By Jason Crane Skiff staff "It's not an appropriate answer to say, 'That's the way we've always done it,' anymore." Michael Sacken, a professor of education, said the phrase is not a part of Chancellor Michael R. Ferrari's vocabulary. "That's been the justification for years," Sacken said. "It's the TCU way." The Commission on the Future of TCU will begin to redefine "the TCU way" when it meets for the first time Wednesday. Four-hundred-fifty members will make up the commission's 17 task forces, which will present their findings in June. The Board of Trustees will then prioritize the commission's findings for the university. Ferrari said the commission will help determine "strategic possibilities" for the university.
If TCU is to move to that level, it must diversify its curriculum, Sacken said. "That will clearly destabilize things," he said. "No one is really anxious to diversify because it is a question of equity and excellence. Can you have both? Few institutions do." Universities at the "next level" are traditionally defined as those that create knowledge through graduate and research programs, Sacken said. "At some institutions there is enormous pressure to be a scholar," he said. "It's your choice to be a good teacher, too. I don't want it to be that kind of place. We have to decide how will we, as an institution, define excellence. "The history of TCU is such that you would almost have to burn it to the ground and rebuild it to make certain changes. It is built on the undergraduate tradition. People like the environment and the supportive community. They don't want to make it a cutthroat place." Phil Hartman, a professor of biology, said institutions at the next level have developed infrastructures for research. "What are we going to do?" Hartman said. "Focus on research or innovative ways of educating undergraduates? I have no idea what is going to come out of it. I am very excited about the commission because I think it holds great promise." Don Mills, vice chancellor for student affairs, said he does not think the commission will drastically change TCU's academic focus. "It is highly unlikely TCU will lose its focus on undergraduate education," Mills said. He said the next level of distinction is generally defined by people outside of the university. "There should be some kind of automatic response to TCU, where people routinely know something about us," Mills said. "We need to identify four, five or six programs of excellence." TCU should also seek greater diversity in its student body to help create change, Sacken said. "We can make it a lot spicier and edgier around here," he said. "If we invite in more diversity of opinion, there will be more arguments and conflict, which can forge change. But the forging process requires fire. When the faculty talk about excellence, that's the kind of dialogue I think they want on campus." Mills said diversity will be one of several major priorities during the next several years. "We will see an expanded emphasis on a diverse student body, a broader spectrum of academic and co-curricular activities," he said. "Technology will also continue to be an important part of how we teach." Student Government Association President Ben Alexander said TCU still has far to go to reach the next level of distinction. "When you say you graduated from TCU, the first response is 'What's TCU, and where is it?'" said Alexander, a senior advertising/public relations major. "I think we're moving in the right direction, but there is great resistance to change. "I have heard from students that they would rather keep registration the same way. Whether or not it advances technology, they like to keep it at the status quo." Ferrari said he recognizes that TCU's culture is important and needs to be respected. However, he said using new methods to achieve the same goals can sometimes be more successful than using the previous methods. "Perhaps there may be another way to do something that still preserves the character of the organization yet accomplishes more," he said. "It means risk-taking and some are uncomfortable with this. Yet, reasonable and thoughtful risk-taking is essential to growing." Alexander said growth is easier for those involved in making changes than the ones who just experience the change. "I think one problem with change is that wherever you go a relatively small number of people will actually know all the details of the change that's occurring," he said. "So that small group of people is definitely prepared to adjust to that change and the bigger group has a harder time adjusting." Alexander said Ferrari has combated this problem by including more people in the decision-making process. "When you involve more people in the changes, they are more receptive and it doesn't take as long to adjust," Alexander said. "TCU has been the same for so long, once you start shaking it up, you are going to have growing pains and adjustment pains." Amy Shackelford, a senior marketing major, said change for the sake of change is bad for the university. "It is unnecessary especially where tradition is not strong," she said. "I was unnerved when Jesus Christ was taken out of the mission statement. That's part of what brought me here. "If they aren't placing emphasis on it, they will lose some people who may otherwise come here. TCU has always been accepting, and I don't think by not including that in the mission statement they are making others feel more accepted." Ferrari said the statement will assist TCU in becoming a more mission-driven university. "The mission statement is concise and compelling and relates to every single person in the university community," he said. Sacken said any changes will be positive as a result of the mission statement and the commission's findings. "I think things need to be stirred up," he said. "Whatever the mission is, Ferrari will follow through on it. Even if I don't agree, in a way I will respect that." Ferrari has brought a general sense of optimism to TCU, Hartman said. "There is a lot of positive motion," he said. "People are viewing change as coming at just the right time." Sacken said people on campus feel they will be left behind if they don't start working for change. "There is a ton of energy on this campus right now," Sacken said. "People are working like dogs because there is the possibility of change in all these different directions."
Jason Crane
By Kristen Naquin campus editor The Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity officially received a charter from its national organization Sunday, but questions remain about how the decision will affect the organization's standing with the Interfraternity Council or the Student Organizations Committee. Rick Barnes, director of special projects and student affairs, said IFC bylaws require that a new colony receive a charter within one year of coming on campus. IFC granted the Sig Eps - which joined TCU as a colony in Spring 1997 - a charter extension once but declined to grant a second one during its Sept. 20 meeting. Sig Ep has not been recognized by IFC as an official fraternity since that time. Last week, SOC upheld IFC's decision based on a TCU policy stating that all nationally affiliated fraternities and sororities must be recognized by their governing councils - in this case, IFC. But Sig Ep President Andy McMillan said he is excited about the granting of the charter and hopes his organization can negotiate with IFC so that Sig Ep can again become recognized as an official campus fraternity. "It's a huge accomplishment for the guys to work for and finally achieve," said McMillan, a senior political science major. "It means our nationals deem us to be on par with the other 200-odd chapters out there. I don't know how it will pan out and how it's going to go with the university. We have talking and meetings to do." But IFC President Bryan Fogg, a senior marketing and management major, said the Sig Eps will not be eligible to reapply to IFC until the spring. In addition, the organization must be recognized by SOC, which SOC chairman Pat Kinkade said is contingent upon IFC's decision to recognize the organization. The Sig Eps' recognition is also contingent upon another vote by the IFC delegation. McMillan said he thinks his organization is involved in a "catch-22" situation. He said he wants to get approval from SOC before he goes before IFC for official recognition, but the Sig Eps must have a governing-body affiliation to be SOC approved. McMillan said this was the first time the Sig Eps submitted a charter request. The organization did not do so earlier because it could not meet the 12 requirements, which include membership, academic and financial requirements. But McMillan said taking more than two years to receive a charter is not unusual. "It's normally a long process," he said. "Our nationals kept telling us this is not an abnormal length of time. It is not an aberration We met some pretty stringent requirements."
Staff reporters Lori Eshelman and Justin Roche contributed to this report.
Kristen Naquin
By Carey Hix staff reporter Artwork ranging from beautiful to disturbing and abstract to realistic is displayed at "In Sights," an art show featuring the work of TCU faculty. The exhibit will transport attendees to a multi-dimensional world filled with various textures, shapes, sizes and colors. The artwork will be on display until Nov. 23 in the J.M. Moudy Exhibition Hall. Types of art featured include ceramic, drawing, illustration, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, graphic design and sculpture. "The nice thing about coming to the faculty art show is that you don't often get to see the art faculty's work all together at one time," said Dick Lane, photography lab coordinator whose three selenium-toned silver prints are featured in the show. "Each of us generally have shows here and there from time to time, but here you really get to see a little of everything, what everybody does. You get a good sense of what our school is like." Luther Smith, a professor of art whose color photographs are displayed in the exhibit, said the aesthetic quality of the works featured is another important reason to attend. Visitors should attend the exhibition repeatedly to absorb all the information on display, said Chris Powell, instructor/studio coordinator for the department of art and art history. "There's such a wide range of imagery in here that a person needs to come not only once, but many times so that they're not being bombarded with a wide spectrum of work," he said. Terri Cummings, a professor of art whose mixed-media work, "I Am My Mother's Daughter," appears in the exhibit, said these art shows encourage faculty members to continue practicing what they teach. "What the students are seeing when they come to a faculty art exhibit is the continued research that the art faculty is currently involved in," she said. The exhibition is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
Carey Hix
By Steven Baker and Jamie Zwilling Skiff staff Students tried to experience Monday night what more than 700,000 people experience every night: sleeping on the ground with only a fire to warm them because they are homeless. Adam Butner-Burroughs, a freshman sociology major, said one night of hunger cannot compare to what starving people in the world experience every day. "Being out here tonight means experiencing something that I don't experience in my everyday life," he said. "I could never walk up to a homeless or a hungry person and say that I have walked in their shoes, but because of this experience, I have opened my eyes." About eight students met at 9:30 p.m. at Frog Fountain as a part of TCU Hunger Week to spend the night as homeless people. The students brought no sleeping bags or pillows and had one blanket among them. They said they didn't even know if they could stay for the entire night, but they distributed statistical information about homelessness to passers-by. "Being out here is more than just sitting at a booth handing out fliers," said Josiah Miller, a freshman radio-TV-film major. Dustin Van Orne, a freshman radio-TV-film major, said handing out fliers is an effective way to promote hunger awareness. "People are going to inquire what this is all about," he said. "It might make them wonder what's happening outside the TCU bubble." Near the fountain, the students built a make-shift shanty out of cardboard and a bench, warmed their hands to fire in an old grill pit and played songs on an acoustic guitar. Those participating in the event said they were discouraged that students were not stopping to inquire. "Quite frankly, I think society is afraid of what education will bring them," said Heather Patriacca, a sophomore religion major. "The student at TCU who has even the least amount of anything still has much more than the hungry." Orne said education is the most important part of the event. "Without education, you can't change anybody's mind or gain any ground," he said. Mandy Mahan, who organized the event, said the reasons students weren't inquiring about the event was because it was outside of their experiences. "People aren't used to this," said Mahan, a sophomore management informations systems major and Hunger Week chairwoman. "That's why they stay so far away. They are afraid." Students can learn more about Hunger Week with today's events: meal card donations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Center Lounge; hunger jail from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Student Center Lounge; food bank service project from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Tarrant County Food Bank; and a coffeehouse featuring entertainment and refreshments from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Tom Brown/Pete Wright Residential Community Commons Building.
Steven Baker Jamie Zwilling
By Mark E. Lewis Skiff staff The Student Publications Committee named two students who will lead the TCU Daily Skiff during the Spring 2000 semester. Joaquin Herrera, a senior broadcast journalism and Latin American studies major, was named Skiff editor in chief, and Natalie Franks, a senior advertising/public relations major, was appointed advertising manager for student publications, which encompasses both the Skiff and Image magazine. Herrera, who has been active with the Skiff for three semesters, is currently managing editor of the Skiff. He will succeed current editor in chief, Jeff Meddaugh. "I'm honored to have this position," Herrera said. "I'll be able to do something I love and lead the Skiff in the same direction it has gone this semester." Franks' has had one semester of experience in the advertising department, and she has also had internship experience with advertising agencies. She will succeed current advertising manager, Jeff Horler. "I'm excited and am looking forward to the opportunity to work with the staff and gain more experience," she said. Nowell Donovan, chairman of the committee, which is composed of students, faculty and staff, said all of the candidates were good choices for their respective positions. Both positions drew two candidates. "I thought it was a very strong pool of candidates," he said. "They have very large shoes to fill. The paper has been the best I've seen since I got here." Both positions have a regular turnover every semester, and new editors will be selected for Fall 2000 before summer break. Herrera and Franks said they already have goals in mind to improve their departments. "I feel we have excellent front-page readership because the front page grabs attention," Herrera said. "But we're lacking attention on the inside pages. I want to create a features page on the inside, which would lure readership within the paper." Franks said she would like to focus on advertising revenue as an improvement for next semester. "I want to challenge the staff to have a larger revenue this spring than last spring," she said, referring to the trend that spring revenues are lower than fall revenues.
Mark E. Lewis |
"It will help us define a shared understanding of what
it means to move to the next level of distinction in American private higher
education," he said.| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |