TCU alumnus Tim Halperin competed in this season of "American Idol" until getting voted off Thursday, March 4.

Now, one week later, Halperin said he is excited about the next chapter in his career, beginning with a return to Fort Worth.

Halperin, who graduated this past May, has been playing music since high school, but said he really became serious about pursuing his career as a singer-songwriter after enrolling at TCU in 2006.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period that symbolizes the time Jesus Christ spent in the desert. Lent is also a time for individuals to refocus their dedication, Associate Chaplain of Religious and Spiritual Life Jake Hofmeister said.

Amanda Oleksy, a sophomore early childhood education major, said she is one of several TCU students who will participate in Lent and give up something that is important to her.

A high school tennis injury forced Michael Smith to find new ways to spend his free time.

Smith, a freshman business major, said he's been pursuing rap music ever since.

Along with Charles Croley, a freshman at Texas A&M University, Smith formed the band "Crew of Two." Smith wrote the lyrics and rapped for the group, and Croley created the instrumentals. They released their first album "Two Fly" on iTunes Jan. 8 and are working on their second album to be released sometime next year.

Just say no.

We've heard it related to drug use, and many educators take that same approach when they attempt to teach what I cringe to call "sexual education." The fact of the matter is they hardly educate at all.

The study discussed in Wednesday's column, "Lower teen sex rate proves abstinence works," concluded that from 2006 to 2008 fewer young adults chose to become sexually active. However, the study did not come to a conclusion of why that is. I refuse to believe it is the result of sexual education that hinged on the "abstinence only" viewpoint.

If a current proposal in Texas legislature is passed, public universities would be required to allow Concealed Handgun License holders to carry guns on campus. Private universities such as TCU would have the choice, but are still affected by the decision.

Even with the pressure, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Don Mills said he is certain that guns should remain off campus.

Mills said even with private universities having the final decision whether to allow CHL carriers to exercise these rights on campus, the proposed bill still affects TCU.

Director of Athletics Media Relations Mark Cohen confirmed Wednesday that TCU conducts criminal background checks on athletes.

"We utilize background checks as one of many tools when recruiting prospective student-athletes," Cohen wrote in a statement. "Suffice it to say, we try very hard to recruit athletes who are good community citizens and leaders in their respective sports. So far, we are pleased with our recent recruits, and we look forward to continued success in all of our sports programs."

Kappa Alpha Psi will discuss relationships in college and will attempt to give students a greater understanding of the opposite sex, fraternity president Johnny Fobbs said. Fobbs said he hoped the event...

This semester Slah Mbarek said he turned his focus away from school and tennis to his concern for his family's well-being during the eruption of violent protests in his hometown of Tunis, Tunisia. He said he heard the fear in their voices and violence in the background in daily Skype video chats with his family.

"You just hear helicopters going everywhere and shooting going everywhere," he said. "So all I hear is that they're scared and I just try to stay on Skype with them as much as possible."

Facebook truly embodies the meaning of the word "frenemy."

Although Facebook is meant to help us "stay connected," researchers from Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland concluded in a recent study that the more friends a user has, the more social anxiety that person experiences, according to a Feb. 21 article from the Dallas Business Journal.

"We found it was actually those with the most contacts, those who had invested the most time in the site, who were the ones most likely to be stressed," lead researcher Dr. Kathy Charles said in the article.