Soldiers who are screened for mental health issues before they are deployed have a reduced risk for behavior and psychiatric issues, according to a new study by the American Psychiatric Association.

Major Christopher Warner and colleagues in the U.S. Army conducted the study that included over 20,000 soldiers deployed to Iraq during 2007 and 2008.

Texas Wesleyan University student Aaron Herrera, who is a member of TCU's Army ROTC program, said he felt the mental health screenings would be advantageous for soldiers preparing for deployment.

Last Friday, the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges voted to change the system's open-door admission policy, which would allow 58 colleges to refuse to admit prospective students who may present a significant threat.

The vote came almost two weeks after Jared Loughner allegedly killed six people and wounded 13 others in Tucson, Ariz. Loughner himself was expelled from his community college after reportedly displaying erratic behavior in class and shooting a video of himself in which he called the campus "my genocide school."

It is not a textbook and it does not use paper, yet students in various courses around campus are required to buy it for class.

At the university, the iClicker is used to test students' knowledge of subject matter as well as take attendance, Mark Dennis, assistant professor of religion, said.

Students register their devices online at the beginning of the semester, then use the five multiple choice buttons to respond to quiz questions, Dennis said. Professors then retrieve the information from a receiver, record the students' responses and then assign grades.

The TCU Horned Frogs will face conference opponent New Mexico today in Albuquerque at the Lobos' University Arena, known as The Pit, at 9 p.m. Both teams enter to contest with a three-game losing streak...

The United States is a nation living in denial, completely oblivious and willfully ignoring the reality of violence.

Fortunately, not all Americans choose to live in this state of denial. David McElwee and Bill Sandlin, two gun rights advocates and members of the National Rifle Association, took their case in favor of concealed handguns on high school campuses before the Arlington ISD school board this past week. The board, however, showed no interest to McElwee and Sandlin's proposal on Friday.

When a student begins the adventure of college, he or she will hear many different pieces of advice: Go to class. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Study.

Some universities are making it practically impossible to avoid those pieces of advice.

Universities across the nation are using a clicker system to record students' timeliness, administer quizzes and alert professors virtually when students have a question, all while registering the information on a computer for easy recall if a dispute were to occur.

In Arlington, gun rights advocates sought to persuade the school board to give licensed teachers and administrators the ability to carry concealed firearms in school but to no avail. The reasons behind allowing this potential privilege are concerns over the safety of the students against potential threats and also to deter these types of threats from materializing.

The school board dismissed the issue, but there is still the matter of whether school districts are doing the right thing by not allowing teachers and staff to arm themselves against potential threats.

It may seem counterproductive to ask college students to watch President Barack Obama's State of the Union address tonight considering the state of the job market.

But whether students are into politics or not, watching the address is one of the easiest ways to stay up to date with our most pressing issues.

In a representative democracy, our personal contribution is our vote. By taking the time to access information to which we have a right, we can better dictate where our vote would be best used.