More than two years have gone by since I joined the TCU student body. Since then I have seen many changes take place both on and off campus. The school has become more recognizable throughout the country, and it has really helped the application process and enrollment numbers. However, TCU administrative officials have tripped up in a big way. They have not taken in the fact that a big reason for this newly-found stardom is because of our football program.

A recent extension to legislation passed by Congress involving the buying out of federal student loans will not affect the daily life of a TCU student, but it will greatly impact those lenders providing the loans, a campus financial aid official said.

The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, which authorized the Education Department to buy federal student loans from education lenders, originally included only loans made in the 2008-09 school year. However, as of Nov. 7, loans made in 2009-10 are also eligible.

Despite the fact the Constitution demands a separation of church and state, the line has been considerably blurred by the Bush administration, and the practice carried over into the 2008 presidential campaign strategies, a religion professor said.

Ron Flowers, professor of religion, along with Stephen Reeves, legislative counsel for the Christian Life Commission, will examine the role of political candidates' religious affiliations and the earmarking of tax dollars for religious charities today in the Robert Carr Chapel.

For years I have been saying how the professional football game is better than the college game.

The players in the NFL are bigger, stronger and faster than college players, making the games more exciting because fans are seeing the best of the best.

But this weekend changed my mind.

The NFL players are still bigger, stronger and faster than college players, but the way the college game is played is just so much better than the NFL.

First, the replay system. Isn't the job of the officials to get every call correct?

The psychology department and Neeley School of Business are teaming up for a new study abroad program this summer.

The new program, Enduring Lessons in Leadership, will be located in London and the Isle of Skye, Scotland.

Natasha Chapman, associate director of the Leadership Center, said she thinks going to London and Scotland will give the students a "unique way to learn about leadership." In London, the students will learn about leaders important to the area like Winston Churchill, Ghandi and Queen Elizabeth, how they led and their impact, Chapman said.

The third candidate for the Schieffer School of Journalism's director position gave a different outlook on the future of journalism than his two predecessors.

Craig Flournoy, who serves as an assistant professor at Southern Methodist University, said Monday in the Moudy South Building that the turmoil currently affecting the industry benefits young people because it allows them to move up the ladder faster.

"The idea that you could get a meaningful assignment in the first year was impossible," Flournoy said. "That's not the way it is now."

A recent move to Jarvis Hall is not the only change at the University Career Services.

John Thompson, executive director of Career Services, said Career Services is revamping itself through new interview and resume programs, among other changes.

With the new optimal interview feature, students can go online and record mock interviews via webcam. After recording, students can watch the recorded video and self-critique their performance.

In response to the growing economic crisis, the Neeley School of Business, along with the Luther King Capital Management Center for financial studies and the Fort Worth Business Press, will host an economic summit for the local business community today at the Brown-Lupton University Union.

Robert Francis, editor of the Fort Worth Business Press, said the idea for the summit came from the number of Fort Worth Business Press readers who focused on articles written on economic issues and questions that bankers have received from customers.

In response to the current economic climate, the Board of Trustees approved Friday a 3 percentage-point reduction of the tuition increase rate, lowering it to 5 percent, which Chancellor Victor Boschini...

On Nov. 6, I needed a pick-me-up after the ugly election fallout. I watched my favorite NBC comedy "30 Rock," which, by the way, I have loved long before Tina Fey became the water cooler celebrity of the year by her uncanny (and hilarious) Sarah Palin impersonations.

One of the episode's subplots really struck a chord with me. In that episode, two characters, a black man, played by Tracy Morgan, and a white woman, played by Jane Krakowski, are having a conflict that turns into an argument over which group has it harder - black men or white women.

The Board of Trustees met Friday and approved a 5-percent tuition increase, raising the cost to attend the university to $28,250.

While no one likes tuition increases, it is good that the university realized TCU's tuition was rising too quickly as its cost is still above average.

According to Inside Higher Ed, the mean cost for a four-year private university is $25,143 for the 2008-2009 school year.