This column appeared in the Winter 2007 issue of Image magazine. For the full issue, visit image.tcu.edu.Read more:
Morgan Blunk's column from Image magazine

A new 24-hour media center, to be located between King and Wright halls, will be equipped with a pool table, flat screen TVs, game tables and a mini-bar and it will be available for all students at the beginning of the spring semester.The center is scheduled to open on the first day of spring classes Jan. 14, but issues with the exterior construction could delay the opening until the end of January, said Harold Leeman, associate director of the Physical Plant.

The Brite Divinity School is hoping to save $2 million on its expansion project by moving the groundbreaking up two years, a Brite administrator said.Newell Williams, president of Brite and a professor of modern and American church history, said plans have been in the works for a few years. The renovations and expansion will cost $19.5 million and is expected to take 18 months to complete, he said.

One more commencement will pass without the iconic figure of TCU - Frog Fountain.Harold Leeman, associate director of Physical Plant administration, said the fountain is still being reconstructed.

"The foundations for the flutes have been placed, and all the piping and electrical conduits are being set now," Leeman said. "The actual flutes have been refurbished off-site and are ready to be bolted in place when the actual fountain is completed."

Female athletes suffer more concussions than male athletes playing the same sports at both the college and high school levels, according to an upcoming study in the Journal of Athletic Training.TCU team physician Dr. Sam Haraldson defined concussion as "a complex patho-physiological process affecting the brain induced by traumatic biomechanical forces."

Haraldson said the majority of female concussions at TCU occur in soccer and basketball as the result of player-to-player contact.

Video games turn kids into killers.Music encourages rebellion. And movies destroy ... Christianity?

The entertainment industry has faced these accusations for years. The latest target is a movie to arriving in theaters Dec. 7.

You have heard of it by now: "The Golden Compass."

It has sparked controversy, among Christians.

During the preview, it almost resembles the fantasy-like features of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" with humans alongside animals and witches.

Returning from a wonderful time of family gathering and football watching during the Thanksgiving break, I found myself questioning the function of America's holiday traditions. When boiled down to the basics, some behavior deemed normal during our most celebrated days seems downright unusual.

Let's start with Halloween.

You get decked out as a pirate, a ghost or Superman to beat on the doors of strangers, demanding candy and threatening a trick if said goodies are not handed over promptly.

The Student Government Association resolution to bring jazz programming back to KTCU FM 88.7 "The Choice" was vetoed Wednesday by the SGA president. Jace Thompson, SGA president, said he vetoed the resolution because it did not represent the interests of the entire student body.

Thompson said he talked to Russell Scott, KTCU station manager, and another student who informed him that no one had consulted them before building the resolution. Thompson said the resolution's author should have researched KTCU's perspective to validate the resolutions' necessity.

Eight hundred students at Middlebury College formed a group to protest the change of the school's seal.A Facebook group.

Students no longer need posters and signs to picket and rally against injustices. In fact, they don't even have to leave their desk chairs.

With one click of the mouse, they can join other students in the latest protest on campus, in the region, state or even the world.

All because of the wonders of a little Web site called Facebook.

Hundreds of students' financial aid was delayed this semester because of a new computer system. Michael Scott, director of scholarships and student financial aid, said the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board had problems when it installed a new computer system at its offices, delaying disbursement of financial aid all over Texas.

The College Access Loan is the only state loan that was delayed this year, Scott said. Upperclassmen were the main recipients of this loan because they were granted priority over freshmen by the Coordinating Board, he said.

Next fall, residential services will make Foster Hall the first dormitory to host a program that aims to build relationships and increase retention among freshman.The hall will be home to freshman Living...

TCU's retention rate for freshmen has risen from 81 percent in 2002 to 86 percent in 2007, according to the TCU Fact Book, and professors say it is because of better advising procedures, mentors and freshman programs.TCU has conducted research to see which students leave and why by calling those students for phone interviews.

"A lot of students call back, and the issues are generally related to something academic," said Mike Scott, director of scholarships and financial aid. "Like they didn't like their major or didn't feel like they fit in."