Both candidates for president of the Student Government Association sat down with the Skiff to talk about their platform.

Kelly Barnes is a junior political science major who wants to improve student participation at sporting events, and Kelsie Johnson is a junior political science and advertising/public relations major who hopes to have all organizations come together for large tailgates during the 2009 football season.

Johnson:

Q: How long have you been in SGA?

Most TCU students do not get the chance to study abroad in Japan. But thanks to the School for Classical & Contemporary Dance and Fort Worth Sister Cities, students can experience a piece of Japanese culture here on campus.

Instructors from the Fujima Dance School in Nagaoka, Japan, will teach students at the School for Dance how to perform two traditional Japanese dances and lecture on the importance of dance in Japanese history and culture next week, said Ellen Page Shelton, chair of the School for Classical & Contemporary Dance.

Ashleigh Cleveland and her roommate stayed up until 1:30 a.m. Wednesday working on a collage to celebrate President-elect Barack Obama's victory.

It adorned their door in Foster Hall for less than 30 minutes.

"I went to take a shower, and I came back a little after 2 a.m.," the freshman premajor said. "They had already ripped stuff and left it on the floor."

Cleveland said her roommate had heard someone laughing outside their room, but the person ran off before she could identify the perpetrator.

After years of hard work in preparation for graduation and our entrance into the workforce, the economy has taken a turn for the worse. This year's crop of graduating seniors will face a difficult time...

A report released by the National History Center has shed light on the status of the university's history department. It appears it is keeping up with comparable programs; however, there is still room for improvement.

The report suggested that history departments nationwide focus on broader ideas instead of solely names and dates, and the university's history program has already been emphasizing this concept.

This week is historic. Not only have we elected the first black president, but for the first time in history, two top-12 teams will meet on the turf at Rice-Eccels Stadium. Let's hope the outcome will be as satisfying as the one Tuesday.

There have been a lot of big games played at Rice-Eccles. I was a boy in 1994 when the ranked BYU Cougars came into the old stadium and lost 34-31. It was the first time Utah achieved consecutive wins against BYU since 1972.

Usually, I try to defend the Bowl Championship Series ratings because it is the only system we have right now, and there is nothing we can do about it until everyone can agree on something better.

But having Utah at No. 8 is ridiculous.

Look at the schedule for the Utes and you will find no ranked teams, a couple of narrow wins over Michigan and New Mexico, both terrible teams, and an overall boring schedule.

An event where student organizations collaborate and organize a "fair day" for underprivileged children will launch for the first time Saturday on the Campus Commons lawn, sophomore Kate Jones said.

"These children are a reality that they do need help and we can help them even with having something as simple as a fair day for them," Jones said. "It means a lot to children when you give them attention and when you make them feel worthwhile."