Programming Council wants to know what a dream day at TCU would be like for students.Would it be walking past the Brown-Lupton Student Center where the latest hit band is playing at Frog Fountain with a buffet of free food to munch on?

Members of PC say that it's not out of the question.

PC is a branch of the Student Government Association that works to produce events for the TCU community, said Vanessa Flores, a junior social work major.

TCU is in the hole to the tune of $50 million - not the university, but the student body.Student loans went from helpful tools to necessity as tuition skyrocketed across the country.

It is dangerous to build up a great deal of debt in college, but what are students to do if that debt is the only way to get into college in the first place?

As nice as it would be to have someone step in and make this debt go away and ensure education for anyone who wants it, a government with a rising debt of its own would have a hard time finding the funds.

England's highest-ranking education official told a classroom of education majors Tuesday they need to have an enthusiasm for reading in order to imbed a love of literature in their students."Teachers must be interested in reading in order to pass that enthusiasm on," said David Bell, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in England.

Bell is a friend of Samuel Deitz, the dean of the School of Education, and used it as an opportunity to come speak at TCU.

Bell spoke to a class of seven women who are all interested in how to teach reading to children.

After the September death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, the fate of the nation's highest court, and John G. Roberts Jr.'s place in it, has been a hot topic.But since being confirmed by the Senate...

It was discouraging to read the Sept. 30 issue of the Skiff, which featured a lead article and editorial about "encouraging diversity" on the TCU campus, but contained no mention of Bruce Feiler's inspiring Gates of Chai lecture that had occurred the previous night at Ed Landreth Hall. This remarkable lecture series, now in its eighth year, is a joint undertaking of the Program in Jewish Studies at TCU and Brite Divinity School. The series has brought the likes of Elie Wiesel, Morris Dees and the late Chaim Potok to campus.

In the 2003-2004 academic year, nearly 8,000 loans-- - totaling more than $50 million- - were taken out by TCU students, according to a report from the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corp., a nonprofit agency that coordinates transactions between schools and banks in Texas.The report states that the average loan each student takes out for the year was more than $11,000.

The number of students borrowing money to pay for school, and the amount they are borrowing, has more than doubled in the last 10 years, according to a new report from the American Council on Education.

Calling all creatures: TCU is holding its first Blessing of the Animals ceremony at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday.Students, faculty, staff and the Fort Worth community are encouraged to bring their pets or pictures of their pets to be blessed individually, said Ann Smith, TCU Ministries Intern for Worship, Spiritual Life & Pastoral Care.

The Blessing of the Animals is in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, a 13th-century monk and patron saint of animals, and will be held outside of Robert Carr Chapel.