These days, it seems like there are prescription drugs for every ailment one can imagine. While I am still not in favor of heavy drugs to treat attention deficit disorder, I'll admit prescription medicines will do wonders for afflictions such as paranoid schizophrenia and debilitating migraines. However, when it comes to the nature of most medications Americans are using, we're barking up the wrong tree.How is that, you ask? Quite simply, the major pharmaceutical companies are pumping all kinds of money and time into frivolous medications or off-brand versions of popular types of drugs.

An internationally recognized author and professor of feminist criminology said Thursday evening that women who enter the penal system with a history of aggression are criticized more often than they are helped.As part of the Green Honors Chair Program in the Kelly Alumni Center, Meda Chesney-Lind, professor of women's studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, presented her lecture, "Bad Girls Go Wild? Media Hypes and Trends in Girls Violence and Aggression."

Although the chairwoman of the Faculty Senate said earlier this week that she was ready to end discussions on the plus/minus grading system, it continued to be the topic of debate Thursday at the Faculty Senate meeting.The grading system, which was approved 46-8 on Sept. 28 at a faculty assembly meeting, is now in the hands of the provost to approve and send to the University Council for further debate, said Faculty Senate member Andy Fort.

Broken elevators, unreliable Internet connection and constant construction: These are some of the problems students living in the GrandMarc at Westberry Place said they have encountered since the complex opened in August."The first weekend I was here I got stuck on the elevator for three hours," said sophomore marketing major Mark Aughinbaugh. "It just stopped between floors."

Johanna Janovsky, business manager for the GrandMarc, said the problems with the elevators were the result of maintenance work.

Remember the one band you found before anyone else? That one band, that only around 50 fans showed up to its concerts ... the band about which you thought, "I can't wait 'till they get famous," not only...

Disgust, outrage, betrayal: The scandal centered on former Florida Representative Mark Foley has left a sour taste in the mouths of American citizens.The scandal began when concerns were raised about inappropriate contact Foley had with teenage pages through electronic messages.

Just when it seemed Americans' faith in Congress could not slip any lower, it has. Since the unfolding of the scandal, Congress' approval rating has plummeted to a meager 27 percent, according a New York Times poll released earlier this week.

Three Ms. TCU candidates said they have been barred from today's ballot because of Facebook groups created on their behalf.Seniors Jill Rutherford, Liz Hamner and Katie Williams all said they received e-mails from Natalie Boone, an assistant director in the Student Center, informing them of their disqualifications because of a rule prohibiting solicitation.

Rutherford and Williams said they were contacted Monday, and Hamner said she was contacted Tuesday. Boone confirmed Wednesday morning that the disqualifications were because of Facebook groups.

Students who recently took the Medical College Admission Test are some of the last to view it in its pencil and paper format.Starting January 2007, the MCAT will only be offered in a computerized format, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Kristi Tebo, a junior neuroscience major, took the MCAT in August and is scheduled to receive the results of her test on Saturday.

"I am hoping I did as well as I did in the prep tests I took before," said Tebo, who took about nine prep tests with Kaplan.

The Horned Frogs' volleyball team looks to improve its record, and despite recent losses, is happy with its season thus far.The Frogs, who are 3-4 in the Mountain West Conference, host conference foe New Mexico Lobos on Friday night, and team members said they hope to bounce back after last weekend's two losses.

"We've had a really good start," junior right-side hitter Emily Allen said. "In preseason, we did well, and we've struggled a little in conference, but I think next time in conference, we're going to pull it together and do really, really well."

College students are only a few short years away from entering the job market.How competitive will that market be? How much money will we have to pay in taxes once we receive that first paycheck? And what type of job security will there be?

Students assume they have little influence on the answers to these questions. But in reality, they do. Decisions affecting those issues will be made by the men and women elected to office - from local government to Washington D.C.

There has been little interest in the Picnic-To-Go program since the program's launch Oct. 2, says the marketing manager for TCU Dining Services.As of now, no students have ordered or purchased the Picnic-To-Go packages, which, Dining Services marketing manager Legia Abato said, is mainly because there has not been great weather.

"This is something we have been working out for a while now, and there was too much going on at the beginning of the year for it to be launched," Abato said.