Four students will represent the John V. Roach Honors College in the House of Student Representatives for the first time this fall, following the House election this past week.

Seven students applied for the four recently allocated seats in the House, the results of which were released Wednesday.

Ron Pitcock, J. Vaughn & Evelyne H. Wilson Honors Fellow, said the diverse interests of honors students will be an asset to the House's representation.

Walking past a display of pink and white cards last week at Target, I noticed that Mother's Day falls the day after graduation. I pondered this for a minute and snickered out loud. Mother's Day? One whole day devoted to appreciating moms that toil year round? Wow.

I thought about my own mother, and how we had both almost died during birth in an emergency C-section so harrowing it could have been a plot line for "ER" or "Grey's Anatomy". Instead, we persevered, me weighing a tad over 5 pounds and my mother proud, but exhausted.

And so it begins. "Hobbin and nobbin, hobbin and nobbin, hobbin and nobbin neck and neck." (the infamous horse racing joke). Then the punch line. "The two horses looked at each other, waiting for the declaration of the winner and in unison say 'A dog that talks?'" Greeted not with boastful laughter, but rather confused silence, it was upon this day that I knew I had not been gifted with the grace of joke-telling abilities. My brief, fleeting career as a rehearsed comedian had succinctly and successfully ended itself. This is my coming-to-terms. I am a poor joke-teller.

I arrived before the construction cranes and barricades, before reduced parking and before the Main closed.

Four years seemed like an eternity to me my first semester, and now it seems like only yesterday.

I remember a time before the BLUU (and before Frogbucks) when it would have been impossible to walk through the lounge outside FrogBytes without seeing at least 10 friends. Those of you who have been here long enough to remember the Main and FrogBytes (and the Wok, Eden's and Deco Deli) days will hopefully remember them as fondly as I do.

University students are now getting a chance to announce games for the nationally-ranked Horned Frog baseball team not only on the radio, but on television as well.

Chuck LaMendola, play-by-play announcer for the baseball team, said that because of the deal struck with The Mountain West Sports Network last fall to air student-produced sporting events, students are now getting television announcing experience for the first time. Students were able to call games on the radio in the past, he said.

City of Fort Worth officials moved closer to finalizing a modern streetcar system with a unanimous vote to hire engineering and consulting firm HDR Inc. to begin developing phases one and two of a three-part plan, a city official said.

David Gaspers, a senior planner in the city's planning and development department, said the company will begin planning a recommended alignment route and developing a business plan for the streetcar system as early as next week.

The senior class of the School for Classical and Contemporary Dance will showcase its artistry to the public this week by featuring a new question and answer portion with the choreographers, a senior choreographer said.

Natalie Henry, a senior modern dance major, said that for the first time, all choreographers of the night will be available to answer questions from the audience about their pieces following the concert. She said the students and professors added this component as a way for choreographers to talk about their work.

The university's chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America is in the process of re-naming the campus organization to honor a retired professor for the notable work she did both locally and nationally for public relations education, a PRSSA representative said.

Amiso George, the PRSSA head faculty adviser, said Doug Newsom deserves to be a part of the student organization's title. Newsom taught at the university and was also actively involved with the Public Relations Society of America.

Brite Divinity School officials found a new director of the Jewish Studies Program last week.

Nancy Ramsay, Brite Divinity School dean, said Ariel Feldman, a current Newton Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Manchester in England, accepted the position early last week and would join the staff as the Rosalyn and Manny Rosenthal Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies and director of the Jewish Studies Program in fall 2011. Both posts are currently vacant.

Columnist Michael Lauck is right that tax reform is needed.Unfortunately, his proposals for much-needed tax reform are short-sighted. Neither flat nor lump sum taxes are answers for tax reformation. Repealing...