It's not every day that music students get to have class with Thomas Hampson, a great modern baritone voice known all over the world, but they got their chance to take notes Wednesday when he taught a master class in Ed Landreth Hall Auditorium.Hampson, an internationally acclaimed baritone singer, is currently leading the tour "Song of America," across 11 cities and performed Tuesday at Bass Hall.

The tour is sponsored by the Library of Congress and intends to promote creativity across America.

The Italian Inn, "Home of the Singing Waiters," is the best kept secret in Fort Worth.This romantic restaurant, open since 1967, melts the heart with a unique atmosphere unlike anywhere else in the Metroplex....

TCU officials and former track and field team member Jacob Hernandez are negotiating out of court to settle a lawsuit filed by Hernandez following TCU's refusal to grant his release for a transfer to the University of Texas, a court official said.On Nov. 8, Hernandez filed an agreement, a Rule 11, to negotiate the lawsuit he filed, according to the Tarrant County District Clerk's Office.

Hernandez is suing TCU for his release to compete at Texas and for necessary attorney fees and costs, according to the lawsuit.

Whether he's espousing his political beliefs on live television or tapping indie producers for his multi-platinum sophomore effort, Late Registration," Kanye West is shaking up the hip-hop world. Now he's shaking up the concert circuit as well.Rap concerts are usually a secondary concern for many artists, known for short sets and poor sound. For his "Touch the Sky" tour, West is trying to revamp the model.

Trevor Heaney was elected student body president with 56.9 percent of the votes in a run-off election Tuesday, said Sebastian Moleski, elections and regulations committee chair.A run-off was held between Heaney, a junior management major, and Ryan Panno, a junior accounting finance major, because no candidate received 50 percent of the total votes in last week's election. There were originally five candidates that split the vote.

About 1,516 students voted in Tuesday's election, which is roughly 400 less than the election Nov. 8, Moleski, a senior economics major, said.

College is a time of change, choices and independence, and many students add one more thing to that list - stress.When students use all their time working on projects or tasks they are not passionate about and forget to take time out to focus on what they really care about, stress can become an issue, said Dr. Monica Kintigh, a licensed professional counselor at the TCU Mental Health Center.

"A lot of stress is created because our values and what we care about is not what we're spending our time on," Kintigh said.

Students questioned Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban on topics ranging from personnel decisions to the NBA dress code, and Cuban answered them all Tuesday in the Brown-Lupton Student Center.Cuban, promoting the Mavs U college ticket program, which allows students to purchase $10 tickets the day of a game, told a crowd of students no subject was off-limits during a 30-minute question-and-answer session, and the audience ran with it.

Recently, members of the Student Government Association have levied charges that the Skiff does not adequately cover their organization, resulting in low voter turn out. As SGA representatives have defended their institution, we must address the level of coverage they have received this semester.Two reporters are assigned to SGA. They keep editors abreast of the happenings at meetings and write stories as needed.

One-third of prospective TCU students are being offered an alternative way to apply to the university; the Office of Admissions calls it the uncommon application.The Office of Admissions randomly selects 25,000 prospective students from the 60,000 student pool and offers them the uncommon application, which includes no application fee and students are notified of TCU's decision within two weeks of submitting their application, said Wes Waggoner, director of undergraduate admissions.

With props such as a 55-gallon drum, a jack hammer and a drum set, the group Recycled Percussion will be stopping by TCU to perform at 7:30 p.m. today at Frog Fountain as a part of its "Rock Your Junk" tour.The young group, made up of three "extreme" drummers and a DJ, turns what it calls "junk" into a phenomenal transformation of power percussion.

"There's no band that does what we do," band founder Justin Spencer said. "We're the first of the pioneers."