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.

A run-off election will be held next Tuesday to determine the new student body president.According to the Student Body Code a candidate must receive "an absolute majority of the votes cast." Because a candidate did not receive 50 percent of the vote, a run-off will be held between the top two candidates.

Trevor Heaney and Ryan Panno were the top two candidates receiving votes, said Sebastian Moleski, Elections and Regulations Committee Chair.

"I haven't seen a run-off at TCU," Panno said, "So I'm excited to see how it turns out."

In an ideal world, science and religion can be fused to teach evolution, an Anglican priest and a doctor of biochemistry from the Netherlands told members of the TCU community Tuesday night."I think it's very important for students to know about (Intelligent Design) because of the emotions involved on either side," Bonting said.

Bonting also said it is important to have a deep understanding of evolution in order to be intelligent people.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for those between the ages of 15 and 24, and the second leading cause for college-age students, according to the National Mental Health Association.TCU students said the extra stress put on them by living alone for the first time and the added school work contributes to the feelings of depression in people their age.

Monica Kintigh, a licensed counselor at TCU, said the best way to prevent suicide is to talk about it.

"We bought tickets together after graduation in 1950," Martha said. "I wouldn't miss a TCU home football game for anything."His name, the "Snake," lives in the TCU Sports Hall of Fame; his purple cowboy boots rest safely in a glass cabinet in the Lettermen's Club, and his most devoted fan has sat in section F, row 21, seat 17 for 58 years.

As a TCU alumna and wife to TCU football legend, Morris "Snake" Bailey, Martha Ann Bailey, 76, considers TCU football a way of life.

Political groups are gathering forces in preparation for the battle for confirmation of Samuel Alito as the next associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.Outspoken conservative groups have declared their support for Alito, as he is against abortion. Liberal groups, and many important Democratic senators, oppose his nomination and plan to make confirmation very difficult.

The entire discussion about Alito's qualification for the high court circles around his stance on this single issue.