The alarm clock jars you awake with the twang of country music. Then, you stumble into the bathroom like a drunken zombie with anger management problems. After spending an inordinate amount of time in the shower's warm embrace, you brush your teeth and get dressed just in time to run to your first class. Sound familiar? Seems like an accurate summary of everyone's morning, right? But something's missing, and no, it's not the quasi-religious practice of checking your Facebook first thing in the morning.

SGA approved the 2007-2008 budget giving House of Student Representatives members scholarships and reducing funding to the Activities Funding Board. Previously, the House of Student Representatives' Finance Committee rejected the budget because not enough funding was allocated to organizational funding. The House approved the proposed budget Tuesday after a debate over several issues ranging from scholarships to whether members out of dress code could vote. The budget passed with a 22-9 vote with three abstentions. For the vote to pass, a two-thirds majority was needed.

Plans have been made and dates have been finalized for the inaugural Greek Week at TCU.Greek Week is set for April 23 through April 26 and will include events ranging from speakers to Greek Olympics to a step show and a day at a TCU baseball game.

Matt DiLeo, Interfraternity Council president and event coordinator, said there will be more than one event each day, and many of them will be open to the public.

As you walk into the dimly lit room, the band is just warming up. To your surprise, no bouncer comes to ask you for the last of your precious cash in exchange for a paper wristband. Your eyes begin to adjust, and you head to the bar and grab a Lone Star. You scan the eclectic crowd for your friends but they haven't arrived yet, so you slink to the back of the bar and sink into the sofa. The aroma of spiced beef tips outweighs the scent of smoke as you close your eyes and let the smooth melody of a stand-up bass solo wash away all your almost-Monday blues. This is only the beginning.

The spring semester is coming to a close, and, with it, for the most part, comes the end of college sports' seasons.

BASEBALL

After having the final game of a three-game series with the Air Force Falcons canceled, the Horned Frogs (23-9, 7-1) still hold on to a one-game lead in the Mountain West Conference above the BYU Cougars. The team is still in middle of a road trip, which will end against the UNLV Rebels on Sunday. Senior right fielder Austin Adams is tied for the team lead in home runs with six and has 32 RBI following the close of the Air Force series.

A group of students hopes to raise $50,000 in four months to bring a major band to campus, and the ticket price is 10 hours.The 10,000 Hours Show is a free concert for 1,000 or more student volunteers who devote 10 or more hours of community service any where in Fort Worth throughout the school year. Previous live performers at 10K concerts include Cake, Ben Folds and Guster. Jet, Jack's Mannequin and Robert Randolph & The Family Band are scheduled for 10Ks this month.

As the chairman-elect of the Faculty Senate said, denying a professor tenure is the capital punishment of the academic world.That's why it's so important for the Faculty Senate to continually improve the procedures surrounding tenure and promotion grievances.

The senate has tried for about the past six years to do so, but its efforts have fallen by the wayside as the committee's goals change from year to year.

The night before he left for Iraq, Capt. Bradley Thompson grabbed a napkin and started brainstorming about opening a coffee cafe near TCU."He wanted it to have a nice ambience with 'Frenchy' music," said his wife, Rachel Ruiz.

Thompson decided to name the cafe Moonstone because of its sacred meaning in many cultures where the gem is considered magical and brings good fortune.

It is spring again, and that means the return of our national pastime: baseball.Baseball season gives people the chance to go out to the ballpark, spend a couple hours with friends, eat a hot dog, "root, root, root for the home team" and hear the "ping" of the bat.

"Ping"?

While the college game currently uses aluminum bats, many baseball purists and fans of the big league game prefer the "crack" of wooden bats.

In 1974, aluminum bats were introduced to college baseball and with the bats came higher batting averages.



WHAT HAS THE

Americans love statistics - or at least numbers that give the appearance of statistics because, when interpreted and compiled into a concise form, it's much easier to digest the information.Our favorite...

It is common knowledge that babies experience their most important developmental period when they are young, usually between the ages of 1 and 3. During this time, many parents are persistent and determined to expose their young infants to clever toys, classical CDs and other objects in order to expand their minds and, ultimately, to try to make them smarter and more intelligent. However, parents may not stop to think that perhaps their methods for helping their children could actually be more harmful to their infants.

"Way to go, Smokey Joe," a group of student protesters chanted outside the Alumni and Visitors Center on Monday night.About 12 students gathered to protest U.S. Rep. Joe Barton's energy policies and to reinforce that global climate change is a real issue when Barton, R-Texas, visited campus Monday.

James Russell, a freshman English major, said this protest is especially important to him because he feels Barton's policies have a bias toward energy and oil companies.