Each semester, Greeks pay their chapters hundreds of dollars in dues, used for everything from philanthropies to recruitment, Greek officers say.Will Sager, Interfraternity Council president, said chapter dues range from $450 to $800 a semester and many chapters have summer dues.

Amanda Ziehme, Alpha Chi Omega treasurer, said active members of the sorority paid $440 in dues this semester and new members paid $741.

Responsible consumerism, the act of buying items with the producer in mind, is on the rise among people between the ages of 13 and 25, according to a 2006 poll conducted by Cone Inc., a public relations and research company, and the AMP Agency, a youth-focused marketing agency.In today's world of liquidation sales, buy-in-bulk, reduced prices and buy-one-get-one-free deals, sometimes it's worth it to spend a bit more.

Recyclable items are a start.

Today's first-ever TCU Health Fair is a way for students, faculty, staff and community members to become healthier, more informed individuals, said the assistant dean of campus life for health promotion.Research shows healthier students have higher grades and a better overall experience at college, said Laura Crawley, assistant dean of campus life for health promotion.

"It's better by far to prevent illness than to have it treated," she said.

It's amazing how much you can learn about a person by visiting the "reveal all" Web site - Facebook.So it should come as no surprise that employers are looking for job candidates' revealing information on networking sites. What they are finding is that the profiles don't emphasize skills students learned in the classroom, but those they learned after hours.

Some who post on sites such as Facebook and MySpace are offended at the idea, but employers are now thinking twice about who they hire to represent their companies.

With the results of yesterday's gubernatorial election in, many students and faculty members say the outcome would have been different had there only been fewer candidates.Republican Gov. Rick Perry was re-elected with 39 percent of the votes, while Democrat Chris Bell came in second with 30 percent. Independents Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman drew 18 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

"I think everybody expected this," said Ralph Carter, chairman of the political science department.

President Bush announced Wednesday that Donald Rumsfeld, secretary of defense since 2001, had resigned. Bush made his announcement only hours after the Democratic Party took control of the House - and hours before the Associated Press reported Democrats made up the majority in the Senate. Although the president's announcement seemed to be rather hasty only a day after elections, many students and faculty members say Rumsfeld's step down was long overdue.

Ralph Carter, chair of the political science department, said Rumsfeld should have resigned a long time ago.

The death of a TCU student Monday can serve as a reminder that everyone is all linked together regardless of who they know, said the minister to the university Wednesday.Federico Cuevas was found dead at his off-campus home Monday at 5:20 p.m., according to the Tarrant County medical examiner database.

Cuevas, a senior Spanish major from League City, played on university intramural sports teams at TCU, said the Rev. Angela Kaufman, minister to the university.

November is here; November means Christmas shopping.Christmas shopping means fighting traffic, crowds and credit cards.

Life is stressful but exciting during the holiday season, especially when we are juggling classes, jobs and exams along with the Christmas madness. Let us not make that an excuse to slack off on the gift-giving. Let us not forget the real significance of gifts.

It's true - gifts are difficult. What if he or she doesn't like it? What if he or she thinks this is weird? What if, what if?

Two women's tennis players made school history in their last match of the fall season by reaching the doubles finals of the 2006 ITA National Indoor Collegiate Championships at Ohio State on Saturday.Senior Ana Cetnik and sophomore Anna Sydorska became TCU's first female tennis players to reach the final match in a doubles national championship event when they defeated Kim Coventry and Joelle Schwenk of the Kentucky Wildcats in the semifinals of the tournament.