach Police investigation.

Jessica Wittenbrink, 21, the eventual winner of this year's Miss South Florida Fair pageant did win about $6,000 in cash and scholarship money and the opportunity to compete in the Miss Florida pageant that feeds into Miss America, the Palm Beach Post reported Monday.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, which has jurisdiction over the fairgrounds, later said there was not enough "conclusive evidence" to name a suspect.

"Unless new information presents itself, the case is going to be inactive," sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Pete Palenzuela said.

Calif. schools rethink policy on civility

OAKLAND, Calif., Jan. 21 (UPI) -- A California court has ruled that universities in the state cannot punish students for failing to be "civil" because the term is too broad.

The decision, which affects 23 California State University campuses, including San Diego State University and Cal State San Marcos, is causing CSU trustees to consider revising the portion of the student conduct code that states students are expected to be "civil" to clarify that no disciplinary action can be taken for "uncivil" conduct, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Monday.

The trustees are expected to discuss the possibility at Wednesday's meeting.

"The court told us we could not base discipline on civility ... There is a certain lack of precision to that word," said Christine Helwick, general counsel for CSU.

However, Helwick said punishments can still be doled out for specific acts of incivility cited by the conduct code, including lewd or obscene behavior.