TCU 360

Is a scholarship enough?

Published Oct 27, 2005

A talented high school football player is promised a full scholarship to a top-tier Division I school.All his problems are over, he thinks. He will go to college, get a degree, take a free ride toward a four-year education and, if he's really lucky, he'll go on to play in the NFL.

Sounds like a good deal: free room, board and tuition, the opportunity of a lifetime - all for doing something fun. Nothing but easy street ahead.

Your View

Published Oct 27, 2005

As a person who is 18 twice over (and then some), I should be able to drive as fast as my car will go. I should be able to drive on the sidewalk to avoid traffic jams. I should be able to leave my trash...

Facebook for faculty, too

Published Oct 27, 2005

"How cool are you? You're on Facebook!" a TCU professor's stepson told her after he found her profile on the popular Web site.Almost 7,500 TCU accounts are registered on Facebook, a Web site students check as often as their e-mail.

But the Facebook is not reserved for students only.

Fourteen faculty members are registered on Facebook; Nine joined this semester.

Carol Thompson, an associate professor of sociology, is a TCU faculty member on Facebook and is seen as "cool" by her stepson at the University of California, Berkeley.

Fall performance to pay tribute to choreographer

Published Oct 27, 2005

The Ballet & Modern Dance department will dance its fall concert Friday as a gift to TCU's choreographer-in-residence, Fernando Bujones, who is currently battling cancer, said Ellen Page Shelton, chairperson and associate professor of modern dance. Bujones is the artistic director of the Orlando Ballet, and comes to TCU every semester to work with the students, Shelton said.

"He is a huge icon in ballet and a wonderful person to work with," Shelton said. "The department looks forward to performing this concert in his honor."

Online Special! – Future educators meet No Child Left Behind standards

Published Oct 27, 2005

The English department's edict came down as it did every week.Teachers at Southwest High School in Fort Worth, like many other schools, are given a list of what objectives to teach, the vocabulary on which the students should be drilled, the books students should be reading and what questions the teachers should be asking about those readings.

All of this is done to prepare students for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, a standardized test given to all students statewide to gauge what they have learned in their classes.

Notes of harmony: Music important to development

Published Oct 27, 2005

"Hot cross buns, hot cross buns, one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns." That simple song brings back memories for many people of their elementary school music classes. For others, it may be the first time they took lessons for piano, guitar or some other instrument.

I learned it on recorder myself, and I had it down. Of course, it consisted of only three notes, which was just fine for a third-grader like me.

Police logs only show campus crime, officials say

Published Oct 27, 2005

Because most sexual assaults don't occur on campus, there is no way the TCU Police Department can accurately inform students about how many sexual assaults students experience, TCU Police said.Under a federal law known as the Clery Act, TCU Police must provide an updated crime log, but Crime Prevention Officer Pamela Christian said the crime log alone does not paint the whole picture.

The TCU crime logs report three sexual assaults at TCU during the past four years, but Christian said this number is far below what the actual statistics are.

TCU will not ban facebook due to risks, officials say

Published Oct 27, 2005

Access to the popular Web site facebook.com was recently blocked at the University of New Mexico, but TCU administrators say they do not intend to ban the online directory on campus.As of last week, there were 7,353 registered TCU accounts and people at more than 2,000 universities with Facebook accounts, said Chris Hughes, spokesman for Facebook.

Numerous universities have expressed risk management concerns about the Web site based on privacy and security issues, said Jill Laster, associate vice chancellor of administrative services.

Youth get taste of college life during day-long visit

Published Oct 27, 2005

The "College Student for a Day" program Wednesday hosted its highest number of participants with 90 high school students attending.Shelley Marshall, a coordinator for the program, said "College Student for a Day" is run in coordination with the other high school program called Communities in Schools.

Members of the TCU Multi-Cultural Greek Council and the Office of Community Outreach and Service Learning at TCU hosted the program.

Sociology Society hosts Katrina lecture

Published Oct 27, 2005

Hurricane Katrina may have ended in August, but its effects live on, say TCU faculty members and community workers.The Sociology Society is sponsoring a lecture on the current and future situations of Hurricane Katrina evacuees at 5 p.m. today in the Woodson Room, rooms 207 and 209 of the Brown-Lupton Student Center.

More than 10,000 evacuees are settling in Fort Worth and although the city is moving the evacuees into housing, their futures are unclear, said Jean Giles-Sims, a sociology professor and a coordinator of the event.

Drummers pick up the rhythm

Published Oct 26, 2005

The sound of Indian and African drums bounce loudly and freely off the front walls of the Brown-Lupton Student Center bringing another flavor to the TCU campus.The rhythms come from a drum circle formed every other Wednesday night by members of the TCU Percussion Club.

"People wanting to get a late-night snack can come, jam and hang out," said Manny Arciniega, senior music education and music theory/composition major.

Darrin Hicks, president of the TCU Percussion Club, said he brings a bag full of shakers, tambourines and cowbells for anyone to play.

Sex offenders deserve some dignity, too

Published Oct 26, 2005

This Halloween, Parker County officials are trying something new. While children are trick-or-treating through neighborhood streets, the county's registered sex offenders will be behind closed doors at the probation office."It's a community safety issue," said Michael Stack, the director of the county's community supervision and correction department.

Stack said that, as part of probation, the offenders must follow this and any other requirements set forth by his department. This Halloween, they must stay in a classroom at the department's building from 6 to 10 p.m.