Wage increase to aid TCU Police Department
Higher salaries will make it easier to hire officers, McGee says

by Matt Jones
skiff staff

After struggling to fill vacancies and facing a high turnover rate, the TCU Police Department has implemented a wage increase of more than $5,000 for entry-level officers, Steve McGee, chief of police, said.

But while Southern Methodist University and Rice University offer a starting salary of $29,000, McGee said TCU’s wage increase leaves the starting salary at $27,350.

The increase, which took effect June 1, affects all new officers on the squad and any officers who were previously paid a salary below the new entry-level salary. The starting salary is up from last year’s $22,000, McGee said.

Fred Pruitt, a TCU police officer who was compensated for wages once the new salary took effect, said he thanks the administration for supporting its officers.

“It makes you feel appreciated,” Pruitt said. “We can really thank the university for getting in there and fighting for us.”

McGee said he approached the university cabinet last spring and requested a review of starting officer salaries. He said the research he gathered about local agencies and comparable salaries surprised him.

“We knew local agencies were paying more,” he said. “We just didn’t realize how big the difference was.
“We simply can’t compete with local municipalities that can offer officers more money,” McGee said. “We are trying to be creative, but it’s often difficult to attract the quality of applicant that we are looking for.”

Over the past two years, seven TCU police officers have left the squad to find higher paying jobs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, McGee said.

Even with the recent salary increase, there have been three vacancies on the squad for the past six months, he said.

J.C. Williams, assistant chief of police, said the primary reasons for vacancies are low wages and lack of quality applicants.

Mark McGuire, a former TCU police officer who left the squad in May 2000 after five years of service, said salary and wage issues forced him to look elsewhere for employment.

“I loved working at TCU,” McGuire said. “But, the fact is that there was very little room for advancement, and I could work anywhere else for more (money).”

McGuire said, as a starting officer, TCU is a stepping stone for young officers who have just finished police academy.

“I learned a lot from my time there,” he said. “I got to work with many retired city officers who showed me the ropes.”

However, new officers usually stay only a few years, McGuire said.

“Young officers want to get out there and see the action,” he said. “Policing a university is a lot different than policing a city.”

McGuire said he knew of the increase and still chose to leave TCU.

“The increase was designed to affect new officers,” McGuire. “I had been there five years, and knew that the change would not affect me.”

McGuire said although the wages were low, working conditions were excellent.

“I have no regrets about working there,” he said. “They stood behind me on everything, and I was treated well.”

McGee, who is currently screening applicants, said the increase in salary will make it possible to hire new officers.

He expects all of the positions to be filled by November.

“We have an officer who is waiting to complete the screening, and two who will be added over the next month,” McGee said.

Williams said qualifications for new officers are state mandated and include drug screening, physical and psychological exams and completion of an accredited police academy.

“Before the wage increase, our quality of applicants was often very poor,” Williams said. “We are still clearly under the market, but now we have a wider range of qualified applicants.”

McGee said a new officer would be hired by the end of the week.

Matt Jones
Matthewsjones@hotmail.com

Heritage month aims to educate
Latin heritage activities bring in few supporters

by Sarah McClellan
skiff staff

In contrast to the six activities to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month last year, there has been one on-campus program this year and only two more are planned.

The first program was a speech Tuesday by the founder and publisher of Latina magazine, Christy Haubegger. Salsa dance lessons will be taught Oct. 5, and a salsa dance contest follows Oct. 12.

“Each year is a little different,” said Darron Turner, director of intercultural education and services. “This particular year we decided we wanted to have a big-name speaker. The programs last year were much smaller in terms of financial commitment.”

Turner said Haubegger’s appearance cost about $8,000, but cost isn’t the only reason for the minimal programming.

“If the main purpose of Hispanic Heritage Month is to educate various communities of the Latin heritage, that doesn’t need to be confined to a month,” Turner said. “(Education) needs to be through the course of a year.”

Manuel Rodriguez, president of Lambda Kappa Kappa fraternity, said part of the reason for the small number of programs for Hispanic Heritage Month this year is a small turnout at previous activities.

“In the past we haven’t had the turnout for Hispanic Heritage Month that we would have liked,” said Rodriguez, a junior psychology major. “The crowd was so minimal that it’s hard to get the money (for more programs).”

Rodriguez said some of the programs were less educational than they should be. Last year’s jalapeño eating contest and this year’s salsa dancing contest are examples.

“It’s just typical stuff that you could see anywhere throughout the year,” he said. “Even though a jalapeño eating contest might be fun, it’s not what I would like to see for Hispanic Heritage Month.”Rodriguez said his fraternity didn’t have the funds to bring a speaker to campus. The fraternity focuses more on promoting Hispanic youth excellence in the community, he said.

Linda Juarez, president of Sigma Lambda Alpha sorority, said the scheduled programs are more educational than they appear.

“For people who are into music, the salsa contest caters to them,” said Juarez, a senior Spanish major. “I think it helps other students get exposed to different types of music.”

Juarez said the programs encompass different forms of education.

“Dancing is a part of our culture, and so is the music,” Juarez said. “There are different activities for different students ... any type of cultural activity will help educate people, not necessarily just something where you just sit down and listen to someone speak.”

Carmen Orozco-Acosta, president of the Organization of Latin American Students, said she agrees.

“The salsa contest is educational because a lot of people don’t know a lot about it,” Orozco-Acosta, a sophomore psychology major, said. “It’s an important aspect of the Latin culture and people who just walk by will see it.”

Juarez said she thinks the salsa lessons and contest are beneficial because they provide comfort to some students.

“When I’m on campus and I hear salsa music, it makes me feel good because it’s familiar,” Juarez said.
Rodriguez said the ideal educational project for Hispanic Heritage Month is posters with biographical data about Hispanic people who show the value of hard work and how it pays off.

“We should focus on home-grown heroes like (Hispanic) people in the community that you see every day but don’t notice — like the single moms that work to put their kids through school,” Rodriguez said.

Juarez said her sorority would like to bring a Latin or Hispanic artist to campus and has tentative plans for a Hispanic women’s recognition night to honor Hispanic women who have made an impact in the community.

This program has not been scheduled for Hispanic Heritage Month because they want to make sure it’s planned well and that it gets recognition, she said.

Juarez said, if planned, the event would probably take place in March, and her sorority would have to fund it by finding sponsors and doing fundraising.

Rodriguez said all student organizations, not just Hispanic ones, should help with the planning of events pertaining to the Latin culture.

“What we’re trying to do is plan stuff at the Student Center, where it will be visible,” Rodriguez said. “I would like to see everybody come together and (plan) the month. Only by helping each other on campus and involving others in the planning process can we excel and go further, as far as being aware of other cultures.”

Sarah McClellan
sarahlmac@hotmail.com

Site offers tips about professors, classes
Students to launch FrogPages.com

by Melissa DeLoach
staff reporter

Availability, number of tests and personality are all things students rarely know about professors before enrolling in classes. This may all change with the launch of (FrogPages.com) Sunday.

FrogPages, a privately funded Internet business run by six TCU students, will provide students with a new way to get connected to the daily happenings and events surrounding the campus and Fort Worth, said Adam Reed, a senior accounting and finance major.

By logging on to the Internet, students will be moments away from an online community including teacher reviews, textbook exchanges and a listing of food delivery options.

Mitchell Mannschereck, a senior e-business and marketing major, said the teacher review section will allow students to log into one centralized location while posting and reading reviews about professors on campus. Teachers will be evaluated on a five-star rating system, he said.

“Communication about a professor is pretty much word-of-mouth now so it is hard to get a good feeling about a professor,” Mannschereck said. “The site will help students find teachers that they are most compatible with.”

FrogPages production is currently located in a room in the house of Trent Walton, a junior computer information sciences and e-business major.

They operate using five computers, two printers and a fax machine. Mannschereck said the original idea for the Web site was to provide an online business directory accessible to TCU students.

Another component of the site will enable students to search for used textbooks from other TCU students.

alton said this section will allow students to search for used textbooks and buy and sell their textbooks online. This section will be running by the end of the semester, he said.

“If a book is not listed, a recommended vendor will be provided,” Walton said.

Mannscherek said the food delivery section will provide students a wider selection of opportunities to have food delivered to their doorstep. The site includes menus, numbers, delivery rates and prices of items.

tudents can order any kind of food, ranging from Chinese to Italian, Mannscherek said.

Although TCU is not supporting FrogPages, Walton said the university’s support is not vital to the success of the Web site because all the funds needed for the Web site are coming from advertising revenue.

Other pages on FrogPages include a section on the night life in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, intramural sports, a link to the TCU e-mail site and student phone book, classifieds, Greek connection and campus events.

A launch party will take place Oct. 6 at the Aardvark, 2905 W. Berry St.

Melissa DeLoach
m.d.deloach@student.tcu.edu

Students manage $2 million fund
EIF is investment experience

by Melissa DeLoach
skiff staff

As he sifts through a pile of reports he must read in order to stay ahead of an ever-changing Wall Street, second-year MBA student Cody Dick is only beginning his workload for the Educational Investment Fund.
Run by the M.J. Neeley School of Business, students in the fund manage an almost $2 million portfolio on behalf of the William C. Conner Foundation and its two benefactors, TCU and the Department of Opthalmology at Baylor Medical School.

Six percent of the year-end net asset value is paid in the form of an annual contribution to the benefactors, said Larry Lockwood, professor of financial services and faculty advisor for the fund.

Between reading various financial magazines like Fortune, Money and Bloomberg, to watching financial analysts on television, Dick said the challenge is funneling large amounts of data to evaluate what three to four years can do to a particular stock.

“Because we look at a particular stock only a couple of times a semester, we have to think long term when a stock is up for review,” Dick said. “We are constantly taking risks when we decide to buy or sell because our best stock can drop in one day. When you actually have to put money on paper, it gives you a different perspective.”

According to statistics from the Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center, the fund contributed $56,224 to the university’s annual fund in 2000.

“This is the first program managed by students 100 percent,” Lockwood said. “From all decisions major and minor, (students) have the same responsibilities as a major investment firm.”

Jon Hegranes, a senior accounting and finance major, said although fund students might ask Lockwood for advice, ultimately the decisions are completely run by the students in the program.

“They might talk to us to inform us or talk about the importance of issues related to our stock, but they don’t at all try to influence our decisions,” said Hegranes, who is also the chief administrator of the fund.
Bob Lusch, dean of the business school, said more leading edge programs like EIF are needed to bring notoriety to the business school. He said these experiences make the program successful and greatly enhance the quality of both TCU, the business school and the finance department.

Lockwood said the skills students learn in the program make them marketable candidates upon graduation.
“I get so many phone calls from top money-managing firms asking specifically about students in EIF and their availability,” Lockwood said. “The training of EIF students makes them highly qualified in the global environment.”

Dick, who manages the technology sector of the fund, said because a particular stock is up for review only a few times a semester, when Intel stock fell a few weeks ago it showed the limitations of the program.

“Intel has been one of the best stocks in the fund,” he said. “We can try our best to keep up with trends and news of the economy, but we can not predict the future. We are definitely thrown in the fire here because we have to think long term unlike day traders who have the advantage of making quicker trades.”

EIF was established in 1973 with a $600,000 donation from William C. Conner, co-founder of Alcon Laboratories. More than 600 students have taken part in EIF. The program is supervised by Stanley Block and Lockwood.

EIF has been modeled at schools such as UCLA, Rice, Columbia University and the University of Chicago.

Melissa DeLoach
m.d.deloach@student.tcu.edu

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