Sept. 11, 2001, marked the end of thousands of lives. It also marked the beginning of a journey the U.S. embarked on to conquer terrorism. Despite continuous talks of troop withdrawal, the war is far from over, and public opinions continue to change. Six years later, members of the university reflect on the changes the country has gone through. Are we further protected from terrorism today?

You squint your eyes hard. Your fingers grip the steering wheel with predatory intensity. The tires slide smoothly on the pavement, expectant. Any second now.

You drive through the corridor, looking for an empty space. Suddenly, your eyes detect an anomaly in the landscape. Your pulse shoots up as you step on the gas pedal triumphantly.

But as you approach your heart sinks. There is no empty slot, but only a vehicle strategically hidden between two others. An expletive escapes your lips as you rejoin other students - competition cruising the lot.

Technology is of good use only when prepared, organized people are behind it. The Mr. and Ms. TCU voting that was scheduled to be available on my.tcu.edu on Thursday did not start working until Monday.

Natalie Boone, assistant director of the Student Government Association, said the initial reason for the delay was that not all of the photographs of the nominees were available by Thursday. Then, SGA decided to hold off voting Friday because of the number of students traveling to Austin, Boone said.

Last year, on Sept. 11 and 12, the front pages of newspapers reflected and helped set the predominant tone today's date holds for many of us: grief. The New York Times emboldened "Grief" on its cover; "Grief Endure(s) Across Region" appeared on The Washington Post's; Americans were "United in Grief" according to top headlines from both the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Press of Atlantic City. From coast to coast citizens were united.

The new TCU oncology center opened this year when it received a $1 million donation from the University of Texas Southwestern Moncrief Cancer Foundation in Fort Worth.Suzy Lockwood, director of the Center for Oncology Education and Research, said TCU was notified by the foundation last spring of the donation and the gift was funded Sept. 1. She said the gift will be dispersed over a five-year period.

As a sea of burnt orange erupted following the touchdown off a fumble by the punt team, you could feel it. No, I am not talking about the mayhem caused by 80,000 Longhorns fans or the cannon being shot off after Texas seemingly put the game out of reach at 27-10. What I refer to is the collective cringe and gasp felt by players, coaches, students and everyone else associated with TCU football. Now, I was an unbiased spectator in the press box, but I could imagine that the second half felt like a swift kick to the groin after a French kiss for a first half.

You've probably heard by now: The attacks on Sept. 11 may be the result of a government conspiracy. And you shouldn't care.

It becomes clear after looking into the conspiracy theories about Sept. 11, there are many things concerning the attacks that can't be explained. It disappoints me to see so much effort being put into proving something that is essentially unexplainable.

And for what? Has anything been resolved from the creation of countless documentaries, Web sites and activist groups dedicated to exposing the "truth about Sept. 11?"

New meaning can be given to the phrase 24/7/365 for a Kentucky-born playwright. In November 2002, Pulitzer Prize-winner and playwright Suzan-Lori Parks made a commitment to write one play a day for an entire year and called it "365 Days/365 Plays," said Harry Parker, chair of the TCU theater department.

The TCU Department of Theatre, starting Sept. 10, is joining hundreds of acting companies involved in what theater companies call the largest project in the history of American theater.

I spent most of my summer up in Missouri this year, and while there, I got the distinct pleasure of going frog gigging. That's what Texas will be doing Saturday, except without the boat and high-powered lights.See, something's changed with this team since Texas met Michigan in the Rose Bowl in the 2004-2005 season. The team doesn't lose big games anymore. Mack Brown has figured out how to get the best out of his team when it matters most.

California may have its Napa Valley Wine Country, Texas has GrapeFest.The largest wine festival in the Southwest, and named a Top 100 Event in North America for 2007 by the American Bus Association, GrapeFest will be held for its 21st consecutive year in Grapevine.

"Texas is the fifth largest wine producing state in the nation" Lewis said. "Texas is close to surpassing Oregon to be one of the prominent winery states in the US."