I'm sure you have all been following the disaster news from New Orleans. I have watched and read everything I could and have come away in despair, confusion, comparing it to Sept. 9/11, sensing the differences and the similarities, struggling with the enormity of the losses, angry at times, and looking for signs of hope and recovery. Of course, my sociological brain also constantly processes the issues of race, class, politics and family dynamics. My husband Charles and I rolled up our sleeves on Saturday and went to work buying and hauling supplies to local shelters.

When it comes to football, senior wide receiver Ryan Pearson is all business.The same can be said of him off the field.

Pearson, in his fifth season on the Horned Frog football team, graduated with a degree in finance in May, and is now pursuing his MBA.

Pearson said he plays golf to relax in what little spare time he has, but his roommate and teammate, wide receiver Matt Grimmett, said Pearson finds it hard to take it easy.

Grimmett said Pearson approaches golf just like he approaches everything: with intensity.

TCU's track and field legacy could be in jeopardy because of an NCAA investigation and self-imposed sanctions now in place, said former TCU sprinter and alumnus David Spencer on Wednesday.Spencer was a member of the 2001 NCAA champion 4x100 meters relay team.

The TCU track team has been under investigation since September 2004 from the NCAA for alleged improprieties by former head coach Monte Stratton and his coaching staff.

TCU also has self-imposed sanctions, banning them from postseason competition.

TCU has delayed making the decision to switch to a plus/minus grading system because further research is needed, said Faculty Senate member David Grant.He said the Faculty Senate was orginally set to vote last May to adopt or reject the system, but the vote was delayed.

A detailed proposal, including how the plus/minus system could affect financial aid and grade inflation, will be presented to the Faculty Senate next semester, said Grant, a religion professor and chairman of the committee preparing this proposal.

The critics may want intelligence and originality in every film they see, but I love clich‚ plots and mindless fun every now and then.Over the long weekend, "Transporter 2" delivered everything I could...

When freshman Kappa Sigma recruit Greg Stokes heard Hurricane Katrina might make landfall in his hometown of New Orleans, he hoped for the best."We've been lucky for 40 years," said Stokes, a finance major. "We thought we'd get lucky again."

At first, it seemed that New Orleans missed the worst of the storm. But after three levee points on Lake Pontchartrain broke, the city was covered in water.

Stokes' parents evacuated from the city before the storm, but his grandparents stayed behind in a hotel in downtown New Orleans.

Smith Entrepreneurs Hall offers students more than just a meal from Sub Connection.The Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization, a club for any student interested in entrepreneurship, welcomes underclassmen and non-business majors, CEO president Leslie Martin said.

David Minor, director of the Neely Entrepreneurship Program said that once a month, members of CEO are able to have dinners with successful entrepreneurs and members also have the opportunity to work with a mentor.

Senseless Acts of Comedy will kick off the new year with a show at 9 p.m. Thursday in Moudy Building North, Room 141.The student improvisational comedy group now has six members with four returning from last year's cast.

"We are really excited for this upcoming year and we have two new members who are freshman that are really great," said Austin Hines, a senior radio-TV-film major and the president of Senseless Acts of Comedy.

The comedy troupe is beginning it's fourth year at TCU and is expecting to have a full house Thursday night.

Results are in for the House of Representatives elections, but not everyone is fully represented.Two colleges have one seat vacant. The College of Communications has five out of six seats filled, while the College of Science and Engineering has seven out of eight.

The vacancies have left students wondering how it will impact them.

Christa Owen, a sophomore early childhood education major, doesn't think the vacancy will hurt students.

"Because (the representatives) are committed, one seat vacancy shouldn't make a difference," Owen said.

Casting Crowns frontman and songwriter Mark Hall continues to write with an endearing honesty that leaves him vulnerable and challenges listeners to do the same with the band's sophomore release, "Lifesong."Hall, a youth pastor from Atlanta, said he writes with the intention of reaching the 400 children he sees every Sunday. The band started with this purpose and they want to ensure it remains their highest priority.