Retention rate rises to 96 percent
Programs help freshmen connect

By Carrie Woodall
Staff Reporter

The retention rate for returning freshmen in spring 2001 increased one percent from last year, said Patrick Miller, registrar and director of enrollment management.
The percent of freshmen who returned to the university following their first semester increased from 95 percent in spring 2000 to 96 percent this semester, Miller said.

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House looks for reps
Members leave for GPA, personal reasons

By Jonathan Sampson
Staff Reporter

If the House of Student Representatives looks a little different at its first meeting tonight, it might be because of all the empty seats.
Because some students didn’t make the required 2.5 GPA and others simply decided they could no longer be involved, there are a number of representative positions open in the House, said Amy Render, House vice president.

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Sermon kicks off Ministers Week

By Bethany McCormack
Staff Reporter

When the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. spoke from the pulpit of the University Christian Church, his words were meant to inspire current and past Brite Divinity students and other ministers. The sermon began the university’s celebration of Ministers Week.
“Don’t worry, your blessing is on the way,” Wright said to a packed audience in his sermon Monday night.

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Sweet Valentine’s
Freshman raises money from cookie sale to send sister to camp

By Kelly Marino
Staff Reporter

Valentine’s Day will be a red-letter day for the Williams family and for Colby Hall residents who will be picking up their Girl Scout cookies.
For Juliana Williams, a freshman ballet and modern dance major, Feb. 14 concludes another year of serious fund raising.

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Students secure in degrees
E-business strong despite drop of online companies

By Julie Ann Matonis
Staff Reporter

Students in the e-business program said they have confidence their degree will provide them with a solid business foundation despite the fact the value of e-commerce degrees has come under fire by some in the business and educational world.
Ted Doll, an e-business professor, said that as Internet companies are fading, people doubt their profit-making abilities. Solid business plans are needed to interest investors and keep up with the competition.

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TCU at work
UCR facelift may aid retention rate

The hierarchy of TCU administration have mentioned that revamping the University Core Curriculum will help to retain freshmen.
Only 82 percent of TCU’s freshmen from fall 1999 to fall 2000 returned to the university for their sophomore year. When the TCU number is compared to that of Vanderbilt — 93.62 percent — it is obvious that something had to be done.
While the UCR changes are still in the working stages, TCU has gotten something done.

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Parents should steer clear of selling pets
Steaks high when children’s livestock sold for processing at Stock Show

I’m not originally from Texas, so I may not understand all of the various rituals and customs that go on here, but I must say I was disturbed by the Fort Worth Stock Show’s Sale of Champions and the attention given to it by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Virtually the entire front section of the Sunday edition was dedicated to a sale of animals for different oil firms, meat companies and steakhouses.

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Black History Month causes reflection
Busing students remains as lasting effect of desegregation in Alabama

Thursday began this year’s celebration of Black History Month. Throughout my school days and collegiate years, several of my teachers and professors have asked me to try to remember the first time I realized I was black. That task was virtually impossible. That’s like trying to recall the first time I remembered breathing. There was never a time when I wasn’t aware I was black.

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People should focus on different styles, not what makes us different

Diversity? We don’t need no stinking diversity.
Yet the call is out, there’s nothing we can do to stop it. All across the world, a hyphenated label is becoming the trendiest of status symbols. I’m a white, heterosexual male, so that means I’ve got the most status. Sorry, y’all.

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Women win eighth straight to tie record

By Kelly Morris
Associate Sports Editor

After Friday night’s game against Tulsa, the TCU women’s basketball team started off February just like they did January — with a win.
With the victory, the Frogs recorded their record-tying eighth-straight win and now are off to a TCU best 15-4 start. In the seven games the Frogs played in January, they were undefeated and are currently at the top of the Western Athletic Conference with a 7-0 record.

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Missed chances give UTEP win
Loss forces Frogs to look for victory at WAC Tournament

By Matt Stiver
Skiff Staff

Junior guard Greedy Daniels has called getting steals his “joy.” However, Daniels probably did not find much joy Saturday night in El Paso.
Daniels had the ball stolen from him twice in the final 17 seconds to give Texas-El Paso a 92-89 victory. The loss drops the Frogs (16-7, 5-4 Western Athletic Conference) into a four-place tie with Tulsa in the WAC. Tulsa lost to Southern Methodist 64-59 Saturday.

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Frogs win one of three at Astros Classic

By Brandon Ortiz
Skiff Staff

Five games into the season, head coach Lance Brown’s new small-ball philosophy is starting to work.
Sort of.
With the bases loaded and the score tied in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game against Texas, Brown called for a suicide squeeze off Longhorn lefty Justin Simmons. Junior first baseman Justin Crowder laid a bunt down the third base line, scoring senior outfielder Tom Bates giving the Frogs a 2-1 win.

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XTREME Skate

By Brandon Ortiz
Skiff Staff

Wanted: friends.
Skateboarding experience preferred but not required. Will train.
If Skateboarding Club President David Elizalde, a junior graphic design major, had paid for a classified ad when starting the club, it might have gone something like that.
“When I started (the Skateboarding Club), it was to attract a group of people I would like to be friends (with),” Elizalde said. “It was basically for myself, to make friends. It was almost like putting out a flier, saying ‘be my friend.’”

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Special to the Skiff
Dustin Van Orne, a member of the skateboarding club does a jibblets ‘n’ gravy.