At my urging, members of my labor economics class attended the Living Wage Forum with a panel of four TCU faculty members (one each from social work, religion, political science and management) last week. We have spent weeks exploring the causes and consequences of growing income inequality in the United States as well as policies, including the living wage, directed at compressing the income distribution, so my students had valuable insights to contribute. However, their voices were not welcome at the forum.

"Final Cut: No lights. No cameras. All Action!"At Hangman's House of Horrors, one of the top-ranked attractions in Tarrant County, new scares can be found.

Hangman's doesn't claim to be the scariest, but instead, the most fun, said Aryn Young, production assistant for La-De-Da Productions, the theatrical production company that sponsors Hangman's.

"We're definitely the most entertaining," Young said. "And I think that's why we've been so successful."

Sophomore setter Loren Barry said preparation could make the difference in TCU's upcoming games against No. 13 Brigham Young and Utah this weekend.The Horned Frogs enter the second half of conference play on a three-game winning streak, including a come-from-behind win over the Colorado State Rams on Tuesday.

"We've been working really hard this week, and any team can win on any given day," Barry said. " It's just about who comes out more prepared and whose mind is in the right place."

The cross country teams begin the championship season this weekend, as they travel to Fort Collins, Colo., for their first ever Mountain West Conference Championships.The race at Collindale Golf Course on Saturday will mark the first time a TCU athletic team has competed in a MWC tournament, coach Patrick Cunniff said.

"We are very excited about being the first TCU team to represent the university in a Mountain West Conference championship," Cunniff said.

It's 8:15 a.m. Inside Room 215, 20 hunched-over students scratch and scrawl away with No. 2 pencils on their first task of the day.

It's both familiar and uncharted territory for these high school juniors and seniors. And for 25 minutes of a grueling three-hour-and-45-minute SAT exam, like the nearly 1.4 million students across the nation who took it in spring and early summer, they must complete not only multiple-choice questions but also, for the first time, demonstrate their writing ability.

A special election will be held Nov. 8 to fill a vacancy in the House of Student Representatives after a representative of the College of Science and Engineering resigned last week. Rep. Thomas Guidry, a junior computer science information major, cited in his resignation letter "distress and heartache" as reasons for leaving.

Guidry had been a representative in the House for five semesters. Vice President Trevor Smith said he is disappointed about Guidry's resignation.

Almost 90 percent of sexually active college students contract a sexually transmitted disease and are not even aware of it, local experts say.Among the 20 million Americans who have genital human papillomavirus are the high percentage of sexually active college women and men, said Dr. Jayanthi Lea, a gynecologic oncologist at University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center.

"I would venture a guess between 70 and 88 percent," Lea said.

TCU females can learn self-defense techniques and then practice on their instructors at the Rape Aggression Defense class Saturday and Sunday.The class is designed to teach females to avoid and escape attacks, said TCU Police officer Mike Fazlinejad, co-instructor of the course.

Fazlinejad said the class begins with a discussion about prevention of potential attacks. He suggests closing blinds at night so no one can see inside and parking in well-lit areas.

The instructors then teach technical punches and kicks, Fazlinejad said.

At Hangman's House of Horrors the volunteers have a large role in the planning and production of the haunted house.They play a part in everything from the theme to the sets, said Aryn Young, a 2002 TCU graduate and production assistant for La-De-Da Productions, the theatrical production company that sponsors Hangman's.

According to www.hangmans.com, "It takes more than 1,000 volunteers to bring this house to life!"

In a creative meeting in late spring, the volunteers selected the "Final Cut" movie theme as well as the overall direction of the house, Young said.