A junior interior design major said she holds the TCU lighting program in even higher regard after being able to hold her own among graduate students at a boot camp sponsored by General Electric.Ericka Bailey, a junior interior design major, is earning a minor in lighting, a degree offered by the department of design, merchandising and textiles. Bailey was among a group of students chosen to represent TCU at GE's Student Boot Camp Lighting Conference this summer, where TCU's Center for Lighting Education was the only undergraduate program invited to attend.

A University Recreation Center employee's uncertainties about a member's ankle monitor and suspicious behavior led to the arrest of a 35-year-old accused pedophile on Aug. 8.Ruben Edwards Jr. violated...

Construction of the TCU indoor practice facility is set to commence on Sept. 5. "The multipurpose indoor practice facility will be about 336 feet long tip to tail, and about 92 feet wide," said Ross Bailey, director of operations and sports medicine.

Due to conflicts with the football practice schedule, the construction will not begin Sept. 1 as previously planned, Bailey said.

Lisa Albert, assistant director of communications, said the construction is part of a $100-million anonymous donation for campus construction.

I recently noticed a disturbing trend among the college-age crowd. This trend is that, due to the proliferation of Web sites such as Facebook and MySpace, the national pastime of flirting as we know it, has become a drastically under performed sport. So much so, in fact, I would say it is becoming less like the Super Bowl and more like Backgammon."This is preposterous!" you might say. Well, let's review flirting as it once was. A guy goes with his buddies to a party and meets a few more of his friends who, in turn, introduce him to their friends. But alas, no sparks fly.

The construction going on throughout TCU, despite its good intentions, is a hassle for current students. Terrible parking has become worse and walkways across campus have been detoured or cut off completely. "Texas Construction University" is an apt nickname many students have adopted for our school.Upon completion, the more than $100 million main campus overhaul will be a fantastic sight to see: arcade walkways, amphitheaters and a five-story bell tower. In its current state, however, the main campus looks like some ugly mining expedition.

Not since "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" came out in 1988 has there been such an enthralling movie title as "Snakes on a Plane."The film received huge Internet buzz when its title was first uttered in the media world.

The Internet frenzy then exploded when everyone heard Samuel L. Jackson had been cast in the lead role.

Bloggers from all over the globe showed tremendous interest in the film. My personal favorite being snakesonablog.com, which is a blog run by Brian Finkelstein.

First-year students congregated in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum on Sunday for the Chancellor's Assembly for the Class of 2010. All first-year students were encouraged to attend the assembly that served as a welcome to TCU's learning community and those who were present said they appreciated it.

"They kept it short and to the point," said Josh Dorman, a freshman pre-business major.

Freshman computer information science major Jeremy McKeever said he agreed.

"It made me pumped for classes and glad to be a Horned Frog," McKeever said.

How does it feel to make the Texas Collegiate League All-League team? That was a lot of fun. I was going in, I wanted to make the all-star team again. Up until the all-star break, I was kind of throwing well when it dawned on me that I was in the top two or three. Coming down to the wire, I got calls from the ladies running the league saying, "Yeah, you are in the hunt for pitcher of the year." That's when I really kicked it in, when I really wanted it. Not so much for me, but for Weatherford and Coach Lightfoot. He'd been really good to me over the last three years.

Recently reported scandals involving student-athletes at Duke and Northwestern reminded TCU administrators that the Internet is a venue for publicizing information that could damage the university's reputation. Three Duke lacrosse players were accused of sexually assaulting an exotic dancer during a team-sponsored party March 13, and two months later, images found on Webshots, a photo sharing Web site, exposed hazing rituals of the Northwestern University women's soccer team.

Administrators at the University Recreation Center are re-evaluating their policy on community membership after a 35-year-old accused pedophile was detained at the facility by TCU Police for violating his bond, a TCU Police detective said.Ruben Edwards Jr. was detained on Aug. 8 after a complaint from a Rec Center staff member about his suspicious activity in the pool area, said TCU Police detective Sgt. Kelly Ham.

Drained. Aching. Weak. Nauseated.Sixteen-year-old Abraham Cherrix of Chincoteague, Va. is no stranger to struggle. But struggle shouldn't be necessary to obtain the right to make decisions about one's own physical health and well-being.

Abraham endured several bouts of chemotherapy last fall after being diagnosed with cancer of the lymph system, or Hodgkin's disease. The treatments left him exhausted and frail, his 5'11" body dropping from 156 pounds to a meager 122. Chemo took so much out of him that his father sometimes had to carry him.