Being an American consumer gets harder every day.

You have to consider the value, the nutrition (if it's food) and whether the product was ethically produced.

On top of these already difficult choices, more and more products hit the shelves every day making these decisions more complicated.

But don't get too stressed out just yet. Help is on the way.

Several companies are developing systems designed to help shoppers make the right decisions. At your local grocery store you may soon find a rating next to every product.

Campus construction is booming and tuition increases steadily each year, which often leaves students wishing they weren't born in the late 1980s to avoid dealing with the university's burst in development.

Students may not know exactly how the university spends its money or why it asks for more each year. But by thinking positively, some may find satisfaction by knowing that in years to come TCU will be better than it is today.

When Jill C. Havens became the British and Colonial/Post-colonial Studies minor program director in 2005, three students were enrolled in the program. Because of recent changes, the award-winning minor now boasts 11 students as declared minors.

Havens said some key changes were made to the minor - one course was eliminated in favor of other areas of study, transfer credit limitations were eased and course requirements changed to incorporate other departments around the university.

A new energy technology and management minor open to all majors will be brought before the Undergraduate Council for consideration Friday.Already approved by the College Committee, the minor is an incorporation...

Sure. They have special edition Monopoly games for pretty much whatever you are into. There is the SpongeBob SquarePants edition, the Transformers Collector's edition, the Disney edition, even the Boston...

The TCU track and field team looks to follow its strong performance at the Arkansas Invitational with an even stronger season, the team's head coach said.

The men's and women's teams finished with 21 top-five finishes at the season-opening indoor meet Jan. 11 in Fayetteville, Ark., five of which were first place marks.

Despite the team's early success, head coach Darryl Anderson doesn't want to get carried away with the strong opening.

As administrators say the university is growing toward a better learning community, retention rates are increasing.

Mike Scott, director of scholarships and financial aid, said TCU has risen three percentage points, from 83 percent retention to 86 percent, in the past three years.

According to a report from the 2007 Student Success Initiative, the university hopes to reach 88 percent retention by 2010.

Scott said the initiative began in 2005 as a way to help the university from a "physically sound aspect."

Three hundred dollars, $700, $1,200.

Nope, not buying a laptop.

Just the cost of textbooks for a semester.

Each semester the prices for textbooks seem to increase, with students having to shell out extra hundreds of dollars on top of increasing tuition rates.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, textbook prices increased by 186 percent between December 1985 and December 2004, nearly tripling in price.

I saw a recent advertisement that said, "TCU: Ahead of the Curve. One in Three Study Abroad."I was astounded. A third of our student body studies abroad?But then I stepped back and considered it - we're...

Fort Worth took a step in the right direction with the expansion of its smoking ban, which went into effect Jan. 1.

The ban outlaws smoking in most public places, including restaurants, restaurant bars, office buildings, bingo parlors, bowling alleys and within 20 feet of a primary entrance or exit of any of those facilities, according to the City of Fort Worth Web site.