Not all women who come to TCU are looking for a man who will plant a fat rock on their left hand come graduation. But those college relationships that do turn into marriages may end up better than some would like to believe.Media sources often repeat the statistic that claims half of all marriages end in divorce, and most divorces occur during the first seven years of marriages. It would seem like couples getting married right out of college are setting themselves up to crash and burn, right?

Forget about the impossible advanced organic chemistry lab. For most new college students, adjusting to a roommate is one of the hardest issues they will face in their collegiate career. Whether a student goes potluck or arranges a roommate before arriving on campus, the adjustment is time-consuming for someone who has never had to share such a small living space.

Barbara Hawkins, the associate director for residential services, said she has been dealing with roommate situations for many years - both good and bad.

The campus got a chance to see perhaps the biggest independent candidate Texas has seen in almost 10 years when Kinky Friedman paid TCU a visit Thursday.But that begs the question: How viable are third-party...

On any given day, Stephanie Parks wakes up at 5 a.m., goes to work as a flight attendant in Atlanta, makes three transfers, has a two-hour layover and, while waiting, sits down with her laptop, goes online and begins to study for her TCU class.Graduate students can live in different parts of the world and get their education without even setting foot on campus.

From fall 2004 to fall 2005, there has been an increasing amount of graduate students talking fully online classes at TCU, said Romana Hughes, coordinator of eLearning.

TCU prepares to start its season without star post player and first team All-American, Sandora Irvin.Head coach Jeff Mittie said a player like Irvin is a rare treasure and replacing her will be difficult.

"Hopefully several players will raise their level of play so that we have several players taking big shots at the end of the game," Mittie said, "but again, it's very difficult to lose a player as a first round pick."

The Phoenix Mercury took Irvin third overall in the 2005 WNBA Draft.

After a 6-11 season, the Horned Frog soccer team is focusing on its future and learning from the past.TCU faced many new challenges during its 2005 campaign, including elevated competition in the Mountain West Conference, a new coach and three early and unexpected season-ending injuries to players anticipated to be key contributors.

First-year head coach Dan Abdalla, who came to the team in April, said he understands that the combination of having a new head coach and moving to a new conference can be difficult.

Have you ever had someone tell you that you are not allowed to do a certain thing? Then when you ask for a reason, they cannot seem to give you a valid one. That is how I see the state of Texas on the issue of gay marriage. I believe that we as human beings, in a civil society, have the right to marry the person we love no matter what the sex happens to be. This gay marriage ban is just another form of discrimination. Why should it matter whom we spend the rest of our lives with? Some people are worried about children.

Internet users beware.A crime prevention talk was held on campus Wednesday to address the issues of Internet safety of students.

Jim Mayne, TCU's network security engineer, and Dick Rinewalt, an associate professor of computer science, were both on hand to offer guidelines for students to avoid dangers on the Internet.

"With the rise of fraud, identity theft and other threats on the Internet, TCU wants to make sure students are aware of the amount of information they make available to the public," Rinewalt said.

November is supposed to be the month we see the best the major television networks have to offer, at least until February and May get here. I usually look forward to sweeps month, but this year I am praying for mid-season replacements.It is pretty sad when the biggest "notable" guest star's claim to fame is "Full House." To borrow a phrase from "Shallow Hal," November sweeps have been "Stamosed."

There are some shows that stand out as decent in this lackluster season.

It's been a big year for My Morning Jacket.The Kentucky-bred band lost two members, replaced them and released its latest album, "Z," to strong reviews. "Rolling Stone" said the band was "challenging Wilco's title as America's most innovative rock act." It also was featured in the "New York Times" as well as an interview with National Public Radio.

My Morning Jacket even had a cameo, playing "Freebird," in Cameron Crowe's latest film, "Elizabethtown."

Its latest album marks a departure from My Morning Jacket's trademark sound.

Friends of Laura Lee Crane, a former teacher at TCU's Starpoint School, said Wednesday they will be closely following the trial in connection with her murder of more than a year ago. Robin Davis, a friend, student and co-worker of Crane's, said that although it will be very hard, she will follow the case in hopes of seeing justice prevail.

"I will be checking on Mr. Crane and his daughters a lot," Davis said.