The invitational cross country meets have come to a close and the women's team is preparing for the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet this Saturday in Terra Haute, Ind.After placing in the top three team spots in their prior meets at North Texas and the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Okla., the Frogs will enter their largest race this season with hopes of better placement than last year's 25th-place finish out of 34 teams.

The Pre-Nationals is used to set the team qualifiers for the NCAA Championship race that takes place November 20.

Broken elevators, unreliable Internet connection and constant construction: These are some of the problems students living in the GrandMarc at Westberry Place said they have encountered since the complex opened in August."The first weekend I was here I got stuck on the elevator for three hours," said sophomore marketing major Mark Aughinbaugh. "It just stopped between floors."

Johanna Janovsky, business manager for the GrandMarc, said the problems with the elevators were the result of maintenance work.

The Student Government Association rejected a bill to establish caucuses within SGA and approved a bill to change the credit hours needed to qualify for student body vice president Tuesday night.Lindsay Beattie, elections and regulations chair, said she introduced a bill to create caucuses in an effort to have all representatives in a constituency get to know each other better and get more work done.

"Hopefully this will get people working on legislation a little bit more," said Beattie, a senior English major, before the bill was rejected.

Ever since I wrote about our culture as a society of waiters and how technology has weakened our interpersonal relationships in my first Skiff article, I couldn't help but notice how this breakdown of communication transcends formal encounters to matters of the heart, often damaging our intimate relationships."Don't write about the same thing twice." That's the first thing your editor will tell you from the list of opinion article do's and don'ts. But sometimes, there are issues that affect so many of us so often they simply cannot be left alone.

In the biggest tournament of the fall for the men's tennis team, the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championships in Tulsa, Okla., junior Cosmin Cotet won five matches in a row in the singles qualifying bracket, which was by far the best showing of any individual TCU player.The tournament began Sept. 30 and ended Sunday.

Cotet's most impressive win came in the first round of the qualifying bracket when he upset the tournament's No. 5 seed Bruno Agostinelli of the University of Kentucky.

Although unhappy with their results over the weekend, members of the women's golf team said they learned from their experiences and are moving on to the season's next tournament."We are a little disappointed in our finish," said head coach Angie Ravaioli-Larkin. "This is one of our favorite tournaments."

The team finished sixth out of 17 teams in last weekend's Lady Paladin Invitational in Greenville, SC.

Catherine Matranga, a senior communication studies major, finished seventh overall, posting a three-round score of 226.

The Horned Frog volleyball team fell to 3-4 in conference play after two losses last weekend against two Top 20 Mountain West Conference opponents.The Frogs lost 3-2 against No. 19 BYU Friday night in Utah, 30-27, 23-30, 26-30, 30-27, 10-15.

Sophomore setter Nirelle Hampton had 53 assists in the match while senior defensive specialist Calli Corley had 26 digs. Junior outside hitter and middle blocker LeMeita Smith contributed 19 kills in the match.

The Frogs also lost Saturday, dropping three games to No. 16 ranked Utah by scores of 30-27, 30-17, 30-14.

I know what you're thinking."Didn't Beck just come out with a new album like, last year?"

The answer is yes, and following his 2005 hit album "Guero," Beck is back with yet another great album titled, "The Information."

For "The Information," Beck once again entered the studio with famed and sought after producer, Nigel Godrich.

Godrich is the man behind Beck's amazing "Sea Change" and "Mutations" albums, as well as Radiohead's masterpieces, "OK Computer" and "Kid A."

From the premise to the acting, "The Departed" grabs viewers and never lets go, holding their attention in the ultimate cat-and-mouse game until the grisly finale.Borrowing from the Japanese film "Infernal Affairs," "The Departed" is about two rival informants, one raised by the mob to infiltrate the Special Investigations Unit of the Massachusetts State Police Department, the other persuaded to enter the mob world.

Students' questions ranged from what a CNN medical correspondent's IQ is to how he spends his free time at Tuesday's question and answer session before the Fogelson Honors Forum.The forum featured CNN medical correspondent and pop culture icon Sanjay Gupta who answered various questions from students during Tuesday's question-and-answer session in the Kelly Alumni Center.

Gupta, who started medical school right out of high school, is now a 36-year-old practicing neurosurgeon in Atlanta hospitals in addition to his role with CNN.

TCU students and faculty members sampled Latin American delicacies while listening to a Latin jazz band Tuesday as part of an event that marked the end of Hispanic Heritage Month.Greg Trevino, director of Inclusiveness and Intercultural Services, said this event gave people a chance to integrate a little bit of Latin culture into their daily routine.

Trevino said the department has organized several events in the past to promote Hispanic Heritage Month; however, this was the first time the department had organized something that involved both food and music.

From Golden Grahams with Cocoa Krispies and marshmallows to grits with gummy bears, Java Flakes proves cereal is more than just a great way to start off the day.This quaint cafe in Denton is marked by...