SGA budget cut causes changes in projects

By Jonathan Sampson
Staff Reporter

Student Government Association members said they don’t know what the organization’s main improvements project is going to be, but they do know it’s not going to be as big as originally planned.
The House of Student Representatives Permanent Improvements Committee’s budget went from $13,000 to $8,000 after TCU administration discovered a budget discrepancy, March 2.

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Fall recruitment talks remain unsolved

By LaNasha Houze
Staff Reporter

Whether or not to defer fall recruitment continues to be debated, but the parties involved agree the issue is too controversial to deal with right now, said Don Mills, vice chancellor of student affairs.
Instead of recruitment, Mills said that he wants the future fraternity and sorority affairs to be focused on issues with a more grandiose scope.
“As opposed to something clearly divisive, I want to focus on the things that can make a positive impact, such as academics, community service and the values of brotherhood and sisterhood as students move through their college career,” Mills said.

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FrogFit costs taking some criticisms

By Alisha Brown
Staff Reporter

Natalie Houston dropped off her student ID card at the front entrance of the Rickel Building in exchange for a sweat towel and headed down to an aerobics class she never paid for.
Sneaking into FrogFit classes is not difficult for the adamant exerciser, said Houston, a sophomore speech communication major.

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Residence hall rates rise
Increase of 12 percent set for fall 2001 housing

By Chrissy Braden
Staff Reporter

Residence hall rate increases of about 12 percent for next semester were approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees two weeks ago, said Carol Campbell, vice chancellor for finance and business.
Roger Fisher, director of residential services, said the increase was necessary to pay for residence hall renovations and high utility costs.

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Dining to raise minimum $200
New plan in effect next fall

Chrissy Braden
Staff Reporter

Some students are going to be spending less of their food budget at Chili’s Grill & Bar and more of it at The Main because of the changing dining plan for next semester, said Roger Fisher, director of residential services.
The minimum dining plan requirement, which all students living on campus must purchase, will increase for some students by at least $200 next semester.

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Playing catch up
Same-sex benefits should be installed

Southern Methodist University will join more than 150 universities Jan. 1, 2002, to extend medical benefits and reduced tuition to the same-sex partners of its employees.
The list of universities with similar policies currently includes schools, such as Duke University, Wake Forest University and Rice University.
Absent from the list is TCU.
TCU, under the leadership of Chancellor Michael Ferrari, has committed itself to rising above the competition and strengthening its reputation as a university.

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Garage won’t solve parking problem
Shuttle system from stadium parking is a more cost effective solution

By Robert Davis

If there is one issue that my friends continually bug me to write about, it has to be TCU’s parking situation. I too must agree with nearly everyone else that it’s quite disgusting how hard it is to find a parking spot on campus sometimes. However, the commonly proposed solution by students and staff for the university to build a parking garage is simply not the right choice.

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Homosexuals need equal rights
Homophobic attitude hinders progress in gaining social equality

By Alex Johnson

With the writing of the Constitution, America was established as the land of the free, where “all men are created equal under God.” While being free hasn’t always been a common theme for all Americans, today we live in a multiethnic, multicultural society where most citizens enjoy equal rights. However, America is not the land of the free for some of its citizens.
Since it became an issue in the 1980s, equal rights for homosexuals has often times fallen on deaf ears in mainstream society. Americans discriminate against homosexual couples so much that it draws comparisons to “separate but equal” and the struggles of African Americans in the early 20th century.

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Letter to the editor
University needs to stop being cheap and raise scholarships

Since the beginning of my TCU education, I have been very impressed with the level of academics, small teacher-to-student ratio and the steps TCU has taken to make its students feel comfortable. However, I haven’t been impressed with the ever-rising price of tuition. I agree that economic changes force all prices to go up occasionally, but with the rate of tuition increases at TCU, many middle-class students will no longer be able to consider TCU as a choice. Although the stereotypical TCU student is viewed as rich, carefree and drives a Mercedes on Daddy’s money, this is simply not true. The majority of TCU students are on financial aid, working part time or full time and from middle-class families.

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Women’s b-ball team, fans prepare for tourney
6,000 ticket packages expected to be sold in Louisiana, Fort Worth

By Kelly Morris
Sports Editor

Fans clapped, the band played, the Showgirls danced and the cheerleaders shouted the fight song during their recent trip to Tulsa for the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
But this wasn’t at the game where the TCU women’s basketball team claimed its first WAC Tournament title. Instead, it was before the game at the hotel where the team stayed.
Before the Frogs played in their first-ever championship game Saturday against Hawaii, fans gathered at Doubletree-Warren Place for a 10:30 a.m. pep rally.

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Marshall Matters

Brandon Ortiz
Skiff Staff

Marshall Wilson has had to make some tough trades.
Bat for clipboard.
Pinstripes for sweats.
Starting center fielder job for quasi-coaching job.
The senior underwent surgery Feb. 9 to repair a separated shoulder that had been bothering him since April of last year. Unable to play, much less throw a baseball, Wilson is trying to help the team by keeping track of different types of situational statistics and hitting charts. In the process, Wilson has earned the nickname Coach Wilson by players.
Even though players and coaches agree Wilson has taken the change of titles well, Wilson still misses his old one: starting center fielder.

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Frogs to focus on baseball, not beaches this Spring Break

By Brandon Ortiz
Skiff Staff

Wish you had a flight leaving today for Hawaii to spend Spring Break sitting on the beach and basking in the sun?
The TCU baseball team will spend its Spring Break in Hawaii, but it doesn’t plan on having much fun in the sun.
The Frogs will play three games against Hawaii (8-13, 3-9 Western Athletic Conference)and three against Hawaii-Hilo (3-17, 2-10 WAC) before returning home March 25.
Sophomore first baseman Walter Olmstead said the Horned Frogs are more focused on baseballs than beach balls after going 1-5 in Hawaii last season.

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Baseball team defeats Iowa State

By Brandon Ortiz
Skiff Staff

Mother Nature apologized and made up with the TCU baseball team in a big way Thursday.
The weather has not been friendly to the Frogs for the past month with rain dogging them at every turn. But Thursday, it was a big boost.
With winds gusting up to 38 miles an hour, the Horned Frogs (14-9) set program records for home runs (nine), runs (29) and RBIs (29) to defeat Iowa State (5-10) 29-4.

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The Predictions Are In

The 73rd annual Academy Awards also known as the Oscars will be held in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. March 25 on ABC (Channel 8). The annual awards gala recognizes the best in film making for the previous year’s movies. The Roman epic “Gladiator” leads the pack with 12 nominations and the Taiwanese action-adventure “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” earned 10. The other major nominees include “Erin Brockovich,” “Traffic” and “Chocolat” with five nominations each. The nominees along with our predictions for the major awards follow:

His by David Reese

Hers by Emily Ward

A Step of Equality
SMU grants same-sex partners of employees insurance, tuition benefits

Story by Ram Luthra

Starting next year, Southern Methodist University will offer medical benefits and reduced tuition to the same-sex partners of its employees.
On Jan. 1, 2002, partners of gay SMU employees will be eligible for medical and dental insurance, and they will be eligible to receive reduced tuition.

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Area churches differ on views of
homosexuality

By Bethany McCormack
Staff reporter
While businesses and universities are beginning to accept the validity of same-sex unions, many churches still are not.
However, Charles Calabrese, Catholic Community priest, said he hopes the policy of the Catholic Church toward same sex unions will change.

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Gender crosser finds happiness in life-changing decision

By Melissa Christensen

With a bachelor’s degree and doctorate in economics from Harvard University, McCloskey offers an impressive résumé which includes authorship of countless articles and more than a dozen books. Although I regard any mind that comprehends economics as sheer genius, it wasn’t her intelligence that intimidated me, nor was it her vast experiences in academic fields which have taken her as far as the Netherlands. Rather, I was intimidated simply by who she was.

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