Intramural field lighting to be installed
City of Fort Worth Board of Adjustments votes 5-0 to grant variance

By Chris Gibson
staff reporter

In a unanimous decision, the City of Fort Worth Board of Adjustments voted 5-0 Wednesday to grant TCU a variance to light the intramural field area.

The decision puts an end to over four months of debate between TCU, area residents and the City of Fort Worth.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Don Mills said he is happy with the ruling, and he hopes lights can be up by the end of the year.

“We are ready to get started (putting lights up) right now,” Mills said. “We probably won’t get them up until the end of the semester, but everything should be in place for next year.”

TCU requested the variance from the city to put up lights higher than the 35-foot lights the area is zoned for.
Local residents have voiced their concerns over issues such as the height of the light poles, the amount of light spilling into the neighborhood, the hours of use, the color and number of poles and future plans for development of the Worth Hills area.

Mills said TCU has agreed to limit intramural playing hours, but will proceed with the previous plans because the lights are good for the university.

“We agreed to end all games before 10:30 p.m. and not to start any games after 9:30 p.m.,” he said. “As we become more and more competitive with other universities, there are certain amenities that students expect.”

Director of the Physical Plant Will Stallworth said the board asked TCU to address additional concerns following the postponement of the October ruling.

He said the board wanted TCU’s master plan for the Worth Hills area, parking space information, the case study for lights at 75 feet and 35 feet and a section of the neighborhood created to scale including the eight light poles.

Stallworth said TCU presented the board with the information and then made their ruling.

“Once we were able to present all the information, the board had no problem making their ruling,” he said.
Mills said TCU has listened to the neighbors’ concerns, and thinks the university has addressed them sufficiently.

“The neighbors are still very concerned, but I think we were able to respond to them very well,” he said. Stallworth said despite the long wait and neighbors’ original concerns, he doesn’t think the lights will pose a significant problem.

“I really think people will see when (the lights) are up that they are environment friendly, visually pleasing and good for the school,” he said. “Most people probably won’t even notice they’re there.”

Chris Gibson
c.j.gibson@student.tcu.edu.

Forum to be held today to discuss changes to UCR
Event to give students opportunity to voice opinions, sponsors say

By Angie Chang
staff reporter

The Faculty Senate and Student Government Association will sponsor an open-campus forum today to give students an opportunity to speak out on what changes should be made to the current University Curriculum Requirements.

Brian Casebolt, chairman of academic affairs for House of Student Representatives, said the curriculum revision is a university concern and much effort has been put forth to gather a large constituency across campus. Invitations have been sent out to administration and faculty, and an all-campus e-mail will be sent to encourage all students to go, Casebolt said.

“I’ve been told that this is the biggest academic endeavor at TCU in the last 20 years,” Casebolt said. “But we don’t want this to be just a complaint session. We want to hear solutions as well.”

Casebolt said he and Nowell Donovan, chairman of the Faculty Senate, will be the facilitators of the forum. Administration members will also be at the forum.

“(This forum) will allow students to make recommendations on how TCU can be better and have them heard by administration and faculty,” Casebolt said. “(Students) have an opportunity now and should not feel inhibited to share their ideas.”

Casebolt said the recommendations made at the forum will be processed, and a report will be submitted to the Office of the Provost.

Mike Sacken, a professor of education, said it is important to hear from students as well as faculty because curriculum revision impacts both groups. A continuous dialogue between the two groups provides a healthier environment to help resolve issues, Sacken said.

“Right now the UCR is terrible and lacks depth,” Sacken said. “The core should deepen people’s intellectual abilities and it has to be powerful. They are the only things that connect the individuals on campus.”

Jakobus Wolf, a senior art history and chemistry major, said there should be fewer core requirements to allow each individual to pick electives that interest them.

Lara Blackwood, a first-year Brite Divinity student, said as an undergraduate at TCU, she heard complaints about there being too many core requirements.

“(TCU) is not a vocational school,” Blackwood said. “TCU is a liberal arts college so students should not be complaining about taking core classes.”

Bob Seal, chairman of the Curriculum Outcome Committee, said the committee members will be there to hear what the students have to say. The committee is the first of three formed to revise the University Curriculum Requirements.

The first committee will take a different approach to core revision by examining what academic skills a TCU student should have upon finishing the curriculum requirements.

Timothy Colligan, a junior English major, said this revision process is better to prevent students from taking courses that are irrelevant.

“It’s better to develop courses by keeping in mind what marketable skills a student should have after graduating,” Colligan said.

Angie Chang
a_o_chang@yahoo.com.

Students to be denied aid for leaving drug question blank
Opinions vary on new provision to Higher Education Act

By Michael Davis
Staff Reporter

College students who apply for federal aid and leave a question about drug offenses blank will no longer receive any federal loans, scholarships or grants under new provisions in the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1998.

Under the new regulation, which will take effect next year, applicants failing to answer whether they have ever been convicted of any drug offense, including misdemeanors, will be ineligible for any federal aid.

As of fall 2000, more than 6,000 students have lost some or all of their aid, and thousands more have left the question blank on the Federal Application for Financial Student Aid.

“Last year the federal processors didn’t reject an application if the question wasn’t answered,” said Sandra Tobias, associate director of financial aid. “I guess they didn’t expect so many to leave it blank.”

But applications will now be rejected if the question is not answered, she said.

Tobias said if students answer they have never been convicted of a drug offense, the federal government will process the application. The application contains a Web site address and a phone number to help applicants answer the question, she said.

Previously, the federal government relied on TCU to inform them of drug convictions, but now TCU is more of a facilitator, she said. TCU is informed by the federal government whether or not to withhold aid.

Students and student government associations around the country say the measure denies money to troubled students when they need it most and ignores other types of criminal behavior.

But those in favor of the measure say drug offenders who get funding take away from deserving students who need it.

“I think it will ultimately cut down on competition for aid and by doing that it is going to benefit those without drug convictions,” said Russ DiCapo, a junior business major.

Josh Barrier, a junior international business major, said he has answered the question on the FAFSA form, but thinks the question are a bad idea.

“Mistakes you make when you are a kid shouldn’t affect you later in life,” he said.

The Higher Education Act was passed more than 30 years ago in an attempt to create greater opportunities for students to gain a higher education. The Act established federal financial aid programs like Work-Study Programs, Pell Grants, Perkins Loans and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants.

Congress periodically reviews and updates the Act to ensure adequate funding. The Act was revised in 1998 and now includes an amendment that will deny or delay federal financial aid, including grants, loans and work-study, to any student convicted of any state or federal drug offense.

According to the amendment, if convicted for possession of a controlled substance, students are ruled ineligible for aid for one year following their first conviction, two years for their second and indefinitely for their third.

For sale of a controlled substance the consequences are tougher. For the first offense, students are ineligible for aid for two years and indefinitely for their second offense.

Tan Nguyen, a junior biology major, said he has filled out the drug question on the application.

“I can say yeah, it serves as a deterrent, but I can also see the other side,” he said. “I don’t really have to worry about it because I’m not breaking the law, but I do think it’s pretty harsh.”

A student may regain eligibility if the student satisfactorily completes a drug rehabilitation program that includes two unannounced drug tests.

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

Fine arts college to increase visibility
Recommendations include building renovations

By Erin Munger
staff reporter

Increasing the visibility of the College of Fine Arts to enhance fund-raising efforts is one of the college’s main goals after the close of the Commission on the Future of TCU.

“We have to convince those who could donate money to our college that what we’re doing is high quality and that they can help better that quality even more,” said Scott Sullivan, dean of the College of Fine Arts. “We have to show our cultural contribution to the community.”

Sullivan said the members of the college know what needs to be done from recommendations from the commission’s Fine Arts Task Force, but the recommendations haven’t been prioritized yet.

The college has a basic fund-raising plan that will include a newsletter for alumni, visitors, possible donors and anyone who is interested in the college’s activities, Sullivan said.

He said the college also plans to network by using current relationships to build new ones. John Giordano, an associate professor of music and retired maestro of the Fort Worth Symphony, is one person who knows influential people with artistic interests in Fort Worth, Sullivan said.

Another networking avenue is the relationship the fine arts college has with the Van Cliburn Foundation and with area museums, he said.

“We want to make our program more accessible to the community and make it more visible locally, nationally and internationally,” said Sheila Allen, a Fine Arts Task Force member and an associate professor of music.

Sullivan said there are several avenues the college can use to make it more visible.

“I would like to take our arts off campus more,” Sullivan said.

He said the college consults some staff members in TCU’s communications and marketing department to ensure effective publicity. He said music ensembles performing at high schools and high school functions will play a part in marketing the college to potential students.

Music, especially piano, and art and art history will be the major areas of focus for the school, said Ann Louden, director of the principal gifts department of university advancement and a Fine Arts Task Force member.

The music department has increased their visibility by helping plan the Van Cliburn Piano Competitions and hosting the competition’s semi finals the in the past, Louden said. TCU’s piano program is highly respected by the Van Cliburn Foundation, she said.

Other task force recommendations included renovating Ed Landreth Hall and Moudy Building South, Sullivan said. He said renovations have already begun in both buildings with paint touch-ups, and will continue during Winter Break in Ed Landreth Hall Auditorium with new seats and paint.

Sullivan said the other renovation requests, which could be long term and require outside funding, are being compiled to send to William Koehler, provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs.

Sullivan said some recommendations are practice studios for theater and ballet; the addition of a “Green Room,” a place where theater students would prepare to go on stage in the Walsh Center of Performing Arts; a second floor in the sculpture lab with high ceilings; a computer lab in the dance building; renovations of the electronic music lab; risers in the choir rehearsal room and state of the art recording rooms.

Other recommendations, according to the Fine Arts Task Force report, include increasing the number of graduate level classes taught by world famous artists. Sullivan said the college also wants to add a technology position within the art and art history department.

He said a major in ceramics is also a possibility. This hasn’t been an option in the past due to the lack of full-time faculty to support the large number of students.

Erin Munger
erebm@netscape.com.

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