Even the cold weather could not stop many transfer and first year students from attending the first ever winter session of Frog Camp. While attending a two-day camp Thursday and Friday, students were given the chance to meet upperclassmen and faculty members and get to know their fellow classmates just like a regular summer session.

The summer Frog Camps usually last three to five days, in order to allow more time for games and outdoor activities.

The cold weather, however, spurred some changes in the original plans for activities.

If a tree falls in the forest and there's no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?This seemingly simple question has puzzled mankind for ages. Maybe moving the setting to a more familiar locale will make the answer more apparent.

If a basketball swishes through the net at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, and there are no fans in the seats, does it really make a sound?

You bet. There are 12 guys dressed in purple and white on the TCU sideline who live for that very sound, and dishearteningly, live to play the game in front of meager, unenthusiastic crowds.

The calendar may say it's a new year, but for the GrandMarc at Westberry Place it doesn't feel any different. A total of 23,000 square feet of the GrandMarc's retail space remains vacant, and, since leasing space with Perrotti's Pizza and CitiBank, the GrandMarc has been unable to recruit additional tenants.

Although negotiations with several businesses are in progress, Kimberly Moss, director of community operations for the GrandMarc, said both Starbucks and Dallas-based sandwich shop Which Wich, recently decided against leasing space in the GrandMarc.

Freezing temperatures and ice couldn't keep the Red Hot Chili Peppers away from Texas on Saturday. Despite canceling their Oklahoma City show the night before, the Chili Peppers rocked out Dallas' American Airlines Center in a high-profile concert that showcased the band's exceptional music skills.An all-star cast of drummer Chad Smith, guitarist John Frusciante, bassist Flea and frontman Anthony Kiedis put on a show that lived up to their stature as one of the world's most talented rock bands.

A celebratory spirit was in the air at the admissions office Tuesday as the staff mingled near silver balloons forming the number 10,000 and munched on Horned Frog cookies. The admissions staff members were celebrating their 10,000th application received, a milestone reached Friday.

For the 2006 school year, TCU received about 8,700 applications. This year's applications are ahead of last year's record, according to the admissions office, and the year isn't over yet.

We've all done it: As the new year rolls around, we make promises to ourselves to eat healthier, work out more often and get in shape.But, as school starts, priorities other than the food pyramid and the gym take over, and healthy living takes a backseat to grades and partying.

Not surprisingly, nutritionists agree food and exercise are fundamental parts of staying healthy.

Vandals were busy smashing windows around the TCU area over winter break, causing more than $13,700 worth of damage to both TCU and local properties.Nothing was reported stolen after unknown suspects broke a radio-TV-film department truck's windows with a pipe at about 3:30 a.m. Dec. 28, causing an estimated $10,000 worth of damage, TCU Police Sgt. Kelly Ham said.

Damage to the windows of a bus-stop shelter in the parking lot north of the football stadium amounted to about $1,300, said Hollis Dyer, superintendent of maintenance.

A student committee begins raising money today for a national Martin Luther King Jr. memorial to be in Washington, D.C., said the committee's adviser.Deanne Chandler, the program coordinator for Inclusiveness and Intercultural Services, launched the committee and will take the first steps by selling "Build the Dream" wristbands at all Martin Luther King Jr. Day events planned at TCU.

The memorial will be built between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, according to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Foundation Web site.