Liberty is learned through education, said a professor and world-recognized political theorist at Thursday's annual Honors Convocation. About 150 students, faculty, staff and community members attended the hour-long ceremony focusing on students' performance in a global community with performances by the 3-year-old Steel Drum Band and a keynote speaker, Benjamin R. Barber.

Barber, University of Maryland professor of civil society, is a best-selling author, president and director of CivWorld, a non-governmental organization campaigning for democracy.

Life does not always have to be so serious. This is a terribly difficult concept to grasp in this hustle-and-go society. According to Yahoo! News, a retired New York couple let go and took a trip they will remember for the rest of their lives.Betty and Bob Matas started their journey in New York City by hailing a taxi in their Queens neighborhood. Neither Betty nor Bob Matas drive, and they wanted to spare their cats, Pretty Face and Cleopatra, from a plane ride to their new home, according to Yahoo! News.

Tragedy struck Virginia Tech University this past week. The weight of the situation tore at the country's heartstrings this week as families and distant friends mourned for those gunned down, Monday.Students donned shirts of maroon and gold and anxiously awaited the latest breaking coverage in the investigations. Families called loved ones back east, and, yet again, baseball became the rock for a nation in a time of crisis.

A professor at the University of Nevada spent seven years and about $10 million perfecting a technique that creates what scientists have called a chimera, an animal that is 15 percent human and 85 percent sheep, according to the Associated Press.These animals are predicted to be used for their organs. At some point in the future, scientists say chimera organs will be so close to humans that they will be able to save an incredible amount of transplant patients.

Though the sun may have set on "The O.C.," Adam Brody does not seem sad about waving goodbye to his days at Newport High. Rather, Brody appears content in his new role jetting across the country on a press tour to promote his new movie, "In the Land of Women."Brody sat on a large ottoman in a suite at the W Hotel in Dallas, pulling one leg up to his chest as he compared his role as Carter Webb, the lead character of "In the Land of Women," to Seth Cohen, his four-year character on the hit FOX TV show, "The OC."

"In the Land of Women" is a melodramatic coming-of-age film that shies away from the chick flick genre as it examines relationships of all sorts.Though the previews may be misleading - it is not simply a love story between Adam Brody ("The O.C.") and Kristen Stewart ("Fierce People") - viewers may be pleasantly surprised at the level of depth reached in what may appear to be a shallow movie.

With the Virginia Tech shootings unfolding throughout the day Monday, Lauren Pope could envision herself on the grounds of the 2,600-acre campus.As names and faces are being put together to the 32 slain victims and gunman of the Virginia Tech attack, TCU students, such as Pope, and faculty with ties to Virginia Tech and the state of Virginia continue to reflect and mourn days after the most catastrophic school shooting in U.S. history.

Fourteen environmental science graduate and undergraduate students will host a symposium Monday to address local and global energy usage. Stephanie Eady, who is an environmental science graduate student and one of the 14 organizers of the symposium, said the panel of speakers attending will comprise a variety of backgrounds to highlight the necessity of a variety of perspectives in order to determine what the future holds regarding energy.

"We're committed to have carbon in the next 20 years," Eady said. "To find one single alternative to carbon is ridiculous."

The baseball team will try to extend its current winning streak to double digits if the team completes a three-game sweep of the incoming conference-rival BYU this weekend.The No. 27 Horned Frogs (28-9, 10-1) have won seven straight games overall and 19 straight at the friendly confines of Lupton Stadium. The last loss for the Frogs came April 5 against the No. 26 Oklahoma Sooners (25-14, 5-6). TCU was able to make up for that loss, which was described as "embarrassing" by head coach Jim Schlossnagle, with an 11-4 victory Tuesday night.