Students in Harris College of Nursing have more room to practice their technique thanks to the expansion of simulation labs and additional simulation manikins.

Mary Beth Walker, assistant director of simulation lab, said the Harris College has divided the simulation labs in order for nursing anesthesia students and undergraduate nursing students to have their own practice areas.

"A simulation manikin has working parts that will respond to a student's response to an underlying problem or a set of vital signs," Walker said.

Beginning next semester, students will have the option to use their meal plan swipes at Sub Connection in Smith Hall, a university official said Wednesday.

Craig Allen, director of Residential Services, said this change to the meal plan is the result of students voicing concerns about not being able to use their swipes at a dining location on the east side of campus.

"Students have told us, 'I'm on the other side of campus, how come I can't use the swipe at Sub Connection?'" Allen said.

The Horned Frogs' shooting woes continued Wednesday night as they fell to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 62-50 at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

Despite a solid defensive effort, TCU made just 10 field goals for the entire game. Senior forward Langford led the Horned Frogs with 19 points. No other player scored in double digits for TCU. The team shot a woeful 15.8-percent from 3-point range, and did not make a 3-pointer in the first half.

The women's basketball team will continue its run through a gantlet of in-state opponents when it faces off against the University of Texas at Arlington at 6:30 p.m. tonight in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

Fresh off a big upset over No. 3 Maryland, the Lady Frogs still have plenty of room to improve, especially on the boards, head coach Jeff Mittie said.

"I think our rebounding was awful," Mittie said. "What we've seen on film is that there are some things I think that we can teach better."

After losing the last two games of a three-game road trip, the Horned Frogs will face the University of Nebraska in their 2008 home opener Wednesday at 7 p.m.

This will be new head coach Jim Christian's first regular season home game at TCU. Christian was lured to TCU last March from Kent State, where he accumulated a 138-58 record over six seasons and made the NCAA Tournament twice. He said he hopes to bring those winning ways to Fort Worth.

Nebraska is the first of three Big 12 teams TCU is scheduled to play this season.

A new study shows that 32 percent of TCU's freshman class graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

That is less than other comparable schools like Baylor University, at 35 percent, and Southern Methodist University, at 42 percent. But as important as grades are, more goes into students than their grades in high school.

A good student has to be someone who is focused, balanced and involved in his or her community. So far, it seems TCU has done a good job of selecting students based on factors other than their grades in high school.

TCU has a lower percentage of freshmen who graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class compared to peer schools, such as Baylor University and Southern Methodist University, according to institutional research statistics.

According to the TCU Fall 2008 Fact Book, 32 percent of TCU's freshmen graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

About 42 percent of SMU's freshmen graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class, according to SMU fact books.

Young Americans gravitated to the polls this election, and youth voter estimates show the percentage of eligible 18-29 year-old voters rose to at least 52 percent, an increase of 4 to 5 percentage points since 2004.

According to a voter turnout projection report released by Tufts University's Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), the increase in youth votes accounted for at least 60 percent of the overall increase in votes cast, suggesting the recent election rallied more young voters than any other age group.

Head football coach Gary Patterson began his weekly news conference Tuesday with two words that expressed the focus of the Horned Frogs this week: "Air Force."

"For a team that people say runs the triple option, they have thrown for nine touchdowns," Patterson said. "You've got to be very careful in how you handle them and what you do."

Patterson said the team is prepared for what the Air Force Academy has done during its first 11 games, but he would be surprised if the Falcons tried something new.

The Student Government Association House of Representatives passed a bill and a resolution Tuesday to aid efforts to promote the green movement on campus.

SGA passed a bill to allocate money to install 11 bicycle racks on campus to accommodate the increasing number of students who ride their bike to class. Campus Advancement allocated $4,368.72 from its budget to fund the supplies, equipment and services to put in the bike racks by the end of the semester. SGA logos will be added to these racks.

In 2007, students from all over the world looked forward to continuing their education at TCU.

Last fall, 7,382 students enrolled at TCU as undergraduates; 1,698 of those students were from out of state.

Now we all know that to be a successful and happy student at TCU you don't just need good grades. You need to experience life and the city with your new friends.

But for the 23 percent of those students that moved to Texas for school, experiencing life and the city is a little more complicated.