The Faculty Senate will try to deal with three vacant seats from one college at their meeting next week, the Senate chairwoman said.Elizabeth Gillaspy, Faculty Senate assistant secretary, said in an e-mail there are 18 new senators for the next term but three vacancies in the College of Science and Engineering.

Chairwoman Suzy Lockwood said the online elections were April 16 and 17.

Lockwood, an assistant nursing professor, said the new senators will be introduced at their May 3 meeting and proposals to fill the vacancies will be discussed.

It is easy and cheap to capitalize on America's obsession with celebrities, said two professors at the Searchlight Symposium Wednesday night.Richard Allen, radio-TV-film professor, and Adam Schiffer, political science assistant professor, shared their distinct views on celebrities in a media-crazed society and answered questions from several students among the nearly 50 in attendance.

Children scrambled all across campus to be rewarded with unsolved math and science problems Wednesday. Fourth- and fifth-graders from 20 schools in Fort Worth ISD applied their knowledge of science and math to the TCU campus, calculating angles, assessing the habitat of campus wildlife, converting measurements and many more activities as part of a program called the "Math and Science Trail".

New to TCU, the trail tested the students based on a curriculum similar to that of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills test, according to a press release.

As reigning conference champions, the men's tennis team will be in position to defend its crown this week out in the Rocky Mountains.The No. 68 Horned Frogs will begin match-play in the 2007 Mountain West Conference Championship this afternoon in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The team went 5-1 in conference play during the season, including a regular season finale sweep of the Air Force Falcons, University of Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels and the New Mexico Lobos.

Becoming a legal adult at the age of 18 comes with many new liberties, such as the ability to purchase tobacco or play the lottery. Of these many new privileges, perhaps the most overlooked yet beneficial privilege is the ability to sign up for credit cards.While most new adults avoid credit cards on the basis that they are evil or dangerous, a credit card, combined with a little discipline and responsibility, can be a convenient tool for establishing a good credit rating and saving money.

Like foreigners in their own skin, transgendered people suffer from massive confusion, verbal and physical abuse, and struggles with acceptance. Many know about gay people, lesbians and bisexual people, but little is known about people who identify themselves as transgendered. "Transgender" is a term used to encompass people who do not identify well with the genders they were born as. Since not much is known about transgendered people, they lack certain rights and are often discriminated against.

Finals. With each passing moment we get closer to the sleep-deprived, coffee-chugging gauntlet that seems to pack an entire semester's worth of homework into a week. Welcome back, stress.Finals can be tough. GPAs are on the line, scholarships can be in jeopardy and the idea of failing a class that you paid $2,000 to take doesn't exactly lend itself to a carefree environment.

So, how can Joe T. College Student reduce his stress to a reasonable level while avoiding an "F" on his geology exam? Let's take a look.

WebMD.com gives some great suggestions.

A lot of people on campus get lazy during this time of the semester.But, while students can be excused by having had months of weekly papers, quizzes, homework and jobs, TCU faculty have no excuse.

Professors are paid to be here, teach us, test us and grade those tests. It's not too much to ask a professor to return graded tests in the class following the test day. It's inexcusable when a professor takes more than a week to grade a test, unless that teacher is grading novel-sized essay exams.

The TCU community is participating in Global Days for Darfur to raise awareness about the genocide occurring in Darfur, a professor said. Global Days is a worldwide campaign to raise awareness and is all about education and action, said Cecil Van de Voorde, an assistant criminal justice professor.

"I want people to wake up, pay attention and start acting," said Van de Voorde, who is managing this week's events.

If you thought "Shaun of the Dead" was good way back in 2004, then "Hot Fuzz" is worth your time.Director and co-writer Edgar Wright ("Shaun of the Dead") teamed up again with co-writer and actor Simon...

Students and faculty want to know why America is obsessed with celebrities. "Why is America obsessed with celebrities" is the question of the day and the title of today's Searchlight Symposium from 5 to 7 p.m. in Smith Hall 104.

Students will hear about celebrity obsession from guest speakers Richard Allen, a radio-TV-film professor, and Adam Schiffer, a political science assistant professor, and can participate in an open-question forum, said John Wood, founder of the biannual event that started in 2006.