Sexual assault reported by Jarvis resident
Student allegedly attacked in own room on two occasions

By Wendy Meyer
staff reporter

A TCU student reported Wednesday night that she was sexually assaulted in her Jarvis Hall room Sept. 23.
The suspect was described by TCU Police Chief Steve McGee as a 6-foot-2-inch, 240-pound man. The woman told police she did not know if he was a TCU student, but he dressed in clothing with TCU logos.
The woman reported that she allowed the man to sleep in her roommate’s bed the night she met him at the TCU football game against Arkansas State, Sept. 23. The man had told her he did not have a place to stay.
She told police he climbed into her bed during the night and sexually assaulted her while she tried unsuccessfully to stop him.

A week later, the suspect returned and sexually assaulted her again, she told police. Before the second sexual assault, she said he called her from outside her residence hall and asked if he could come up to her room to hang out.

Assistant Chief of Police J.C. Williams said he was unsure why she decided to wait to report the sexual assaults to the campus police.

“We would like for a student to report sexual assault immediately, but we will always investigate any report a student makes,” McGee said. “We are, of course, happy that she did finally report it.”

Police removed a pair of slippers and a bathrobe as means to retrieve evidence from the resident’s room.
“Naturally, the earlier officers are notified, the more useful evidence obtained at the crime scene will be,” Williams said.

He said victims may be reluctant to report an offense to the police immediately. However, certain types of evidence like hair and DNA can be used even months after the crime for prosecution, he said.

After the football game Sept. 23, the resident and a group of eight girls went to Chili’s Bar and Grill on South University Drive, according to the police report.

The suspect told the victim he was a transfer football player from Baylor University. McGee said the football program at Baylor has no record of the suspect.

When the group returned from Chili’s, the man asked the resident if he could use her phone to call the friend he was supposed to stay with that night. He said the friend wasn’t home and made several other calls, she said. When he told her that he didn’t have anywhere to stay, she offered to let him stay in her roommate’s bed.

According to the police report, the same man told another student last semester that he did not have a place to stay, but she refused to let him stay in her room.

Wendy Meyer
wendy037@hotmail.com

Retro Rhythms
Dance performance explores 1960s

By Wendy Meyer
staff reporter

The turbulent ‘60s were marked by rock ’n’ roll, hippies, feminism, civil rights, the first lunar landing and Woodstock.

But all these developments came only in the West. The Far East saw a horrifying war, assassinations and communistic control.

The TCU Department of Ballet and Modern Dance will present both cultural aspects of the decade in their Fall Dance Concert.

RadioShack’s Retrofest 2000 in Tarrant County is a biannual coordination of art events that pay tribute to a particular 20th-century decade. The TCU Department of Ballet and Modern Dance will complement this year’s celebration with a salute to the 1960s. Erin Brothers, a senior ballet and modern dance major, said one of the pieces depicts China during the cultural revolution. Performing “Farewell to Civilization” has given her an opportunity to see the other part of the 1960s, she said.

“It has given me a window into Chinese culture and insight to how Americans are lucky to be free, individual thinkers and without fear that the government is going to take over,” Brothers said. Other pieces the TCU Department of Ballet and Modern Dance will perform are titled “Time of the Season,” “Beautiful Freaks,” “Aureole” and “Entre Azul y Buenas Noches,” which means “Between Blue and Good Night.”
“Aureole” was choreographed in the 1960s by Paul Taylor, a famous dancer for 40 years. Mary Cochran, a former dancer for the Paul Taylor Dance Academy, re-staged the piece.

“We performed the piece when we were freshman, so it’s been great to see the development because the piece is so meaningful,” said Bethany Farmer, a senior ballet major.Fernando Bujones, choreographer-in-residence, set “Mo’town Leads to Caribbean Beats,” which are Latin American rhythms of the era.

The dancers will leap across the stage to popular songs of the 1960s, such as “Papa was a Rolling Stone.” The program also includes songs by Simon and Garfunkel.

TCU alumnus Andrew Parkhurst, a singer, dancer and actor in Vienna, Austria, created the musical theater review of the 1960s songs for the show.

Acting as a guest choreographer, Parkhurst designed the musical theater and dances for his piece, “Beautiful Freaks,” which is an ensemble of four Broadway shows: “Sweet Charity,” “Promises, Promises,” “Hair” and “Cabaret”.

“I tried to choose music that either directly reflects the 1960s like ‘Hair’ or that reflects Broadway,’” Parkhurst said.

Roberts created a special piece to celebrate Día de los Muertos, which means Day of the Dead, a Mexican tradition that honors loved ones who have died.

“The piece has been constructed borrowing from the Día de Los Muertos, an intimate family tradition of creating an ofrenda,” Roberts said. An ofrenda is an altarpiece designed to honor deceased loved ones and to entice them to return, she said.

The dance is dedicated to Tamara Barrington, a TCU alumna, who was killed in a tragic car accident earlier this year.

Wendy Meyer
w.m.meyer@student.tcu.edu

SGA voting run on FrogNet
System costs less, exclusively built for TCU

By Hemi Ahluwalia
staff reporter

Students can now access TCU’s FrogNet program to vote online in November’s Student Government Association elections.

Online voting was first introduced last November for the House of Student Representatives elections, which produced the biggest voter turnout to date.

The university used E-lections.com, an Internet firm in Iowa, to supervise and run the elections, said Brian Becker, elections and regulations committee chairman. But the project was expensive, he said.

“Voting online has been a project that we have been working on for more than a year,” he said. “It cost us about $1,000 last year to have E-lections.com set up and run the House elections. This year the company was going to charge $2,000 to run the elections.”

With the cost doubled, a decision was made not to use the company anymore, Becker said.

“The Student Government Association decided that the money could be better used for other projects and chose to have TCU set up a system on FrogNet that would allow online voting,” Becker said.

Emily Burgwyn, director of student affairs at information services, said SGA started working on the new system this summer and considered many aspects before deciding on what system to use.

A Southern Methodist University program used for their online voting and the current WebCT program, which is being used for faculty and staff, were some of the options looked at, Burgwyn said.

Richard Yantis, leader of technical projects in administrative systems, became involved after all other options had been exhausted.

“We used SMU’s program and the WebCT program to help aid us in our effort to write our own application program for online voting,” he said.

But some complications arose during last week’s Mr. and Ms. TCU election, the first election to use the new online program, Burgwyn said.

“We had a few students that had a problem with the new pin number that they were required to use for FrogNet,” she said. “These were individual problems that did not have anything to do with the new program.”

The new pin number was case sensitive and many students did not realize this. The new program used pin numbers set up through FrogNet instead of having students create their own, Burgwyn said.

The students who did have a problem with their pin number were allowed to vote at the Information Desk with a paper ballot, Burgwyn said.

The program will be used next for the House referendum vote on the SGA restructuring. In the future, the program may be used for not only elections but surveys and questionnaires, Burgwyn said.

The referendum vote will hopefully be completely online with few, if any, paper votes, SGA adviser Larry Markley said.

“I have made a recommendation to the elections and regulations committee to still accept paper ballots for the next few elections,” he said. “The paper votes can be used if any students are still having a problem with their pin number.”

Every student received an e-mail in their TCU account that described the voting process and what students needed to do prior to the elections, Markley said.

“The e-mail told students how they could access the voting Web site (www.vote.tcu.edu), and what to do if they had any problems establishing a new pin number,” he said.

Hemi Ahluwalia
hemia@hotmail.com

Excitement builds for Homecoming
PC activities spark campus interest

By Hemi Ahluwalia
staff reporter

Six men with a letter written on each of their chests to spell the word “parade” will flash people in The Main all next week.

This year Programming Council is using new advertising tactics to attract students to participate in Homecoming week celebrations.

“We will also place table tents on all of the tables in The Main to advertise some of the bands that will be playing during the week,” said Chelsea Hudson, a sophomore political science major and Homecoming committee chairwoman. “A naked mannequin will also be set up in the Student Center, and each day a piece of retro clothing will be added to it leading up to the faculty fashion show.”

Events are scheduled all week to get the campus and the community involved and excited about the football game Oct. 28, said Melissa Nabors, a sophomore political science major and director of programs and development for PC.

“We are hoping to have a big turnout at all of the events that we have planned for everyone,” she said.

PC is trying to make this year’s Homecoming celebration a more diverse activity, Hudson said.

“We have gone around to all of the organizations on campus and made sure that they have become involved in activities this year,” Hudson said. “Also, to unite all of us, we made an all-campus T-shirt this year instead of each organization designing their own.”

The service project, which is a recurring Homecoming event, will be a shared effort between TCU and the YMCA, Hudson said.

“This project shows that we are reaching out to a diverse group of kids that might not have the needed supplies for school if we do not help,” she said.

The money to pay for all of the events comes out of the Student Government Association funds that were set aside for PC at the beginning of the semester. T-shirts will be sold at the Information Desk to help raise extra funds, Nabors said.

“The six-and-a-half-minute fireworks show to be held before the parade will cost $5,000,” Hudson said.

“It usually costs $1,000 a minute to have the fireworks at the football games.”

The Fort Worth community has also helped out a lot, Hudson said.

“Some stores on University Drive, Berry Street and Hulen Street will be putting posters up in their windows to help advertise,” she said. “This is not just a Homecoming for TCU, it is also a Homecoming for the Fort Worth community.”

With all of the events that will be held during the week, participation is expected to be high.

“There have been more that 100 volunteers that have come out to help set up for Homecoming, which is an unusual event considering we normally have about 20 people helping out,” Hudson said.

Hemi Ahluwalia
hemia@hotmail.com

Run/Walk to chase off abuse
Fourth annual Fall Breakaway to benefit neglected children

By Michael Davis
staff reporter

Kappa Alpha Theta will hold its fourth annual Fall Breakaway Tracy Clark Memorial 5k Run/Walk Saturday to benefit Child Advocates of Tarrant County.

Last year’s run raised $11,360 for Child Advocates, said Carolyn Dalton, a Theta alumna and a member of the advisory board to the Fall Breakaway. The walk is a memorial to Tracy Clark, a Theta alumna who was killed May 1999 in a car wreck.

“Tracy actually suggested starting a run, but at the time no one was too interested,” Dalton said.

Last year about 700 people signed up for the run said Sara Lippa, a junior interior design major and co-chair of the event.

“This year we are hoping for around 1,000 to sign up, and (that) it won’t rain,” she said.

David Dunai/CO-PHOTO EDITOR Tricia Wilcox, a sophomore social work major, Lindsey Alletag, a freshman international business major and Carol Davis, a junior biology major, help Karrie Curry, a senior psychology major, sign up for Fall Breakaway.

Child Advocates is a non-profit organization that attempts to find safe and permanent homes for children who have been neglected or abused. Last year more than 40,000 court-appointed Child Advocate volunteers were involved with over 164,000 abused and neglected children in the court system.

One volunteer is assigned to a specific case and follows it through the court system, operating independently of governmental organizations.

Nancy Fisher, an employee of Child Advocates, said the purpose of the organization is to prevent children from falling through the cracks in the court system and to look out for the child’s best interests.

“Sometimes we disagree with the position of Child Protective Services,” Fisher said. “The girls (of Kappa Alpha Theta) have been going gangbusters for the program. I am amazed at the caliber of these girls and their dedication to the cause.”

Jenica Rose, Theta philanthropy/public relations chair and senior management major, said the Thetas decided to begin the run four years ago after they heard the success stories from other chapters around the country.

“We knew it would be hard work, but we were confident we could pull it off,” she said.

The entire entry fee goes to Child Advocates and is placed in their operating budget. It will help the staff of seven provide support and training to the 99 volunteers and 15 individuals currently going through training.
Lippa said she hopes to create a greater awareness of the event and encourage more non-Greeks to participate.

“Many people think it is a Greek function,” she said.

This year there will be food and a live band.

“The band will play cover songs, so people will know the music,” Lippa said.

Final registration for the event is 7:30 a.m. Saturday at Amon Carter Stadium. The Fall Breakaway begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at the stadium.

Michael Davis
m.s.davis@student.tcu.edu

Going to infinity and beyond
Horned Frogs’ dad blasts into space aboard Discovery

By Emily Ward
staff reporter

While most TCU students went about their daily routines last Wednesday night, Kate and Meg McArthur stood on the roof of the Kennedy Space Center and watched their father blast off into space.

Col. Bill McArthur, father of Kate and Meg McArthur, was one of seven astronauts aboard the shuttle Discovery Wednesday night when NASA completed its 100th space shuttle launch.

Special to the Skiff Meg and Kate McArthur stand with their father in front of the solid rocket booster of the shuttle Discovery at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Col. Bill McArthur was one of seven astronauts aboard the shuttle Wednesday night when NASA completed its 100th space shuttle launch.

“I always tell myself not to get nervous or to worry, but when it comes time for takeoff, the tension begins to mount,” Kate McArthur said. “Basically, one of the people you love most in the world is taking off on 4.5 million pounds of rocket fuel.”

Bill McArthur has been on two space walks during this mission — one Sunday and the other Tuesday, Kate McArthur said. Four of the seven crew members have been on space walks, which are made so members can do construction on the International Space Station, she said.

The crew’s goal of the mission is to make the International Space Station habitable, Kate McArthur said. By the end of October, people should be able to live on the space station from six months to a year.

Living on the International Space Station will help show inhabitants the implications of living long periods in space, Kate McArthur said. Because a mission to Mars would take about a year, this information is vital if ever such a mission is to be made.

On the current space mission, astronauts are fitting a nine-ton frame on the outside of the station so solar dishes can be installed later, according to an article in the Deutsche Presse-Agentur. According to the article, outfitting the station with a new docking station and communications system is also planned for the mission.

The Discovery launch has been delayed three times since Oct. 5 because of technical problems and bad weather, Kate McArthur said. The two sisters and their mother were in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for two weeks waiting for the shuttle to complete its launch.

“Some people think of the delays as regrettable, but when it comes to somebody you love, you are actually so glad when any potential problem has been found,” Meg McArthur said.

Crew members are usually the ones who are most disappointed because they get so excited about getting the mission underway, Kate McArthur said. Now that her father is on the mission, she says he is at his happiest.

“Professionally, (dad) is doing very well, and NASA is pleased with their work,” Kate McArthur said. “But he is also having a great time and is so excited about being up there.”

Kate McArthur said she has been receiving e-mail messages from her father every day since he has been on the mission and written back to him.

“He is doing great and he is having the time of his life,” Kate McArthur said. “We do a lot of worrying about him, but right now, he is in seventh heaven.”

A TCU flag is also being flown on the mission by Bill McArthur in appreciation for the help the university has given his daughters, Meg McArthur said. Once the mission is over, the flag will be presented to the university with the number of hours it spent in space and how many miles away from the Earth it was flown.

Bill McArthur has worked for the U.S. Army at NASA since 1987 and has been a trained astronaut since 1991. This space mission is his third one so far. He and the Discovery are scheduled to return to Earth Sunday.

Emily E. Ward
e.e.ward@student.tcu.edu

Contact Us!