A documentary filmmaker and professor from the University of Southern California will visit Friday through Sunday to discuss autobiographical documentaries and media criticism.Michael Renov, professor of critical studies at USC, is the radio-TV-film department's Green Honors Chairman.

"Dr. Michael Renov is an internationally-known scholar on the study of documentary," said Richard Allen, chair of the radio-TV-film department.

According to a Star-Telegram article from Feb. 19, Vijay Devarajan, a 25-year-old from Arlington, plans on climbing Africa's tallest mountain, not for the fame, but for charity. I look up to Devarajan because his acts of service reach beyond city limits. I think it is important for all of us to serve in some way in our community because not only does it bring a sort of self-fulfillment, but it is a way to show concern for others.

The atmosphere of small, privately-owned coffee shops is often better than that of Starbucks, which some may find too crowded and will object to the fact that they are a national chain. Just when you think Starbucks has taken over the coffee world, something new pops up: a crowd of "anti-Starbucks" people who seek out local shops to the sometimes overpowering Starbucks. While Starbucks made drinking coffee and tea drinks popular with people of all ages, I often wonder how far this should go.

An undergraduate student has been hired to take the reins and handle the media relations job for the equestrian team. Rob Beuerlein, a junior sociology major, said the director of media relations, Mark Cohen, approached him about the position.

"Mark (Cohen) just came up to me, and we discussed it," Beuerlein said. "I was willing to take on the new project. It's a great opportunity for me to fill a need within the department."

Horned Frog student-athletes are giving the athletic department a reason to cheer after achieving their highest semester and cumulative GPA in fall 2006, said the director of the athletic academic services office.The athletic department GPA of 2.91 for fall 2006 rose from the 2.85 mark student-athletes, as a whole, made in spring 2006. The 2.91 mark is the highest it has been since officials started keeping track of the GPAs in 1999. The cumulative GPA also increased from 2.86 to 2.90, inching closer to the 3.0 departmental goal.

Not too long ago, I had an epiphany. After a late night of the usual college activities, which would eventually end with Whataburger, I came to the conclusion that when it was all said and done, the TCU men's basketball season could give me hope.That's right. I said "TCU men's basketball" and "hope" in the same sentence. Contrary to popular belief around campus, the sky doesn't fall when the two phrases are in the same sentence (but just in case, take cover).

Best Picture"Babel"Starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal, Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi, Babel portrays the interconnection of people, despite their physical and geographical boundaries....

The Oscars: Is the Academy a group of art aficionados or the gavel of morality? After a stunning 79-year run and a stable position as the most prestigious award in the business, why can't the Academy get...

An on-campus child care option would be a step in the right direction in making life easier for some students, faculty and staff.A 2002 survey showed that 38 percent of faculty, staff and students had children who would benefit from on-campus child care. The same survey by a research task force at TCU showed that 31.1 percent of the university's faculty, staff and student population was already using an outside child care system.

Certainly for some, there are probably advantages to an outside child care system.

Officials met Tuesday to discuss implementation plans for a plus/minus grading system. In November, Provost Nowell Donovan announced the plus/minus grading system would be grandfathered in, and, therefore, would not affect currently enrolled students.

Donovan met with the registrar and the Faculty Senate Executive Committee Tuesday and chose to have faculty members grade all students on a plus/minus scale. A computer program will then remove the pluses and minuses from current students' grade point averages, leaving them on the current grading scale.