Although not even in high school, some area school children got to experience a small taste of life as a university student last Friday.

About 60 fourth grade students from George C. Clarke Elementary in the Forth Worth Independent School District participated in a writing camp held by the College of Education in preparation for the upcoming Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills writing test in March.

If you've never heard of the university's Institute on Women and Gender, chances are you're not alone.With the odd event here and there throughout the academic year, the program goes largely unnoticed...

New reimbursement travel grants offered by the TCU Institute on Women and Gender and the TCU Women's Studies Program will allow students involved in gender or women's studies to broaden their horizons and gain a new perspective, a university official said.

Laura Prestwood, director of the Women's Studies Program, said the $400 reimbursement travel grant will give students involved with gender or women's studies research the opportunity to travel and further their education off campus by offsetting travel costs.

On Feb. 19, Tiger Woods broke his three-month silence with a long-awaited 14-minute televised apology. I watched, cringing, as Woods read woodenly from a prepared statement, saying things like he thought since he had "worked so hard" he was "entitled" to "enjoy the temptations" all around him that fame and fortune had brought. He mentioned thinking he didn't have to live within normal marital boundaries, apparently including being faithful. I don't know who wrote this speech, but those things made him sound really arrogant.

Be careful what you wish, TCU faithful, because with conference realignment stewing and brewing, your Horned Frogs' BCS appearances might go from endangered to extinct by 2016.

Scenario 1:

After head coach Gary Patterson received a contract extension through 2016, he stated that he believed TCU could win a national championship without being in a BCS conference.

But that was before real talk surfaced that the Mountain West may be divided and squandered; TCU's Fiesta Bowl debacle may in fact have been its own Custer's Last Stand.

After clinching its 20th victory of the season, the women's basketball team (20-9, 10-3 Mountain West) hopes to maintain its lead in the MWC standings when facing conference opponent Colorado State (13-13, 5-8 MWC) in Fort Collins on Saturday.

Although the team played Tuesday, it entered the game after a seven day lay-off.

"I think that the break has been good for us," head coach Jeff Mittie said. "I think we are really energized right now."

In the 2008-2009 school year, the University of Texas athletic department brought in more than $138 million in revenue, according to data supplied to the Education Department. While the Longhorns stole headlines, TCU athletics moved into an elite position in its own right.

The university raked in almost $46.5 million through athletics, and while it's well short of the burnt-orange menace to the south, it was top among non-BCS schools. Not too shabby for a school with the 10th smallest enrollment of Football Bowl Subdivision teams (not counting the service academies).

The gubernatorial election should receive as much attention from local media and the community as a presidential election. Voting for who will be the next governor is just as important as voting for who will be the next president, if not more so. The governor controls state matters, which affect the public on a day-to-day basis. The schools, public transportation systems and businesses in Texas communities will feel the effects of the outcome of this gubernatorial election more than they will feel the effects of a national election.

The baseball season has just begun, and already the Horned Frogs are facing one of the biggest series of their year. This weekend, the Frogs will travel to Fullerton, Calif. for a three-game series against the Titans of Cal State Fullerton.

The No. 6 Titans (1-2) took two hard losses last weekend against Oregon and Pepperdine. TCU is coming off a dominant three-game sweep against Sam Houston State to open the season. During last season's opening series, the Frogs took two of three from Fullerton.

Women at TCU are claiming their place in the male-dominated sports industry.

Mark Cohen, director of athletic media relations, said TCU baseball acquired its first female director of baseball operations last summer.

Meredith Montgomery, director of baseball operations, is working in an almost exclusively male position, Cohen said.

Montgomery said she doesn't know the number of women who hold her position at other schools, but she said a majority of people with her job title are men looking to pursue a coaching job.

Mayor Moncrief's staff is correct in pointing out that state law must change regarding gas drilling. Changes that are needed include, for example, stronger surface property owners' rights and greater municipal authority to regulate drilling activities. My colleagues and I are working hard on new legislation; however, the next legislative session does not begin until January 2011. Until that time, the City of Fort Worth needs to fully utilize the authority it does have to ensure the health and safety of its residents. It has consistently failed to do so.

A student at the university will hold an interest meeting tonight at the GrandMarc to measure interest in forming a permanent nontraditional student group on campus.

George Becker, a senior finance and accounting major, said the initial meeting would allow him to analyze the different student demographics on campus and the issues they have encountered. The organization will target multiple demographics.