L.T. goes fifth after Chargers trade down
Five other former players drafted, putting Frogs in top five for overall selections

By Rusty Simmons
Editor in Chief

In a draft that included Michael Vick, arguably the most athletic quarterback ever to enter the National Football League, much of the talk before the first pick Saturday centered around former TCU tailback LaDainian Tomlinson.
The San Diego Chargers selected Tomlinson with the fifth pick in the first round after trading down from the No. 1 spot, where the Atlanta Falcons chose Vick. But the Chicago Bears and the New England Patriots, who both threatened to move up to the third position, and the Cleveland Browns, who held the rights to the third pick, all showed interest in selecting Tomlinson.

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Gift of stock dips in value
Officials not concerned over depreciation

By Alisha Brown
Staff Reporter

Although a $5.23-million gift in shares of stock in the Hispanic Television Network from Board of Trustees member James A. Ryffel depreciated to $287,480 in a year, TCU officials said they are not worried about the donor’s $6-million commitment over time.Ryffel made the donation last year when the company’s value was at $1 billion. At that time, Ryffel donated 400,000 shares worth $5.23 million, said Bronson Davis, vice chancellor for university advancement.
The gift was to be part of an overall pledge to the university for $5 million to an entrepreneurial program and another $1 million in venture capital. The entrepreneurial program was later named for Ryffel

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SGA ineffective campus organization, some say

By Jonathan Sampson
Staff Reporter

Some students think the Student Government Association has been ineffective this semester and they said they are unaware of what it has done for them as students.
Trey Hughes, a junior English major, said he hasn’t seen SGA do much this semester and has a negative view of the value of the organization.
“I know they have a lot of resources available, but it seems like they don’t take advantage of them,” he said.

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Stonegate Villas apartment tenants stress over safety

By Ram Luthra
Staff Reporter

Tenants of the Stonegate Villas Apartment Complex and surrounding areas have become increasingly worried about their security, especially since the area has been a target for crime during the past five months, Fort Worth police officer C.A. Gonzalez said.
The concerns are a result of the latest incident when Jason Cordova, a senior advertising/public relations major, was reportedly kidnapped and robbed at gunpoint at midnight April 16.

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Music professor dies at 55

By Jacqueline Petersell
Copy Desk Chief

Services for Raymond Bazemore, 55, an associate professor of music who died Friday of unknown causes, should be finalized today after his relatives have been notified of his death.
Bazemore began teaching studio voice and giving private voice lessons at TCU in 1995.
Megan Bartlett, a sophomore music major who received private voice lessons from Bazemore, said he was more than just her professor.
“Professionally, he was my studio voice teacher,” Bartlett said. “He was so much more than that. He was a mentor, a friend, a guide and an inspiration to all of us.”
Bartlett first heard of Bazemore when she visited TCU for an audition. She said Bazemore’s excitement for the program and his reputation was a big reason why she chose to attend TCU.

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What changes?
SGA needs to re-evaluate priorities

Student Government Association will hold its last meeting of the semester today.
Some students on campus have say they have a negative view of SGA, and say they feel the organization has not done anything for them.
SGA President Brian Wood said SGA may not have done anything amazing, but he said that it has maintained the same level as always.
Well, maybe that is the problem.
Students have complained that they think their required $20 fee has been going to waste. So is maintaining the same level of work the right thing to do?
There are some basic things that need to be changed to improve the way SGA runs.

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Flags shouldn’t reflect injustice
Mississippi’s decision to keep Confederate emblem is arrogant

By Emily E. Ward
Skiff Staff

In the field of journalism, minding what you say and how you say it is a top priority for all professionals in the domain, whether they are reporters, broadcasters, editors or whether they work in public relations. “Words have meaning,” is probably the phrase I have heard the most from my journalism professors during the past two years.

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Euthanasia not an answer to suffering
Dehumanization results from simplistic solutions like death penalty, abortion

Let’s say that the front door to your house is falling off its hinges. A simple solution would be to fix the hinges.
A simplistic solution, however, would be to rip the door off its hinges or to board up the doorway. Ripping the door off is the quickest and easiest solution, but it would also mean that anyone could just walk right into your house. Boarding up the door would prevent others from entering your home, but it would also prevent you from leaving (which you might need to do at some point).

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Letters to the editor

• Hostile act against homosexuals sparks support for gay community at TCU and Brite Divinity
• Equal rights are vital on campus, homosexuals should stand firm, continue contributions
• Flat-rate tuition coverage should be more objective, explore benefits of new University policy

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Baseball team enters toughest stretch of season
Frogs to try to build off of 2-1 weekend series against Fresno State

By Brandon Ortiz
Skiff Staff

So far, so good.
Three games into the toughest 11-game stretch of the season, the TCU baseball team is 2-1 after losing to Fresno State Sunday, 7-5.
“Anytime you go to California and win two out of three games, you have done pretty well,” head coach Lance Brown said.
The Horned Frogs will need more of the same in their next eight games. If players want to make it to the NCAA Regionals like the say they do, they will have to hold their own against stiff competition.

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Leap Frogs
Jumpers fare well at second TCU Invitational Saturday

By Sam Eaton
Skiff Staff

The TCU track and field team might be known for its sprinters, but at the second annual TCU Invitational Saturday, seniors Jason Howard, Darvis Patton and junior Abdul Rasheed showed it also has talented jumpers.
In what head coach Monte Stratton called the biggest surprise of the day, Howard edged Rasheed in the triple jump. Howard’s winning jump of 16.30 meters earned him an automatic spot in the NCAA Championships. Rasheed’s leap of 16.29 meters was also his best jump of the season, but it was still a centimeter short of an automatic bid to nationals.
Howard said he enjoyed the competition with his teammate.

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Linemen fail to get drafted, look at options

By Rusty Simmons
Editor In Chief

While former TCU tailback LaDainian Tomlinson is flying first class to and from speaking engagements in New York and California, his blockers are sitting in their Fort Worth homes.
Tomlinson was the first-round pick of the San Diego Chargers Saturday, but former TCU linemen David Bobo, Jeff Garner, Mike Keathley and Jeff Millican all went undrafted.
Bobo, who has already agreed to terms on a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, said the draft didn’t go as he expected.

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Men’s tennis rebounds against Kansas

By Matt Stiver
Skiff Staff

The TCU men’s tennis team made a few changes Saturday, but the result remained the same.The No. 4 Frogs bounced back from a 4-3 loss to No. 8 Southern Methodist with a solid, 5-3, victory over the Kansas Jayhawks. TCU got bounce-back performances from two of its top singles players, as well as a lift in doubles.
Senior Esteban Carril and sophomore Toni Gordon both ended personal two-match losing streaks with victories.

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Discrimination in the church

By Bethany McCormack
Skiff Staff

This week about 200 stoles will adorn the walls of Robert Carr Chapel in a colorful statement of the reality of the discrimination taking place toward homosexuals in churches across the country.
The stoles are part of the Shower of Stoles Project, a collection of stoles from ordained clergy and religious organizations in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people who have been refused ordination by various denominations or are serving in churches while keeping their sexual orientation secret.

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