When the Rev. Fred Phelps and his congregation picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard in 1998, carrying signs that read "God hates fags" and "Matthew Shepard rots in hell," most Americans reacted in outrage. And rightfully so.We live in a culture that preaches tolerance.

As educated college students, we pride ourselves in being open-minded. Through years of schooling, we have learned to accept, or at least tolerate, those of different races, creeds, sexual orientations and abilities.

The Internet is a scary place.It is an incredible tool, a breakthrough in technology and a luxury our generation often takes for granted.

But it is also, in many cases, a blueprint of our private lives.

With the ever-advancing progress in the capabilities of search engines, virtually limitless archives of information are, literally, at our fingertips. We use Internet searches daily, but still barely scratch the surface of the never-ending black hole of information the World Wide Web has to offer.

They are found in downtown areas with megaphones, preaching of Scriptures and threats of eternal hell at the top of their lungs. These people believe the only proper way to live a fulfilling life is to do it their way. If you are lucky, you might even see them on TV performing "miracles," which almost always involves somebody fainting, while hysterical spectators look on with awe and reverence. I'm talking about extreme evangelists.In various parts of the Bible, the Scriptures urge Christians to rapidly spread the Gospel to all parts of the world.

Hispanic Heritage Month begins Friday, and TCU has several events planned, including a sand castle-building contest and a Latin jazz performance, as part of the nationwide celebration honoring the Hispanic culture. TCU prides itself on being a global, world-class university, and celebrating Hispanic Heritage month is just another way to promote the mission statement, said Greg Trevino, director of Inclusiveness and Intercultural Services.

The best way to become a successful leader is to learn how to deal with people, said a marketing instructor at Wednesday's Leadership in the Lounge Series.In front of a crowd of about 50 students and faculty, Bob Akin, a marketing instructor, said the biggest problems students will have in business are people problems.

"You've got to motivate people to do things," Akin said.

The 24th annual Art in the Metroplex is showing new works by 40 artists, including one TCU student, from 16 North Texas counties at the University Art Gallery in Moudy Building North Room 141.The only TCU student whose work is shown at the gallery is Randy Bacon, a fine arts graduate student, who said he paints landscapes based on panoramic photographs he takes while traveling.

"I get my ideas from pictures I take from driving on the road and use my windshield as my cropping device," Bacon said.

Bacon added that he averages three paintings a month.

Analytical skills are at the top of the list of "must-know" information for today's students.In high school, our teachers were always complaining that we didn't analyze our reading material enough. But has the push for society to read into everything spilled over into our social lives?

I'm sure most of the male population would scream, "Yes! Girls analyze everything." But, in our defense, the circumstances around us are what have caused us to become this way.

Head football coach Gary Patterson and quarterback Jeff Ballard expressed their confidence Tuesday at the weekly Coaches' Luncheon concerning the Frogs' upcoming game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday.While the Frogs lost to Tech 70-35 in Lubbock in the 2004 season, Patterson said he feels the Frogs are able to compete on Tech's level this season.

"Two years ago, when we played Tech," Patterson said, "I think we felt we had to do more than we were capable of to win the ball game. I don't believe we have to do that anymore."

OK, OK. I'll admit it. I'm not really Dr. Love. But I can say for a fact that I do know a thing or two about relationships. And while I don't claim to be all-knowing when it comes to these subjects, I've noticed during my time at TCU there are some obvious rules about relationships that simply shouldn't be ignored, but on many occasions, they are. Some of these rules are based on my experience first hand, while other pieces of advice are based on what I've observed.

My eyes were watering. My ears were burning. And my nose was sweating as I sampled some "Nuckin' Futs" hot sauce at the 11th annual ZestFest.ZestFest is a celebration of spicy foods and brings together some of the top chefs and manufacturers from all over the world.

Porky's Gourmet Foods' "Nuckin' Futs" won first place and overall grand champion at the Fiery Food Challenge in 2003, and in my opinion was the hottest, spiciest sauce I tasted at this year's festival.

I've never really had a problem with President Bush. Sure I'll laugh at some of his more ignorant statements (aka, "Bushisms"), but I've always felt that he was just a man trapped in a difficult situation...