By Tealy Dippel staff reporter Before incoming freshmen can be equipped with laptop computers, Chancellor Michael R. Ferrari must evaluate the plan's financial and practical implications, something he said he hopes to accomplish during the trip on Nov. 10 and 11 to Wake Forest University. "We will study carefully the plans, strengths and weaknesses and learn in a practical sense how it's working for them," he said. Dave Edmondson, assistant provost for Information Services; Arthur Busbey, associate professor of geology; and Matt Louis, chairman of technology advancement for the House of Student Representatives, will accompany Ferrari on the trip to Winston-Salem, N.C.'s Wake Forest, which implemented a system of providing freshmen with new laptops about four years ago.
Ferrari said not providing laptops at Drake produced problems because students could not take computers with them during holiday breaks. But he is intrigued by the Wake Forest model, he said. Busbey said he does not expect any decisions to be made until February, although Ferrari said he would like to see the plan implemented before that time. "The Board of Trustees would need to have it this winter or next spring in order to put the plan in effect next fall," he said. However, Ferrari said he realizes the university may not yet be prepared to implement the plan. "If we're not ready, then we're not ready," he said. "If not, that puts the plan into the year 2002." Louis said he is looking forward to his trip to Wake Forest and is hoping to learn more about the success of its laptop program. "After going to Wake Forest, I expect a more detailed view of the program," he said.
Tealy Dippel
By Tealy Dippel and Stephen Suffron staff reporters TCU parent Ray Petty will be in town Friday for his fourth Family Weekend, simply because he said he enjoys the family atmosphere. And Programming Council hopes this year's event will entice more parents who will share his attitude. "Without a doubt, Parents' Weekend is one of my favorite weekends," he said. PC Family Weekend Chairwoman Melanie Lewter, a junior religion major, said this year's event is designed to be different enough to bring the upperclassmen's parents back, while still keeping with long-standing traditions. The biggest change involves the pre-game event. "In the past, the pre-game event was in the ballroom and had classical-type music that no one could dance to," Lewter said. "This year, we're calling it a tailgate party, and it is more geared toward fun." The event will be outside in front of the Frog Fountain and will feature barbecue and a band that once opened for the Beatles. SuperFrog and the TCU cheerleaders will also be there, along with clowns, face painters and a caricaturist. "We wanted to get the event closer to the game and make it more appealing to the whole family," Lewter said. Another addition to Saturday's agenda is a 10 a.m. panel discussion facilitated by TCU administrators. It will be a chance for parents to find out what they want to know about TCU from a panel consisting of faculty, staff and students, Lewter said. Sarah Burleson, Student Government Association vice president, said enticing parents to return is a concern. "As the years go by, I think it's less likely for parents to come to Parent's Weekend," she said. SGA President Ben Alexander said family attendance depends largely on the student. "A lot of it has to do with the activities the students are involved in and the distance the parents live from school," he said. "Some parents come in for fraternity and sorority activities. Mine are coming in because they know I am student government president." Lewter said Family Weekend serves as an opportunity for family members to understand these activities and the rest of their students' lives at TCU.
Tealy Dippel Stephen Suffron
By Matt Stiver staff reporter The TCU chapter of College Republicans has been reborn. After losing its members to graduation and falling interest, the group has been re-formed and has a 1999 membership of more than 100. Christa Baker, a junior biology major, said the membership numbers of College Republicans were in sad shape when she arrived at TCU. "There was basically no one, or no one that I had heard of," she said. "Last year I was asked if there was College Republicans at TCU. I said, 'No, not a prevalent one.' So (the person who asked me) said, 'You need to start one.' And so that's what I did." Chrissy Braden, a freshman news-editorial journalism major, said the group would be lost without Baker. "From what I can see, she went out and spent her whole summer setting up everything we have and getting this together," Braden said. "For example, we all have notebooks for all the different committees and just the time she spent on that (alone), she must have put in an unbelievable amount of time. "I think we're going to do really well because she is so strong behind us." Shannon Corley, a junior political science major, said Baker is the heart of the group. "She's the most important person as far as I'm concerned," Corley said. "She's done everything. She found out why it wasn't active on campus anymore, researched everything and picked the (interim) officers. She's been awesome." Wanting to rebuild the College Republicans but realizing she could not do it alone, Baker said she enlisted the help of some seasoned veterans. "I called the TCU Information Desk and got a list of the officers from years past," she said. "Then I got in touch with (chairman of the journalism department) Tommy Thomason, who was the (former) faculty sponsor. "But I could not have done it without a couple of guys from Baylor, the state chairman and his executive director. They were going around Texas, and they started, I believe, 20 clubs. They really helped get me on my feet." Baker said Thomason's style of advising is important. "I think one quality of a good adviser at the college level is to be a guide and give help," she said. "That's what (Thomason) does. He's kind of a hands-off adviser but still helpful. Whenever we have a question, we can go to him." The TCU College Republicans meet on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. Baker said anyone is welcome to attend. "We are about getting the conservative voice out, letting people know that we are here and then just having fun."
Matt Stiver
By Steven Baker staff reporter TCU alumnus Ash Huzenlaub always wanted to start his own business. An entrepreneurial center wasn't in place then, but because of students like Huzenlaub, it soon will be. Management and business faculty in the M.J. Neeley School of Business are currently forming an entrepreneurial center at Neeley to help students and local community members start their own businesses and evaluate the potential of business ventures. The group includes William Moncrief, interim dean of the M.J. Neeley School of Business; Chuck Williams, interim associate dean of the business school and chairman of the management department; Charles Bamford and Garry Bruton, assistant professors of management, and other management faculty. Huzenlaub, who began his own business called PressRelease.com after he graduated last December, said he could have used the hands-on experience of an entrepreneurship center. "The community is going to benefit as a whole from TCU's entrepreneurial center," he said. "I am looking forward to this center. It is much needed." Huzenlaub said TCU has a great opportunity with this project because many of the alumni are entrepreneurs. "As TCU creates entrepreneurs, many of them will stay around and provide jobs for the community," he said. "So, as the TCU business school reinvents itself, the entrepreneurship center must be a key focus of that process." Students will also have a chance for international and local internships through the center. The entrepreneurship classes offered through the management department will cost students money, while the cost, if any for the community, has not been decided. The entrepreneurship center will consist of four chaired professorships, a research chair and a director. Bamford and Bruton are the two entrepreneurship professors that have already been hired. Bamford said some students have already brainstormed business plans that could be viable with more help. "We have students who are coming up with ideas that are brilliant," he said. Bamford said two more entrepreneurship professors and a director could help students develop their plans as teams. These plans could be taken to the entrepreneurship contest, Moot Corp. at the University of Texas, where the top team could win $15,000, he said. Williams said a director is what the center needs first because he or she will help raise money for the center, work with the community and help bring local entrepreneurs to the classroom. Recruiters are looking for a director who has been a local entrepreneur and has connections with the community, he said. "We want to be able to have a mixture here where entrepreneurs and community people start their own business and use TCU and the Neeley School as a resource," he said. Williams said the center will also have an advisory board that will consist of entrepreneurs and other business professionals. "It takes tremendous effort to start your own business," he said. "The best way to do this is for everyone to interact together." Huzenlaub said the life of an entrepreneur is exciting, but students have to be prepared to work 80-plus hours a week in the professional world. "Starting a business is not a school project," he said. "We are racing against a clock that does not stop. If you can't execute your ideas, you need to rethink being an entrepreneur. It is your responsibility, and it is your kid. If you don't love it, don't do it."
Steven Baker |
Ferrari said freshmen at Drake University in Des Moines,
Iowa, where Ferrari served as chancellor before arriving at TCU, were provided
with computers but not laptops. He said he addressed the issue at TCU shortly
after his July 1998 arrival, and the university's Computer and Telecommunications
Committee submitted a document containing plans and proposals to the chancellor
Oct. 1. | The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |