By Tealy Dippel staff reporter The position of Student Government Association secretary went without candidates for two days, but three students applied for the office after SGA officials extended the deadline. Brian Becker, the House Elections and Regulations pro tem, received one application Wednesday and two others Thursday. Becker said he thinks publicity was the biggest help in encouraging candidates to apply for the office. Becker said he is not sure why there weren't more applications turned in for secretary by the original deadline on Saturday. He said he thinks some students just weren't interested before. "They probably thought it was a good way to get their foot in the door in terms of SGA," Becker said. The three candidates running for secretary are John Duncan, a sophomore premajor; Ben Rebstock, a sophomore radio-TV-film major; and Kyle Turner, a sophomore premajor. SGA President Ben Alexander said it is important these candidates applied because it shows there are people interested in the position. "Students now have a choice about who they want as secretary rather than having one appointed by the winners of the election," Alexander said. He also said having potential secretarial candidates is important because the duty of SGA secretary has changed. "The secretary will be an assistant to the president and will take care of things like newsletters and Web sites," Alexander said. The SGA secretarial position was one of the positions altered after the student referendum passed which made changes to the SGA constitution. Rebstock said he decided to apply after talking to people in House about the opportunity. "I thought it would be a good way to make a difference," Rebstock said. He served as a Brachman Hall representative last year and currently serves on the Programming Council Concert Committee. Duncan, who has served on House as a Clark Hall representative, said he applied for the position because he wanted to represent House, but this time as secretary. "Diversity on campus right now is not that great, so I want to get groups involved so they know what's going on around campus," Duncan said. Turner said being a good secretary involves commitment and flexibility. "I decided to run because I really thought I could help out as it is an important time at TCU right now," Turner said. He said with all of the new changes on campus like the presence of a new Chancellor and student referendums, running for secretary is a good way to get involved. Because of the extended secretarial deadline, no secretarial candidates participated in the forum or debate. Alexander said SGA will hold an informal question-and-answer session at noon Monday in the Student Center Lounge. He said it will give students an opportunity to ask the secretarial candidates questions since they probably won't have time to campaign as much as candidates for other SGA positions.
Tealy Dippel
By Tealy Dippel staff reporter Students attending the Student Government Association debate wanted to know what changes candidates could bring to TCU. "What impact can you make? How much can you really do?" asked Alex McGarr, a junior advertising/public relations major who was in the audience. Candidates gathered in the Reed/Sadler Mall Thursday afternoon to answer those questions and questions from a panel of four TCU students. McGarr told candidates students don't know what's already been accomplished by SGA and wanted their opinions on ways to make students aware and involved. Vice presidential candidate Sara Donaldson's solution was an archive on the SGA Web site where students would find information on recommendations and decisions made by SGA. Clay Stauffer, a vice presidential candidate, said he thinks it's all about student awareness. "We need to get awareness on campus and word of mouth is the best way to do that," Stauffer said. Questions at the debate ranged from visitation and co-educational residential
halls to communication and diversity on campus. Both vice presidential
and presidential candidates talked about increasing communication Each panelist asked the candidates one question, then the floor was open to audience questions. The panelists were Aubrey Monk, a sophomore advertising/public relations major; Alonso Sanchez, a junior math major; Kirsten Bell, a senior political science and speech communication major; and Laura Head, a junior news-editorial journalism major. The panelists were chosen as representatives of the campus by the House. Walker Moody, a presidential candidate, said he is happy with the changes recently made to the SGA Constitution because they will help the president communicate with the administration, faculty and students. "I see the president as a school crier talking to administration, students and faculty," Moody said. "The president should be the sole communicator and the most approachable; that's the bottom line." C.J. Striebinger, a presidential candidate, said he thinks there is not enough communication between students and House. "I'd like to see a committee formed that just goes to organizations and tells them what's happening," Striebinger said. Mandy Mahan, a student in the audience and chairwoman of the House Campus Communications Committee, asked why more people weren't doing anything about communication problem between students and faculty. "If communication is such a big concern, why aren't people coming to my committee meeting?" Mahan asked. Ben Jenkins, a presidential candidate, said the issue is a problem on campus and, therefore, a big issue with the candidates. "We are trying to get elected so we can help with communication," Jenkins said. James Applebury, a presidential candidate, said he and the other candidates are all different from one another. "Vote on whoever you feel has better ideas on communication," Applebury said. Ryan Shoemake, a vice presidential candidate, said one of the things that could make TCU better would be pushing the present system of recruitment back to the spring semester because it would help with freshman retention. "It's a positive step," Shoemake said. "Other schools I have talked to like Vanderbilt really like deferred recruitment." Stauffer disagreed with Shoemake and said there are other ways to work with freshmen than to make them feel like TCU students before anything else. Applebury said some candidates are talking about the same issues but some candidates have focused on separate issues. "We all feel people have good issues," Applebury said.
Tealy Dippel
By Matt Stiver staff reporter They bowl, go to the Water Gardens and to the Botanic Gardens. Once a week, they have a telephone conversation. These are not classmates: One is a TCU student, and the other is a child. Jenica Rose, a junior pre-med major, spends her time as a volunteer with the TCU Horned Frog Bigs. "I am matched with a 9-year-old. Her name is Trina, and she is the cutest thing ever," Rose said. "We usually do something about every other week. One time, she came to stay over at the sorority house and went to class with me. "I love it so much, I can't tell you enough positive things (about) it." Horned Frog Bigs works through Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Tarrant County to match students from TCU with children from the Fort Worth area. Cathy Neece, a university advancement officer, said about 20 students across campus were working with Big Brothers, Big Sisters in various capacities through student organizations before Horned Frog Bigs was formed last spring. "It started out as each area doing their own volunteering," Neece said. "They expressed an interest in having a TCU chapter. When we realized there were so many of them, we decided to pull together into an official TCU group." Neece said the group will hold two activity meetings with the children and two mixer meetings to recruit new members a month. The first meeting this semester will be Monday in the Student Center. Neece said students are matched with children to help mentor them. Before volunteer candidates are selected to participate, they are evaluated on an 18-point checklist which includes qualities such as stability, honesty and sensitivity. Then volunteers fill out questionnaires about what type of child they want. The agency matches volunteers and children, and then the volunteer, the child and the child's parent meet to see if the match will work. "They are matched with children to be buddies with the children, to help them with study skills and to take them to TCU football games," Neece said. "They're there to be big brothers and sisters." Rose said she found out about Big Brothers, Big Sisters from one of her sorority sisters. "She mentioned it in one of our chapter meetings, and I thought it would be really fun to be a role model to a small girl and have her look up to me," Rose said. "So I went through the whole process and was matched last fall." Neece said there is a need for TCU students to join Horned Frog Bigs. "There are probably 600 children on the waiting list," Neece said. "That's not just for TCU, but for all Tarrant county. If you figure we have a huge undergraduate population (over 6,000), the impact we could have would be incredible."
By Kris Gutierrez staff reporter Kappa Alpha Theta members and alumnae are dedicating the third annual Fall Breakaway 5k Run/Walk to Tracy Clark, a 1996 TCU graduate and Theta alumna, who was killed last May in a car wreck."Tracy got a lot of her friends into running, and this just goes to show how many lives she touched," said Kelly Clark, Tracy's sister and a senior social work major. Tracy Clark died when her car veered into oncoming traffic on Interstate 35 in Georgetown. She was leaving Austin to return to Fort Worth when she lost control of her car. Two other people were injured in the wreck. Clark earned a graduate degree in audiology from University of Texas just two days before the accident and was planning to be married last Saturday.
Running is a family affair, Kelly Clark said. A number of friends will accompany her parents from Houston to participate in the event. Theta President Stacey Paullin said dedicating the event in Clark's name was an option that the Thetas didn't think twice about. "She had already graduated when the event started," Paullin said. "But when she was here she was one of the initiators that thought this was a good way to raise money." The event will also benefit the Child Advocates of Tarrant County. Last year 750 runners from Fort Worth helped support the program that provides legal assistance to children who have problems within the home. This year Thetas hope to raise $9,500 from the run, said Kate McArthur, chairwoman of the event. "As members of the sorority, we tend to get too wrapped up in the logistics of the run," said McArthur, a junior political science major. "But when we step back and look at the great thing we're doing, it's a wonderful feeling to know you're helping out." Luke's, a sporting goods store on University Drive that specializes in running equipment, has stepped forward as a sponsor. KISS-FM's radio personality, Domino, will be on hand to do a live broadcast for 106.1, McArthur said. The $15 entrance fee benefits abused children in Tarrant County. Runners will receive a race packet that includes a T-shirt, coupons for restaurants and sports stores, as well as the opportunity to win door prizes. The 5K route will be mapped out around the campus and local neighborhoods. A ceremony in honor of Clark will kick off the event at 7:45 a.m. Saturday. Theta alumnae have raised money for a park bench that will be dedicated in Clark's name. The bench will sit on the porch in front of the Theta house.There will be an awards ceremony after the run followed by a reception to honor Clark in the Theta chapter room. At the ceremony, the event will be renamed in Clark's honor. Kris Gutierrez
By Carey Hix staff reporter A faculty recital featuring piano soloist John Owings, Herndon professor of music, will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of Polish-born French composer Frédéric Chopin. Owings will play eight pieces by Chopin that vary in length, style and mood during the recital, which will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Ed Landreth Hall Auditorium. "It's music that everybody loves," Owings said. "Chopin is one of the best-loved composers; he gave the piano a voice of its own. He discovered the soul of the piano." The beauty of the music was why Owings chose to perform these particular pieces, he said.
"The hardest thing to do was deciding what not to play because the program could go on and on. If I wanted to play all my favorite works by Chopin, I couldn't do it in one recital." Owings said he also admires the feeling Chopin's music evokes in the listener. "He just seems to have been born to play and to compose for the piano," he said. "All of the things the piano can express, all the emotions, all the colors, it's all in Chopin's music." The program is full of contrast, Owings said. "It's not chronological," he said. "In putting the program together, I looked for works that would be of different lengths, not all short pieces, not all long pieces, and also what pieces would follow naturally: The key that the pieces are written in. "I (also considered) the mood, (and included) some sad and melancholy pieces, as well as some lighter pieces." Staff accompanist Janet Pummill said Owings is well-known outside of TCU for his talent as a pianist. "John Owings is a nationally known figure in the piano world because he's won many awards," she said. "He just completed some recitals at Carnegie Hall and received very high accolades." Admission to the recital is free and open to the public.
Carey Hix |
on campus and the changes they think that would entail.
"The career path Tracy chose revolved around helping
others," said Donna Clark, Tracy's mother. "Our family has made
a correlation between her dreams and this event, because they both center
around helping others."
"It's so beautiful, it's so melodic, so poetic and
full of fire," Owings said. "That's why I love it, and that's
why I love playing it. And I chose some works that I particularly enjoy.| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |