Wednesday, August 22, 2001
TCU Frogs …This is your home
Community, campus leaders encourage involvement
Story by Angie Chang • Photos by Erin Munger

As you begin to accumulate all things purple this fall, it’s easy to get pulled into the “TCU Bubble.” For students on campus everything will seem to be a skip and a leap away, and, when classes begin, a maelstrom of class work will keep students from ever thinking of traversing out of campus perimeters.

But beyond the ever changing landscape and the currently unkempt lawns of TCU lies the bigger community of Fort Worth; the city that will be your home for the rest of your college career.

Don Mills, vice chancellor of student affairs, said it is very important for students to be active citizens in the Fort Worth community and to not restrict themselves exclusively to TCU activities. He said branching out into the community will help students learn and feel connected to the city.

“Students often make references to the ‘TCU Bubble,’ but they need to realize that students are not separate from the Fort Worth public,” Mills said. “Students tend to think of themselves as nonpermanent residents, but they have a stake in the future of TCU and they need to be involved.”

Mills said the economic impact of about 8,000 students alone makes TCU an important asset to the community, but it is up to the faculty, staff and students to give back and be responsible citizens of the city.

Dallas-native Wes Zercher, a senior music education major, said he volunteered in a food bank for a semester even though he often found that he hardly had enough time to fit in school activities.

“I’m involved with the TCU Band and spend so much time in school that it’s difficult to add anything else,” Zercher said. “But taking the time to pack food for the needy felt really good and made me feel like a part of the community.”

In addition to community service, City Councilwoman Wendy Davis said registering to vote in Fort Worth is an important part of being an active and responsible citizen of the community.

“(Fort Worth) is where students will be living nine months of the year,” Davis said. “It’s important for them to be able to voice their concerns and vote for things that will affect their environment and their quality of life.”

Robert Greer, a freshman pre-major, said that although he plans to be involved in the community and at school, he would not change his voter registration to Fort Worth from his home town of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

“Florida is a heavily divided state during presidential elections, and voting there is a big deal because each vote counts a lot,” Greer said. “Florida needs all the in-state votes it can get.”

For the Frogs that don’t want to make the leap into the big pond, Mills said that it is also important to have a thorough representation in the Student Government Association from all areas of the university.

“The more confident the administration is that SGA speaks for the students, the more we will turn to them as a primary voice of student concerns and opinions,” Mills said. “It is very important that students realize that they are connected to something bigger than themselves and give back to the TCU community and Fort Worth.”

Angie Chang
a.o.chang@student.tcu.edu

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