There is a strong concern for the safety of students at TCU and otheruniversities around the country.It is easy to see why. Turn on any local news program when you wake up, take a lunch break, sit down...

Freshman minority enrollment has hit a record high this semester at 15.5 percent. University officials attribute the increase to the success of several new programs designed to attract students who are financially disadvantaged, such as the Community Scholars Program.The program, which began in 2000 as an integration into local area high schools, was designed for disadvantaged students who are first-generation Americans or college students.

"The Community Scholars Program is the jewel in the diversity crown here at TCU," said Ray Brown, dean of admissions.

No word has the versatility and power of the F-bomb. It is such a simple word, but can be used in almost any situation.

It can exemplify happiness and precisely describe the level of one's frustration in ways the word "very" doesn't come close to expressing. Out of a million or so words in the English language, sometimes the F-bomb is the only one suitable in many situations.

The term is said to have derived from the Latin "futuere," and, in 1598, was published in a dictionary, meaning "to strike or penetrate."

The most prominent crime concern on campus is theft of personal belongings, especially from vehicles, TCU Police said."It is a problem across the nation, but on college campuses it is like Christmastime at the mall," TCU Police Sgt. Kelly Ham said. "You just need more security because there are so many cars."

Ham said the best way students can keep their property safe is to use common-sense precautions such as hiding their valuables and locking their doors.

Today you can hear the F-word in movies, talk shows and various conversations around campus; however, just because something becomes more common, doesn't mean it should be accepted.Not to sound like your parents, but if everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?

According to www.dictionary.com, the word means to "take advantage of, betray or cheat; victimize," also used as a "signal of angry dismissal, to have sexual intercourse with," or to "act wastefully or foolishly."

With The Associated Press internships available all over the world, I felt the need to pick one with a little prestige - not everyone can put "worked in a foreign country" on their r‚sum‚. The AP Israel job listing did specify that interns weren't sent to cover stories in the Israeli-Palestinian territories. Dad and I discussed it, finally deciding I should intern in a country where I was less likely to be the victim of anthrax or a shoe bomb.

I picked London instead of Jerusalem.

From campus buildings to scholarships, Mary D. Fleming Walsh has left a lasting impression on the TCU community.Mrs. Walsh died at the age of 91 in her home near TCU on Aug. 9.

Mrs. Walsh and her husband, F. Howard Walsh, who died in 1998, donated the $3.5 million Walsh Center for Performing Arts, one of TCU's largest single gifts, and the Athletic Complex in 1998.

Board of Trustees member and close friend to the Walsh family Malcolm Louden said Mr. and Mrs. Walsh were patrons for the arts.

Here at the Skiff, we wouldn't mind some new equipment. Who doesn't want top-of-the-line stuff? But we definitely don't have a cramped newsroom with limited working space or lines of reporters waiting to use our computers. Our facilities do not (for the most part) hinder or slow the process of putting out a newspaper on a tight deadline. Our TCU News Now colleagues across the hall, however, do have a lack of technology in their newsroom. And if compared to the likes of SMU's news program, TCU News Now is still in the stone age.