One of three former student-athletes accused of sexually assaulting a student on TCU's campus hired an attorney Wednesday, according to court records.Gwinda L. Burns, of Fort Worth, was hired Wednesday to represent Virgil Allen Taylor, 19, against sexual assault charges filed Tuesday in Tarrant County Criminal District Court No. 2, according to court records.

Shannon Monroe Behling, 19, and Lorenzo Labell Jones, 20, are also charged in the case but had not hired attorneys as of Wednesday afternoon, according to court records.

It happens at the end of every semester: Students wait impatiently in front of a computer, constantly refreshing my.tcu.edu's academic home page to see if final grades have been posted. Inevitably, someone will be dissatisfied with his or her grade. Disgruntled students can present their cases to the Academic Appeals Committee about discrepancies concerning a specific grade. Currently, a student has until the drop date of the next semester to appeal a grade, but a proposed appeals process would limit the time frame to appeal a grade to 10 days.

One iPod speaker, one Vera Bradley handbag, two candles, one Juicy tube of Lancome lip gloss and one Ralph Lauren Polo shirt - a bill at a department store or boutique? Nope, the receipt at the TCU Bookstore.Let's be honest: We've all been guilty at some point during our time at TCU of charging items at the bookstore and sending the bill home to Mom and Dad.

But the bookstore is just so tempting that sometimes you go in there and don't even intend to spend any money at all.

The men's and women's tennis teams concluded their fall seasons Monday, but a women's doubles team will soon play in the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships.Senior Ana Cetnik and sophomore Anna Sydorska won the doubles championship in 2006 at the Wilson/Intercollegiate Association Southwest Regional Championships at Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center, where they had been seeded No. 2.

What is it with this eerie "Nightmare Before Christmas" mix of Halloween and Christmas? Halloween is just around the corner; we have one month until Thanksgiving, and Christmas decorations have already taken over local superstores.

There is something gravely wrong about seasonal commercialism these days. To us, Halloween commonly means candy and costumes. Thanksgiving means eating, napping and spending time with family. Christmas means trees, caroling, opening presents and spending time with family.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go - and that's a problem.It is still October, and Halloween is right around the corner. But at almost every retail store you visit, there is nothing but Christmas promotions.

Call me Ebenezer Scrooge, but bah, humbug on early Christmas promotions.

When I pulled up to Garden Ridge this past weekend, propped up right in front of the entrance was a gargantuan snow globe with everybody's favorite fat man inside giving yuletide greetings.

When my special someone and I recently decided to take a break from our relationship, we said for the most part things wouldn't change. We would still talk to each other often and would still spend time with each other when we returned home during holidays. In fact, the only thing that would really change would be our official status - we would no longer consider each other "boyfriend" and "girlfriend." We would even change our relationship status on Facebook.

Opinion writers can't help but step on people's toes sometimes - crushing readers with strong views. For example, in my last article, I'd imagine I left a few mama's boys and daddy's girls longing to sit down for a home-cooked meal with their families. And I'm sure I annoyed students who haven't been home since the semester began with my ingratitude for seeing my family and the comfort of my own bed on a daily basis.

Despite rising tensions worldwide, there is no issue more important today than the Middle East conflict, said a counselor with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.Ambassador Dennis Ross, counselor for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, has worked as a State Department specialist under Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton and spoke about Middle East affairs Tuesday night to a crowd of about 400 in Ed Landreth Hall as part of the ninth annual Gates of Chai Lectureship in Contemporary Judaism.

Both cross country teams will be taking to the skies this weekend as they enter the Mountain West Conference Championship meet Saturday in Salt Lake City.The women's team is returning to action after their pre-nationals race in Terre Haute, Ind., while the men's team will be racing for the first time since the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree back in late September. The men's team has been paced by freshman Festus Kigen, and the women's team has been following the lead of senior Calandra Stewart.

Stewart finished 14th in the pre-nationals meet among 242 competitors.

Two of three former TCU student-athletes jailed Friday on sexual assault charges were released Tuesday after posting bail, according to jail records.Virgil Allen Taylor, 19, and Shannon Monroe Behling, 19, each posted $25,000 bail bonds and were released from Mansfield Jail at 2:25 p.m. Tuesday, according to jail records.

Taylor, Behling and Lorenzo Labell Jones, 20, have been charged with sexually assaulting a freshman female student in a dorm room in Moncrief Hall on Oct. 13, according to a police report.