| Bubble Bursts
The most recent of 13 on-campus thefts this semester occurred Thursday in Moudy Building North. An administrative assistant said her purse was stolen in the 10 minutes that she stepped away from her desk. Her purse contained her car keys and wallet. She later discovered that her car, which was parked in the Moudy Building parking lot, had also been stolen. Michael Shane McNeal and Leon Jermaine Turman Jr. were arrested Sunday at South Plains Mall in Lubbock in connection with the theft of the credit cards and the vehicle, Lubbock police said. There is always talk about the "TCU bubble," and once again, that bubble has burst. With the last year's rape near campus, the shooting at Wedgwood Baptist Church and now this theft on campus, it is more clear than ever that the TCU community is not exempt from crime. TCU Sgt. JC Drake offered more advice for students and faculty to prevent them from becoming a victim. "Basically, you have to think like a thief," Drake said. "If you can think of a way to do it, odds are a thief is going to be able to do it. You need to take precautionary measures." Students, staff and faculty, don't fall victim to the belief that it won't happen to you. This may sound like your mother talking, but don't leave your belongings unattended. Even if there are a thousand people in the library, and you just need a five-minute study break, take your things with you. We all feel safe here on campus. It seems logical to leave your bag on a table in The Main to reserve your spot for lunch. But then again, a thief knows that trick, too.
Grad rates ignored for sports stats
When asked about finishing second to Vanderbilt University in graduation rates for athletes Tegano flippantly remarked: "I understand that we rank second in the (Southeastern Conference) to Vanderbilt in graduation rate for our men's athletes, but we win on Saturdays." But at what cost? In an ESPN report Sunday evening, the sports network uncovered evidence of academic fraud and plagiarism within the Tennessee football program, with at least nominal knowledge by Tennessee athletic administrators. In fact, Tennessee finished second to Vanderbilt much in the way that Marlon Brando would finish second to Michael Johnson in a foot race. During the 1992-93 academic year, Vanderbilt graduated its athletes at a rate of 81 percent, compared with Tennessee's 55 percent. Tennessee isn't even the worst of the perpetrators running football prep academies. Far from it. Overall, 58 percent of the Division I athletes who entered school in 1992 graduated, compared to 56 percent of all students. But that's not the bad news. Only 33 percent of black male basketball players graduated and 42 percent of black male football players graduated during this time period. Overall, only 37 percent of athletes earned their college degrees in this six-year span. Here at TCU, 46 percent of our student-athletes graduated in six years. But the most depressing aspect of the NCAA's statistics revealed that only 22 percent of our black student-athletes graduated. For his part, TCU athletic director Eric Hyman was disturbed in a way that seemed to escape Tegano. "That's horrible," he said. "It's good to have a winning program, but the bottom line is that there is life after sports." NCAA statistics show that more than 1 million high school athletes play football each year; of those, only 150 make it to the NFL. So what we have is a mass of athletes, about 999,850, who are left without their dream of the big leagues and without a college diploma. For those who do make it to the NFL, the average career falls in between three to four years. Not much time on the gridiron, huh? Apparently, not much time in the classroom either. While the NCAA's statistics don't include students who transfer or leave school, or as Phillip Fulmer, the coach of Tennessee's 1998 championship football team, said: "If pro football comes and takes five or 10 kids a year, and they are paying them a million dollars, that skews the statistics." That is somewhat true, but still an egregious miscalcuation. Some schools do lose one or two players a year early to the NFL or NBA draft, but not five or 10, as the statistics obviously show. At Tennessee, even the coach isn't good at math. Student-athletes, particularly black males, have been sold a false bill of goods. What happens when someone has trained for the better part of their life to play in "the league," only to discover they weren't good enough? Or maybe they blew out a knee? Universities were supposedly created to educate people, and hopefully, graduate them. In most schools' mission statements there is no mention of a football team that consistently plays in bowl games. The NCAA's numbers show that some schools (ahem, Tennessee) aren't taking their duty of educating athletes too seriously. These schools have a responsibility to make sure all of their flock earns a diploma. Statistics prove that people with the sheepskin earn significantly more money in the job market than those without. If the administration doesn't urge its athletes to graduate, then the ambivalence seeps down the food chain. "Why go to class?" reasons an athlete. "Coach said I have to lift weights today." This isn't true of all schools, but it seems true for at least some of them. Oh, and Tennessee? Who cares what they do on the field. They're still losers.
Joel Anderson is a senior news-editorial journalism major from Missouri City, Texas. He can be reached at (jdanderson@delta.is.tcu.edu). Death is no barrier for life I was strolling across campus last week, remembering the unshakable spirit of my friend Kim Jones, and a feeling of rejoicing suddenly engulfed me. The realization of how Kim would have analyzed her own tragic death finally brought me some peace. As I, along with my close friends in the TCU community, grieve the death of Jones, we ask a rhetorical "why?," but the answer never comes. Meantime, I grieve Jones, and I also grieve for Brewer High School, my alma mater. They lost one life and deal with the injuries of another because of the shooting at Wedgwood Baptist Church. The answers come no easier for them than they do for us. I watched on television as students from Columbine High School offered gifts of sympathy to the members of the White Settlement community. As we became the next Columbine, the whole experience seemed so surreal. But at Kim's funeral pastor Al Meredith gave me something to chew on in eulogizing Jones. "You may have read in the Thursday paper that Kim Jones died at Wedgwood Baptist Church, but don't you believe it," explained a respectful Meredith. He spoke more of her impenetrable faith in God and compared her to a peanut. "When you eat a peanut, you peel away the shell and keep the most important part, the nut," he said. "What you see before you is the shell of Kim Jones, but the nut is dancing in heaven ... and Kim was a nut." Everyone laughed at his humor, mostly because they knew it was true. Kim always possessed an affinity for the lighthearted. This brings me back to that realization, days later, as I strolled across campus. If Kim were here, I believe she would have reminded us that people need hope. And it occurred to me, with respect for all those that died, that Larry Ashbrook may have created more Christians than he killed. In the wake of this tragedy, don't get me wrong. We certainly must grieve. But slowly and proudly, our TCU community must carry on, uniting in Kim's mission. I must remember the example she set, displaying a smile on her face, a twinkle in her eye and Jesus Christ in her back pocket. Kim Jones, unlike most, understood that people need hope and this is what she'd want us to learn from her unfortunate death. We are not the only ones to suffer a loss. As I mentioned, my former community of White Settlement remains affected by this tragedy. I'm very proud of the way my former coach James Roller and his staff displayed strength and courage, as the entire nation watched. With the spotlight on them, they offered this same hope to those who came before them, and those who might possibly suffer a similar tragedy in the future. When their community needed a boost, they provided a 21-14 upset victory over state-ranked Aledo, just two days after the shooting. The banner of hope memorializing their fallen teammate read, "Play the game for Justin, win it for Joey." Those coaches used to tell me that winners usually win, losers usually lose and quitters assuredly quit. One thing that I believe is, that as a product of that system, I chose to be a winner. I ask you, which one are you - the winner who offers hope or the loser who allows Larry Ashbrook to win? Like me, Kim studied speech communications, so that she could offer her message to as many people as possible, as clearly as possible. One of my strongest drives in pursuing this major then, is to create a better means for an individual to express his or her needs in a concise manner. I have to believe that somewhere along the line, our lack of enough communication techniques failed Ashbrook. Ashbrook was a person who, for whatever reason, didn't have any hope. And as my friend Kim Jones made me realize, we all need hope.
Tim Skaggs is a senior speech communication major from Fort Worth. He can be reached at (Pahprboy@aol.com). Letters to the editor Gender not absolute answer to violence problem in America I cried when Bambi died. I pick flowers and take walks, marveling at the beauty of the world. I play the piano. I pray for peace in a violent world. Perhaps a glimpse into my completely heterosexual life can disavow Laura Head of some of the stereotypes she employed in her column, "Gender plays role in violence." While I agree with her on more points than not, I was troubled by some of the issues she raised. Head wrote that "children are socialized to fit into the gender roles that society has assigned them." I couldn't agree more, but I don't believe our gender differences are the main cause of senseless violence. Differences in gender are not our enemy. I value my early experiences as a male. I was socialized into the role, I suppose. That's life. That's the way it works in America, and I'm glad it does. Blindly cashing in on stereotypes doesn't necessarily pay off. Head wrote that "boys learn to keep their problems inside. They learn crying is bad and fighting back is the answer. They sulk and hide it all until they explode." Granted, some boys do fall prey to an inability to express their feelings and frustrations, but then, so do girls. While girls may tend to deal better with feelings and anger as a whole, I've known a few that were liable to snap, whine and just all out throw a tantrum until Daddy fixed it. On the other side of the coin, I know several males who are articulate, share their heart and speak their soul. They comfort those who are hurt; they are sensitive and considerate. They love their mothers and they tell them so. Head also wrote that "If we continue teaching children that it's acceptable for boys to retaliate with physical violence, we must be prepared to face more attacks on our social institutions." So are all men battering, trigger-happy, beer-guzzling, Tim Allen-gutteral-"uhggruhggring" idiots? I can't deny there are a few. And I also can't deny that all the violent attackers I hear about are male. I don't think, however, that I'm prepared to say that we are raising our children wrong. A restructuring of society that Head calls for is well-meant, but a bit extreme. James Buckner senior music education and music theory/composition major
Alumna praises portrayal of Kim Jones in article I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for a job well done! I am a TCU alumna who is married to a TCU grad student. I knew Kim Jones and was very sad for all those involved in the Wedgwood Baptist Church shooting. However, one of the most important things to me was that people knew who Kim was and what she stood for and you captured that perfectly. The article was well written, organized properly and contained the type of information that drew a mental picture of Kim for those who didn't know her. I was so pleased to read the article and to know that Kim will be remembered correctly and that TCU and its students produced one of the best-written articles about Kim that I saw released in the Fort Worth area. Thank you for your sensitivity and your dedication to journalism and to the community. Jennifer Mladenka Jones Vendor Relations Coordinator, InnoVentry
Credit for Greek 101 should be attributed to all organizers Although the Panhellenic Council would like to take credit for the entire Greek 101 program that took place Sept. 12 as the Skiff reported, we can not. This program would not have been possible without the support and efforts of the Interfraternity Council and especially the contribution of the IFC Vice President of Programming and Scholarship Pete England. Perhaps this mistake would not happen if someone who actually attended the event was able to report on the event. We certainly appreciate the article about the program, but we wanted to make sure that credit is given where credit is deserved. Kelly Boyington Panhellenic President |
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