Intramural fields may get lights
TCU seeks to appease neighbors concerns
By Chris Gibson
staff reporter
In the next two weeks, leaders from TCU and Musco Lighting will be working on new projections, hoping to answer any questions neighbors may have regarding the proposed nine 75-foot lights set around the intramural fields.
TCU has requested a variance from the city of Fort Worth which, if granted, would allow for the current height of the lights around the intramural field area to be raised from 35 to 75 feet. Neighbors from the surrounding area, however, are opposed to the current proposal and were able to voice their concerns at a meeting between the two sides on Sept. 21.
“My biggest concern is not if (TCU) is going to put up the lights, because I understand there is a need for them, it is with the height of poles and the visual pollution they will cause the neighborhood,” David Prose, a neighbor, said. “I think (TCU) needs to listen to the concerns of the community, and find out if there is room to negotiate. Part of the deal is compromise.”
Don Mills, vice chancellor for student affairs, said adding lights to the intramural fields is good for the university and can also benefit the neighborhood.
“Our main focus is to be top notch academically but students have more interests than just class and that is important to us also,” he said. “Any project (in that area of campus) TCU undertakes is done with the neighborhood in mind, which is evident with the (Lowden Track and Field Complex). This one will be no different.”
Mike Monroe, a representative from Musco Lighting, said the current plan is necessary to sufficiently light the field for athletic events.
“The height of the lights are necessary to portray ample light on the field yet reduce the amount of ambient light portrayed into the neighborhood,” Monroe said. “One of the major concerns for the neighbors is if light is going to shine into their homes and with this system that won’t happen.”
Monroe said by raising the lights and adding special glare deflectors around the bulbs there will be almost no spill-over from the lights outside of the playing surface. Neighbor Jane Booton, who lives across the street on S. Bellaire Drive, said she is not convinced.
“I don’t see any way that they could put that many lights up that high and not have them shining into our neighborhood,” she said. “They are doing there best to convince us of that fact but I think it is just a snow job. One of the reasons we purchased our house across from TCU was because of the green space. I wish they would just leave it alone.”
Other neighbors said they enjoy living next to TCU and are pleased with the way the university has handled projects in the past.
“Any fears that we have had have been answered,” said Frank Shiller. “It is clear that the lights are in the best interest of the university and of the students. Our only concern is with light pollution on our property and TCU has promised to address that. For projects like this there has to be some compromise.”
Officials from TCU said they are confident what they are asking is in the best interest of the students and will be rewarded with a variance from the Board of Adjustments, which is scheduled to be announced Oct. 4.
Chris Gibson
c.j.gibson@student.tcu.edu
Syllabi to be available over Internet
Course information will be ready for Spring
registration
By Hemi Ahluwalia
staff reporter
The new FrogFinder program designed to help students view professors’ course syllabi online should finally be up and running before advance registration in November, said Dave Edmondson, assistant provost of information services.
The launching of the program was delayed because of security concerns and because Information Services was bogged down with upgrading PeopleSoft, Edmondson said.
FrogFinder was first introduced to the House of Student Representatives in Fall 1999 by the Academic Affairs Committee and was scheduled to work by Spring 2000, said Sara Donaldson, vice president of House.
“With the lack of resources, we had to make a list of our priorities and PeopleSoft was at the top of the list and FrogFinder was at the bottom,” Edmondson said. “We had a set of consultants that were helping us with our computer systems, but when they left in March, we were left with just the TCU staff. The staff is focused and we are continuing to move forward.”
The concern with the lack of security was that any student could get
into the system and change the information the professors had entered,
said Roger Pfaffenberger, past chair of the Faculty Senate.
“Faculty and staff did not have identification pin numbers like the
students did,” he said.
To solve the problem, a new security system had to be built for the faculty, and that was not completed until the beginning of August, Edmondson said.
“The security system took longer to set up than we had anticipated with the chancellor,” he said. “We had to make sure all of the bugs were worked out before the system could be used.”
Training for the faculty and publicity for the program will begin after the Faculty Senate meeting next week, Donaldson said.
“I completely understand how hard it is to get something going,” she said. “It takes a lot of time, people and effort to get something started and to do it right.
“I think it is an incredible thing, because it says student opinions and individual ideas are important. If you really push for something at this university, it can happen.”
Hemi Ahluwalia
h.ahluwalia@student.tcu.edu
Supplements not provided by colleges
Athletes must pay for dietary supplements
By Elise Rambaud
staff reporter
During football season, TCU tight end B. J. Roberts, a junior finance major, spends about $30 per month on nutritional supplements.
“When the goal is to be bigger, stronger and faster, these supplements are how you get the edge,” Roberts said.
Recent NCAA regulations prohibiting institutions from providing weight-gaining and muscle/strength-building supplements to student athletes may prompt athletes to seek nutritional guidance from sources outside the university.
According to the NCAA, it is permissible for institutions to provide vitamins and minerals, energy bars, calorie and electrolyte replacement drinks. Student athletes may purchase other supplements such as creatine and protein powders from the university, but they cannot be provided free of charge.
“These new regulations take control away from strength coaches and nutritionists,” said Ben Pollard, TCU’s strength and conditioning coach.
It’s difficult for student athletes to maintain proper and sufficient
nutrition from their diets, Pollard said.
Continuous strenuous exercise can deplete the body of essential vitamins
and minerals, so some carbohydrate, protein, and electrolyte supplementation
is recommended for the body to recover and resynthesize muscle from one
extensive workout to the next, he said. 
Chris Ranelle, a registered dietitian and professor of dietetics, said the nutritional supplement industry is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so supplement purity can’t be guaranteed.
“As a dietitian, I don’t recommend the use of ergogenic aids, or supplements designed to enhance physical performance,” Ranelle said.
The recommended dosage on the back of the bottle is based on the average American, Ranelle said, and may be ineffective or even unsafe for a person that does not exemplify the body proportions of the average American. Ranelle said the average American male is about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 160 pounds. The average American woman is about 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs about 130 to 140 pounds.
Gregory Thatcher, an instructor of kinesiology, said recommended dosages on supplement labels are based on a manufacturer’s desire to make a profit. Regardless of how much the body actually needs a specific supplement, manufacturers will exaggerate the dosage so customers will have to buy more of the product, Thatcher said.
“The absolute downfall of the American people is to listen to marketing
in regards to nutrition,” he said.
Most of the scientific studies that prove the safety and effectiveness
of certain supplements are paid for by the manufacturers of the supplement,
so results are often misrepresented, Thatcher said.
Many supplement users say the cost is worth the results the supplements produce.
“Paying for supplements is cheaper than having to go to the doctor
for a vitamin deficiency,” Roberts said.
However, Thatcher said the same amount of nutrients derived from expensive
supplements can be simply and cheaply obtained through a balanced diet.
“A person wanting a quick energy boost from the simple sugars and carbohydrates in a sports bar could receive the benefits quicker and easier if that person just ate an apple,” he said.
Thatcher said the same amount of protein found in a $3 to $5 protein shake can be obtained from a couple of egg whites.
Student athletics trainer Toni Trojacek, a senior kinesiology major, said the popularity of nutritional supplements is based on hype and marketing.
“I would never take any supplement that was hyped up, unless I had personally done extensive research on the effectiveness and possible side effects,” Trojacek said.
Ross Bailey, associate director of athletics, said it is essential for student athletes to have a reliable source of nutritional information.
“Athletes are free to buy supplements in stores so the best we can do is recommend certain supplements on the basis of safety, credibility of manufacturer and quality of product and advise them to stay away from the rest,” said Bailey, former TCU athletics trainer.
Elise Rambaud
e.j.rambaud@student.tcu.edu
‘Heathen Valley’ begins performances
Story shows struggle between joys, duty
By Wendy Meyer
staff reporter
“Heathen Valley,” a play about the evangelizing mission of a preacher and his assistant in 19th century North Carolina, opens tonight at the Hays Theatre.
The show, directed by the Associate Professor of Theatre, George Brown, and performed by TCU Theatre, runs 8 p.m. today through Sunday, with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are free for TCU students, $3 for children, seniors and all other students, and $5 for adults.
David Fluitt, a junior theater major, plays the Bible-beating Episcopalian priest Bishop Ames in his first TCU production. Written by Romulus Linney, the play depicts the priest walking through a valley of darkness populated by heathens who have supposedly forgotten God. Deep in North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains in 1840, Ames and his accomplice, Starns, attempt to convert the pagans to Christianity.
Brown said the play deals with themes that are prevalent in our world
today, like spirituality and religion.
“The dichotomy between finding happiness on earth and fulfilling
our duty to prepare for heaven is essential,” he said.
Rachel Golden, a senior theater and radio-TV-film major, plays Cora, a 20-year-old female heathen married to one man and in love with another.
“It’s fun to get to beat up all these guys,” Golden said.
Golden also said it was challenging to explore the different dialect of the heathens. Students worked with Belinda Boyd, head of the acting program, to vocally define the backwoods North Carolinian colloquialism, Brown said.
The costume and scenery were designed by LaLonnie Lehman and Nancy McCauley. With minimal props and scenery, the play was described by Golden as being a focused play that requires a lot of imagination from the actor.
Brown choreographed the fight scenes, based on experience he gained from staging fights and battle sequences for Romeo and Juliet for Theatre Koleso in Russia, Trojan Woman and Macbeth.
Starns, played by sophomore theater performance major Matthew Moore, finally does spread the bishop’s religion to the heathens.
The success turns out to be less than satisfying for the spiritually superior Ames, who is never pleased with Starns.
“Ultimately, the play demonstrates that these heathens are human,” Brown said. When we are judgmental about others’ religion, we are all heathens, he said.